Shadow Magic (Darkling Mage 1)

He made gestures with his hands, subtle ones that could have looked like someone motioning as he spoke, his lips moving the whole time. Not that a casual observer would have been able to tell by Temple’s flashing interiors, but his fingers left strands of white light as he worked. He ended the sequence by running his hand through his hair – because even when casting a spell, Sebastion Brandt could still be kind of a douche.

A faint tingling sheared through the air. The noise around us seemed duller, the pulsing beat of the club muted, and when he spoke, I could almost hear him in my ear.

“Honestly, Graves,” he said, grinning that self-satisfied grin. “It’s like you never pay attention, even when your mom’s talking.”

I knew he was talking about Thea, but somehow Bastion’s schoolyard bully jab of bringing up my mother – even though he had no way of knowing she was dead – stung more than it should have. I said nothing.

“She wasn’t just saying things out loud when she said the entity was fickle,” he continued. “That applies for its personality, sure, and how we’re supposed to deal with it, but the entity’s gateway is fickle as well.”

I looked around us, wondering why he was being so blase about relaying this information when I realized that whatever spell he cast had made it so that only we could hear each other. Outside our little circle everyone was still yelling to make themselves heard, especially the ever-replenishing rush of people putting in their orders at the bar.

“So who are we supposed to talk to?” I waved at the bartenders, two men and one woman, all busy pouring drinks and fielding orders. “Doubt we can even get their attention long enough to grab a beer.”

Bastion rolled his eyes. “No, dum-dum. Look closer.”

“Honestly, Bastion.” Prudence clapped me on the back and nudged her head towards the bar. “Part of your training is to learn to perceive things that are out of the ordinary. That’ll help you on the field as much as it will help in everyday life now that you’ve seen bits of the underground. You have to learn to notice what’s different, to pick things out.”

“Okay,” I said, looking along the bar. “I’m not sure I see any – wait.”

And there she was, camouflaged among the revelers before Prudence told me to look, but suddenly sticking out to me plain as day. There were stools along the bar, perfect for anyone who didn’t feel up to dancing or wrestling with the throng to get one of the very few booths or tables strewn about the club.

All the stools were taken, but one occupant stood out more than the rest. Her hair was dark, but it shone with the color of a sun dying on the horizon, brassy, like black silk flecked with gold. Her lips were a deep red, her eyes like obsidian, her skin dusky and deep.

Yet as striking as the woman was, what I found more remarkable was the collection of glasses around her, drinks drained of just enough liquid to leave clues to their former existence, all these puddles of color thinning with melting ice. As I watched, more cocktails appeared, delivered by men with hollow eyes who only passed long enough to place a glass by her side, then left again.

The bartenders, I noticed, were giving her a wide berth, hence the growing stacks of glasses. Something was amiss here, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out what it was. Then the woman turned and fixed me with her gaze.

My breath caught in my throat. With her smoldering eyes, her hair like dark fire, her perfect skin, she was unmistakeably beautiful, but in a way that was so unearthly, supernatural. It reminded me of the pale man. I shuddered, and I hoped she didn’t see.

I drew up to Prudence as subtly as I could. “Is – is that another vampire?”

“Close,” Prudence said, looking off and away, as if to hide her face from the woman. Her lip was upturned in distaste. “Succubus.”

I couldn’t help it. My jaw dropped open. “What? As in a soul-sucking demon? That kind of succubus?” Honestly, I thought to myself, wincing. What other kind was there?

She nudged me in the ribs. “Cool it. No one can really hear us from outside the bubble Bastion cast, but she can still read your lips. But yes. As to whether that’s worse than a vampire, you decide.”

Bastion draped his arm heavily across my shoulder and pulled me in. I cringed at the proximity, and at the choking scent of his body spray.

“Aww. Is Dusty afraid of the pretty lady?”

“Shut up. I’m not afraid. Just – I have reason to be wary given recent events, okay?”

“It’s not like anyone hurt you,” Bastion said. “Just be polite, play nice, and Layla will tell us what we need. She’s harmless.” There was a pause. “Well, mostly.”

“Question,” I said, carefully eyeing the woman, and wearing the politest smile I could muster. Her expression remained unchanged, and her gaze was still trained on me. “Don’t they have their own domiciles? Succubi, vampires. Aren’t they entities, too?”

“Well,” Prudence said, rubbing her chin. “In a way. It’s the smart, resourceful ones who make their own domiciles. That’s like spiritual real estate, their place of power. Think of it like building a business. You’d be surprised how powerful these things can grow. Look at Arachne. She’s not even a god. Any entity can work hard enough and create their own base of operations. It’s a matter of time and effort.”

“God bless America,” Bastion said.

“Hush. Anyway. You try going into an entity’s domicile to stir up trouble, you’ll end up dead real quick. And I’m pretty sure they’re unkillable in their own home realms. They’ll just regenerate after a time. The rest of them are tied to our plane. Since they’re tethered here, death is death. The free-running ones are more vulnerable. But long story short: yes, she’s still totally dangerous.”

The woman with the flaming hair finally shifted, her smile friendlier. She blinked, just the once, and it sent something fluttering down my spine. Was it demon magic, or her eldritch beauty? Did it really matter?

“So you’re saying there’s more of these beings running around. More vampires and succubuses. Succubi?”

Prudence nodded. “They behave, mostly, because you’ve got forces like the Lorica to keep things in order. But’s it’s not just them, of course. You’ve got demons, angels, ifrits, fae.” Her nose wrinkled up. “Gotta watch out for those fae.”