“They know you are.”
“But I’m not,” I argued. “Have you seen me? If I could do magic, I wouldn’t look like this.”
Kate shifted on her cot again, the springs squeaking in protest. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke. “AJ, for some reason, your magic has been bound. Even I can see that.”
I rolled my eyes. “You can’t really expect me to believe vampires and magic are real.”
“Believe what you wish. The facts remain the same.”
Was this all a joke? Some ridiculous prank? If so, who even knew me well enough to do it? No one cared about me except for Sharon, and she’d never do this. How could I even consider that Kate was telling the truth? There was no way I believed in the supernatural. Sure, people did some really weird stuff, especially in Vegas, but she was talking about vampires and mages. I refused to believe it, but I needed a friend right now, so I decided to play along.
“Can we unbind this magic?” I asked.
“I can’t,” Kate responded, “but my brother could.”
“Any chance he’d be looking for you?” I questioned hopefully, grateful I didn’t insult my fellow captive earlier.
“I’m certain he is, but it won’t be easy to get us out of here.”
“Wait, if you can do magic, why can’t you do some spell to blast our way out?”
Kate’s laughter filled the room, but I couldn’t see the humor in our situation. Okay, maybe I could. Magic wasn’t real, so of course she couldn’t blast her way out. Joke’s on me. Way to go.
“Do you think I’d still be here if I could get out?” Kate asked.
I sighed. “No, I suppose not.”
“There is a magical buffer on this entire floor,” she explained. “As soon as you enter the door at the end of the hall, you are separated from your magic.”
So, she was still insisting I believe her story. My frustration level ratcheted another notch.
“Then, what did I feel earlier, when I first got here?” I asked, glad she couldn’t see my raised eyebrow and deepening frown. “You did something that made my skin crawl when you rubbed your hands together.”
“That was just me feeling your magic.”
“But how could you feel it if I’m separated from it, twice even, if I’ve also got this binding thing?” I challenged.
“I can’t explain it,” Kate replied, her own frustration made clear in her voice. There was no way she couldn’t hear my disbelief.
I let it go. None of it made sense to me, and I wasn’t trying to make enemies. I rolled onto my back and stared into the darkness. My logic warred with everything else. I’d felt something from her, and Logan tried to make my heart stop with whatever he’d done.
“Tell me more about the vampires,” I said. When my request was met with silence, I took a deep breath to calm my voice. “Are they like Hollywood portrays them?”
“Sort of,” Kate replied. “They need blood to survive, but they aren’t affected by garlic or holy water. You have to remove their head to kill them, but their speed makes it very difficult to do so.”
“Does the sunlight kill them?”
“It weakens them, but they don’t explode into a pile of ash,” Kate replied.
“I think Logan’s a vampire,” I stated after several moments of silence.
“I assumed as much,” she replied nonchalantly.
“He met me at Sandy’s Diner last night,” I continued. “I thought he disappeared, but he probably just moved really fast.”
“He met you at the diner and didn’t take you?” Disbelief colored her voice; it was her turn to question my tale.
“Why would he when I had already been hired?” I asked in response. “I delivered myself to them.”
“Yeah, that sucks,” Kate replied. “Does anyone know you’re here?”
“My friend Sharon.”
“Will she be worried when she doesn’t hear from you?” Kate asked cautiously. “Would she come here looking for you?”
“Oh, I hope not!” I replied, sitting up in my bed. “What would they do to her if she showed up looking for me?”
“Probably just send her away, saying you showed up for work and did great, then went home. They wouldn’t keep her unless they thought she was a mage,” Kate replied. “They don’t want to draw attention to themselves.”
“As long as they don’t hurt her,” I mumbled. “She’s the only friend I have.”
Chapter 4
At some point, I fell into a fitful sleep. I dreamt of vampires drinking blood from stone gargoyles and Gandalf in a wizard’s dual with Wonder Woman. Typical dream style – none of it made sense. Kind of like my life at the moment.
