Gambit: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Solumancer Cycle Book 1) by J.C. Staudt

Author:J.C. Staudt [Staudt, J.C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2017-06-19T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 17

I gulp, unsure how to respond. “Hey, Durlan,” I manage in a pathetic, quavering tone.

Durlan comes close, the feather duster tickling my nose. He stares up at me, bushy red eyebrows lowered. Then he notices my injuries, and his frown lifts into a balking stare. “What’s happened to you, lad? Did the imp’s blood prove unwieldy?”

“Not exactly.”

“Say it, boy. If it’s tainted, I’ll know of it at once.”

“It wasn’t the imp’s blood,” Ersatz says from my shoulder. “It was the—”

“The gorgon’s dust,” I interrupt. I open my backpack and, careful not to reveal the vial of demon’s blood, I withdraw one of the five vials the poltergeist didn’t destroy—a vial of gorgon residue Durlan sold me six months ago. “It’s this stuff. It’s bad. Terrible, actually.” I hand it to him.

He turns the vial over in his hands, frowning. “I’ve sold plenty of this. Never heard any complaints.”

“Your customers are too nice. It’s awful. Flagrant, I’d go so far as to say.”

He purses his lips. “My apologies. I can’t imagine how this happened. I’ll provide a full refund.”

Ersatz looks perturbed, but he continues. “We’d like to purchase an item capable of storing powerful magics for later use.”

“Ah,” says Durlan, lifting a finger. “I’ve just the thing. Follow me.”

He takes us down cluttered aisles to the depths of his shop, where he pulls something from the back of a low shelf. It’s a belt, thick and wide, of hand-tanned leather with a silver buckle. “This is a spellvault,” he explains. “Cast a spell, deliver it into the buckle, and its wearer gains access to that spell whenever he needs it.”

Felita takes a step back when she senses the silver.

“Can it hold rituals?” asks Ersatz.

“It’ll hold any manner of spell you feed it, from the simplest cantrips to the most powerful rituals and enchantments.”

“How much?”

Durlan flips the price tag around. It’s marked at $1,499.99.

“Too much,” says Ersatz. “We’ll give you eight hundred.”

Durlan’s cheeks redden. “Do you imagine I’m running a flea market? These are rare and valuable goods I sell. One of a kind, this is. My prices are fair, and not to be degraded. You offend me, sir.”

“Put away your umbrage,” Ersatz soothes. “We know one another too well to let indignation sour a spirited negotiation.”

Durlan nods. “As you say, dragon.”

“Twelve hundred.”

“Fourteen seventy-five.”

“Twelve fifty. That’s as high as I’ll go.”

The two haggle back and forth until they settle on a price of $1,400.00. All the while I’m stuck wondering where Ersatz is going to find the thin air he intends to pull this money out of.

“Very well,” Ersatz finally agrees. “Cade, pay him and let’s be on our way.”

“Excuse us for a moment,” I tell Durlan before taking my dragon into the next aisle.

“What are you doing?” I whisper. “You know I’m broke.”

“You’ve got this month’s rent money, don’t you?”

“Yeah. It’s for the rent.”

“So we can continue living in the uninhabitable disaster area you call an apartment?”

“So I can keep the landlord from swinging by to check up on me.”

“Mr. Montpellier is the least of your problems.

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