Tales from the Magitech Lounge Read online

  I bet he just hates having to cover his face.

  “Found this creep lurking outside,” the superhero announced loudly. “I think he’s in charge of these losers.”

  The vamp in question slowly rose, glaring back down at Captain Glorious, nearly quivering with suppressed rage. “I wouldn’t,” Glorious warned him. “That wasn’t even my best punch.”

  “I can’t get over how familiar that Captain Glorious guy seems,” Kevin murmured in my ear. I nodded distractedly. Things were about to get very interesting. I didn’t know who this last vampire was, but I had a feeling he was considerably more powerful than the minions we’d been staring at for the past few minutes.

  He turned to face us and I was initially struck by his unearthly beauty. This was a very old vamp, I realized. Not Jason Keening, I thought, but possibly one of the first of his bloodline. Not a good sign. “We want the woman.”

  “Tough,” said Rio, pushing past Stormchild and folding her arms over her breasts. “You can’t have her. You have no authority here. Go crawl back under your gravestone,” she growled menacingly.

  Their eyes met and he frowned just slightly, barely enough to notice. Did he recognize her? Or was he just surprised to find another vampire standing up for Lilith? “We’re not leaving until we get what we came for.”

  Stormchild groaned. “Boy, was that the wrong thing to say.”

  Shaking her head as if disgusted by the whole proceeding, Rio reached down and snatched something from the charm bracelet she wore at her wrist. She flung out her hand and suddenly three short, slightly curved swords were streaking toward the vampire lord.

  He tried to dodge, his movements little more than a blur, but it took less than a second for him to realize he couldn’t evade the razor death coming down on him. One sword plunged into each eye, respectively, and the third simply separated his head from the rest of him.

  The head tumbled to the floor as the body crumpled. The blades reversed course and flew back to Rio. She plucked them out of the air and they subsequently vanished. “Spread the word,” she told the lackeys calmly. “This woman is under my protection. If anything happens to her, I’m going to make it the whole focus of my existence to find every single clan vampire and cut you down like the rabid dogs you are. Do I make myself clear?”

  They stared at her for a second, then down at their leader’s body, which had already started to dissolve. Some vampires did that for some reason, especially the older ones. In less than an hour it would be a pile of ash on the floor.

  Made for easy cleanup, at least.

  Dreadlocks nodded thoughtfully and the others followed suit.

  I couldn’t see Rio’s face, but something told me she was smiling, showing plenty of fang. “I’m going to count to sixty. When I’m done, any vampire within a mile of this place is going to get the same treatment he did,” she told them. “One. Two. Three…”

  They vaporized. Well, not literally. At least I don’t think they did. They just moved faster than I could see, blowing by ol’ Captain Glorious without even ruffling his cape.

  “Think the threat will work?” I asked Rio, once they were gone.

  She turned to look at me and shrugged. “It had better. It wasn’t a bluff. If I have to track down and destroy Keening himself, I will. I’d suggest either keeping your lady friend around, or sending someone with her as a bodyguard for a while—at least until we know for sure if they’re going to leave her be.”

  I chewed at my upper lip as I considered that. I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep her around. She wasn’t really any more trustworthy than she’d ever been, and she still did things to my hormones that left me more dazed than I liked. But I also didn’t want anything to happen to her.

  “Did you say bodyguard?” Glorious asked. “I’d be honored to provide protection for the lady,” he said. Behind that mask I knew he was grinning at me. I think he suspected I knew his secret. It still shocked me that no one else did. He isn’t exactly subtlety incarnate.

  I glanced up at the landing and Lilith, who looked shaken, but determined. “I can’t stay here,” she said. “For a number of reasons. I accept your offer, Captain Glorious. With pleasure.”

  He strutted up the ramp and peered up at her through the gold orbs that formed the eyes for his mask. “We can leave any time you’re ready, Milady.”

  “Milady?” I muttered. “Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?”

  His face was, of course, unreadable as he turned to regard me. “You have your way, I have mine.”

