2 Corruption

by John O'Riley

  The three of them left Alice’s condo and traversed the hallway toward the elevator.

  “So where are we going exactly?” Josephine asked.

  “I’m in the mood for a burger,” Helen said.

  Alice drove them to a nearby fast food restaurant and they ordered their meals. Oddly enough, Helen just asked for a kids cheeseburger and a soda. Josephine and Alice both ordered burgers and a drink. The three of them sat down with their meals near the corner. Almost all the tables were occupied and it was noisy with the chatter of nearby customers. Josephine and Alice ate in silence for several moments while Helen sipped her soda and picked at the bun with her fingers by taking small pieces and dropping them on her tray without eating.

  “What are you doing?” Josephine asked.

  “What do you mean?” Helen’s expression was distracted and her eyes held a faraway look to them.

  “You haven’t taken a bite of your burger,” Josephine said.

  “Sure I have.” Helen gestured at her burger which had a large portion of the bun torn away. “See?”

  “You picked that off with your fingers. It’s scattered on your tray.”

  Helen frowned with puzzlement at her burger and the crumbs spread out before her. Helen’s gaze honed in on a blond man in his twenties seated behind Josephine and Alice. The man was casually dressed in just a tee shirt and jeans. He had a five o’clock shadow on his face which was also marked with a myriad of zits and his features were average. Helen stared at him as he took a bite of his burger and chewed. The man was talking to another guy about the same age who was sitting directly across from him. The two of them were conversing in casual tones and oblivious to Helen’s attention. Alice and Josephine turned to see what Helen was gawking at. They turned back to ask Helen what was so fascinating about this guy but before they could utter a single word, Helen left her seat and approached the guy.

  “Excuse me.” Helen’s voice was husky as she leveled a charming smile at the man.

  “Yeah?” The guy regarded her with confusion.

  “My watch stopped working and I was wondering if you had the time?”

  “Yes, of course.” He peered at her with fascination.

  His gaze flicked down to her breasts as she scooted into the booth beside him. His friend regarded them with puzzlement. Josephine and Alice observed the interaction with caution. Helen’s attention remained glued to the blond. After several seconds, she leaned forward and brushed his lips with her own in a tentative kiss. He issued a soft groan of pleasure and Helen deepened the kiss. The blond’s friend finally broke out of his silent shock and cleared his throat to gain their attention. Without breaking the kiss or looking away, Helen reached out with her right hand and rested it on top of the hand of the blond’s friend. He stilled for several seconds then stared off into space with a dreamy smile. Helen brushed her lips over the blond’s stubbled chin then lowered her head so she was positioned over his neck. She kissed the side of his neck then lingered there for several seconds. Josephine and Alice leapt from their seats as Helen kissed his neck again. It took the combined efforts of both Josephine and Alice to pry Helen away from the blond’s neck.

  The blond and his friend remained seated and stared at each other with vacant expressions on their faces. Alice waved her finger in front of Helen’s face in a gesture of reprisal but her mouth dropped open in shock when she noticed Helen’s eyes were pure black.

  “We need to leave. People are starting to notice us,” Josephine said.

  “I don’t know what happened.” Helen regarded her with confusion.

  “We can talk in the car.” Josephine nudged her arm to get her moving.

  As they left the restaurant, Helen’s eyes reverted back to their normal state. The three of them gathered in Alice’s vehicle. Alice slid behind the wheel while Josephine took the seat beside her and Helen sat in the back.

  “I don’t know if I like the idea of having her right behind me like that,” Alice said.

  “I can hear you,” Helen grumbled.

  “Sorry. It’s just that you were about to take a bite out of that guy,” Alice said.

  “No, I wasn’t,” Helen argued.

  “Josephine and I both saw you with our own eyes.”

  “I saw the strangest thing.” Josephine’s brows furrowed with puzzlement.

  “What do you mean?” Helen asked.

  “It was like you were sucking energy out of that guy. It was only a trickle so you weren’t causing any damage. And you were drawing from the other guy through his hand and it was an even smaller draw,” Josephine said.

  “Are you sure she wasn’t sucking out his blood, too?” Alice asked.

  “I’m positive. It was just energy from his aura.”

  “That’s terrible!” Helen wailed. “What if I kept kissing him for an hour? Is it possible I could kill someone?”

  “It was just a trickle. You would have to keep it up for literally hours before he started to suffer any ill effects and it would be temporary,” Josephine said.

  “What would happen exactly?” Helen asked.

  “He would become more and more tired first. Then he’d pass out.”

  “What if I couldn’t stop kissing him after he’s unconscious?”

  “I don’t think that would happen. You’d have to be kissing him nonstop for several hours.”

  “Just for the sake of argument, let’s say I’m addicted to kissing. What then?”

  “He’d pass out and you’d have to stop because when someone’s personal energy gets that low, it’s harder and harder to draw from. But you’d have to be at it for something like eight hours which is ridiculous,” Josephine said.

  “You would start drinking his blood way before that,” Alice advised.

  “I don’t like this at all.” Helen’s expression was frantic.

