Steel Magic

Chapter 3

“I’ve got a crazier idea,” Kane said. “We’ll have to run it by Max, first. But maybe we can get Limani to hire us to find out what’s happening to the mages. We still on for dinner at the manor tonight?”

“Yep,” Toria said. “Let’s pick Mama’s brain and see what we can pull off.” Maybe more time with their more experienced family members would help.

#

Toria’s childhood home resembled the mage school in size only. While the school was structured with classrooms, library, and a dormitory, the manor owned by Limani’s Master of the City and her daywalker was a more formal affair, with spacious rooms filled with antiques and mementos from thousands of years of history. The former plantation dated back to before the Last War, and forest had long overrun the surrounding fields.

It was hard to feel formal, however, as Toria helped said daywalker chop ingredients for a salad, and the esteemed Master of the City of Limani sat hunched over a cup of coffee at the kitchen table.

“I hate summer,” Victory said. “Waking up during daylight is awful and should not be allowed.” She had pulled dark auburn hair that contrasted with pale skin back in a hasty braid and wore a wrinkled T-shirt over jeans. At the moment, she could not look less like a prestigious government official and one of the most feared and respected former mercenaries on two continents.

Toria’s adopted mother even still scoffed at the title “Master of the City.” She had that honor by virtue of being the only vampire with a permanent residence in Limani. The job came with a seat on the city council, the responsibility of keeping any passing vampires from preying on the city’s inhabitants, and absolutely no perks. She had been with her daywalker Mikelos Connor close to a hundred years, and the two had raised Toria from infancy. They had claimed Kane as a foster son when his parents died a year after he bonded with Toria.

“It’s only once a week,” Mikelos said, his voice filled with more humor than pity. He pushed up his sleeves to wash his hands after dumping the rest of the chopped green peppers in the salad. He wore khakis rather than jeans, which Toria knew meant he’d taught music lessons that day. “You’re the one who wanted to increase the number of times the council met per month.”

“Because I thought we’d get to know each other better,” Victory said. “Keep any more nasty surprises from popping up. Instead, we’re all getting sick of each other’s faces.”

Toria laughed. “Sorry, Mama, but suck it up. The summer has barely started.” She set the finished salad in the middle of the table and pulled place settings from a drawer. “More coffee?”

“No, thank you,” Victory said. “Asaron is fetching dinner from the cellar. Or he should be. I sent him ages ago.”

“Sorry, my fault,” Kane said, as he strode into the kitchen with Asaron close behind. “I waylaid him to pick his brain about contracting issues.”

Asaron held up two glass bottles. “Dinner is served.” He set one in front of Victory and claimed his own seat at the table. He still wore pajama pants and a worn T-shirt. Being home in Limani meant Asaron was on vacation, and he’d still have been asleep if not for Toria and Kane joining the family for dinner.

Without prompting, Toria touched a finger to the top of each bottle, and with a twist of power, heated the liquid inside to body temperature. Apparently some people experienced queasiness at the sight of blood. But Toria’s family had never hid their true natures from her, and blood had been a presence in her life since childhood.

Victory’s sire Asaron could have claimed the Master title, but he didn’t live in the city full-time. Instead, it was his base of operations between mercenary contracts in the Roman colonies to the south. He called Limani his vacation home.

“Contracting issues?” Mikelos raised his eyebrows as he placed serving dishes on the table. Though Victory and Asaron would sip from the bottles for their meal, the daywalker still ate food like a regular human. “You have a lead on a job?”

“Oh, good,” Victory said. “Not to press, but I wasn’t sure how much of a vacation you two really expected after graduation.”

The five settled around the table to eat. “Well, the lease on our apartment runs out at the end of the summer,” Kane said. “We plan to put our things in storage before we headed out.”

“Our barn is your barn,” Mikelos said, referencing the repurposed building that served as the manor’s garage space. “Just tweak the climate control charms, and everything should be fine.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Toria said, sharing a humorous look with Kane. She had set those charms herself ages ago.

“No Syri tonight?” Victory asked.

“No, she had an overnight shift at the vet clinic last night, and we haven’t seen her all day,” Toria said. “She doesn’t actually live with us, you know.”

“But it’s odd to see you both without her these days,” Mikelos said. “Usually where you go, so goes her nation.”

“Not today,” Kane said. “And I don’t think she was interested in hearing us talk about this trip anymore.”

“You’re decided?” Asaron said. He and Toria’s parents focused expectant gazes on the warrior-mage pair.

Moment of truth. Would they take this matter as seriously as she and Kane did? For all Toria knew, this cycle of less mages occurred naturally, and her long-lived family would brush off their concerns.

“Well,” Kane said. “It’s not that simple. That’s why I asked you about contracts.”

Asaron and Victory exchanged bemused looks. “We can certainly help with that,” Asaron said.

“Is it possible to hire yourself for a contract?” Toria asked. “We’ve run into something that needs to be investigated, and we might be in the perfect position to do so.” She and Kane outlined their experiences the past two days, from the encounter with Dana Sjolander at the funeral to the meeting with Misty Lukis at the mage school.

Kane wrapped up the report. “Is this normal? Are we blowing something out of proportion?”

“If something was getting blown out of proportion,” Mikelos said, “you’d be the one chasing down Toria to drag her back to reality.” He caught the cherry tomato Toria tossed at him and popped it in his mouth.

“No, this is decidedly not normal,” Victory said. “I’m going to join in on the concern. This explains why the school stopped hitting me up for donations once you graduated. There must not have been enough students to still require the additional funds.”