  I rolled my eyes. Damned drama king. “Kevin—you want to get rid of the body for us? I’d lock the doors, but I don’t think that’s an option for the time being.”

  “I can fix the doors, boss,” Bone told me. “Take me a couple hours but they’ll be as good as new.”

  “Go to it, then. I’d like to be able to lock the place up come closing time.”

  “You got it.”

  Kevin gestured and the dead vampire disappeared. I didn’t ask him what he did with the body. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.

  Lilith’s voice cut through the din. “Jack? I’d like a couple minutes to talk to you before I leave.”

  I glanced at Glorious. “Give her a few, okay?”

  He saluted. Since I wasn’t sure if it were meant in mockery or sincerity, I decided to ignore it. I walked up the stairs and followed Lilith back into my suite.

  She stopped just inside the door and closed it behind me as I entered. I turned to her, frowning, then stumbled back into the door as she put her hand on my chest and shoved. The knob grazed my hip and sent a spear of pain down my leg. She then leaned forward and kissed me, her lips soft as they brushed against mine. “Thank you.”

  “For what?” I asked. “I didn’t do anything. Glorious, Stormchild, and Rio did. Especially Rio,” I added hastily, not wanting to give Seth any more credit than he deserved.

  “You don’t get it, do you? This is an amazing place and it suits you. Very few people could accomplish what you’ve managed here. You do know that, don’t you? Those people down there stood up for me because you asked them to. You’ve got something very special, and what’s really remarkable is that you don’t even know it.”

  She kissed me again, pulled me away from the door, and opened it. “I’ll be back, Jack. You can bet on that. Now that I’ve gotten to know this place, I don’t think I can stay away.”

  She walked out the door and shut it behind her. I stayed where I was until I was sure she’d gone, then rejoined the crowd for a round of drinks on the house. They’d earned it. And more.

  Lilith wrote a wonderful column about the Lounge in the next day’s edition of the West Coaster. I didn’t read it, but Kevin did. He said it was very complimentary. I was thankful for that, but found myself wishing she hadn’t gone to the trouble.

  In the end, Lilith didn’t quite get it. The regulars didn’t stand up for her because I asked them to. They did it because it needed doing. Because they care about people—freaks and normals alike—and don’t like to see anyone being pushed around by those more powerful than they are.

  It wasn’t about me at all. It was about a bunch of people who know what’s important in life. It was about my friends and why they’re my friends.

  It’s about a place called the Magitech Lounge.

  Episode II: The Girl in the Mirror

  Another wild and crazy night at the Magitech Lounge. Hydra was regaling us with his seemingly endless supply of off-color jokes and most of the regulars were trying to take swigs from their drinks between punch lines to prevent themselves from choking and spraying everyone else in the process.

  “And so the dolphin says to the fisherman— ‘mermaid my left fin…that’s a manatee!’”

  I shook my head and leaned back against one of the support columns, folding my arms over my chest as I glanced around the room. I was rather sure I’d heard that one before, but it was still pretty funny. Something caught my eye and I shot a glance at the
bar mirror and froze. Someone was staring out of the mirror at us. At first glance it looked like just a reflection of one of the patrons, but everyone present was a regular. The kid in the mirror stood out.

  She was pretty, I thought, in a pale, fragile kind of way. Her big brown eyes hinted at a great depth of sorrow and something within me tore wide open as I met her gaze. I switched to magesight and looked again, seeing nothing remarkably different than I had a moment before.

  Magesight is weird. It allows us to see and manipulate the strands of mana that float through the world, long threads of silver gossamer webbing visible only to those with the right genetics to be mages in the first place, but created as a natural by-product of all sentient life.

  Mana glows slightly and casts an eerie illumination as it swims through the air. This is the secret of why mages can see in the dark. We don’t, actually, but it seems like we do. We just have access to illumination not available to the average person.

  Other than several mana threads currently passing through the Lounge, magesight revealed nothing worthy of mention. The girl still stared out of the mirror, and the rest of the patrons still roared with laughter as Hydra delivered another punch line.