  “No, I don’t think you’re a vampire. Lorcan intimated that you might become something else.” Josephine peered at her with contemplation.

  “I’ve got it!” Alice snapped her fingers. “She’s going to be a zombie!”

  “No, that’s not it,” Josephine said.

  “How do you know?” Alice leveled an annoyed look at her.

  Josephine pulled the paper out of her purse that contained individuals she suspected may possess knowledge about ancient or dark magic. She tapped her index finger against the name and address she’d placed on the top of the list.

  “This is the most promising lead I discovered at the station. I suggest we speak with Emerson and find out if he can help us,” Josephine said.

  “All right. Where can we find him?” Alice asked.

  Josephine provided directions to his shop which was called Predawn Souvenirs and located in Bradenton in one of the quiet strip malls a couple blocks from Manatee Avenue East. Half the stores on the lot were vacant including a large one that had once been a grocery store. Josephine, Alice, and Helen strode toward Emerson’s store.

  “We’re lucky we came tonight. This place may have gone out of business if we’d waited another day or two,” Alice remarked in a sardonic tone.

  Josephine opened the door and stepped inside first. The store was small and cramped with tall shelves containing various enchanted tools and wands. A dark-haired man in his thirties was seated behind the counter with attentive green eyes. He wore a loose-fitting, black silk shirt and jeans with an enchanted ring on every finger and an enchanted bracelet on each wrist. Josephine could detect other magical jewelry hidden beneath his clothing but couldn’t probe for details because he possessed a privacy shield. He clearly carried an arsenal of potent enchantments with him that were ready to use. The items for sale that surrounded them emanated a gentle current of power that caressed Josephine’s aura and distracted her with information that whispered into her mind.

  “Can I help you?” Emerson leveled a polite gaze at the three women.

  Josephine sensed the energy surrounding them flare for a brief moment as he scanned them. She knew he
would detect very little from her as she was a category six and didn’t exude much in the way of psychometric energy. Emerson’s eyes slid over to study Helen. Helen hesitated with indecision while Josephine struggled to come up with something to say. She didn’t want to screw up her chance at obtaining valuable information.

  “You’ve recently suffered a curse,” Emerson said.

  “I’ve become immortal,” Helen explained. “I was wondering if you could cure me.”

  “It’s unfortunate that dark magic is illegal because that doesn’t stop it from being used. The books that contain cures are consequently forbidden by the law because they either explain how the dark spells work or contain the dark spell itself along with the antidote.”

  “Isn’t there a book with just the cures?” Helen asked.

  “I’m afraid that isn’t possible. Dark magic is complex and curses are even more so. There are always multiple antidotes and they often fail. The next step after trying all known countermeasures is to develop your own personalized spell by analyzing the construction of the curse inside you. This is a lengthy process that can take many years and the best chance of success is to have a friend or two willing to help,” Emerson explained.

  “I have two volunteers right here.” Helen gestured at her companions.

  “I’m sure they have the best of intentions but they will need to devote many years to creating a personalized cure for you.”

  “But you said there’s an antidote,” Helen reminded him.

  “Theoretically, yes. That’s assuming I can find someone who will sell you the information.”

  “I see what you’re saying. You can’t admit that you sell this stuff because then you could be arrested,” Josephine said.

  “If I engaged in the sale of the items we’re discussing, I would be in violation of the law,” Emerson agreed.

  “I just want someone to get rid of this curse.”

  “I will look into the matter and contact you if I find someone who knows anything,” Emerson said. “I will need two thousand dollars as a down payment for the researcher’s fee.”

  “That’s a lot of money and I won’t even have the cure. Are there going to be more charges?” Helen asked.

  “There will be another two thousand dollar charge when the transaction is finalized later,” Emerson said.

  “What do you mean?” Helen regarded him with confusion and distrust.

  “I think he’s saying that when he gets you the book, he’ll ask for another two thousand,” Josephine explained.

  Emerson didn’t acknowledge the statement as he watched Helen with a stoic expression on his face.

  “All right.” Helen stepped over to the counter and paid him.

  Emerson collected the money and wrote down her name, number and address.

  “Can you at least tell me what’s wrong with me?” Helen asked.

  “You’re a succubus.”

  Helen gasped with horror and retreated a couple steps from the counter.

  “That’s the worst news I could have gotten,” she said.

  “You’d rather drink blood?” Alice threw her an incredulous look of disbelief.

  “It would be an improvement over being a slut,” Helen replied.

  “Can you tell us a little bit more about this condition? Why isn’t she a vampire?” Josephine asked.

  Emerson focused his attention on Helen. “When you’re turned immortal, the side-effect is either a vampire or a succubus.”

  “Or an incubus of you’re a man,” Alice interrupted.

  Helen shot her a dirty look then turned to face Emerson.

  “As I was saying, vampires require blood for sustenance while succubi need energy. The easiest way for them to access their victim’s aura is through intimate contact.”

  “I don’t want to be a slut!” Helen exclaimed with frustration.

  “I didn’t say you had to have sex although that will give you more access to their energy. Kissing and fondling is enough but you’ll have to spend a longer time like maybe an hour for each feeding,” Emerson explained.

