There's No Business Like Mage Business

by Nikki Haverstock

  Another bartender shouted over from the other end. “No charge for the Monza.”

  “Oh, wow. I’m sorry. I didn’t recognize you.” He blushed a little. “I guess it makes sense that you would be trying to help the family with Pris’s death. I heard you were working here. What are you doing?”

  “I’m filling in during Natasha’s comedy show. Did you know the gals that I replaced? Janie Wright and Stacey Droit.”

  The other bartender called over, asking that he come over to help, but before leaving, he answered, “Sure. They were in here all the time. Most of the in-house performers take advantage of the fact that they can get into basically any party we have in the Snakebite. They were big partiers as well and popular. Hey, I have to go, but stop by anytime.”

  I grabbed the three drinks with both hands, then I wove my way through the crowd to the booth the bartender had mentioned. It was full to overflowing, but while a row of booths extended on one side all along the wall, the other side did not. I could stand right next to the booth, putting the drinks on the ledge that ran along the wall. If I stood there with the spell active, most people around would just assume I was waiting for someone.

  I put the drinks down and slipped the note from my pocket to recite the incantation. It was almost impossible to remember them on your own, something weird about the magic. But even with the spell, I would need to hurry. While the average mage might not notice me, trained security might. And even worse, if Vanessa spotted me and came over to grab her drink, she would recognize the spell and what I was doing instantly.

  Once the spell was active, I could sense the aura of my own magic but couldn’t describe it. It was light and delicate like melons but crisp like a cucumber. But mostly, it was familiar and felt like me, the way a favorite blanket or your own clean skin smelled like nothing and home all at the same time. It was comforting and familiar. I closed my eyes, and I smiled as Patagonia settled into my leg from wherever she had been wandering.

  I wasn’t sure if I would be able to read anything or not. I still wasn’t sure why I hadn’t seen anything in the dressing room, but this would be another piece of the puzzle.

  In case the rush of emotions was like the last vision, I raised my shields slightly. It would make the vision blurry, but the protection was worth it. I couldn’t get as wiped out as I had last time. I saw Pris slide into the booth, pull out a small plastic baggie, and dump something into her hand that she swallowed with a hearty gulp from her glass.

  She lay down on the booth seat, explaining why no one noticed her. No one else was in the vision, though I could only see about a dozen feet in each direction from the booth. When the rush of emotions started, I strengthened my shields even more, causing the vision to skip and jump to the end, when the magic flowed out of her.

  I grimaced and opened my eyes. I didn’t want to have the emotionally wrenching experience of the full vision, but I might have missed something. I would need to start again. I reached down to pet Patagonia and let the warmth of her fur soak in, when I heard Vanessa call my name.

  “There you are. We got a booth.” She reached over me and grabbed a drink. “Come on.”

  Whatever reading I had would need to be good enough for now. At least I had confirmation that her overdose, if that was what it was, had happened roughly the same way as the one I had seen in the bathroom.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  I followed Vanessa down the line of booths until we reached the other end of the wall, and she scooted into a corner booth. Natasha was talking to the dark-skinned, blue-eyed dancer I had seen on the poster in front of the Birdcage. She was even more beautiful in person, and her animated gestures told me instantly that she was someone I wanted to meet.

  At the same moment, she caught my eye and slid farther into the booth and patted the empty seat next to her. “Hi, I’m Britney. Natasha was just telling me about you.”

  I sat down and twisted to my right, attempting to offer a handshake from my awkward position. “I’m Ella.”

  Vanessa leaned over Natasha. “We have a lot in common with Britney. She also can’t stand Tiffany.”

  Britney held up her hands. “Well, that might be a bit harsh.” She said it in the way of not denying but also not wanting to be too mean.

  I chuckled. They were coworkers, and from what I had heard and seen, Tiffany was a bear to work with. “I saw that you are both dancers at the Birdcage. You have my sympathies. I met a few of the girls that she worked with at the Golden Pyramid, and let’s just say that no one was crying when she left. In fact, they had the farewell party a week after she left, and she wasn’t invited.”