  I was no longer listening.

  My boss, Jack, apparently noticed my distracted air, and walked over to see if everything was all right. Jack’s like that. He’s the best boss one could hope for, soft-spoken and empathetic. He treats us all like family, staff and regulars alike.

  Jack’s a rather non-descript individual in appearance, being barely over six feet tall, with a nice but easily forgettable face. He wears his long brown hair in a ponytail, usually, and his quick hazel eyes are always on the move. This week he wore a goatee and mustache, but that could change without notice. He was prone to sudden bouts of facial renovation.

  “Everything okay, Kevin?” he asked as he approached, wearing a concerned frown.

  I nodded. “Pretty much. Except we have company.”

  “What?”

  I nodded toward the bar mirror and he turned to look, eyes widening as his gaze fell upon the image in the mirror. “Okay,” he said slowly. “That’s just a little creepy.”

  “Thinking that myself, boss.”

  He winced. He hates being called boss, but we all do it anyway. One of these days he’s going to get used to it and it won’t be any fun anymore. “What do you suggest we do about it?”

  “Not sure there’s anything we can do,” I told him. “She’s there and we’re here.”

  He lanced me with a hard stare. “That’s not helpful, Kevin.”

  I smiled and shrugged. “The Dimension of Mirrors isn’t exactly my realm of expertise, boss.”

  I’m a mage, and a good one. But the D of M is Jasmine Tashae’s demesne, and not for the likes of me. If she was some mortal who’d been trapped there, it would be Jaz who’d have to get her out.

  “What the hell are you two whispering about?” asked Steph, appearing by our side as if she’d popped out of the floor. Steph’s a vampire, and, as such, is very good at sneaking up on people. She doesn’t make any sound unless she wants to, so she’s always appearing unexpectedly. We’re all more or less used to it.

  Steph does the whole neo-goth thing. To her, black is the only primary color.

  She spotted the figure in the mirror and joined us in gaping at it.

  “You should try out for a gig doing stand-up!” someone shouted to Hydra.

  “Are you kidding?” he responded in his basso rumble. “I’d bring the house down. Literally.”

  Everyone laughed at that, but this time it was tinged with a hint of sadness. Trolls weren’t a common kind of freak, but they existed in large enough numbers that everyone knew how much fear and hatred they drew from “normal” folk. There wasn’t a regular at the Lounge who didn’t empathize with Hydra’s plight.

  And before you ask—no, he can’t be fixed with magic. Most trolls are highly resistant to even beneficial magic. There is no way to fix them by mystical means.

  More’s the pity.

  I glanced over and spotted Seth, our resident fashionista, looking our way and frowning. He climbed down off his bar stool and ambled over—though describing his motion as ambling might be an abuse of understatement. Seth doesn’t really amble as much as strut. The guy thinks a lot of himself, and dresses the part. His wardrobe alone probably costs as much as I’ll make throughout my lifetime, and mages tend to live a long time.

  That night he wore a gray pin-stripe silk suit with a thin, baby blue tie. “What are you—my gods! What’s that?”

  “It’s called a girl, Seth,” Steph said dryly, not even casting her gaze his direction.

  Jack snorted.

  “I can tell that much,” Seth replied irritably, “but what’s she doing in there?”

  “That’s a very good question,” Jack asked. “We’re wondering the same thing ourselves.”

  “We need to get her out of there!” Seth exclaimed.

  “Okay. How do you recommend we do that?” I asked him pointedly. “Somehow I don’t think breaking the mirror will do the job.”

  “You’re the magic man,” he said unnecessarily. “Can’t you do something?”

  “I’m thinking,” I answered, honestly enough. Actually, I was thinking that I didn’t have the faintest idea what to do, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

  “Maybe we should give Captain Glorious a call,” Jack said, a sly note in his voice. He was referring to one of San Francisco’s most notable superheroes, a costumed vigilante known for his outlandishly ornate outfit and over-dramatic bearing.

