“A vampire.” I turned again only to find nothing. “I knew Jerry had one on the payroll but never thought he’d send one to work for a sorcerer.”
Sorcerer? Great. Nobody played well with sorcerers. No wonder Jerry had been desperate for me to take the run. His other couriers had probably refused or made up some excuse to get out of this.
All sorcerers cared about was gaining power. Things like ethics never really bothered them. Most were extremely powerful and not afraid of throwing their weight around.
Sorcerers were scary, but nature had balanced that by making them extremely rare. Only about one person in a couple million possessed the gene needed to become a sorcerer. Even then, it required years of study and discipline. Most never awoke to their power.
Right now, I knew of only two sorcerers in Columbus. One was assumed dead. A victim of the unknown baddy plaguing the supernatural community.
Didn’t even know what the delivery was and already I was beginning to hate this gig.
He had to be throwing his voice or something. No doubt he was trying to intimidate me, but I wouldn’t play his game. He wanted to appear like he was invisible? I’d treat him as such. No need to jump and turn for his amusement.
I turned my eyes back to the ceiling. It went against every instinct I had to deliberately ignore the presence of a potential hostile, but it would be impossible to spot the sorcerer unless he wanted to be seen.
“Tell me about the job,” I said.
I wanted the particulars so I could get this run started. The sooner it was over, the sooner I could get back to ferrying things around for less terrifying clients.
And I would never again accept another job without all of the details.
There was a long pause. The weight of his regard fell on me, sizing me up as a scientist would a rare bug. I held still and tried to project more confidence than I currently felt.
“No, I think not,” the voice said.
I started. “What about the delivery?”
“I have no need of a vampire. Tell Jerry to send another.”
My mouth dropped open.
What? He’d barely met me. How could he assume on the basis of a glance that I wasn’t up for this?
“Jerry’s not sending someone else. It’s me or no one,” I said. Inside, I was seething. I hadn’t exactly been thrilled about this gig, but I’d be damned if some sorcerer who was too afraid to let me catch sight of him was going to tell me I couldn’t do it.
The indefinable presence, which had been retreating, rushed back. It was odd, but I felt his power brushing against my skin just as surely as I would have a breeze. It buzzed and tingled. I’d never felt anything like it.
“If I say I want someone else, he will send me another.”
I let a smirk show. “Nope. You get what you get. You don’t like it; you can use another service. It’s in the contract you signed.”
There was a pause where I could feel the presence consider.
“You did read the contract, didn’t you?” I wasn’t able to resist injecting a little sarcasm into the proceedings.
The power briefly whipped against my skin. I winced as the sensation edged towards pain. Guess he hadn’t.
“Fine. Have it your way. I was trying to be nice, but it was obviously a wasted effort.”
Looked like I’d won this little skirmish.
“Since the baby vamp has decided she wants to play ball with the big boys, I’ll indulge you. Don’t complain to me if you get broken.”
“What makes you think I’m barely turned?”
Did I have a sign on me saying “baby vamp”?
The voice scoffed. “Please. You practically scream it. It’s in the way you move, the lack of power you project. You’re so new you’re practically still a human. I bet one blow to your heart would be enough to kill you.”
