A few weeks passed since I had told my story and I got situated in Harold's place pretty nicely. My constant magic flare-ups made it impossible for me to be around any of the clients, but I could handle the animals in back just fine.
Oddly enough, with all the barking and growling from the dogs, and the occasional feral cat going ballistic, I was pretty at ease. My thoughts were only on my charges and my magic didn't manifest much at all. I had the largest problem with it when I was at home, as I quickly found myself calling Harold's apartment. I would just be talking about something or watching a movie and it would flare up without warning. Thankfully it never actually burned my clothes or the furniture. We found out it wasn't inherently dangerous when Harold tripped and crashed into me and it flared. He didn't get burned at all. It put everyone in a slightly better mindset. The biggest problem was when it flared around the machines and messed with them.
The first thing I started doing, without telling the others of course, was to start looking for magic dealers so I could get another set that may help at least until I could get a handle on it. None had anything that was strong enough though. Dad had apparently been right on that count, my magic was stronger than the average monster's.
It was Thursday after work and I had decided to take a detour to visit a better, if more expensive, dealer in the area that I knew.
With Harold living so close I walked home simply because I could. I enjoyed walking.
I walked into the shop, the front looking like some perfume shop that stunk to high heaven. There was a blond chick painting her nails at the counter. She shot me a completely fake smile. "What can I help you with today sir?" she asked in a very practiced false cheerful voice.
"I'm looking for a scent that makes the night seem bright and the earth feel like sky." I replied. I had gotten the password off of some junkie who came here for cheap dope. It was way too long and too flashy, but that was just like the dealer.
The girl's eyes immediately became worried. "I'm sorry sir. I don't think we can help you with that." She tried to evade.
"What's Jerico hiding from, or has he changed his name again." I sighed as she played hardball. I was in no mood.
"I-I don't know any Jerico. Sir, I'm going to please ask you to leave." She was definitely scared. Probably thought I was a relative of someone he pissed off when he sold their parts. He lived in the deepest part of the dark world, hence why I was hoping he might be able to help me. It was just the cost I was worried about.
Sighing, I pushed past the counter and through the beaded curtain into the back room.
"Hey, you can't go back there!" she yelled, but didn't go through the beads herself.
"Idiot." I murmured under my breath and kept walking. The back was like a stock room. I looked for the most expensive shelf and sure enough, it was against a wall. One bottle looked a bit off. I shook my head, he may be in deep, but he was still flashy. I grabbed the bottle and finding it attached to the wall, turned it, opening a door into a deeper part of the shop. I stepped in and closed the door behind me. It was dim back here, but lit well enough to see.
"What do you want! I'm busy. I told Jessica to keep people out today." Groused a hidden nasally voice.
I grinned. "Now that's no way to greet an old pal, Jerico." I drew out the name. He had always feared me, likely due to my father and the gang behind us, so I couldn't resist picking. It had been years, since before I got the boot, since I had visited this man.
"Who's there?!" He squealed and I noticed his head pop up over a high shelf behind the desk. The place was a maze of high shelves with the desk in the center.
I laughed darkly. "Just me. GJ. I'm in the market and I'm thinking you may have something that I'm looking for." GJ was my street name. It kept strangers from confusing me with my father and allowed me to create my own name.
"GJ? I thought you were dead?" I heard skittering, then he came out from behind the shelf.
I made a show of looking at myself. "If I were you, yeah, I'd be dead, but I'm still moving so must be alive." I joked.
He looked unsure. "You are certainly more jovial and careless than when I last saw you."
Instantly I check my surroundings, but find nobody in the direct area, so no ambush.
"That's more like the GJ I'm used to. Now, where you been? The underground will be abuzz to hear you're back." He settled at his desk as he opened conversation. He was now comfortable that I hadn't turned straight it seemed.
"I'm not back, I'm just looking for merch that I can't get otherwise. I need magic inhibitors, strong ones, and I need silence, no questions asked and no spreading the word that I was here." I explained.
"hmmm, well, that may be hard. You see, I had word you were back about a week ago, so word is already out." He went quiet suddenly.
