Mob sorcery 5, p.8
Mob Sorcery 5, page 8
She fluttered off without another word. Behind him, his Lionettis stood out by virtue of looking overdressed, but clearly didn’t give a damn. If anything, they wanted people to spot them and steer clear. He assumed they’d taken their own fliers to keep up with him.
After double-checking the message Gabriela had sent him, Vince rounded the corner and found the café. Chairs and tables stretched across the pavers with heating columns between them, although they weren’t active at the moment. A few people sat outside with coffee.
One of those people bore the unmistakable figure of Gabriela. White hair with spiky bangs, an iridescent spiral horn, tall and lithe figure, horse ears, and a fine, white tail of horsehair swaying behind her chair.
But he almost didn’t recognize her thanks to her clothing. Her typical torn pants and fur-lined jacket were nowhere to be seen. In their place was a cute white puffer jacket and skintight black pants that hugged her curves. Gabriela still wore her abundance of jewelry, including her diamond choker, but she’d added an oversized aqua ribbon to her hair.
Gabriela was, for lack of a better word, adorable. Tall, but cute.
If only her golden eyes weren’t rock hard and hiding barely concealed rage directed at the woman sitting opposite her.
Another unicorn sat at the same table, her back to Vince. She wore an expensive navy suit, but light rippled across its threads. A magically enchanted suit. Her horn shined bright white, almost like ivory, and a sword hung at her waist in a golden scabbard. Celtic runes glittered in greens and blues along the scabbard.
Every sense of Vince’s warned him to steer clear of this other unicorn. She emanated magic, and it wasn’t just her equipment. He pinned her as a seven-tail equivalent. Someone capable of tangoing with a clan guardian at minimum.
For all he knew, she might be stronger. But just the fact she casually exuded so much raw power screamed danger.
Gabriela spotted him, and her golden eyes met his. She grimaced but waved him over.
Uncertain that was a good decision, but unwilling to refuse her after coming all this way, Vince approached. The other unicorn turned in her seat.
A small red and gold badge glittered on her suit’s lapel, depicting a sword hilt pointing downward with a unicorn’s horn replacing the blade. Scales, like those Vince saw on TV in courthouses, stretched behind the horn and appeared to be balanced on the sword’s hilt. He’d seen this emblem before, but couldn’t recall where.
The woman’s purple eyes judged him with a cold, assessing gaze. She looked over every part of his body, lingering on his chest, face, and crotch for longer than comfortable.
“So this is your muse, is it?” the other unicorn said in an unmistakably English accent. “You chose as well as I would expect of a unicorn of your capabilities, Gabriela. Even if I hadn’t seen him on news broadcasts, there’s a subtle feel to his magic that I haven’t often felt.”
“Does everyone know more about my magic than me?” Vince asked, annoyed.
The unicorn smiled, but it was entirely bereft of friendliness. “I’m afraid I am no expert on what ails you, Mister Keys. But I know that you possess power that isn’t wholly your own, but you’re making it yours. That makes you precious. More so than a mere vessel. I’ve met men and women overflowing with magic gifted to them by dragons and spirits, yet their fragility was obvious.”
“I’m glad you don’t think he’s fragile,” Gabriela said flatly. “Makes me feel so much better.”
“For when you throw away your vow of chastity and give yourself to him for the rest of your life?” The other unicorn scoffed. “As impressive as he is, you’ve been offered better. That’s why I’m here.”
“And I’m saying no once again, Norah. I left the academy years ago and I’ve never looked back. No matter how you approach me, I won’t return.”
Norah looked away from Vince and focused her attention on Gabriela. She took a dainty sip from her cup of milk tea—at least, Vince guessed it was tea, given there was a tea pot on the table.
“The academy isn’t something you can merely leave, Gabriela,” Norah said. “You made an agreement when you joined it, and until you complete your learning and service, there are debts that must be repaid.”