  The way he said it made me think it wasn’t just an idle comment, but I’ll be damned if I know what he meant by it. Captain Glorious is a constant source of amusement for most of us here, especially since he’d arrived to help us deal with an errant bunch of vampires who’d been harassing Jack’s ex-girlfriend and subsequently ended up playing bodyguard for the lady for several weeks.

  Most people didn’t know it, but Glorious was magically enhanced. He also had some meta power I hadn’t been able to identify, but there were runes hidden in his cape and costume that gave him the ability to fly and greatly enhanced strength. I did not, however, get the impression he himself was a mage.

  He probably had a mage in the family, I’d decided.

  “I fail to see what good that would do,” Seth muttered. Probably jealous of all the attention Glorious got when he was here. When the meta was around, people didn’t even notice Seth.

  The floor shook beneath our feet and we looked up to find Hydra staring down at us. “There I am, making a spectacle of myself for your amusement, and I find you all standing over here pretending I’m NOT the elephant in the room.”

  In all fairness, Hydra does have a lot of elephant-like qualities. He’s huge, covered in wrinkled gray skin, and has a miniature trunk in place of a nose. Despite this, or perhaps for this reason specifically, his elephant references rarely generate any laughter.

  This time was no exception. Steph silently lifted her arm and pointed at the mirror.

  “Mary, Mother of God,” the troll exclaimed. “Who is she?”

  “We don’t know,” Jack answered. “We didn’t mean to ignore you, Hydra, but, as you can imagine, we found her a bit of a distraction.”

  “No kidding. Huh. Hey, you all. Come get a load of this!”

  So that’s how it was the whole damn bar ended up standing in front of the mirror staring at the girl staring back out at us.

  “She looks sad,” murmured one of the Twining Twins. I have no idea which one. I honestly can’t tell them apart. They’re not really twins, but doppelgangers. The same person from two different universes. They met entirely by accident and now they’re business partners and best friends. With the disconcerting habit of communicating telepathically with one another, which adds a whole new dimension of strangeness to it all.

  “I wish Rio were here,” I heard Jack say, and I nearly fell over. Not to say
he doesn’t like Rio, but I know he doesn’t completely trust her. Not an easy thing for him to admit, considering that the Lounge has become a pretty close-knit community over the past several months. Rio and her guy, the immortal rock god Stormchild, had a habit of showing up only on the third Thursday of the month, and this was a Tuesday, so, unless the girl in the mirror stuck around for another week and a half, Rio wasn’t going to be any help whatsoever.

  Rio’s a very powerful vampire mage, and she travels in circles I can only dream about. She probably knows all about the Dimension of Mirrors, which puts her way ahead of me.

  “Poor thing,” chimed in Merry, our resident Wiccan Priestess and another mage. She leaned against me and looked as though she was about to cry. I put my arm around her and pulled her close.

  “Ja be wit’ her,” murmured Timothy Moggan, the Rastafarian meta who’d wandered in for the first time a couple of months ago. The diminutive reggae singer had an amazing voice packed in that little body of his. And when I say ‘amazing,’ I mean powerful enough to pulverize granite.

  He and our other resident busker, Hammad, occasionally engaged in jam sessions for our entertainment. I’d been hoping for such a show tonight, but, unfortunately, Hammad hadn’t made it in. The girl in the mirror pretty much postponed that sort of thing anyway. I’m sure Timothy didn’t feel much like singing tonight.

  “We can’t just stand here and stare at her,” Steph said into the well of silence we’d fallen into.

  Jack grunted and we broke apart, most returning to where they’d been before they’d realized we had been standing there for a reason. A more or less normal buzz of conversation resumed, but Hydra didn’t return to telling his jokes. Somehow humor seemed completely out of place now.

  I trailed behind Jack, who wandered back toward his corner booth. “Can you get in touch with Jaz?”

  He shook his head as he slid into the booth. I took the seat opposite him. “She said she’d know if we needed help and would show up right away.”

  “It’s not us who needs help,” I said, unnecessarily.