A violent shaking woke me with a start. I sat up abruptly and smashed my forehead into Kate’s. We both yelped and rubbed our brows. The lights were back on, and I noticed my scarf in a crumpled pile on my lap. I quickly picked it up and started wrapping my head.
“What the hell, Kate?”
“Shh, someone’s in the hall,” she said in a loud whisper, still rubbing her forehead. If she noticed my appearance, she hid it well. “Get dressed, quick.”
I didn’t have an extra change of clothes, so it only took a few minutes to pull on my blue jeans and sneakers. I regretted sleeping in my t-shirt but couldn’t bring myself to take it off.
We crept to the door and pressed our ears against it. Muffled shouts and the sound of slamming doors reached us just as our door pushed inward, throwing us backwards.
Two men burst into the room. From my seated position on the floor, I gawked at the blood dripping from their long swords. They both wore dark pants and black t-shirts that hugged their muscular frames. Blood coated the front of their shirts and a long gash ran down the shorter one’s arm.
“Chica!”
“Raul, thank God you’re here!” Kate jumped to her feet and wrapped her arms around his neck.
The other man frowned. “Seriously, he’s the only one worthy of hugs from our favorite mage?”
“Sammy, you know better.” Kate released Raul and hugged Sammy, but with less enthusiasm. “You guys ok?”
“I’ll fix him up when we’re done,” Sammy replied.
“I bet you will.” Kate grinned. “Just make sure I get to help. Now, tell me how many were here?”
“Fifteen, besides you two,” Raul replied, and both men turned to face me, sliding their swords into leather sheaths on their backs.
I remained sprawled out on the ground gaping at their exchange. These two men clearly killed or wounded someone to rescue us, and no one felt bad about it.
“This is AJ,” Kate said, waving a hand at me. “Looks like she’s bound.”
“Not very well,” Sammy stated. “I can still feel her magic.”
“Yeah, I want to see my brother before we go back to the Magister,” Kate stated, leading the way out of the room.
“He said the same,” Raul replied. “Come on, little mage.” He held his hand out to me. I looked at him skeptically. “I promise I won’t bite,” he said with a smile.
“She will,” Kate said from several feet down the hall.
“I will not,” I retorted and grasped his hand.
A jolt of electricity burst through me as soon as our fingers touched, sending us crashing into opposite walls.
“I told you so,” Kate’s voice sang from the stairwell.
Raul pushed himself to his feet, leaving a smear of blood on the wall behind him, then looked at me. “Damn girl,” he said, eyes wide. “You need to see the man now.”
I stood and rubbed my shoulder. I didn’t know what to say. What the hell was that? No amount of static build-up would knock me on my butt. I’d never reacted to anyone’s touch before, including Logan and Kate just yesterday. But that wasn’t true. Jack shocked me, though not as severely as just now. I followed our rescuers down the stairs, through the hall, and into the back alley. I considered leaving them here and running back to my apartment, but Jack had my address fr
om my application. Would he just send Logan to come get me? If he did, there was nothing I could do to stop him.
“Why weren’t we stopped?” I asked as fifteen other people piled into a waiting van.
“The new girl should get shotgun,” Raul suggested. “So, she ain’t touching no one.”
“I’ve never had issues with touching before,” I said defensively. “Have you considered it’s just you?”
“Definitely not me.” He raised his eyebrows suggestively at Kate who blushed.
“It’s cool, AJ,” Sammy said. “You can sit up front with me. I won’t bite ya.”
I hesitated for a moment, then climbed into the front passenger seat and readjusted my scarf, listening to the soft chatter in the space behind me. It sounded like everyone except me believed in magic and the vampires that took them.
“Sammy, why didn’t they try to stop us?” I asked again, watching the man’s profile as he drove.
“They did. Raul didn’t cut himself,” he replied, not drawing his focus from the road. “We killed one and wounded the other. They only have two guards during the day.”
“Shouldn’t we be taking care of your friend’s arm?” I asked.
