New Spark (Dark Magic Enforcer Book 3)

by Al K. Line

  Massacre

  You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men? I just hoped I wasn't the mouse, with its home ruined, its life in the balance, and no shelter or comfort to be found as the harsh Cardiff weather cut through my jacket and Kate shivered beside me.

  I kind of got the feeling I was definitely the mouse.

  After parking up, we walked through the quiet streets, that weird time after the pubs have emptied but the clubs are still full. I spotted a few gremlins, seemingly over their panic of earlier, morphing from their pigeon appearance back to gremlin when their magic veil lifted. There were no shifters, there were no witches, there were a couple of drunks, hardly any Hidden at all—our world was being torn apart. I hoped Intus was all right.

  "What's going on?" came a voice both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. "Who's the chick?"

  "The chick? What's wrong with you?" I said to the faery, for once not overcome with lust at the sight of her ears. She tilted her head to the side, smiled that wicked tease of a smile they seem to do so often to me, and she rubbed her earlobe ever so gently as if put out I wasn't drooling. Things stirred that had no right to stir under the circumstances, and I swear she stuck out her chest a little as my attention drifted to Kate as she coughed and doubled over.

  "Oi! Don't you take that tone with me. What's happening? Are you causing trouble?"

  "Me? Why would it be me?"

  "Because I know your sort, Faz Pound. We've had our eye on you lately, you and your cheek. It's not right. You've been naughty." The faery, resplendent in a figure-hugging, low cut green dress and the cleavage she kept thrusting close to my face, danced in front of me, ignoring Kate and sprinkling magic dust like a gift into my open hands.

  I caught it, expecting her and the priceless dust to vanish, but she kept on flitting to and fro, as if doing it on purpose. She was, I was sure of it.

  "Just you be careful, Black Spark," she said, almost like she had respect for me. "Things are not unfolding as we had hoped, and although it is not our place to interfere in such games as nobody has actually broken any Laws, there is disquiet with the fae and we will not allow any one species to be wiped out. Do I make myself clear? Even if it is just on this pathetic little rock you all seem to think is so important."

  I wasn't sure if she meant the United Kingdom or the Earth, but I assumed she meant the UK. "You know what's happening then? Aren't you going to do something?"

  She shook, more dust landing in my palms. "Can't. Not allowed. You know how it goes. No trolls have been harmed in the making of this uprising, blah, blah, blah. It's only if any of you break the Laws we can interfere, and so far they've stayed annoyingly within the rules. Ugh, nasty things all of you. Sneaky buggers, the vampires."

  "You could, you know, make them disappear or something. Wipe them out, the bad ones."

  "Told you. Can't. That kind of stuff is way above my pay grade. Whose to say who's bad, anyway? Not you. Look at you. Trouble in a stupid suit. And them, the vampires. She's one, isn't she?" The faery flew to Kate and waggled a little finger in front of her. "It's all right, little one, no need to feel poorly any more. I'm here and everything is better now." Kate looked up and whatever the faery did it worked. Kate's color returned and she stood erect, face alert, eyes bright.

  "Thank you. Um, what's your name?"

  The faery turned. "Blimey, is she, you know?" She trailed a finger around her head.

  "What? No, she's not daft. She doesn't know all the rules yet."

  "She needs to learn, and fast."

  "Did you come here to lecture us or was there something else?"

  "Oops, nearly forgot. Yep, that was it. Just came to say hi. See ya."

  And with that she was gone. I looked down at my hands slowly, not wanting to believe what was there, that it still remained, but hoping beyond reason it did.

  A coating of priceless faery dust covered both my palms. So she really had come just to give it to me. That was a serious breach of fae rules, and under normal circumstances she would be in trouble. But I got the feeling the fae were as concerned about things as I was, and this was their gift, their interfering without actually interfering.

  They are sticklers for the rules, and although what had happened was terrible for us involved, for immortals like the fae it didn't amount to much. But they clearly disapproved of the way it was headed, and unable to interfere directly as it wasn't like we were killing immortal creatures that were true Hidden, they had done what they could on a small scale.

