Chapter 14

“I ask you to stay or make dead good dead.” The simpleton laughed at his joke and then went inside. His partner eyed me suspiciously. Ha! I thought this brute could hardly think. How could he be suspicious? A moment later, the first brute lumbered back out, “Boss says come do nothing or smash good smash, break bones make a good mess.” Again the simpleton laughed at his own private joke.

I was led to a rather spacious and richly decorated room; hmmm, I thought this was not the room of a troll. I was sitting in a huge plush chair, the kind you’d like to sleep in, but I was afraid the cops were going to take you to jail for loitering in. The leader spun in his chair, giving me the once over, “Thud says you want in; you have to forgive the extra security; that damn Greenstick showed up at Jimmy the slot’s place and threatened him.”

I had been reading all that I could feel; something was off about this troll, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Though most of the trolls were simple-minded, there were a few leaders who were quite intelligent. It was actually the reason why their race had survived as long as it had. No, something was up with this one. The general felt the ... suddenly, it started to make sense. The leader is called Jimmy. Jimmy the slot, no troll would ever use a mage name for any other creature.

“I see,” I said, “so how does that affect me? I just want to kill the bastard. Is all reward or not? Been trying for years.” I said in a whispered voice. Laughing, the leader looked at me, “Well, if you have enough of whatever you’ve got, it ought to work out well for you. I have to tell you, though, he’s a tricky bastard, slippery as an eel. Good luck and good hunting.”

I’d been racking my brain as to the identity of this false troll, but nothing came to mind. Damn it! I’d have to wait to take this one down ‘til I figured out who he was. As I left, I replayed every part of the conversation, but still nothing came to me. I appeared in my apartment. Of course, Cloe was there twitching and moaning, “Have you had enough bitch? You ready to use the safe words?” I asked her.

I thought she was going to say it, then her face screwed up into an almost rage as she spat out, “Never asshole, you hear me?”

I was too tired to really give a shit, but I held up an enchanted dildo. Her eyes got huge as I started to stuff it in her hole. “Just so you know, I’ve had this enchanted. You won’t come even close, but you’ll wish you had. Night bitch!” With that, I laid down, damn it! I was frustrated, and I still couldn’t pierce the veil that was hiding the answer. Hell, even the increased whines of Cloe brought me no satisfaction.

Finally falling asleep, Tyrome’s sleep was restless. Many times, the identity of the man in the troll office would start to be revealed and then snatched away. An hour before he was to actually get up to go in, it finally hit him. I was remembering for the thousandth time when something he’d said tugged at my mind. {If you have enough of whatever you’ve got, it ought to work out good for you.}I’d heard that phrase before; finally, I was starting to close in on who he was. Getting up, I decided I wasn’t going to get any more sleep, and looking at Cloe, I could see she was still quivering from the added stimulation of the dildo. Sighing, I had to do something about Cloe, though I wasn’t sure I could order her to tell me why about a good many things. Then again, I thought, knowing her as I do, she’d share soon enough, though I’d have to get her mad as hell before she did that. Shivering, I wasn’t sure I was ready to do that right now, not with as much as I had on my plate. Shaking my head, I reached for a bowl to eat cereal. I might be a mage, but I still loved my cereal.

I was pouring the bowl full when I stopped staring at the shape in my bowl. Snapping my fingers, I remembered a mage about 300 years ago I had put away or thought I had. I was a bounty hunter back then, so I just turned them in, got the reward, and left; that idiot, as I remember, had a lot of high-level contacts, at least then he did. Thinking back, I saw the ass again; he’d been thinner than not that powerful (I myself was at least 15 levels lower, having started that year to increase), but then again, I was weaker myself. I just had a lot of experience and magic restraints I used. Damn, I missed them, but as my power increased, I found that I really didn’t need them as much. Smiling, I still had a fondness for a few of them; I’d tracked him to an abandoned building (or so I thought), knowing that I finally had him. Entering the building, I soon spotted him making a move toward what looked like a human. Doing a quick read, I found it was a homeless man, damn it! He was trying to increase his mass; aiming, I fired the first of my restraints, a whirling bolo with stun spells built in.

Luckily, I caught him by surprise, and he went down as the homeless guy ran off screaming. Oh shit! I had to move quickly. Grabbing my now frozen capture, I flashed out to the nearest concealed spot, calling the council.