  Britney hid a smile and sipped her drink. “I can understand the feeling. She was very upset that she didn’t get top billing. Between us, I don’t think she is going to be around much longer. She thinks these shows are all about sex and tries to seduce every man in the room. But we are entertaining; we should want everyone in the audience to have fun. A ton of couples come to the shows.”

  I blushed at the thought. I knew I was a bit of a prude but didn’t want to show it. Britney was so nice. “One time, I went to her show, and she was pumping out so much sexy energy that there was a riot.”

  Britney rolled her eyes. “I’m not even surprised. I can’t wait until she leaves after the wedding.”

  “She’s quitting once she’s married?”

  “I assume so. I would. Speaking of which, if you know any rich, handsome, single men, send them my way. I like my job, but I think I would prefer to be a woman of leisure. Have you seen the show yet?”

  I shook my head while sipping on my drink.

  “Come! I’ll get you tickets anytime. You’ll see why I want to retire. It’s really physically exhausting, and I’m ready to just relax. Bring a man if you want. I can get you one of the private boxes so you guys can snuggle.”

  If I had been embarrassed before, the feeling was doubled. “Oh, I’m a Monza.”

  She pulled back, her eyes wide. “Wait, are you saying that celibacy thing is true? Are you sure? I figured that was an old, outdated rule or a lie your parents told you to discourage you from following the old ways.”

  “Why would a family discourage you?” Perhaps I was grabbing at straws, but she was the first person to even mention that celibacy was not a requirement of being a Monza. If there was any truth to her theory, it was worth looking into.

  “Because they can’t control a Monza. I always figured the celibacy thing was like, sure, you could be free of your family and do your own thing, but you’ll never find love. Doesn’t that just sound like the kind of thing they would use to threaten a young woman? Bunch of patriarchy bull crap.”

  I chewed on the straw, thinking over a conversation I’d had with Bear right after I announced I would follow the old ways or the lonely path. “A friend told me that he thought the celibacy thing was a way to get out of arranged marriages.”

  “Huh,” Britney said, then chugged the rest of her beer. “That’s another good theory. I’m not trying to tell you your business, but I would make sure that celibacy thing was a requirement before I gave up men. And speaking of men, I see my ex-boyfriend. I’m going to grab another drink and do a quick tour of the room, as far from him as possible. You guys need anything?”

  Before I could move, she stood on the seat and stepped onto the table while balancing on her red-soled high heels before jumping to the ground. She had moved as smoothly as a gazelle, with the long legs to match. Maybe I could overcome my bashful nature to see her show if that was a demonstration of her athleticism.

  “I’m all good.” After Britney had left, I turned to Natasha. “Wow. She’s fun.”

  Natasha turned to me and swayed a bit at the sudden movement. She had finished the drink I brought, and I then noticed several other drinks in front of her.

  “Whoa, did you guys start without me?”

  Natasha licked her lips before answering, carefully enunciating each word. “I had a drink or two while we waited
.”

  Vanessa squealed and bounced up and down. “You won’t believe it, but DJ Wiz brought drinks over for us.”

  Natasha grabbed a nearly empty drink but missed, nearly knocking it over. I caught it and pressed it into her hand. She finished it off.

  “I think he was into Vanessa.” She pronounced it with shushing sounds at the end.

  I grabbed the drink from her hand and put it on the table. “Okay, enough drinking. In fact, it was just drinking, right? No one took anything else, did they?”

  Natasha slid down in the booth until her head rested on the top of the booth seat and shook her head as her eyes slowly closed. “Nope, I’m just exhausted. Maybe I’ll just rest for a second.” Her breathing slowed as her chest rose and fell.

  “I wasn’t gone that long.”

  Vanessa shrugged. “She said that she’s only getting a few hours of sleep a night. Oh my gosh, he’s coming back. Is my lipstick okay?”