“Debts that I am already repaying. With money.” The American unicorn leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She smiled thinly at Vince. “Sorry to interrupt our catch-up like this. Bitch doesn’t understand the word ‘no.’”
Norah didn’t even react to being called a bitch. “What the Empire offered you can’t be repaid with mere currency—”
“But it can be, and I’m doing exactly that,” Gabriela interrupted. “No matter how you threaten me, I’m making the repayments. I’m not coming back. Nothing you can offer will make me come back. I’m not interested in the academy or serving the amazing British Empire. Fuck off, Norah.”
“I will not. A unicorn of your potential comes along so rarely that to leave you to throw yourself on some random enforcer, no matter how impressive he may be, is to waste everything our race is.” Norah sighed and stood. She lifted her teacup and saucer, before delicately draining her cup and lowering both to the table. “I understand your frustrations with the academy, Gabriela. That was years ago. If you return, it would be under a streamlined program. Think of your future and how amazing you could be.”
“Uh huh. You’ve told me that before, and I know you’ve told other unicorns who leave the same thing.”
“Then you know that I’ve given up on others but not you.” Norah glared at Gabriela. “You have so much potential, girl. To be as strong as me, or even stronger. Just…”
A soft whinny escaped Norah as she ran a hand through her long black hair. She schooled her expression before focusing on Vince.
He’d only half-followed the conversation. Mostly, he felt as if he’d intruded on something deeply personal and wished he’d shown up five minutes later. Sometimes arriving on time backfired.
“Leave him alone,” Gabriela said, hands on the table as if prepared to launch herself toward Norah.
“I won’t touch him.” The Brit rolled her eyes. “Both the US and Aulfair governments allow my presence under strict conditions, and assaulting a US citizen, let alone one protected by multiple corporations, would cause a diplomatic incident. However…”
“Looking for a loophole?” Vince asked.
He lacked the confidence he expressed in his voice. The last thing he needed was more enemies. Could he go a week without adding new super-powered magical threats?
Norah smiled at him. “I have a feeling I know why you’re here, given the current situation afflicting the city and your employer. So I’ll be forthright. Perhaps Gabriela can assist you, but perhaps she cannot. But know that I stand here, as one of His Majesty’s Unicorn Knights, and of the second ring at that. My diplomatic restrictions bind me in some ways, but dealing with a Japanese criminal would be overlooked. All you need to do is convince Gabriela to return to the academy, and you will have my sword.”
Chapter 5
Asullen fog fell over the table in response to Norah’s offer, and Vince swore the temperature dropped several degrees. The effect wasn’t entirely psychological, however.
Shadows grew along Gabriela’s body, deepening and lengthening despite the cloudless sky allowing the sun to shine down on her. Her usually iridescent horn lost its luster and instead appeared to be solid silver, but with deep, dark grooves etching its spiral pattern.
A thunderous scowl overtook her face, and her eyes held nothing but contempt for Norah. Whatever relationship these two women once held, it had been dashed into the ground long ago.
“I think you’re overstating my influence on Gabriela,” Vince said quietly. “And if I did have the ability to convince her, I wouldn’t betray her by selling her out to you without knowing exactly what’s going down.”
Also, Vince didn’t exactly have the best opinion of education. Telling Norah to fuck off because he thought school sucked sounded kind of dumb, though.
“You fail to understand your own importance in her world, but that can only be a good thing,” Norah said, ignoring the fury pummeling her from behind. “What else is there to know? I am offering you the power you need to battle this errant fox, and you need it.”
“You’re selling him a fucking shit deal, Miss Second Ring,” Gabriela said, voice like nails on a chalkboard as she desperately constrained her anger. “The reason V might be able to convince me is the very reason he should never take the deal.”
A sly smirk slipped onto Norah’s face, before she caught herself and smiled normally. The British Knight gave Vince an elegant bow like something from a period drama.
