The Reluctant Assassin: A Hundred Halls Novel by Thomas Carpenter

Author:Thomas Carpenter [Carpenter, Thomas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: urban fantasy, contemporary fantasy
Publisher: Black Moon Books
Published: 2018-09-17T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

Tenth Ward, March 2014

Following a shocking individual

It wasn't hard to track Sparky. He kept shooting off random bolts of lightning that would jet into the low cloud bank in the sky, or crackle against the upper floors of apartment buildings. The problem was that he was fast. Zayn was already a block behind, the distance growing greater by the second.

After a few blocks of running full out, Zayn heaved to a stop and bent over at the waist, hot breath coming out of his lips like mist. The air was chilly but he was warm from running. An ambulance siren sounded from somewhere behind him.

"I'm an idiot," he muttered, remembering his imbuement and pouring faez into it.

He caught up to Sparky on Ninth Street, near the Korean grocery store where Skylar worked. The occasional car motored past, but this area of town was shut down at this time of night. Sparky had stopped. He was standing like a pole at the corner, arms down by his sides.

Zayn stayed on his side of the street. "Hey man, are you okay?"

When Sparky spoke, his mouth was a hive of electricity. "Stop following me."

"I only want to help," said Zayn. "That stuff you're taking is dangerous. It'll kill you."

"But I need it," said Sparky, staring at his hands.

Only the distance between them saved Zayn when Sparky shot a thick bolt of white-hot energy across the street. When it passed Zayn as he dove, it burnt the bottoms of his shoes before blowing the windows out of an electronics store.

With broken glass scattered around him, Zayn scrambled to his feet, prepared to dodge again, but the glowing energy inside of Sparky had diminished.

Zayn saw his chance and started moving across the street, slowly, with his hands up, as if he were trying to corral an escaped pet.

"I don't want to hurt you, but you're going to get someone killed if you keep doing that," he said, checking behind him in hopes that his friends might have found him.

With the energy discharged, Sparky looked sweaty and worn out, like he'd had the flu all night. His eyes were cavernous.

"Stay...back."

Zayn stopped halfway across the street. He thought about trying the charm again, but it hadn't worked the last time. He'd have to do this the old-fashioned way.

"Do you have a name?" asked Zayn.

"Jeffrey."

"Hello, Jeffrey. I'm Zayn."

Jeffrey's forehead bunched up. "Are you from Jamaica?"

"Ya man. I am. And I've seen some others like you and it didn't end well for them," he said.

"But it gives me magic," said Jeffrey in a breathless delirium. "I had no idea that it would feel so good. It's better than sex."

"It's killing you. Even for trained mages faez is dangerous, and it's especially dangerous for mages without a patron. If this drug is giving you magic, then you should be worried."

"I don't feel worried."

Zayn cast about for another tactic. "Do you have a family?"

"No, why?"

"Brothers, sisters?" asked Zayn.

"A sister. Jessica. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband," he said.

"Think about her.

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