  I spun around to see DJ Wiz approaching. I had a vague idea of what he looked like from when he had worked at the Golden Pyramid. His picture had been on the walls. Plus, I had seen a few pictures since I had been at the Magia, but only now did I realize that I had never seen him without the sunglasses he had been wearing in the photos.

  I had wondered why he wore sunglasses inside, and seeing him up close, I had a guess. While in the photos, he had appeared to be in his twenties, up close, I could see the fine lines around his eyes, putting him in his forties or possibly even fifties. That was still young for a mage since I’d heard that even two hundred years old wasn’t unheard of. In fact, no one really knew what the limit was.

  But I imagined that the modern obsession with youth combined with mages’ extreme vanity even by Hollywood standards meant that he chose to wear glasses inside to keep up the twentysomething illusion. And it seemed to work, based on Vanessa’s reaction.

  He slid in next to her, nodding at me in greeting. “Hey.”

  “Hi,” I replied, giving him a closer look. He had rough stubble on his face, most likely a deliberate choice since there was an assortment of magical products that could give you hairless skin for a week. I had been thankful to discover that the slippery and dangerous task of shaving my legs was no longer a daily task when the heat of Rambler summers meant every day was shorts weather.

  I could study him easily, as all his attention was focused on Vanessa. He draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her in close as she beamed up at him. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, and she giggled in response.

  I rolled my eyes then jerked when Patagonia hopped into my lap. She walked across me to curl up on Natasha’s lap. Natasha shifted in her sleep so a hand rested on Patagonia. Some of the tension in her face relaxed.

  “Hey, is it cool if we go dance?”

  I swung around. Vanessa was already walking away from the booth, her hand being held by DJ Wiz, when I shouted after her. “Sure. I’m just watching Natasha.” My tone was heavy with sarcasm.

  I was ready to go. I could drop Natasha off at her place, meet up with Bear for a discussion about what I had discovered, and still be in bed at a semi-reasonable hour. But it wouldn’t kill me to let Vanessa have some fun first.

  I was scooping out an orange slice from the bottom of my glass when I jerked my head around the dance floor. It was as if I had heard my name being called, and yet I knew that wasn’t the case. Something had grabbed my attention, but I didn’t know what until my eyes landed on Thomas just as he was looking around. We locked eyes, and the whole world narrowed down to just him as I slid from the seat.

  He closed the distance much faster, smiling as he drew near. “It’s a pleasure to see you,” he whispered in my ear, and he leaned over to kiss my cheek.

  The exhaustion of the evening, the frustration with Vin, and my confusion over the reading all faded away. He gazed into my eyes. His were a much deeper color in the dark room. Instead of violet, they appeared to be rich amethyst. I let out a sigh.

  “Did you just arrive?”

  “Unfortunately, no, we’re just leaving. If I had known you would be here alone, I wouldn’t have planned a dinner date.”

  I looked past him to where a beautiful young woman was standing and tapping her foot. The scowl on her face transformed to a brilliant smile and finger wave when Thomas turned to see what I was looking at.

  “But if you are free, I’ll cancel with her and take you instead.”

  I turned back to him. “You shouldn’t cancel on your date like that.”

  “She is only after my money and a better job. That much, I know. It is rare to find someone that values a person for things beyond what benefits them.” He grabbed my hand, and his warm fingers pressed into my hand as he pulled me close. “In fact, we could skip dinner altogether.”

  I took a half step back as I rolled my eyes at his invite. But my heart beat hard in my chest, and I made no attempt to take my hand back. “I’m about to head home. It’s been a long night.” But something he had said made a few thoughts click together. “Do you need a personal assistant or secretary or anything like that?”

  “If you are looking for a new job, then absolutely.”

  “Not me. But I ran into a Magia employee, and she asked for job advice.”

  He quirked an eyebrow. “And why do you think that I should hire her?”