“Nah, it isn’t that deep.” He glanced in the rearview mirror. “Besides, Kate’s already on it.”
I twisted in my seat and noticed Kate wrapping a length of gauze around his arm. A first aid kit lay open on her lap.
“Why do they want them?” I asked, nodding towards the back of the van.
“Mages? We’re not sure,” he replied, glancing at me. “You’re one too, ya know.”
I shook my head. “Everyone keeps saying that, but I’ve always just been me. I don’t even believe in magic.”
“There’s something more than just you hiding behind your veil.”
“Just a really ugly face,” I mumbled.
“I wasn’t talking about the pretty scarf,” he said, the corners of his mouth twitching. “Kellen’ll set you straight, don’t worry.”
Chapter 5
We drove for over two hours before rolling to a stop in front of a set of wrought iron gates. I looked out the passenger window at the tall stone wall that seemed to go on forever.
A man’s voice crackled through the speaker at Sammy’s window. “Report.”
“Got ‘em boss,” Sammy replied.
The gate rolled open, and Sammy drove through, parking the van in front of a sprawling hacienda-style home. Three sides of the house wrapped around a large patio garden. Red tiles covered the roof and contrasted beautifully with the sand-colored stucco on the walls.
Everyone spilled from the van with moans and groans, stretching out their cramped joints. I felt a little guilty for taking up the front seat, but then I remembered the spark between me and Raul at the hotel. Maybe it was better if I didn’t touch anyone until I figured out what was going on.
“Let’s get to the bathroom before everyone else does,” Kate said.
I nodded in agreement and followed her into the lush garden. Tall palm trees lined each side, swaying gently in the breeze. Flowering bushes surrounded by colorful stones filled the space beneath them. Mid-day approached quickly, but the shaded garden felt wonderful.
“This is amazing, Kate,” I murmured. “How do you get all this to grow in the desert?”
“Um, magic,” she said with a grin. “Come on. Everyone else will be rushing to the bathroom in the main house. We’ll use mine. I have a thing about germs.”
I smiled beneath my scarf, grateful for the inclusion, and followed Kate. Several sets of glass doors faced the garden, but she headed for one on the right arm of the house. She slid the door open and walked in, leaving me to follow. The cool rush of air conditioner greeted me, and I quickly closed the door.
A modest size bedroom surrounded me with chocolate-colored walls and white furniture. A queen-sized bed rested against the far side with a wall of mirrors on the opposite end. One of the mirrors slid open, and Kate emerged.
“Your turn,” she said with a smile.
I hesitated even though my bladder screamed for relief. There was a reason I had no mirrors in my small apartment. I didn’t need reminders of what I looked like. If Kate noticed my hesitation, she ignored it.
“I’m going to find Kellen,” she said. “Be right back.” She moved to the interior door and stopped at the last second. “We really need to remove your binding. If we can’t do it now, that damn veil has to go at a minimum.”
“I like my scarf,” I argued, offended that she would want to remove it.
“Not your scarf. The veil that covers your true appearance.” Kate came back into the room and stood in front of me. She was taller by several inches, but everyone was. “I don’t know who would do this to you, but this is not who you are. I can’t see past the veil, but it’s definitely hiding something.”
Kate turned and left the room, leaving me in a state of shock. Was she saying my appearance was false? I couldn’t wrap my brain around magic, let alone the concept of someone hiding my appearance. Stuff like that just wasn’t possible. Maybe I should’ve stayed at the casino. These people were clearly off their rockers. I needed to ask Sammy to take me back to Vegas.
My bladder reminded me that I had urgent matters to take care of. The bathroom was just as elegant as the bedroom, with the same chocolate color covering the walls, except for a panel of mirrors over the double sink. I avoided looking in them and took care of business.
When I slid open the mirrored door a new face greeted me. His resemblance to Kate was uncanny. He had the same dark skin and smooth features. He kept his straight, black hair short around his ears, but still long enough to fall across his forehead. His brown eyes traced my body from head to toe, making me blush.
