The (sort of) Dark Mage (Waldo Rabbit) (51 page)

“Because we’ve already been here seven days and I still have no idea my second servant might be.” He shoveled some food into his mouth and ate it reflexively, his mind clearly somewhere else.

“I’m sure we’ll find who we’re looking for sooner or later, and as long as it’s a man or a really, really ugly woman everything will be fine.”

Waldo frowned. Her relentless good cheer was grating on his nerves a bit. He hadn’t shared all of his worries with her. There was nothing she could do about them, so there was no reason to burden her. Seeing her so relaxed and optimistic only made his own concerns weigh down even more heavily.

“Why are you so happy?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I am a free woman getting to have breakfast with her precious husband. There is nowhere else in the world I would rather be.”

Waldo let out a grunt. Somehow her answer was both endearing and annoying at the same time.

The front door opened and the Innkeeper stepped out into the common room. In his hands was a small clay jar with a cork stopper. There was a small back room where stayed when there were guests. Most mornings he was up early helping Alice in the kitchen. Today it would seem he had gone out.

“Good morning Alice. I got this for you.” He handed the small jar to her. “It’s honey.”

“Oh! That’s so sweet of you! Thank you so much.”

Tyrone looked like a puppy that’d just had his belly rubbed. “Well you mentioned yesterday how you wished you had some for your porridge.”

Alice nodded. “I remember you telling me there wasn’t any in the market.”

“There wasn’t, but there is a special herb shop that sells things you can’t find at the regular market. They have all sorts of special foods and luxuries; they even have things for the local magic users.”

Waldo’s face immediately rose from his bowl.

“You really didn’t have to go to so much trouble.” Alice told him.

Tyrone puffed his chest out. “It was nothing. I don’t mind a bit now so long as it makes you happy.”

Alice was about to tell him how grateful she was when Waldo spoke up.

“Where is this herbal shop?”

Tyrone blinked, as if noticing he was at the table for the first time. “It’s on the Street of Hammers near Baden Hill.”

“Hurry up and finish eating,” Waldo told Alice. “I want to visit this place.” He began shoveling food into his mouth.

“Darling, don’t you want to try some honey with your porridge?”

“No.” He stuffed some more down. “Eat quickly or I’m leaving without you.”

XXX

The clang of metal striking metal was everywhere. Waldo noticed it less than he had when they first arrived. That only meant it was less of an annoyance. What was annoying him now was the way Alice was dragging her feet.

“Come on, I want to get to this shop and see if they have anything useful. It would be nice to get something accomplished for a change.”

Alice frowned and began moving even more slowly.

“If you don’t want to come just give me the purse and you can go back to the Inn and let the Innkeeper fawn over you.”

“His name is Tyrone, we’ve been staying there long enough for you to remember by now. And I’ve told you before that I will handle the money.”

“Fine, but in that case move more quickly.”

Alice came to a halt and crossed her arms.

“Now what?”

“You’ve been very rude today. Not just to me, but to Tyrone as well. I only mentioned wanting to get honey yesterday because you didn’t like your porridge. Then Tyrone went out and found some without even being asked. You could have at least thanked him for that.”

“Why? I didn’t ask for any favors and he didn’t do it for me, he did it to please you. He has been Charmed and will do anything for you.”

“Well, I am very charming.”

Waldo shook his head. “No, you didn’t simply charm him, you Charmed him.”

“Darling, when you use the same word twice it still has only one meaning.”

Waldo glanced up and down the street to make sure no one was close enough to overhear him. The nearest person was a shabby looking man about twenty yards behind them. “When I say you Charmed the Innkeeper I don’t mean with kind words or subtle suggestions you might let him enjoy your body.”

Waldo completely failed to notice the sudden blush on Alice’s cheeks.

“What I mean is the natural ability of a succubus to captivate and mesmerize a man. In short, you made him your willing slave.”

“I would never do anything like that!”

“I’m not complaining Alice; it’s one of the main advantages of having a succubus familiar. If anything, I would like you to do it more often. Once a man has been Charmed he will do pretty much anything for you.”

“No, I can’t do anything like that. I mean, I can get men to be nice to me. but that’s only because they find me beautiful and I know how to talk to them. I’ve never done anything like make them willing slaves!”

“Are you sure? Haven’t you ever had a man do exactly what you wanted?”

“Well… yes, lots of times in fact, but that didn’t have anything to do with any special power.”

