Black Ocean 08.5: Pinball Wizardry by J. S. Morin

Author:J. S. Morin [Morin, J. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy, Science Fiction, space opera
Publisher: Magical Scrivener Press
Published: 2015-09-15T04:00:00+00:00

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Dinner was crab cakes and grilled asparagus, but the wine was the highlight of the meal. After a long and frustrating day, it made time stop and the rest of the world fade into the background. Despite the nautical decor and the scent of brine through the open windows, Esper and Raybin could have been dining in New York Prime for all the attention they paid their surroundings.

Raybin laughed. “A priestess? You?”

Setting down her wine glass, Esper held up a hand. “On my honor.”

“So what happened?”

Esper scrunched her nose and waved the question away. “Got mixed up with some unsavory sorts and turned into a wizard.” It wasn’t the most eloquent recounting of her recent past, but it summed things up more accurately than she’d care to admit. “How ‘bout you? How’d you end up on a half-terraformed moon, tending a game room?”

Raybin skewered a piece of crab cake and chewed it as he replied. “Subtlety is about all I’ve got going with my magic. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a terramancer—who didn’t when they were eight? Never graded out. Same for law enforcement, military service, and xeno relations. After I flunked out of star-drive repair, my uncle found me this job. Light magical load. Drives most wizards batty being around so many arcanalarms. Perfect for my skill set. Plus, I like being around kids.” He grinned, cute as a puppy—a drunken puppy, anyway.

“So come clean.” Esper leaned forward across the table. “How many girls have you rescued from the pinball machines and brought here to impress?”

Raybin frowned and counted on his fingers, lips moving all the while. “One.”

Esper spurted wine back into her glass as she giggled, then stared at the wine glass accusingly. “Oh, you’re a cute guy, smart one. How many bottles of wine did you drink me?”

“You’re halfway through glass three.”

“How many is that in bottles?”

“Less than one… a lot less.”

Esper squeezed her eyes shut. That didn’t make any sense. How come everyone else got drunk on liters and liters of hard liquor, but she couldn’t finish a bottle before getting silly? Using the earliest form of magic she knew, Esper sped her metabolism, burning away hours’ worth of alcohol from her system. She hadn’t even noticed the room wobbling slowly until it stopped.

Feeling more like herself, Esper reached out and took Raybin by the hand. “Listen, you’re a nice guy. I just finished my apprenticeship tonight thanks to you. You got a place around here? Maybe we can take this somewhere more private?”

She had the satisfaction of seeing Raybin blush. He wasn’t half so drunk as she’d been a moment before. Spilling a pile of her remaining quarter-terra coins onto the table to cover the bill, she dragged Raybin toward the exit without waiting for a reply. Esper picked a direction on the boardwalk and moved. If Raybin wanted to navigate, he was welcome to start any time. For now, the sea air, chilled by unfamiliar moonlight, was all she needed.

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