The Mage in Black (19 page)

“Okay, fine.” I looked at Maisie. “But I want updates. You get any leads, I want to know about it.”

Maisie nodded.

Rhea wasn’t done, however. “I should warn you that if we’re going to ramp up your training, I’ll expect long hours and total commitment. We don’t have time to waste with you arguing about my methods.”

Already the blood was working its own magic. My skin no longer crawled. My headache eased and my stomach settled. I itched to get out of the bed and move. And now Rhea had offered me a focus for all the energy building in my muscles. I was almost praying she’d put me through the wringer to keep my mind occupied while the council waded through its own red tape. My lips curled into a smile.

“Sounds good.” I turned to Maisie. “You got any more blood in that thing?”

An hour later, I felt almost good as new. Four pints of blood and having a goal did wonders for my energy. I knocked on Giguhl’s door softly. I needed to thank him for saving my life, but part of me hoped he was asleep. Gratitude wasn’t a familiar emotion for me. Generally, I avoided asking for or needing help as much as possible. Back in L.A. this approach wasn’t difficult, since most vampires wouldn’t help a mixed-blood anyway. But ever since my life got turned upside down, I’d found myself in a position to need help again and again. Not that I’d admit it out loud. In fact, up until tonight’s near-death experience, I’d managed to brush off the help Adam or anyone else had given me as unwanted or unneeded after the fact.

“Yeah?” Giguhl’s voice sounded through the door, weaker than it should have been.

I cracked open the door and peeked inside. “You up for company?”

A lump in the bed shifted, accompanied by the sound of sheets sliding together and a soft gasp. “As long as you aren’t going to yell at me.”

I frowned and moved farther into the room. “Why would I do that?”

As I got closer, my eyes adjusted to the darkened room. Giguhl rested against a mound of pillows with the covers pulled up to his chin. The bed was too short for his seven-foot frame, so his hooves jutted from the bottom of the covers and hung off the end of the bed. He looked pitiful. He shrugged and wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“It’s my fault you got hurt.”

My eyebrows shot together and my eyes narrowed. “No, it’s not. Why would you think something dumb like that?”

He relaxed a fraction, presumably because I hadn’t started shouting. His eyes moved in my direction, but he still wouldn’t meet my gaze directly. “You told me to fight Eurynome, and I failed.”

I couldn’t believe he was blaming himself for that. “Giguhl, you saved us. When it happened doesn’t matter. And as your master or whatever, I forbid you to blame yourself. Especially when you’re the one who’s still injured.”

He finally looked at me then. The gratitude I saw there made me want to squirm. I hadn’t done anything except state the facts. I changed the subject. “So what’s hurt exactly?”

Giguhl cringed. “It’s embarrassing.”

“More embarrassing than getting shot in the ass?”

He nodded gravely.

“I promise I won’t make fun of you.”

He looked unsure. “Swear it.”

I rolled my eyes and made a cross-my-heart gesture.

“Okay, see, it’s like this: Eurynome is a big dude, right? Probably as heavy as the train that crashed into him.”

I nodded. He was exaggerating, of course, but I got his drift. “Sure.”

I swear I saw a faint spot of pink appear on his cheeks. “Well, it seems during our fight, Eurynome hit me with a spell to weaken my healing ability and lower my resistance to injury.”

I rotated my hand in the air. The suspense was killing me.

Giguhl inhaled and closed his eyes. Then, on the exhalation, he rushed ahead. “When I threw him, well… I pulled my nut sack.”

I stared at him in shocked silence. A laugh bubbled up in my throat. I didn’t speak, knowing it would escape if I tried. I swallowed and focused on keeping my features schooled into a sympathetic expression.

Faced with silence, Giguhl forged ahead. “Rhea said the official name is a scrotal hernia.”

A snort escaped. Giguhl’s head shot up and his eyes narrowed. I held my breath, but my lips trembled from the effort.

“You said you wouldn’t laugh!” Giguhl crossed his arms and glared.