  “Because her skills are wasted handing out drinks. She can tell what people are going to ask for before they even know they are going to need it. Seems like the ideal job for a personal assistant.” I flinched from an electric snap at my wrist. By telling him her secret, I had technically broken my promise to her, even though I was also trying to help her the way she requested. That was why you needed to be careful with magical promises—the consequences were often unexpected.

  I rubbed my wrist and smiled up at him. He was taller than me but not as tall as Vin. If I stepped closer and lifted my chin, I could kiss him easily.

  My stomach flipped at the thought, and I cursed to myself. Why was I even entertaining these kinds of thoughts? I was torturing myself. “She could have told you that you were going to run into me.”

  He chuckled. “I’m sold. What’s her name?”

  “Emily. She was working this afternoon at one of the bars, and she served me a few drinks. I can swing back by tomorrow and grab her last name.”

  “I can find her easily, then. I had all your drinks and food put onto my account. It’ll be easy.” He pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek again. “I must go. The restaurant is holding my reservation. But next time I see you, I won’t let you go so easily.”

  I swallowed hard and nodded, both a little scared and eager.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  I flopped back in the booth, and Natasha shifted a little on the seat and slid into my shoulder. She woke briefly, grumbled about not being all that tired, then closed her eyes again.

  I was all hot and cold from the encounter, or so I thought. After a few moments, I realized that the unease I had was growing and was not connected to running into Thomas or anything else that had happened that evening. I took a few moments to register that it was related to the emotions I was picking up. Expanding my senses, I focused. There was a general hum from the room of joy, happiness, and a dash of nervousness, all the things I would expect at a party. But then I nailed down the distant but strong surge of powerful positive emotions. I recognized the surge.

  I leaped to my feet, sending Natasha crashing onto the booth, but I didn’t hesitate to keep running. It was the same rush of emotions that I had experienced in the two most recent visions I had read at the overdoses. Someone somewhere was taking Legacy, and given what I had seen before, they were very possibly in danger. I didn’t bother to slow down when I heard Vanessa behind me, calling my name. I passed the bar where I had ordered earlier and came up to a wall. The source of the emotions was beyond the wall.

  I scanned the wall and saw a sign for the bathroom pointing down a hallway.

  “What
is going on, Ella? Ella!” Vanessa called after me as I ran toward the bathroom.

  I prayed that I was heading in the right direction as I threw open the women’s bathroom door. In the far stall, a set of red-soled heels was visible. At the same time, I was hit by the aura of bitter almonds, the same as the vision.

  “Who’s in here? Are you okay?” I scrambled onto the floor and peered under the door.

  Inside, leaning against the wall, was Britney, her dark skin pale and ashy in the fluorescent lights. Her eyes were closed, and she was starting to sway.

  I crawled on my belly under the door and grabbed her around the middle to catch her. I shoved open the door, and it knocked into Vanessa. “Go get help. She’s… sick! Help!”

  Vanessa stared with shocked eyes before running from the bathroom.

  The emotions from Britney were subsiding, but I could feel the magic starting to rush from her. I blubbered as I shook her. “Britney, come on. You’re overdosing. You’ve got to fight it.”

  She didn’t respond, and my voice was hysterical in my own ears as I begged her to wake up.

  If it were a bleeding wound, I would apply pressure to stop the blood loss, so I did the only thing I could think of. I created a ward all around us to prevent any more of her magic from escaping.

  The rush in my head from the wild magic raised all the loose hairs so they floated around my face. I felt as though I were being swept away in a raging river of magic as the pressure built inside the ward. Wrapping my arms around her, I closed my eyes and focused on maintaining the external shield. It was taking all I had in me to keep it up, and I prayed for strength as my body began to shake, and we slipped to the floor.

  I was thankful for all the hours of practice I had holding a ward, but if I couldn’t continue, it all might be for nothing. Britney’s skin was slick under my hands, and she was as limp as a rag doll.