He shook his head. “That’s almost as bad. It wouldn’t put you in for a deep brain sweep, because you’re a cop, but you could still end up in jail, and your topside privileges would be revoked indefinitely.”
“I know the law, Chuck,” I reminded him, “and I have no intention of using it unless I have no other choice. But I want to know how to use it, should the need arise.”
Chuck appeared very uncomfortable with this entire topic. I got that. If he gave me the insider scoop on how to inject venom and rule over someone, he’d essentially be an accomplice…at least to his way of thinking. The truth was that all vampires were taught this basic element of their race, except for those who thought the practice should be banned forever, of course. Regardless, Chuck clearly knew how to do it himself, which meant someone imparted their knowledge to him.
“You were trained in this, right?” I asked, knowing his answer.
“Yes.”
“And you gained that knowledge when you were just a kid, true?”
“I was twenty-one.”
“Which is essentially a toddler in vampire years,” I pointed out. “I’m older than that, I’m slightly more mature than a twenty-one year old, and I’ll get someone else to teach me if you refuse.”
He shot me a look.
“Sorry, man,” I said with a shrug, “but if I’m going to be facing down some amalgamites topside, I’m going to need every advantage I can get.”
He looked away and sighed.
The way his eyes were moving made it clear he was having an internal debate. I could have pushed my agenda further to tip him over the fence, but I knew he’d do what was necessary. Chuck would either trust that I wouldn’t use the skill without there being a dire need, or I’d find someone who wouldn’t care one way or the other.
And, let’s face it, there were plenty of vampires who wouldn’t give a shit what I did with the knowledge as long as they got whatever payment they wanted.
“All right, Chief,” he said, finally, “I’ll do it. But you have to promise me you’ll only use it if you have no other choice.”
I gave him a serious look.
“You have my word.”
“Okay.” He motioned to the ground. “Sit down.”
I sat, although I wasn’t exactly a fan of having dirt all over my suit pants. That was one thing about training in an arena, there was dirt everywhere.
Ah well, at least it wasn’t drool or goop.
“Cross your legs,” Chuck instructed.
“Are we going to meditate or something?” I asked before complying. “If so, I already know how to calm my mind and clear my thoughts.”
His look told me to just shut up and follow instructions.
“Okay, okay,” I said, and then crossed my legs.
“Put your hands on your knees, palms up. Touch your thumb to your first finger and let the rest of your fingers relax.”
I did.
“You already know how to release your fangs,” he continued. “Do so now.”
I hated doing it, but after a few moments they slid out to their full length. I could only hope that Rachel wasn’t watching from afar because she loved the fangs.
“You know—” began The Admiral.
“Quiet!”
“Right.”
“Now,” Chuck said in a calm voice, “you need to imagine that your soul is starting to boil.”
“Uhhh?”
“It needs to be controlled, though,” he was quick to point out. “We’re not talking about you being angry or filled with rage. I’m talking about a direct control of your inner essence. It needs to burn.”
“Burn,” I said with a nod. “Right.”
How I was supposed to manage this, I didn’t know. It sounded like Chuck wanted me to go through the equivalent of that reproductive pon farr thing that Spock dealt with on the Genesis planet in Star Trek III.
Fortunately, I wasn’t going through a sexual change.
“I hope not!” agreed The Admiral. I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but he quickly added, “Shit. Sorry again.”
I growled to myself.
Then I released a long, slow breath and cleared my mind.
The moment everything fell to calmness, I saw a small light in my mind’s eye. It was spinning like a vortex.
Vortex!
That had to be my soul. It was white and spinning peacefully.
I needed it to burn.
But how?
My first reaction was to imagine that I was channeling a flame at it, flying from my fingertips. I was part mage, after all.
Surprisingly, that worked.
Within seconds, the vortex began to cycle faster and faster, pulling in the burning power spilling towards it from my fingers.
The glow was getting stronger by the minute.
I was beginning to sweat.
That’s when I felt it. An acidic rush that poured through my veins, finding its way to my neck, then face, then gums.
My eyes snapped open, smoldering as I glared at Chuck.
“That’s it,” he said, a worried look covering his face. “If you bite anyone with that, Chief, they’ll be under your power, or they’ll die.”
“Thuper,” I said, lisping because my teeth were out.
That killed the mood.
“Fuck.”
Chapter 17
It honestly wasn’t in my best interest to start fighting the valkyries yet, but I had to test out what I’d learned thus far. My main concern was the healing. If it allowed me to sustain a battle against these ladies, it’d certainly be useful against the amalgamites.
In their domain, the valkyries were nearly impossible to kill, but they could be injured. Me, on the other hand? I was rather easily killed when compared to them, especially because they were seriously good at destruction.
“Now remember,” I said as I stared across at three rather large warrior chicks, “this is just a mock battle. Nobody wants to be seriously hurt here, right?”
They nodded, but their eyes were cold and filled with wicked intentions.
I gulped.
“Have you all stretched?” I asked.
They furrowed their brows.