I shook my head and tried to look innocent.

His voice took on a serious, paternal tone. “Testicle injuries are no laughing matter, Sabina.”

That did it. Laughter exploded from me, so forceful I doubled over with it.

“Hey!”

I didn’t respond. I was too busy holding my sides. On some level, I understood it wasn’t nice to laugh at his injury since he got it trying to save me. But I couldn’t help it.

“You’re an ass,” he declared finally. He crossed his arms indignantly, but his wince ruined the effect.

Realizing he was actually in pain, I struggled to get a hold of myself. I wiped the tears from my eyes and took a deep breath. “Sorry.”

He nodded regally, obviously still offended.

Now I really felt bad. I was so used to Giguhl never taking anything seriously it was easy to forget he had feelings. “What can I do to make it up to you? Do you need an ice pack or something?”

“Nah. Damara brought me ice earlier.” He pursed his black lips and narrowed his eyes, seeing an opportunity. “But there is one thing that might make me feel better.”

I tilted my head. “What?”

“You could agree to let me fight at Vein on a regular basis.”

My mouth fell open. “You’ve got to be joking! How are you going to fight with your… issue?” I nodded vaguely toward his crotch.

He shrugged. “Rhea said I should be back in fighting shape in the next day or so.”

I leaned back, crossing my arms. “I don’t know, G.”

He rushed ahead. “I know you don’t like Slade, but he’s not so bad.”

I held up a hand. “It’s not about Slade.” I paused to judge whether this statement was true, and decided it was. Slade and I had come to an understanding of sorts.

“Then what?”

I shifted uneasily in my chair. Truth was, seeing Giguhl lying in bed injured brought out my protective instincts. I might have laughed at the specific type of injury, but I didn’t like that he was in pain. The impression I got was he’d barely been able to beat Eurynome. If that train hadn’t come, or a dozen other what-ifs, Giguhl might be dead. Sure, he defeated the Defiler demon. But what if the next one was stronger?

“I’m not sure how to say this without injuring your manhood,” I began. Giguhl cringed. “But I don’t want you to fight because I don’t want you to get hurt.”

He opened his mouth to argue, but I held up a hand. “Let me finish. Have you thought about what would happen if you lost? When you beat the Defiler, his handler sent him back to Irkalla, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s different. Those handlers summon demons specifically for the fights. When they lose, the handlers have no use for them anymore, so they’re sent back.”

I narrowed my eyes. “If that’s all, why does the last rule state no mercy?”

“Don’t know. My best guess is they’re sent to the Pit of Despair for punishment.” Seeing my narrowed eyes at that little tidbit, he rushed ahead. “But I’m your minion, so that would never happen.”

I grimaced. “Still, I don’t like it.”

Giguhl rubbed his chin for a moment. “Would you like to have an income?”

I frowned. “What?”

He sat up a little straighter. “Think about it. I can fight, and you can manage me. We’ll be like Rocky and that old dude.”

I rolled my eyes. “The old dude wasn’t his manager, Giguhl. He was his coach.”

“Same difference. Admit it, it makes sense.” I started to shake my head, but he forged ahead. “I get to have some fun, and you get your money problem solved.”

I had to admit to myself that this plan appealed far more than cracking skulls for Slade. Granted, in this scenario Slade was still in the equation, but only indirectly. The truth was, I’d need an income sooner or later. I couldn’t live with Maisie forever doing nothing more productive than taking magic lessons. Eventually, I’d need to get my own place in the city or move on to somewhere else. Both of those options required money.

The other issue here was more complex. If Giguhl wanted to fight and knew the risks, who was I to tell him no? The minion subject was one I avoided dissecting too closely. Giguhl seemed to believe he was my minion or familiar or whatever, which was why he was asking permission. Granted, I usually bossed him around when he needed it. But this fight-club thing had nothing to do with me. Not really. And when it came down to it, I considered Giguhl more a sidekick than a minion. And sidekicks had free will. So as much as I hated it, I couldn’t stop him. “Okay, you have my blessing. But I refuse to take half of your winnings. You’re the one fighting, so you should keep most of the money. You can pay me a cut. Say, twenty percent?”