“Gabriela knows how to contact me. I await your call, Mister Keys,” Norah said. She glanced back at the other unicorn. “You cannot outrun what you are. The academy has offered you a lot already, and stands to offer you even more despite your attempts to spurn us. But we cannot save you if you destroy everything that makes you valuable.”
“Uh huh. Now fuck off, before I pull V’s cock out and make you leave.” Gabriela grinned toothily and made a crude gesture with one hand.
Norah sneered, then strode away. The lights flashed on an Aston Martin parked nearby. Figured she drove a British sports car.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Vince shifted his weight from foot to foot.
Gabriela sighed. “Sit, guapito. I have some explaining to do before we talk about… whatever you need from me.”
The moment he sat down, a waitress appeared and removed Norah’s empty cup and saucer, then took Vince’s order for a coffee. Swift service. He suspected she did well on tips here.
“You don’t have to explain,” he said. “I butted into something private.”
“And Norah made it your business.” Gabriela picked up a long packet of sugar from the middle of the table and spun it between her fingers. “I invited you out here knowing the risk. This is where I came from… sorta.”
He frowned. “Odd background for a cartel captain.”
“Duh.” She let out a short bark of laughter. “You don’t know much about all the shit surrounding unicorns, I take it? The British Empire spends a fortune on PR campaigns, and nearly as much covering up the dodgy shit they do. Being a superpower lets you lean on others, funnily enough.”
“The academy, I take it?”
“That’s a no, then.” She smiled. “They found me when I was nine. Until then, I’d grown up down south, where I hear you’re from. Not as bad as the slums of Elfland up north, but still rough.”
Vince’s mind raced, and he knew where this was going. “And somehow you ended up here, in one of the ritzier and older parts of Aulfair. What do you mean ‘found you?’”
“My parents kept me secret. They got an inkling I was special and did a home birth. It was… rough.” Gabriela’s expression darkened and she stared off into the distance. “I’m an only child, and fortunate that’s the worst of it. But the reason is simple: fear. It’s rumored that unicorn children are taken away from their mothers and effectively gifted to the British Government. They scour the planet for unicorns, you know?”
“That I did know,” he admitted. “Unicorns are descended from the original demihuman tribe from northern Britain, but they spread across Europe. Now any horsefolk can give birth to a unicorn.”
Quintus had once mentioned that the Romans had been partly responsible for the mess. Large numbers of unicorns ventured into Roman-controlled Europe, found the local horsefolk attractive, and suddenly there was unicorn blood in every horse demihuman in Europe. Within a few centuries, that extended to every horsefolk in the world thanks to trade with Asia.
Most of Rome’s horsefolk had been Spanish, which explained the significant unicorn population in the US. Vince also recalled mention of Numidian horsefolk, although he had to admit he didn’t know what or where Numidia was, other than African.
“Yup. I’m a throwback to a greater race and all that.” Gabriela rolled her eyes. “By the time the Brits found me, I was too old to disappear—if they actually do that. Instead, they filled my head with dreams of being a hero, like the unicorn knights I’d read about and seen in cartoons. If I went to the academy, they’d give us everything. A new home, steady income for my folks, insurance—lots of shit I didn’t really understand then, but know the value of now.”
“That’s… a hell of a choice to lump on a nine-year-old kid.”
No response. Gabriela smiled into her coffee cup. Her ears drooped and her horn dimmed. Those shadows from earlier had long since vanished, but he noticed that the light of her horn shifted according to her emotions. Was this related to her control over light magic?
“You’ve said enough, and I don’t think I need to know the details,” Vince said. “I’m guessing there was a catch.”
“One that I think my parents understood, and struggled over. Sending me to the academy solved my family’s problems, just like winning the lottery. But the British Empire doesn’t give away millions for nothing. The academy is an indoctrination program. We walk in bright-eyed little girls that dream of being heroes, and exit brainwashed knights that serve Britain.”
“And you left that state-funded indoctrination program.”
Gabriela nodded. “Yup.”
He leaned back in his chair and took in what he’d heard, as well as what he observed.