  “What if I just kiss?”

  “That would get you hardly anything. You’d be hungry all the time.”

  “I don’t care. The thought of sleeping with a stranger just turns my stomach.” Helen grimaced with distaste.

  “Maybe you should get a boyfriend,” Alice suggested.

  “I guess I could try that.”

  “If you don’t sleep with him, you’ll need at least three boyfriends,” Emerson advised.

  “Why?”

  “You’re limited to how much energy you can take with limited contact and engagement from your victim.”

  “So if he’s unconscious, I can’t do anything to him?”

  “He has to be a participant for his aura to be accessible,” Emerson explained.

  “That’s good to know.”

  “In general, the younger they are, the more power they offer.”

  “Are there other ways to feed?” Helen asked. “Like if I ate more?”

  “Eating won’t work. That just gives your body sustenance.”

  “Darn! I don’t mind having a fake boyfriend so I can smooch him but I really don’t like the idea of smooching other guys, too,” Helen said.

  “You can’t afford to be so picky or you’ll die,” Emerson warned.

  “So be it.” Helen’s eyes flashed with stubbornness.

  Emerson shrugged. “Whatever. Keep in mind that you have a power to make your target forget what happened and it kicks on automatically at a feeding. If you want them to remember, you’ll have to consciously switch it off. After awhile, you’ll recognize the ability when it’s active and learn to control it.”

  “Is there anything else that you could tell us about her condition?” Josephine asked.

  “There’s one more thing. Her magical ability will be in flux for several days. When it stabilizes, she’ll either be a weaker or stronger wizard,” Emerson said.

  “How does it work with vampires?” Josephine asked.

  “If you want more information, I’ll have to charge you a five hundred dollar consultation fee.”

  Josephine glared at him. “Helen just paid you.”

  “She hired me for consultation for her current affliction and I fulfilled my end of the bargain. If you want to know about vampirism, that will be a separate transaction.”

  “What about her bond she has with the one who cursed her. She has to do everything he says. How does that work and is there a way to get rid of it?” Josephine asked.

  “The simplest way to sever the bond is to kill him. There is a way to place a temporary block on the psychic connection between the two of them. The block will dissolve more quickly each time you create a new one until it eventually won’t work any more.”

  “I see.” Josephine mulled this over and decided she could probably figure out how to do it on her own. “Will this information be given to Helen?”

  “If I can find it then yes,” Emerson said.

  Josephine tamped down on her annoyance. Emerson wouldn’t admit to anything in case any of them reported him to the police or the MEA. She hated playing this game because he could be conning them. Of course, he had a shop and she knew he’d been in business for at least nine years so there was at least a small bit of assurance there. The three women ventured to a bookstore next and browsed the defensive magic section. Many books claimed to possess the most potent legal spells but it was very difficult to find truly powerful designs. Josephine finally found what she’d been looking for. The title she held, The Ultimate Defense Against Black Magic, contained a niveus imperium enchantment which she’d remembered one of her leads mentioning for a possible cure for vampirism. Unfortunately, he’d died of mysterious circumstances before a follow-up could be done. Josephine read over the construct which was extremely complex.

  The niveus imperium was the most potent spells that could be used as an antidote against dark magic afflictions. It was illegal to me
ntion specific curses even if it was just to name them so if Josephine hadn’t already known this was a good one for vampirism, it would have just been a shot in the dark.

  “Okay, I’ve got a niveus imperium,” Josephine said.

  “I’ve got nothing.” Alice grimaced with disgust. “These books are so full of useless stuff, they’re a waste of space.”

  “I don’t think we should be so hard on them. They’re probably good spells but they just don’t have the cure we’re looking for,” Helen said.

  “If it wasn’t illegal to at least mention the names of curses, they could list which ones they’re for. Otherwise, it’s just like searching for a needle in a hay stack.”

  “Hopefully, Emerson will come through for me and I’ll get my hands on some effective antidotes,” Helen said.

  Josephine threw her friend a sympathetic look. Helen always defended people even when they didn’t deserve it. She was a remarkable friend. Josephine hoped she would be able to eradicate the curse that resided in her. Josephine paid for the book and the three women gathered in Alice’s car so they could head for home.

  “I need to tell you something important.” Helen’s eyes had turned black and her expression was frightened.

  Alice and Josephine gasped with surprise when they turned to face her in the back seat.

  “What’s wrong?” Josephine asked.

  “I can feel through the bond that it isn’t possible for me to betray Lorcan. All of the effects of the bond haven’t taken hold of my mind yet. It’s like there was a small lag time. I can feel it now.”

  “We’re not asking you to betray him.”

  “I was planning on going to the MEA or the police and reporting what happened to me. That would be a betrayal because I’d have to report him. Now, I can’t do it. The compulsion is too strong.”

  “I never thought about turning him in. That’s a good idea.”

  “It’s off the table now,” Helen said.

  “Why are your eyes like that?” Josephine scrutinized her friend with concern.

  “Because my bond is compelling me to let Lorcan know that you have sabotaged the batteries you’re making for him,” Helen explained. “It’s my duty to protect him from that kind of thing.”