  Anything was better than nothing, and I wasted no time. I held up a hand to Kate and said, "Lick it," as I licked the other one clean greedily, like Intus with Marmite smeared on her claws. "I'm not joking, Kate, and hurry up. This is faery dust. Do you even know what this means?"

  "That they need a better shampoo? Sorry, Faz, I don't get it. Did she just come to help?"

  "She did, now lick it." Kate did as she was told, reluctantly, frowning at me the whole time. I knew she thought I had gone mad. As she finished, her tongue feeling rough and weird against my palms—it was really ticklish—I felt the rush of the faery dust hit my nervous system, my mind, my chakras, and my energy levels. All of it at the same time.

  I could see the same happening in Kate. Her body seemed to expand, her aura spread, and her eyes smoldered seductively. I was also acutely aware her ears were so damn sexy that I stuck out my tongue and before I knew what I was doing I was licking one like a dog parted from its owner for a month.

  "Faz! What the hell?"

  "Oops, sorry. It's the dust, honest." It was, but still, it wasn't exactly the right time for ear licking, much as I could have happily gone at it again right then and not stopped for an eternity.

  Kate looked at me funny. I began to feel very uncomfortable, especially when she licked her lips and her fangs glistened under the streetlights. "What? What are you doing?"

  "I've just never noticed before how nice your nostrils are. They look so lickable."

  Terrible visions of Kate's tongue stuck up my nose flooded my mind, but then the faery dust really kicked in and I thought maybe it would be rather nice after all. "Come on, we've got things to do. No licking my nose," I warned. Kate smiled and held up her hands in protest, as if she wouldn't dream of doing such a thing. I felt a tinge of disappointment. That's faery dust for you, it hits you in the weirdest of ways.

  We carried on through empty streets, both of us buzzing, our heads clear, our bodies recovered. It was more than that. We were rejuvenated, feeling alive, thoughts clear and focused, determined and with an absence of fear. That's one of the main drawbacks—you always want the fear, it keeps you on your toes, gives you the edge you need to stop yourself doing something foolish.

  We both tried to stop it, but we spent the whole walk casting furtive glances at each other, tongues darting out and tasting the essence of the other. Me fixating on her ears, Kate staring at my nostrils so hard they blushed.

  It was with some relief that we made it to the Hidden Club. We'd wasted enough time, and events were racing toward a finale. There was one more piece of the puzzle I hoped I could get to fit, even if it meant shoving it in and not worrying about a few broken skulls to get it to slot into place.

  The darkness swallowed us up as we descended the stairs. The unexpected smoke made Kate cough. "Just don't stare. Don't talk to anyone. Don't sit down. Don't show your fangs, and whatever you do be sure you accept a drink if it's offered. But under no circumstances, and I mean this, drink any of it."

  "Wow. Come here often do you?"

  "I guess. It's the only place I can feel at home if I want a drink."

  I know, that says a lot about my life. It's the whole being the everyman thing, basically invisible to Regulars—it's a bitch to get served.

  Back to the Club

  The place was quiet. Way too quiet. You could even see from one end of the room to the other, and all the furniture was intact. There was oxygen in the air, the smoke didn't sting yo
ur eyes as bad as usual, and I was sure that half the clientele were semi-sober. That's when you know our world is seriously messed up.

  What was worse, most of them were at the bar, huddled together and talking quietly. Nobody ever talks quietly in the Hidden Club, and they certainly don't huddle. Everyone mopes, shouts or slurs. Mostly, its slurring. That, or punching. Blasting is also a rather popular way to pass the time.

  I held on to Kate, kept my face neutral, body language the same, and tried to ignore the tingling as my muscles felt fit to burst with energy and my mind filtered the information my eyes saw, putting it into order. Reality was off kilter. I felt trippy and discombobulated.

  Something else was at play. I could see things I couldn't normally see, understand things on a much more subtle basis than usual.