He turned to Kate, who was standing next to him. “Take the others to the Magister.”
“Can you remove her binding?” Kate asked.
“Possibly,” he replied. His unreadable expression bore into me as he continued to study me.
“Do you need my help?” Kate continued. “Or should I just run along with the other kids?”
He turned to her and smiled, his stony façade changing completely. “I do not need your help, sister,” he replied, kissing her forehead. “Take the other kids back to school. I’ll be there shortly.”
She turned towards the garden door but stopped short. “If you going to do something destructive, do it in your room, not mine.” She didn’t wait for a reply as she skipped out the door.
I smiled as I watched her disappear into the garden. What I wouldn’t give to have that relationship.
“Follow me,” Kate’s brother said and turned to the interior door.
“I assume you’re Kellen,” I said. “Glad to meet you.”
He continued walking, seeming to ignore me.
“It’s nice to meet you too, AJ,” I said in a deep voice, trying to mimic his. “I hope you enjoyed the ride from your vampire prison.”
I felt like a juvenile as I followed him down the hall and into another part of the home, but I couldn’t help it. Everyone expected me to accept this bizarre reality. And vampires, really? The mind could only take so much.
He opened a door at the end of the next hall and went inside, obviously expecting me to follow. I took a deep breath and walked through the door. A wave a nausea assaulted me, and I fell to the ground as my world spun. I rolled back onto my butt and rested my head between my knees. It took several deep breaths to push back the bile that rose in my throat.
A cool towel draped across the back of my neck, and a small trash can appeared at my side.
“Take the time you need,” Kellen said.
“Thank you,” I replied. “What was that?”
“I removed the veil.”
I lifted my head to find him sitting on the floor across from me. I glared at him, but his expression remained impassive. Had he used magic on me? I didn’t feel any different beyond the nausea that threatened to empty my stomach on h
is floor.
“You couldn’t have told me first?” I asked. “Maybe I didn’t want it removed.”
“You wanted to keep your previous appearance?” he asked. “Kate described it to me. I can’t imagine you being happy with it.”
Tears welled in my eyes at his dispassionate remark. “You have no idea what I lived through with that appearance.”
“Then why would you want to keep it?”
“I don’t, but it should have been my choice when to remove it.”
He raised his eyebrows at me. “Fair enough.” He rose from the floor in one smooth motion and held his hand out to me.
“I got it,” I said, ignoring his hand and pushing myself off the floor. “The last person who touched me didn’t like it very much.” I swayed, still feeling the effects of his stupid magic.
“We’ll see if we can fix that too,” he replied, standing in front of me. He had to be at least five foot ten, maybe taller.
I craned my neck back to look at him and frowned. “You’ll tell me what you’re doing before you do it so I can be prepared.”
“Of course,” he replied. “But we need to go outside for that.” His eyes softened with his voice. “Can you remove the scarf? I need to be able touch your face to remove the binding.”
My thoughts immediately went to the vampire. He’d done the same just before my meeting with the council. I reached for my scarf but couldn’t move my hand to unwrap it. It was my security, my safe space against the looks of disgust and rejection I’d faced my entire life. I wasn’t ready to reveal my ugliness to someone else. While a small part of me wanted to believe it was just a mask, I couldn’t.
“Can I do it for you?” Kellen asked gently, no hint of malice or disgust in his voice.
“You might have to,” I replied. “I don’t think I can.”
He reached out and tugged the edge of the nylon fabric at my chin. It loosened, and he pulled it from my head. His eyes widened and his mouth hung open for a second, before he snapped it shut. He draped my scarf over my shoulder and turned his back to me.
I hung my head and tears welled in my eyes. Why did I let this handsome man see me? I should’ve run as fast as my legs could carry me. “Can I go home?” I asked, wrapping my scarf back over my head, leaving my eyes and nose visible.
Magister's Bane Page 3