“But as to your original question,” Asaron said. “That’s more complicated. Once you’re full status, you can do whatever you want. Take jobs or don’t take jobs, it’s your livelihood to do with as you please.”

“I wish the battlefield promotions had been permanent,” Kane said. This was not the first time he had voiced this complaint, and his voice lacked heat.

“That was more about combat skills,” Asaron said.

“The traditional eighteen months as a journeyman isn’t about combat as much as it’s about learning how to make mercenary work your life,” Victory said. “Anyone can learn to swing a sword. A mercenary has to learn to live by it. And that includes hiring yourself out to the highest bidder and learning where your boundaries for those bids are.”

Toria knew her mother spoke from years of experience. She and Asaron deserved their extensive reputation. They could afford to be picky about the work they chose and who would get the privilege of hiring them to do it.

She and Kane…could not. They were nobodies. Yes, they were the only warrior-mage pair in Limani and the surrounding colonies. They would get work based on that cachet alone. But they were unproven. And to be honest, they needed to find a way to support themselves that didn’t involve still getting an allowance at twenty-one years old. She had justified the town-car and apartment rent and stipend as her parents allowing them their independence while still supporting them through their college educations.

Now time to see if they could fly on their own. Going off on a mad quest, even if it seemed important, would not be true adulthood.

Victory placed a gentle hand on one of Toria’s. “I’m not saying you shouldn’t pursue this,” she said. “But that it’s not the point of being a journeyman. Remember—the eighteen months doesn’t begin until you sign your first contract and register it with a Guildhall.”

Toria felt a tendril of power brush her mind and sensed agreement. Kane knew how she felt, because he likely had the same thoughts.

“Okay,” Kane said. “Contract first, find where all the mages are going second. If the first contract pays well enough.”

Toria presented her mother with the most innocent smile she could manage. “So, Master of the City,” she said. “Does the Limani city council want to hire someone to find out where all their mages have gone?”

Mikelos laughed. “Good luck with that one.”

Toria hid her disappointment with a sip of cranberry juice. Kane squeezed her hand under the table.

“Back to the original question,” Asaron said. “Where are you going?”

“The Grand Strand,” Kane said, in the same instance that Toria said, “Europa!”

“I can see we still have some progress to make,” Asaron said. “Who needs another drink?”

#

Victory was sweet about it, but in the end, Toria realized she and Kane would still have to do their journeyman stint the old-fashioned way. The best they could do was keep their ears open and check in on the local magical scene wherever they traveled. Though her mother had spoken with the current elected head of the city council, Lucia Stein had agreed that it wouldn’t be the best way for them to start their travels.

But the eighteen months would be over the sooner they started, and lazing about all summer appealed to neither of them. Kane had called Maximillian Asher, the head of Limani’s Mercenary Guild, and told him to expect them the next morning. When they got home after dinner, the pair had enjoyed a final evening of beer and mindless movies on the couch. Today they would pack up the apartment after meeting with Max.

They swung by a local liquor store on the way to the Guildhall to snag a collection of empty boxes from the recycling bin in the rear. After filling the back of the town-car, they drove to Limani’s Mercenary Guildhall, located on the edge of town toward Victory’s manor house. The Guildhall served as the headquarters of Limani’s local mercenary force, which doubled as Limani’s military in times of need. It also housed a training center and meeting space, along with housing available for mercenaries passing through the city. Max also maintained an office and apartment there.

Syri met them at the entrance to the Guildhall, sitting on the front steps and basking in the morning sun. It was barely the end of June, and Toria already tired of the humidity. Syri didn’t even sweat under her leather jacket. She stood and fell into step on Toria’s other side as the three made their way to Max’s office. “No luck with Victory?”

“Not really,” Toria said. “What are you doing here?” Syri hadn’t shown up the previous evening either, which was weird. For the past two years, the elven girl had spent three nights out of five at their apartment, either crashing on the futon in their living room or curling up in one of their beds.

They entered the anteroom of Max’s office, and Kane waved to the retired merc who worked as Max’s aide-de-camp. “Good morning, Liliah. Max is expecting us.”

“Good to see you kids,” Liliah said. “I’ll let him know you’re here. Grab a seat.” She stood and poked her head into Max’s office. If Toria hadn’t known they were there, she never would have realized the older woman walked on two prosthetic legs.

Toria perched on the edge of one of the hard wooden chairs. Max discouraged visitors who didn’t have appointments by having the least comfortable seats in the building outside his office. “So?” She poked Syri in the arm.

Syri shrugged. “Zerandan strongly suggested that I be here this morning.”

Kane c****d his head. “How did Zerandan know we’d be here?”

“I’ve known him my whole life,” Syri said, “and I will never understand my esteemed elder. But he’s never steered me wrong. If there’s a reason for me to be at this meeting, I guess we’ll find out.” She slouched in her own chair, going boneless in that way only elves and cats could in uncomfortable spots. “I’m still not going with you guys, though. I have vacation saved up, and the beach is calling my name.”

Kane laughed. “We know, we know. Wear sunscreen.” He patted Syri’s porcelain thigh, a sharp contrast to his darker skin.

“Sunscreen,” Syri said, the disdain evident in her voice. “That’s what shields are for.”

Saving Toria from the recurring argument that skin cancer threatened elves as much as anybody else, Max pushed open his office door. “Kids! Come on in. Sorry we kept you waiting.”