  As we walked toward the bar, and the few groups of whispering Hidden stopped their conversations and turned, it was as if their words were made visible, carried on the slipstreams of smoke and alcohol fumes, flaring and dancing around their heads in various colors so I knew who had said what and with how much, or how little, emotion.

  I could see the anger in the words spoken by a few very old wizards that were pretty much permanent fixtures, talking about how the vampires would never have done such things in their day, and if they were younger they would show them what for. I said nothing, but felt like reminding them that Rikka was older than the lot of them, that Grandma was over two thousand years old and you didn't see her wussing out, but they were genuinely past it, only because they'd given up long ago, not because of lack of skill or strength.

  There were a few dwarves, downing pints like they were thimble sized, talking about how they regretted ever coming up from the mines and from now on they'd stay where the world made sense and gold was all you had to worry about, not getting crushed by trolls.

  I saw that last word in a wisp of color, spoken with reverence because of Brewster Bunker who stood there polishing glasses, taking it all in, intent on the conversations rather than pointedly ignoring people like he usually did.

  A couple of imps were huddled together, their words like red spikes of mischief, mostly talking about how they would never take things as far as the vampires.

  It seemed everyone knew now, and yet here they were, bitching and waiting for somebody to deal with it as long as it wasn't them. This was the problem with the species divide. Everyone had to think about their own kind first, and if you crossed one human faction, and took sides, you knew you were in for a hell of a future if you backed the wrong team. So, as was often the case, a lot of the other races kept their heads down and waited for the humans to finish their fighting.

  This was different though. This would affect them all. They just didn't realize to what degree their lives would change if the vampires eliminated most Hidden humans and took complete control of the country.

  "Blimey, thought you'd be too busy for a drink, Spark. You're keen," said the Chemist as he came from backstage through the curtain and spotted me. He was the first one to speak. The first, and only one to hold my gaze.

  I gave the rest a withering glance. They turned away to hide the shame they held inside themselves. Every one of them knew this went beyond me doing an enforcer job, that the vampires were massacring people and they should be out there helping, doing something.

  Was that right, even fair? No, probably not, but I was too angry to care and felt justified in my contempt at the time. They were just afraid, didn't know what to do, and that's understandable now, just not then.

  "Strictly business, Chemist."

  I moved in close to Kate and asked her quietly if she would go with the Chemist while I did some business. She wasn't happy, but I didn't want her involved. If anyone got argumentative or defensive because they were drinking and gossiping rather than out helping then she was best out of it. But more than anything else, I could see the tension in their cut off words, see their anger growing that a vampire had dared set foot in their club, and on this of all nights. I wanted to slap them all silly, but smiled instead.

  "Chemist, why don't you take Kate here and show her the magic that is your dressing room."

  "Ooh, it would be my honor," he said nodding at us both, knowing exactly why I had asked and happy to oblige. Of all of them, I understood why he was staying out of it. He was waiting for his particular services to be of need, for someone to call on him, ask him for something only he could make. I got the feeling Kate would return with more than just the need to wash.

  Sidling up to the bar, keeping cool, calm, and classy, I nodded to Brewster Bunker. "Can we talk?" He grunted back, then moved along the bar to an empty spot where I could stand.

  Still feeling the high of the faery dust, I joined him and said, "You know what's happening, right?"

  "Sure. All troll know. Not good. Duped. Addicts."

  "But they are all back to normal now, yes? The vampires gave them something, somehow, and now they are out and everyone is back how they were. Themselves?" Brewster nodded. "Good. I'm glad."

  "Troll angry. Want be help."

  I smiled. I was hoping this was the case. More, I was depending on it. "They flattened the witch HQ, didn't they? Thought the witches had made the smart pills and went to get more, then let loose?"