I could see he wanted to argue, but he’d just won a battle and didn’t want to push it. “Sounds like a deal to me.” He stretched out a claw to shake on it but stopped short as a grimace spread across his face. Taking pity on him, I rose and leaned across the bed to complete the formality.

“Thanks,” he said.

I held his gaze for a moment, my hand clasped in his claw. “I should be the one thanking you.”

The corner of his mouth curled up into a smile. “We’ll call it even.”

I snorted. He’d saved my life and gotten himself injured in the process. I’d just given him permission to potentially get his ass kicked. Hardly a fair trade. But I could tell from the look in his eyes he didn’t want me to wax poetic about his bravery and personal sacrifice. But he did want something. “What is it?” I asked, willing to do almost anything he asked.

“I need the bedpan and some help.”

Almost anything—except help him use a bedpan.

I ran to the door. “Rhea!”

T
he room was pitch-black. Not just because the lights were out, but also because of the blindfold Rhea slipped over my head.

Needless to say, I’m not a fan of blindfolds. The last time I’d worn one, I’d ended up allowing a sociopath vampire-slash-demon named Clovis Trakiya to feed from me. I felt more comfortable wearing a blindfold in front of Rhea—at least she couldn’t vein-fuck me. But as a mage, she could fuck me up in other ways if she wanted.

I took a deep breath and reminded myself Rhea was trying to help me. Sure, she was a pain in the ass, but she had to be to deal with teaching me, I guess.

So I went with it, figuring she knew what she was doing. Besides, my hands were free, so I could defend myself if need be. Or so I thought.

Something hard slammed into my head. Pain crashed through my skull.

“Ow! What the hell?” I said, ripping off the scarf. The metal orb about the size of a golf ball rolled across the floor away from me. I swung around to glare at Rhea. She stood next to a table with a stack of more balls.

“No questions, remember? I can’t teach you how to kill demons, but I can teach you how to defend yourself enough to get away.”

“And using me as target practice is the way to do it?” I rubbed my forehead. A small goose egg throbbed hotly on the spot. “Can I at least do this without the blindfold?”

“The blindfold is necessary because you have a bad habit of using your fists to solve your problems. Fists won’t help in a demon fight. For that you have to use your instincts and your magical weapons. So we’re going to try this until you learn how to anticipate an attack and fend it off using only your magic.”

“You’re insane if you think I’m going to stand here and let you throw ball bearings at my cranium all night.”

She ignored that and continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “Now, the first rule of this exercise is, you’re not allowed to fight with your limbs. I’ve left your hands unbound. But the first time you try to block or catch a ball, I’ll bind you. Got it?”

“You expect me not to defend myself?” I said through gritted teeth.

“Don’t be pissy. I expect you to use your magical weapons instead. And don’t start bitching about not knowing how to use them. That’s the point of this lesson. You’re not going to tap into those skills unless you’re forced to.”

This was sounding better and better. “And if I refuse?”

She paused. “Then the next time someone sends a demon after you, you better pray Giguhl’s there to save your ass again.”

I cringed. The fact I couldn’t defeat Eurynome on my own still bothered me. I wasn’t used to relying on others to save me. I sighed. “So how do I tap into this power?”

She smiled. “You’ll figure it out on your own soon enough. Trying to figure it out will actually delay it. Your powers are instinct-based. Stop thinking so much and
feel
.”

I cursed. “So now not only can I not use my fists, but I also can’t use my mind?”

“Nope. It’s not the mage way.”

“If that’s the mage way, it’s amazing your race has lasted this long.”

“Or perhaps it’s not so amazing. Vampires are so one-dimensional. Every decision is driven by the predatory instinct. They’re totally driven by the id.”