The first thing I did was go up to my room. I grabbed the wooden box from my nightstand, opened it, and shook out the last two remaining pills. A part of me wanted to take them, but that’s all it was. Just want. Gone was the need that had driven me for the last half year. I knew what they could do for me, the pale version of blissful detachment they could return me to. More than that, I knew what followed. I forced myself to remember the sensation of drowning, never being able to breathe normally until I had the next pill in my hand.
I marched to the bathroom and tossed them into the toilet, flushing them away without another thought. The shower beckoned, but I splashed a good amount of water on my face to clear off as much of the sweat and soot as I could manage, ruining a towel in the process of trying to dry off. I was too hungry to care about how battered and filthy I was, so I went downstairs to use Chase’s computer to order enough pizza to put the two of us into a coma.
“I’m not staying long,” Karyn said when I walked in to find her standing in the living room. “I just wanted to check in on you.”
“I’m fine,” I said a little too sharply.
“Well, I just wanted to be sure.” She brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “You did the right thing back there, Alex. Trey made his choice when he accepted the conditions for attaining his power. A better person would have refused. You know the Conclave’s stance. Trey signed his own death warrant the second he performed the first ritual.”
“Like the Conclave cares about people like us,” I spat. “Where were they when I was battling Trang and Montgomery’s teams at the port? Where was the Conclave tonight? Fuck the Conclave and their own self-interested bullshit. They only enforce their laws when it suits them. For all we know, Montgomery was working with them.”
Karyn stiffened, her jaw clenching before she caught herself and relaxed her features.
“For a smart girl, you can be awfully stupid sometimes,” she said cooly. “The Conclave sees more than you think. This juvenile naïveté thing you’ve got going on might be charming to people like Chase and Viktor, but it doesn’t cut it out in the real world. You know full well the weight of responsibility that comes with power like ours.”
I recalled that Karyn had seen into my thoughts and memories as clearly as I’d read hers. We’d shared something more intimate than a lifetime of conversations could ever convey. As much as I hated to accept it, she knew me better than anyone else probably ever would. She’d seen the full extent of my darkness, and I’d seen the same in her.
“I know,” I sighed, collapsing onto the couch. “It’s just too much sometimes. I can’t remember the last time I felt in control of my life.”
“No one ever does,” Karyn said, the slightest hint of compassion in her voice. She smiled and put her hands on her hips. “That’s what makes it interesting. You’ve had every opportunity to turn away from your power. You’ve had the same opportunity to take the easy road towards more power at the expense of others, yet you keep choosing to fight. You set yourself on this road, now it’s time to see where it leads.”
I sat sullenly, not wanting to continue the conversation. She was right, of course. I knew full well I’d been the author of every one of my worst issues over the years. I had no one but myself to blame for my troubles. It was high time I started coming to terms with what that meant for my future.
“Thanks for your help,” I said. “Especially with Chase. I know you could have weaseled out of that oath, but you didn’t. I appreciate it.”
“He’s a good guy,” she replied. “And I’m here if you need me. I have to leave town for a bit, but let’s grab coffee when I’m back, okay? It’s time for this bullshit resentment between us to end.”
She didn’t wait for me to reply. Karyn turned and walked out the door, shutting it silently behind her as she left.
Weary from lack of sleep, I dragged myself from the couch and shuffled to Chase’s computer. The address for our local pizza joint autocompleted in the browser’s address bar, and in just seconds I’d checked off four large pizzas loaded with our favorite combos, two orders of cheesy bread, and two bottles of Coke. The payment details had been saved to our account, so I completed the order with a single mouse click, then shut down the computer.
That was about as advanced as I needed my technology to be, I thought as I retreated to the couch for a nap. Forget quantum encryption and international espionage. If ever I were to attempt to fuse magic and technology, it would be to build a replicator from Star Trek so I could order food on demand. And maybe a holodeck. Those always seemed like fun.
Visions of pizzas dancing in my head, I drifted off to sleep without chemical aid for the first time in weeks.
Afterword
I know a lot of people skip these, so if you want learn how you can get the free Black Records prequel novella, skip ahead a few pages to find out.
For those of you still reading, thank you! I don’t have the proper words to express how happy it makes me that people are not only starting these books, but that they’re making it all the way to the end without hurling their Kindles at the wall. I absolutely love writing Alex, and every time someone like you reads one of my books, a little voice in my head says “write another one!”
Writing Black Market wasn’t easy. I started it all the way back in the summer of 2015, and it wasn’t until January 2017 that I finally finished it off and began tackling revisions. So much has happened in that time; the loss of my father, the publication of my first book, and the birth of my amazingly wonderful baby girl. I wasn’t always in a great headspace for writing, and sometimes when I really wanted to write, I was so tired I couldn’t make words happen. Somehow, I made it through all that to get this book out the door.
Now that life has finally settled down a bit after learning how to deal with an extremely needy miniature human in the house, I’m working my butt off to wrap up Black Records book 3 for you. It’s called Black Ice, and it’s set in the ski resort town of Whistler, BC. I’m having a hell of a lot of fun writing it, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
So here’s the part where I ask you a favor. You knew that was coming, right? Don’t worry, it’s nothing crazy.
Basically, if you’re enjoying the Black Records series so far, tell a friend! Word of mouth is the absolute best way for people to discover new books, and without a huge promotional budget, I count on people like you spreading the good word in person or online.
If you really like the books and want to see more, it helps me out if you leave a review on Amazon.com. (Specifically the American site for all you lovely international readers.) Reviews are the best gift you can give an author — besides liquor and a new TV series to binge — so that goes for any other books you may love.
There, that wasn’t so painful, was it? We got through it together. Playing the super-confident promoter is not my favorite thing in the world, but I’m told it comes with the job.
Anyway, Black Ice will be out before the end of March. See you then!
- Mark Feenstra, February ‘17
THE NEW BLACK
Thanks for reading Black Market! If you enjoyed it, consider signing up for my mailing list. As thanks for staying connected, I’ll send you a free copy of The New Black, the prequel to Black Magic and the Black Records series.
Visit markfeenstra.com/mailing-list to sign up and get your free copy of The New Black prequel novella. Available exclusively to subscribers.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Mark Johannsson for reading an early draft in just days after a last-minute request.
Huge thanks to Kris and Veronica for giving such thorough feedback on a tight timeline.
I’d also like to extend a thank you to everyone who took the time to email or message me with kind words for Black Magic. Your support and encouragement went a long way in powering me through the writing of this sequel.
About the Author
Mark lives in Vancouver, British Columbia where he’s at
tempting to adapt to life with a wildly entertaining seven month old daughter. He’s currently working on the next book in the Black Records series.
@mfeenstra
authormarkfeenstra
www.markfeenstra.com
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