Ecstasy (Debt Collector 3)

by Susan Kaye Quinn

  I whip back to Kolek. “Call off your dog!”

  “And why would I do that?” he asks, as if genuinely puzzled. “You come into my house and try to steal her away from me. Surely you didn’t expect me to allow that?”

  I turn. Ophelia’s eyes are starting to glass over. I look back to Kolek. “Call him off and I’ll…” I swallow. “I’ll stay with you.” That was always a possibility. I knew that coming here was potentially a one-way ticket for me.

  He arches his eyebrow. “You didn’t expect me to let you leave, either, did you?”

  “I’ll work for you,” I say. “Willingly. But only if I have Ophelia by my side.”

  Kolek rolls his eyes to the ceiling, and tips his head back and forth, as if saying “eenie, meenie, miney, mo” in his mind. Then he shrugs. “Valac!” he calls.

  Valac is still draining Ophelia of life.

  “Valac, let the girl go,” Kolek says in a bored voice. “You can play with someone else later.”

  Valac drops Ophelia. She falls limp on the couch. I want to run to her, but Kolek’s voice stops me. “Debt collector,” he says, quietly. “I want you to understand that if you ever pull a hand on me again, I will shoot you, then let Valac have what’s left. Are we clear?”

  I manage to nod, even though every part of my body is screaming with the desire to launch myself at him, just like Ophelia did to Valac. But she’s alive, and I’d like to keep her that way. I stumble to the couch where she’s lying, still as death, but Kolek’s soft voice follows me.

  “Valac, show the boy what I mean.”

  Before I can shrink away, Valac has a hand on my neck. I immediately feel him pulling life energy straight through the point of contact. My heart contracts, seizing with the feeling of death. I twist around, trying to get out of his grasp and reaching for his head, but I can’t do either. Darkness is closing in on my mind.

  Any skin-on-skin contact, Ophelia’s voice reminds me. I claw at Valac’s hand on the back of my neck, getting solid contact with his wrist. I close my eyes to concentrate; my vision is fading anyway. I feel him like a malevolent cloud in my mind. I push back against it and reach through my hand… his wrist… feeling my way into his life energy. I’m draining something from him, which slows the loss a little, but not enough. I’m drawing a trickle; he’s super-flushing the life force from me.

  I hear Kolek’s voice, but I can’t make sense of what he’s saying. He repeats it over and over, and finally Valac’s hand wrenches free from my neck. I nearly fall over, but manage to stay upright until I reach Ophelia on the couch.

  Valac and Kolek are having a conversation, but I can’t focus on that. I hover over Ophelia, afraid that it’s too late, that Valac drained her too far. I can’t tell if she’s breathing or not. I gingerly reach for her. I can give her a little, keep her alive. As soon as I touch her, she moans and moves away.

  “It’s me,” I whisper, and gently place my hand on her forehead. I give her a small boost, and it feels light, almost like no transfer at all. Her eyelids flutter, but don’t open.

  “Guppy.” She barely has enough air to make sound. “You’re… an idiot.”

  I smile. “What are you talking about?” I push a little more life force into her, even though I’m not sure I can spare it. A warm glow starts to form in my chest… I’m giving her a mercy hit. I brace my hand against the back of the couch, feeling dangerously weak. “I planned it this way all along.”

  Her lips quirk in what would be a smile, if she had any energy to spare.

  “You’re… a screw-up. Need… a mentor.” Even though she labors for the words, they make me smile harder.

  My smile fades fast when Valac’s presence looms over us.

  “All right, kids,” he says, “party’s over. Stand up.”

  I glare up at him, but he’s serious. His skin is radiant with the life he’s drained from Ophelia. And me. I would lunge for his throat if I didn’t have the strength of a half-drowned kitten. I’m tempted to do it anyway.

  I struggle up and help Ophelia roll over and off the couch. Valac continues in his life-hit-cheered voice. “A valiant effort, my friend! Entirely stupid, of course, but still a very nice try.” He looks in my eyes once Ophelia and I are both standing. “You can’t say I didn’t warn you, Lirium. That altruistic side will get you killed one day.” He cocks his head, and there’s something in his eyes I can’t quite identify. Something like sympathy. Which only makes me want to drain the life energy from him even more.

  “Enjoy your rest, Lirium.” Kolek raises his glass to me, as if he’s giving me a toast. “We’ll discuss your duties tomorrow.”

  My arm is under Ophelia, holding her up as we limp ahead of Valac’s bouncy step. Her knees buckle, and I bend down to lift her up. I barely avoid tumbling us both down to the plush white carpet. Ophelia’s half-dead in my arms, and I’m not far behind.

  And now we’re both collectors for the mob.

  If you enjoyed Ecstasy, please leave a review.

  The Debt Collector Serial

  EPISODE 4 –Broken

  Available 4.17.13

  Lirium’s tries to free himself and Ophelia from the Kolek mob, but Valac has other plans for him.

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  Susan Kaye Quinn is the author of the bestselling Mindjack Trilogy, which is young adult science fiction. The Debt Collector series is her more grown-up SF.

  Susan grew up in California, got a bunch of engineering degrees (B.S. Aerospace Engineering, M.S. Mechanical Engineering, Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering) and worked everywhere from NASA to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). She designed aircraft engines, studied global warming, and held elected office (as a school board member). Now that she writes novels, her business card says "Author and Rocket Scientist," but she mostly sits around in her pajamas in awe that she gets paid to make stuff up.

  All her engineering skills come in handy when dreaming up dangerous mind powers, future dystopic worlds, and slightly plausible steampunk inventions. For her stories, of course. Just ignore that stuff in the basement.

  Susan writes from the Chicago suburbs with her three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as much as she can handle.

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