“Uh, huh.”

“It didn’t,” she insisted. “Gentle words from a pretty face are all it takes with most men.”

“I’m sure that was the case often, but not every time. Charming requires you to look directly into your victim’s eyes and desire him to obey you. Even if you were unaware, it would be instinctive for you. It’s likely you have been doing it your entire life.”

Alice shook her head. “No, I’ve never done anything like that.”

“Really?” Waldo began looking at the blacksmith shops; there were three just in the immediate area. He pointed to one of them at random. “Go in there, go up to the owner, look him in the eyes, and ask him to give you a sword.”

“What do we need a sword for?”

“It’s just to make a point, ask the owner to give you a sword.”

“Swords are hard to make, and even here iron doesn’t come cheap, no blacksmith is just going to give me a sword because I ask.”

“He will if you Charm him.”

Alice gave an exasperated sigh. “Fine, I will do it just to show that you are wrong.” She stomped over to the shop as Waldo waited where he was.

Less than two minutes later she came back out again, awkwardly holding a broadsword out in front of her.

The people passing on the street stared. It was common enough for men to carry weapons here, but a woman with a sword was a rare sight.

“I just looked him in the eyes and asked him if he would give me a sword.” Alice was shifting her weight from one foot to the other and holding the sword out as far from her as she could. “He just nodded and agreed, like it was normal to gift a complete stranger with something like this. I mean he didn’t even try to get me to do anything immoral! He just did what I told him to.”

Waldo nodded. “That is how a succubus Charm works; it bends the victim’s will and makes him completely obedient.”

“Could you please not call him a victim? I feel bad enough as it is.”

“Why? For you this is completely natural.”

Alice turned her gaze to her feet. “I never knew I was forcing anyone to do what I wanted. When a man would do as I asked I always figured it was because he wanted to. I know what it’s like to be controlled, and I don’t want to do it to anyone else.”

“Well that’s a huge waste of your ability.” Waldo noticed she was keeping her face down. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to Charm you by accident. I would hate to think you were only with me because I was forcing you.”

He chuckled. “You really are something special Alice.”

She quickly glanced up, and then just as quickly looked down again.

“While I appreciate the concern it’s not necessary. There are limits to the Charm ability. Women and magic users are immune to it, as are the blind. You cannot simply look at someone and affect them, there must be direct eye contact and you must feel the desire to have them do as you wish. Even then, if the vic… the person, has a strong will they can limit the influence the Charm has on them. The effect can be extended as long as you continue to be seen by the person. Once you leave, the Charm will wear off within a few days.”

Alice looked back at him. “Well that’s a relief. I would really hate to think you were with me because I’d made you.”

“You have no need to fear then, I am with you because you are precious to me.”

Waldo saw her blush again, he had no idea why.

“Ah, that’s very sweet of you to say darling. So what do we do with this?” She swung the sword slightly from side to side.

“Well we could find a shop that sells leather goods and get you a free belt and sheath.”

“I am not keeping it! What would I use it for? A sword is only made for killing.”

“The same could be said about your claws.”

“Those are a part of me, and no one sees them until I am about to use them. You’re the man, why don’t you wear it?”

“A mage carrying a sword on his hip? Barbaric. In any case, my wand is deadlier than any hunk of sharpened iron.” That had not been true when he’d first set out, but it was now.

“So what do we do with this thing?”

Waldo pointed at a different black smith shop. “Go in there, look the owner in the eye and ask him to buy it from you. I’m sure you will get a very fair price without even haggling.”

“I can’t do that! Now that I understand my ability it would be like stealing!”

“So? I like stealing.”

“I have a better idea.” She turned around and walked back to the same shop.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m returning this.”

“You mean for free?” Waldo sounded outraged.

“I am not going to just rob some stranger.”

“Does that mean robbing people we know is all right?”

Closing her eyes and shaking her head she went into the shop.

Chapter 37

Please Stop Talking Now

“You’re not allowed to be upset with me.”

Waldo cast a stern glance back over his shoulder.

“You’re not, all I did was return something that I had no right to in the first place.”

“For free. You’re the one who is always worried about how much money we have.”

“That doesn’t mean I want us to steal. It means I want us to earn what we can and spend carefully.”

“You didn’t seem to mind with Roger.”

“That was different. He wanted to force himself on me.”

“So it’s all right as long as it’s any man who wants to have sex with you? Good, that means we can still rob most of the men in the world.”