I was glaring at him, annoyed that I had let the slimeball from a week and a half ago run off. He was obviously a rookie runner, but if he was running his jaws, he could cause trouble. I noticed Jerico's silence finally through my musing and glanced at him. He was quite pale. Glancing at my clenched fist, I saw it was glowing green. I held it up, opening my hand as my flames condensed into a ball over my hollow palm.
"What's wrong Jerico? Not used to fire, or is it that you thought I didn't have magic?" I looked at him threateningly. "I'll be adding information to my order. Now, let's talk about those products I'm looking for." I snapped my hand shut, releasing a sharp breath. Thankfully the magic dispelled when I willed it or I would look quite foolish and weak. Not something I could afford at the moment.
"O-Of course, sir. Wh-What is it you were looking for exa-actly?" he stuttered in fear.
"I'm looking for a powerful magic inhibitor. One that can be easily hid and manipulated by the one it's applied to. Stronger even than the ones that my father purchased from you." I added that last bit as a bluff. I was almost positive that my father had gotten mine from this man. That was why I had come here. The way his eyes bulged confirmed my suspicions.
"How did you know about those?" he asked.
"I'm asking the questions. Now, do you have something like that or not?"
"Yes, yes I do. Let me just go grab them. I will be right back. I swear!" he turned and fled back into the maze of shelves and I slumped.
I was out of practice when it came to information gathering. Thankfully this guy was always such a pushover. It was his way of doing deals that was dangerous. The only reason he lived this long was that his prices were reasonable and he sold hard to find items. So long as you paid up-front, you were fine. Make a deal though, and he would find some way to take everything you had before you knew what happened. I'd seen him break more than one unfortunate soul that way.
I heard the patter of his feet as he returned and forced myself back up so he wouldn't catch me with my guard down.
"What of these?" he offered a small wooden box with a gold clasp on the front. I gave him a sharp glance and he wilted immediately and set the box on the desk facing me and opened it to show some much smaller pieces of jewelry.
A few silver and gold colored rings, a set of garnet earrings in gold settings which I passed over, and then a gold bar with a gold ball on each end with sapphires set in each ball. It looked too small to go in an ear or navel, but too long and wrong shape for a septum. I carefully picked it up and immediately felt the drain on my strength. It wasn't as strong as the wraps I'd had, but it certainly took a good amount out of me. "What is this piece?"
"It's a tongue ring, sir." He looked away, obviously a bit embarrassed. It wasn't common knowledge that skeletons could have non-skeletal parts, so I didn't fault him for thinking I would not have need of this particular piece.
I closed my hand around it and looked through the box a bit more, finally selecting a gold ring with garnets inset around the inside of the band, out of sight. Stones were a powerful agent in magic worked by humans, and it just so happened that humans were the most adept at securing a monster's power. "I'll take these two." I said.
His look told me he was surprised, but he asked no questions.
"Now, who is spreading rumors about me?" I asked. Direct questions would hopefully get me my answers faster. I had already been here too long. I didn't know what I would tell Harold, but I knew it was not gonna be true.
"I heard it at a bar. I honestly didn't believe the mutt, neither did anybody else. Everyone thinks you're dead. It was a temmie monster. I don't know their name." he provided. It was too easy, but he was a rat.
"And what is all this going to cost me, and don't try to bid me up. I may have not been in the market, but I have kept an eye on costs. I'll know if you try to cheat me." I allowed my magic to manifest once more, as it had been pressing against my bones, but kept from emerging with the inhibitors held in my grasp. This time it emerged as an orange glow over my hand and wrist. The magic wasn't unnoticed by Jerico.
"Five grand for the items, another two hundred for the info." His eyes never left my hand, but actually widened even more as the magic turned black, completely obscuring my white bones.
"And what if I told you I would trade you a rib off a skeleton monster, intact, with four hundred. Would that settle the tab?" I countered. I only has seven hundred from my last check.
His eyes went wide. Skeletons were rare, to get a rib off of one of them was more like ten grand, but it was only a partial, not that he knew that. I just wanted to be rid of it. "That would work just fine. You have the payment on you?" he checked.
"I do." I pulled out the cash from my wallet and pulled the bone from inside my jacket. I set both on his desk for him to look over, which he did. The bone he handled with the utmost care.
