Blood Magic (WP6) by Wilks Eileen

Author:Wilks, Eileen [Wilks, Eileen]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Romance, Werewolves, General, Paranormal, Fiction
ISBN: 9780425233054
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2010-02-02T05:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-TWO

HE was calling himself Johnny Deng these days. He liked the juxtaposition of East and West, and Johnny was a friendly name, much more so than John. He considered himself a friendly man.

Over the years he had had many names. He often used one of the characters from his original name in some form, for it is good to remember one’s roots. Often, but not always. His current surname spoke of those origins only in the most general way.

At times he missed China, but it wasn’t the China of today he missed, so he didn’t indulge in nostalgia often. No point in making himself unhappy, was there?

He’d liked Europe. They had some appreciation for the past there, and the open borders and jumbled web of law enforcement agencies had made it easy to engage in his trade. But his beloved could not be happy in Europe while her enemies lived and prospered in the U.S. When the Turning hit and the level of magic began to increase, she had needed to put her plans in motion.

He didn’t begrudge moving here. There was much to appreciate about the U.S. and California and the modern world. He loved video games, especially Grand Theft Auto. While he might have preferred San Francisco to San Diego, there were enough people here to feed his beloved, even now when she remained attenuated. There was a large enough Asian population for him to blend in, and he could make use of the established gangs. His profession gave him an in there.

If the public transportation wasn’t up to the standards of London or Paris, it was adequate to his needs today. There was a bus stop right at the hospital, though he did have to make two changes to get there.

When the bus slowed to a stop he climbed on board carrying what he needed in a white grocery sack. After some consideration, he’d chosen to play it safe. His target had already confounded him once, proving resistant to both knife and spell. He couldn’t assume his other spells would work on lupi as beautifully as they worked on humans. Nor could he assume the sorcerer was too unwell to set proper wards. He ought to be—but then, he ought to be dead, too.

He purchased a day pass from the driver and took a seat. The bus was crowded, and the woman sitting beside him wanted to chat about the weather. Johnny agreed that it was very hot, then took out his phone with an apology and pretended to make some calls.

It was all very well to be friendly, but it would not do to be memorable.

Besides, the woman was too tall. He didn’t like tall women. Once the city was his, he wouldn’t allow any woman over five foot three in his presence. He’d considered doing the same with men above a certain height, but that wasn’t practical. He accepted that some of his subordinates would be larger than he.

Johnny prided himself on his practicality. Practicality, patience, and tolerance—those were his chief virtues.

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