“I’m just asking because I know you all don’t get a lot of opportunities to fight much anymore. Pulling a hamstring is not...”
I trailed off, and with good reason.
Each of them took a leg and brought it straight up in the air. I’m talking straight up so that the bottom of their boots were parallel to the ceiling. They didn’t even look the least bit bothered by keeping that pose either.
“Seriously, man,” rasped The Admiral, “I know I’m supposed to shut up and all, but dayyyyum.”
“Yeah, okay, I’m with you on that one.” I then added, “Still, though, shut up.”
“No problem.”
“And don’t even think about standing at attention right now,” I warned him.
“You’re no fun.”
My first inclination was to lift my leg up like they were doing, but I knew damn well that I’d pull a muscle. I was limber, but nothing like these babes.
“Okay,” I said, waving at them to stop the we’re-so-going-to-kick-your-ass demonstration, “I get it. You can lower your legs now.”
They did.
Slowly.
It wasn’t exactly a boon to my confidence to see how incredibly controlled they were. But I also knew there was something more to them than simply physical power. They had a level of magic running through their bodies that gave them strength, speed, and that amazing limberness.
I couldn’t ask them to shut that down, but if they were allowed to use it, shouldn’t I be allowed to use all of my skills?
I wasn’t talking about fireballs, ice storms, energy pulses, fangs, claws, and so on, either. I was talking about my special brand of magic. The kind that made the ladies shudder with pleasure when I released my energy into them.
“Is everything fair game here?” I asked, just
to clarify.
“What do you mean?” Valerie replied from her throne.
I turned to her.
“Well, your warriors are all imbued with magic, right?”
“They are.”
“So if they’re able to use that magic, does that mean I am allowed to utilize mine as well?”
Valerie shrugged.
“Fine by me.”
“I’m talking about my amalgamite sexual energy magic here, Valerie,” I added for clarity.
She shrugged and then turned to the three warriors.
“Do any of you have an issue with him pushing sexual energy into you?”
Their heads shook so fast that I felt a breeze.
“Okay, then,” I said, knowing damn well that I was going to quickly win this battle. “That should make things easier.”
I turned back to my challengers and smiled at them in such a way that their cold eyes changed to excited eyes. They must have spotted my newfound confidence in our impending clash, but that didn’t seem to bother them.
“Ready when you are, ladies,” I said as I flexed my hands.
Three seconds later, I was lying on the ground, battered and bruised.
I hadn’t even seen them twitch. In fact, I didn’t even know I’d been hit until the pain began welling up inside me.
It was immediately apparent that fighting three of them at once had been a huge mistake.
“Ouch,” I whimpered while trying to untangle my legs.
They’d pretzeled me!
But, wait, wasn’t the point of this to use my new skills and magic?
I closed my eyes and sent a healing wave through my body. Everything straightened, except for The Admiral, of course, and I stood back up, brushing off my suit.
Then, I stared back at the three valkyries.
“That was really impressive,” I said, stepping over casually while laughing. They relaxed slightly. “If I didn’t know any better, I would have said you were able to control time.”
I touched the one nearest me and she moaned. With lightning speed, I touched the other two as well. Now, before you go getting up in my face about sending sexual energy through them, you should recall that a) I’d asked if I was allowed to use my powers in this fight first, b) they’d all vehemently agreed, and c) I’d only sent enough mojo into them to give them a rush of horniness and nothing more.
But it gave me enough time to go half wolf and start my attack. My hands elongated, my jaw stretched out, and my teeth ached to tear into flesh.
I growled.
I flexed.
I set my eyes to full smolder.
I attacked.
That time I lasted a good seven seconds.
“Okay, okay,” I said after healing myself again. “I think I’m going to need to work with the mages next.”
“Touch us again first?” asked the closest valkyrie.
Since we weren’t in a fight anymore, I felt weird about that. I glanced over at Rachel and she nodded while wearing a wicked grin.
Weirdo.
“Right,” I said as I reached out and gave them all another jolt of sexual yum-yum.
Chapter 18
Griff, Jasmine, and Rachel all stood across from me, holding looks that spelled they were the masters and I was merely an apprentice. This was the kind of look I was used to seeing from Rachel, so that didn’t bother me. It was awkward coming from Griff and Jasmine, though.
“What is the most powerful spell you’ve utilized thus far?” Griff asked, clearly taking control of the training.
“Uh…I don’t know what they’re called,” I replied, “but I’ve done some energy stuff and some flames.”
He nodded. “Did you feel anything uncomfortable as you were launching these incantations?”
“Not really.”
“What did you feel?”
I took a deep breath. “Power, mostly.”
All three of them grimaced at that response. Then they looked at each other with concerned faces. It was instantly clear that “power” wasn’t the answer they were hoping for.
“So, I’m guessing that’s a bad thing?”
“It’s not great,” Jasmine replied. “There are three types of mages, Ian. Controlled, chaotic, and power.”
I chewed my lip. “And because I answered your question with ‘power,’ that makes me the power type, right?”