"Was there anything else you needed?" He asked, eyes flicking from me to the bone, afraid I would change my mind and take it back.
"That will be all. The extra from that will be put on credit. I will be back at some point. I expect you to live long enough. Don't get stupid pal." I offered a hand and we shook.
"Three grand on the tab, gotcha." He said with a grin.
"Four and a half grand." I said, gripping his hand tight, feeling the knuckles of his hand grind.
"Okay, okay." I released him. "You drive a hard bargain."
"And remember, I'm not back, I wasn't here, and you never heard, nor saw me around."
"You got it GJ. You're dust in the air as far as I'm concerned."
"Set that up and you'll wish you were." I threatened and walked out, almost forgetting to cancel out my magic.
The next step would be actually finding somebody who would pierce my tongue. I figured that would be sorta difficult, and then explaining it to my coworkers. I don't think they will approve, but for now at least, it is needed. As I walked out of the shop, I subtly slid the ring onto a random finger and dropped the stud in a pocket of my half-jacket before tucking my hands into my jeans pockets. As I continued my trek home, I noticed just how many tattoo and piercing shops there were. I had never paid them any attention before as I hadn't had much interest in inking my bones, but now that I was looking for them, they were everywhere. The question was, which should I go to. I had a lot of research ahead of me. Turning the corner onto my block, I noticed there was a shop directly across from our apartment as well. It was ironic how conveniently it was placed.
I huffed out a steamy breath in the chill air and made my way to my building, and then up to the apartment. I now had a key, so I let myself in as had become habit. It was always locked, whether someone was home or not. New York just wasn't safe enough to leave doors open. "I'm home." I called as I toed off my sneakers and left them by the door next to Harolds.
"Where were you. You're normally back by twenty after. You're almost an hour late." My housemate scolded.
"Sorry, had something I wanted to take care of." I evaded. I didn't want to directly lie to him, but I also knew that the truth wouldn't be welcomed either.
I heard a sigh from the kitchen area. "Well, you have a phone. Let me know next time. I was afraid you wouldn't get home in time for supper. I made quiche with ham and cheddar."
"Awesome!" I cheered from the doorway as I pulled off my jacket and hung it on a wall hook. It may only be a half-jacket, but it kept my arms and ribs warm. My thick turtle neck was enough for my spine, besides, I liked the jacket. I walked into the main room and flopped on the couch. FIFIA was on and from the looks of things, Brazil was winning. They were ahead of Egypt by a solid ten goals. "Yo, Har, how far are they in?"
"We're only on the first quarter. I don't know what's happening, but it looks like Egypt is really off their game. Losing that forward and goalie last season has really hurt their team." He had come over and was standing behind the couch watching with me.
Out of my periphery vision I saw him hand down a plate and accepted it. The thick pie slice on my plate looked weird, but so did a lot of things he made. I took a bite and couldn't believe how good it was, or how hot. I quickly covered my mouth as I tried to cool off the food by breathing in through my mouth. Covering it of course did little to provide cover, but it was the gesture. "Hot!" I choked around the food.
"Well it just came out of the oven ya dip." He laughed.
When I finally managed to swallow it, I stuck out my tongue and scraped over it, pulling the burnt magic off.
"Dude, that just looks wrong. You look like your sucking on some sort of demented banana, and since when did you have a tongue anyway. Ivan said that when they were working on you, all you had was bone."
The game had gone over to commercial break, so I looked up to him, pulling my now unburnt yellow tongue back in. "It typically only manifests when I'm awake. Not like I need it when I'm asleep."
"I-I guess. Though, that is the first time I've seen your magic that color. Maybe it's just you're tongue that's that color?" he asked.
I blushed white. "Uh, I don't know. It's really not that big a deal." He was watching me very intensely and it was kinda creepy.
"Nope, guess not." He sighed and looked away, finally taking a bite of his supper, only to have to juggle it on his own tongue, making me laugh.
"Hey, it's hot." I picked.
He playfully backhanded my shoulder, only to pull his hand back, rubbing the knuckles. "I know." His answer was garbled as he talked with a full mouth.
"So I'm guess it changed color or something?" I asked when I stopped laughing at him and he managed to finish his mouthful.