Gabriela lacked her usual bouncy energy. A solemness exuded from her, as if she was exposing some deep, dark secret about herself that she despised. She clasped her cup tightly in both hands, hunched her shoulders, and adopted a defensive posture. Nervousness permeated her every word and action.
“I don’t think that’s something to worry about,” Vince said. “I’m not a fan of school, and the ones I went to weren’t secret military training camps.”
“Heh. Thanks.” She cracked a smile. “That’s what Norah’s here about, though. Normally, they reel us runaways back in with threats and crippling debt. That house they gave my parents? Suddenly they have to buy it at current market value, plus interest since I joined the academy. My tuition becomes retroactively payable and is worth six-figures a year. Every cent they spent on me becomes due at once, with huge penalties and markups.”
Fury seared Vince’s veins and his knuckles whitened against his cup. Gabriela’s eyes glanced down at his hands, and she relaxed a little.
“Thanks,” she muttered.
“I haven’t done anything,” he said gruffly.
He’d pinned Norah as dangerous and a bitch, but not at this level. She was a debt collector. Those comments about debt had been literal and were her weapon of choice instead of breaking kneecaps.
“Fortunately, Aulfair has a law that stopped them from kicking my parents onto the street and that forced the academy to offer them a payment plan,” Gabriela said. “Would have been shit out of luck in nearly any other state. As a cartel captain, I make enough to afford repayments. It’s mostly a nuisance.”
“What about your dragon overlord?” he asked.
“He paid off around half of my debt when my gang made the cut for the Mane Eleven.” She shrugged. “I didn’t even realize until months later when I got a letter with an updated balance. Thought it was an error. Not sure what goes through that bastard’s head. Maybe he wanted me to beg him to pay off the rest.”
“That doesn’t sound like you.”
“Thank fuck, because it shouldn’t,” she said. “I’d only spoken a few words to him back then, so maybe he thought otherwise.”
“So instead of being saddled with ten million in debt, you have five.”
“Not quite that high, but yeah, basically.”
Both of them leaned back in their seats, lost in their thoughts. Vince tried to make sense of what he’d heard, and why Gabriela took such a massive risk. She hadn’t started as a cartel captain, and he doubted she planned to mire her parents in debt hell.
For her part, she gazed off into space with a distant expression. He wondered if she asked herself the same question.
“Why’d you leave?” he asked.
The question was more for his own satisfaction than anything else. Nina walked away from a bright future as an elite enforcer because she hated the gig, only to despise office drudgery in a different manner. And Vince now found himself at a loss in his own career as an enforcer.
What led this unicorn to ignore a chance to join the elite unicorn knights in favor of becoming a common gangster? The cartel weren’t exactly the crème de la crème of Aulfair’s underworld.
“Partly, I was bored.” Gabriela’s tone was self-deprecating. “No matter what cool things I was being taught, it was still school. Lots of fluttering girls, I rarely found myself challenged, and the blatant indoctrination was clear. Also, while I don’t particularly like guys, being banned from going close to any pissed me off.”
“They told you not to do something, so you wanted to do it,” he said drily. “I thought unicorns only had one lover?”
She shot him an odd look. “Obviously. Why do you think we’re talking?”
He winced. “This… is why Norah made me that offer, isn’t it? She thinks I can manipulate you because you like me.”
“I don’t call you guapito because of your dashing good looks, V.” Gabriela smirked. “It’s because one day I plan to see how riding you compares to my Indian. But… not yet. That’s the catch with Norah’s plan. Once a unicorn willingly takes a lover, we’re bound to them for life. We’ll never show interest in other men, and our magic is for him only. You, probably.”
The way she shifted nervously, her white horse ears twitching and tail swishing through the air suggested being so earnest about love was new to her. Sexual innuendo came easily to her. Talk of love less so.
“I think that’s something you should take slowly,” he said. “Especially when I already have four girlfriends.”