“No,” answered Rachel. “I’d guess you’re chaotic.”
I furrowed my brow.
“How does that make any sense?” I asked, feeling confused.
Griff stepped forward, as if called to do a lecture on the subject. He even smoothed out his beard and adjusted his jacket before beginning.
“A mage seeking power,” he began, “would choose his answer more carefully. Cleverness and misdirection would be on his side.” He looked away for a moment. “They are the most difficult to trace due to their effectiveness at making others believe they are controlled in their thinking.”
“Then again,” Jasmine was quick to point out, “a fast response like the chief just gave could be a ruse as well.”
Griff was nodding as she finished her sentence. He had his right elbow resting on his left arm as he stroked his facial hair thoughtfully.
“I had considered that, too,” he replied finally. “The issue I have with the supposition, however, is that Chief Dex has not held these powers long enough to build such thoughtful connections. By way of example,” he continued, holding out his hand, “he didn’t even know about the three different mage classifications.”
“Unless he was faking that too,” noted Rachel.
I frowned at her.
“Possible,” Griff agreed, “but I don’t think so.”
“Thank you, Griff,” I said, after tearing my irritated look away from Rachel. “At least one of you has a little faith in me.”
“That’s not fair,” Rachel retaliated. “I have very little faith in you.”
“Oh, well, thanks then…” My head shot up as I realized what she’d done there. She was smiling again. “Nice.”
That statement caused an instant tilt in the way Griff was studying me. His eyes squinted and he pursed his lips. A few moments later, he sighed and turned back to Rachel.
“You may be right,” he stated.
“What the fuck?” I rasped. “I’m not some power-hungry mage, guys. You know me better than that.”
“Said like a true power-hungry mage,” Jasmine replied.
“Yep,” agreed Rachel.
Griff kept his opinion on my outburst to himself, but I knew what he was thinking. He’d been around the longest and had seen most everything. If any of them knew what kind of mage I was, it’d be him. Actually, you’d think it’d be me who knew what kind of mage I was, but…
I turned my attention back to them.
“Does it really matter which of the three I am?” I asked. “I mean, the point of me doing this is to battle the amalgamites, not take over the world.”
They glanced back and forth at each other for a few moments, nodding now and then. This meant they were in direct connection with each other. The connectors didn’t work from here to topside, but since we were all within range of each other, the line-of-site linkages functioned just fine.
“The reason it is important to know which type of mage you are,” Griff said as all their eyes turned back to me, “is that it determines how we may best train you. If you seek power, we will need to downplay the finer elements of attack spells; if you are chaotic, which we fear you may be, then we will have to focus on control.” He paused. “If you were a control type, such as the three of us, this would go much more smoothly.”
I scoffed at that remark.
“Wait a second here,” I said, nearly laughing, “you’re trying to tell me that Rachel is a control mage?”
“Correct,” answered Griff as Rachel sneered.
“Well, now I’ve heard everything.”
Rachel took a menacing step forward. “Don’t
make me kick your ass, Ian.”
“And there is my case-in-point,” I said with a pompous grin. “She can’t even control herself when I’m just ribbing her.”
“Ah,” Griff said, gently pulling Rachel back. “I see your mental disconnect. Being a control mage has nothing to do with your demeanor. It has to do with your intent.”
“You mean like Rachel’s intent to kick my ass?”
“When doing magic,” Griff clarified, again pulling Rachel back, “a mage may be sinisterly calm, yet still contain the seeds of chaos. Or, as in Ms. Cress’s case, filled with animosity while retaining strong control as she enacts spells.”
Okay, that was fair. Rachel was a hothead, but she was also able to keep her focus in battle like very few people I knew. She’d spout venom, punish the bad guys like there was no tomorrow, and shoot off some pretty heinous spells to render people dead, but her magic was always crafted and controlled.
Actually, it was one of the things that kind of turned me on about her.
“All right,” I said, putting my hands up in surrender, “so I’m either a chaos mage or a power one. I’d guess chaos, but maybe I’m fooling myself too. I’m not very good at this stuff, obviously.” I shrugged. “Regardless, what does that mean for my training?”
Another session of nods between the three mages ensued. I didn’t know why they couldn’t just discuss their thoughts aloud. It seemed silly to me. Maybe they had to select the right words or it’d unleash a furious magical demon from my soul or some shit.
I glanced around at the thought.
No, we weren’t in the level of demons down here, but they weren’t too far away.
Then, I groaned at myself. Even if I was thinking about demons, so what? It wasn’t like the mere thought of them would cause a summoning.
Right?
Fuck. I did it again.
Maybe there was a “dumb mage” classification?
“We have discussed it,” Griff said at last. “Our plan is to train you as if you are chaotic.” I was about to reply, but he held up a finger. “Do note that this will result in you becoming more potent if you turn out to be a power mage, so we will entrust that you shall endeavor to control yourself.”
I wanted to ask what would happen if I was unable to control myself, but the serious looks on their faces answered the question for me.
Clash of Flames: An Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Book 7 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department) Page 7