"Yeah, turned white, just like you're blush. It's always funny to see you blush. I never would have thought it possible for a skeleton to blush. Living with you is certainly a daily learning experience." He laughed, and I had to join him in that.
The rest of the night passed in amicable chatter and jokes. Brazil won the game, though Egypt did make a decent come back in the third quarter. I saw him glance at the ring, but nothing was said on the matter and I only had two magic flare ups. Less than I had had since I had lost my wraps.
Within the next week I researched the surrounding area for shops and their customer reviews. Some places were obviously just fronts for underworld business, some just had bad reviews, and some had outstanding, stellar reviews. These last ones I scoped out in my free time to see if they had ties buried under their good name to the underground. I finally narrowed my search to six different parlors. I took the time to go into each one and talk to the people who worked there and get quotes for the work I wanted done. Out of the six, only two said they would pierce my magic, and I had bad vibes from the one. It ended up that a parlor all the way across town was the one I ended up going to. They explained that since my tongue was made of magic, instead of flesh, I would likely not have to worry about it swelling and the whole healing process, but it still would initially sting. He explained that he had pierced magic before, although not a tongue, he had done other parts, and couldn't really tell me more than that for client confidentiality. So, almost a month after I had purchased the stud, I was finally getting it put in. I was nervous, but ready. With this in, my magic should stop it's outbreaks completely. I didn't know if I'd still be able to access it, but if not, I could always take off the ring to do so. The stud and the ring felt about the same power.
"Alright, take a breath."
I did.
"And again."
I exhaled and took another, only to jump and let out an undignified squeak.
"Whoa, okay, that was different. It's in. Just hold still for a few more seconds." I felt him messing with the rod, pulling it slightly and feeling the metal pull through the fresh wound. Then he pulled away. "Alright. You're all done. What do you think?"
He handed me a mirror so I could check it out. The weight felt strange to say the least, but I kind of liked it. After swallowing a few times I stuck out my tongue. Where it had been sapphire before, it was now yellow with a bit of purple along the edge and center. The golden metal with the sapphire set looked large and small at the same time, but definitely looked different than I was used to seeing in my image. I pulled my tongue back in and the ball clicked against my top teeth hard. I couldn't stop the giggle that followed. "It's weird. I like it, but it will take some getting used to." Forming words around the metal was hard, but I needed to relearn to speak.
He laughed. "Don't try to talk around the piercing. Just talk like you normally do. That's the trick of it. Well, we're done. You already paid, so you're good to go. Come back if you have any questions. Okay?" he offered a hand to help me off the table I was sitting on and I accepted, hopping off and smiled.
"Sure thing. Thank you." I had felt the immediate repression of my active magic, but it was still there, just faintly. I was getting better already at talking with the metal in my mouth, though I still slurred a bit. It was certainly strange.
"Oh, and buddy, why don't you take one of these cards. I have a feeling that you may benefit from giving them a call." He handed me a business card from his pile.
I figured it was some affiliate shop or some such, but as I read the info on it, I couldn't believe it. This was for magic training and photography. I looked up at him, confused as to why he would recommend I go to photography. As far as I knew, I hadn't let my uncontrolled magic slip.
"The way your magic changes colors, I've never seen that, plus, when I ran the needle through, your hand lit up. I know not everybody gets training when they are young, or they just get homeschooled and that isn't always enough. Either way, I'd recommend getting some work in on that. Nothing personal." He smiled amicably and shrugged.
Guess I did. "Thank you. I'll definitely give them a call." I half whispered. Finding people who taught magic control had proven to be a hard search as everybody had looked. The few we had found only took young monsters or didn't want someone with my obvious extra power. There was no guarantee that this person would be any different, but I knew that we hadn't checked this one yet. I recognized the name, but not from recently. I couldn't place it.
I walked out of the shop still staring at the card, according to the hours on it, they were still open and they weren't too far out of my way home, so I figured why not stop by and see what was there. The worst that could happen is that this person was somehow linked back to my mafia past. If that were the case, I'd just make up some lie. Nobody had seen me since I was a kid, they likely wouldn't recognize me now anyway. With that thought, I started to make my way down the street toward a hopefully new training master on magic.