  "Yes, they did, Spark. And those involved felt terrible about it. It's not our nature to—" Brewster put a hand to his mouth, as shocked as I was by the sudden eloquence. We stood there for a moment, silent and freaked out. Had someone slipped him a smart pill somehow? I checked my pockets, worried I still had the one from the fight that morning, or the piece from the gremlin. No, I'd left them at home, out of harms way. Was he lying then, and there was still plenty of it left? Then it hit me.

  "Ah, this is how you think when you are worked up, isn't it? Just the words never come out like that. You speak with few words no matter that your mind is racing?" Brewster Bunker nodded, afraid to speak. "It's the faery dust. I have some, got given some, it's opened everything up, for now anyway. So, let's talk."

  "Can it be true, Spark? Oh my, what a wonderful thing. But yes, let's be quick."

  It was so weird hearing a troll talk like that and not be under the influence. This was what they were like underneath all the hardness. The smart pills may have brought out more than the ability to talk, but it put a new light on the whole species for me.

  "A group of witches gave a pile of the smart pills to a few trolls, and they were as keen as anything to be intelligent. But the moment they started it was too late to stop. They were addicted. I am ashamed to say that many fellow trolls acted most out of character and went rather wild. They destroyed the witch HQ under the influence of the pills and got entirely carried way. They have been rampaging, doing what they believe is in the best interest of humans, but were often misguided. They don't know what is right or wrong under the grip of these terrible drugs."

  "So how about you all help to make amends? You know the vampires are behind all of this. You heard what they did to the shifter communities. Wiped them all out, Brewster, all of them. Plum is dead, they are all dead. The only ones spared are a few children. It's a massacre. Can you reach your people? Ask them to help?"

  "I can reach them. You know little of our world, Spark, no human does. We know all we do. We see our past, the history of the world, each act of every troll, good and bad, and it makes us who we are, makes us what we are. We are one. We are the planet, the core of this rock we all stand on, spinning in this wondrous Universe. Trolls are blessed to have been given the chance to witness from the beginning to the very end."

  "Um, blimey!" I wasn't sure if it was really happening. Could I be making this conversation up somehow? No, this was real, this was an amazingly rare insight into a true Hidden's role in the world.

  "We are the watchers, the guardians, and we may like goats a little too much, and enjoy scaring children from under bridges, we all have our faults after all, but we were here before humans ever existed and we shall be here when you'
re gone, but we like you. Trolls want to be with you, to help, and we do not like being taken advantage of."

  I don't know who was more stunned by the metaphysical outburst. Actually, I do. It was me. Who knew a daft looking, and acting, troll was a sentinel for the planet? Here to observe, and memorize the entire history of the Earth in that quartz brain of his? No wonder they didn't have room for smart acting or conversation when that was a background noise to their conscious reality. Cool, or what?

  "Okay, so do whatever it is you do to get in touch with them all and here is what I think will put an end to all this."

  I filled him in on the tentative plan I hoped was already in place and working as it should, but it was far from guaranteed.

  While he zoned out, staring blankly ahead like I've seen countless trolls do over the years but never considering they were communing with the others, categorizing and adding to the collective consciousness like some rock based computer—that explained the quartz brains for sure—I left him to it, and went to find Kate, passing through the curtain that led to the dressing room, known as the "Cupboard" by any of the acts.

  Why? Because it was.

  "...and actually rotten flesh is quite tasty once you get over the smell." The Chemist loomed over Kate, smiling like he'd just made an amazing revelation.

  She sat in a chair, looking totally freaked out. I forgot that he's somewhat intimidating if you see him in his true ghoulish form for the first time. And he does like to try to justify the things he used to do, or maybe still does—I purposely don't think about it.

  Ghouls love human flesh, the more rotten the better, and although the Chemist has been part of the human world for a long time, basically stuck here, old habits die hard, I guess.

  "You ready?" I asked, smiling at her. Like I didn't know the answer!

  Kate literally bounced to her feet. "Oh, yes. Nice meeting you, er, Chemist."

  "Please, call me Frank," the Chemist said, giving Kate his best smile. Trust me, you don't want to see it. You'll have nightmares for eternity.