Blood Slave: A Realm Walker Novel by Kathleen Collins Read Free Book Online Page A

just as obvious when he dismissed her. “Piper,” he said, nodding in greeting. “What can I do you for?”
    James put a hand on the small of her back and pushed her forward. Clearing her throat as she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket, she unfolded it and laid it on the counter between them. It looked like a Japanese kanji but was in fact a combination of Thomas’s initials which formed his personal symbol. The tattooist looked between her and the drawing several times before pushing it back across the counter with one finger. “Unless your name’s Norris, that ain’t getting anywhere near you.”
    She tried to hide her shock but wasn’t very successful since the man snorted a laugh and waved a hand at her in dismissal.
    “What, you think ole Jack is stupid? Or maybe you just thought I had a death wish.” He laughed. “Sorry, sister. No one wears Thomas Kendrick’s personal symbol without his permission and unless your name is Norris, you ain’t got it.”
    Curse that man. Thomas was nothing if not thorough. He’d probably issued an order to every shop in his area. Not that she entirely blamed him. It wasn’t unheard of for master vampires to collect their own kind of fans. A vampire’s symbol was used to mark his property. Some didn’t care who used it, as it showed their willingness to belong to the vamp in question. Others, like Thomas, were very careful with how that symbol was used. Pulling her Agency ID out of her pocket, she laid it open on the counter next to the drawing. “You were saying?”
    Jack examined it and then looked past her to James in surprise.
    “Jack, meet my sister-in-law, Juliana Norris.”
    “No shit?” He held out a hand, which she shook. His beefy mitt totally engulfed her own. “Nice to meet you. Heard a lot about you from James here, though he was beginning to doubt he’d ever get you in here. Where do you want the brand?”
    She cringed at the choice of words, but that was essentially what she was doing. Branding herself so if things went bad in Kansas City, she could flash Thomas’s symbol and maybe buy herself some time. Tugging at the strings of her bracelet, she took it off and showed him the inside of her exposed wrist. It would be easy to hide but she’d have the comfort of knowing it was there.
    “Let’s get started,” he said with a grin and led her to the back of the shop.
    He gestured to one of the two run-down chairs. She sat and he started prepping his equipment. Her eyes widened in amazement as he pulled out several bottles and lined them up on the counter. Grabbing an empty container he began to mix together a little from each bottle. He never measured, just eyeballing the concoction like a witch mixing potions. The comparison proved more apt than she realized when a little puff of smoke emerged from the container.
    “Jack is one of the best magic tattooists in the country,” James said.
    Trying to conceal her concern, she gave a dubious look to the room around them.
    James smiled. “Relax. He’s done eighty percent of my ink, including the dragon. I wouldn’t keep coming back if he wasn’t good.” James had a large Japanese style dragon tattoo that covered his back. The tail ran up his neck and ended on the top of his head. In addition to being a kickass piece, it was a powerful protection ward.
    Jack rolled his chair over and took her arm, positioning it on the wide arm of the chair and turning it so he could tattoo the sensitive skin of her inner wrist.  He pulled the table loaded with his equipment over. Grabbing the gun, he rolled his chair even closer to hers and bent over with the needle. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for the pain. When she felt only pressure, she opened one eye to peer at what he was doing.
    The ink was indeed being worked under her skin, but she felt nothing. “How…”  She trailed off, afraid if she continued, she’d break whatever spell was making this a pain free experience.
    Jack chuckled low in his