She turned her back to the room and strolled up the steps, disappearing behind a curtained partition. Just like that. I stood there gaping at the fluttering curtain, expecting her to come back and say something to me.
Kellen snatched my arm and pulled me from the chamber. I could almost feel his anger as we stormed down the hall. The woman never even acknowledged an ounce of emotion for her long lost daughter. No remorse, no relief for finally finding me, nothing. Tears streamed down my face as Kellen led me away.
A trail of people followed us, adding to my anxiety. I was still a freak show, a spectacle for everyone to stare at. I was grateful for Kellen’s hand tightening around mine as he pulled me through a stone doorway into a cold, dark room.
The sound of grinding rock drowned out the murmured protests behind us until nothing but silence and darkness surrounded me. Anxiety crept along my skin as I stood motionless in the complete blackness.
Kellen’s large hand still gripped my small fingers. His labored breaths mirrored my own, but the darkness only added to my raging emotions.
“Sit,” he commanded, pulling me to the ground.
I folded my legs beneath me, and he released my hand. Panic replaced my anger, and my heartrate soared once again. I blinked several times, foolishly thinking it would help ease my panic. I didn’t think I was afraid of the dark, but the total lack of light was unnerving.
“Kellen?” My voice quivered uncontrollably.
“I’m still here,” he replied.
As his hand settled on my knee, my fears retreated.
“Are there no lights in here?” I asked, reaching for his hand and lacing my fingers in his. He didn’t pull away.
“I need a moment of silence.” His voice was low and harsh, so I refrained from speaking. I wasn’t sure what triggered his anger, but he obviously needed to calm down. Several minutes later, he inhaled deeply, then exhaled. He repeated the process six more times. I counted, using his methodical breath to sooth my own fears.
“I’m going to attempt to remove the binding,” he said quietly, “but I fear it will be painful for us both.”
“Should we just leave it then?” I asked. “I don’t really care if I can do magic or not. I’ve spent my whole life without it. It’s not like I’ll miss it.”
He didn’t reply right away, and I wondered if he would.
“Bindings do not last forever, AJ,” he finally said. “Someone has been entrancing you every five years or so. The fact that we can see it means it’s weak. It needs to be redone or removed.”
“What do you mean by entrance?” I asked, suspecting I knew the answer. I’d read enough books to recognize the term.
“The mage would cast a spell that numbed your mind and allowed him or her to do as they wished,” he replied, his voice still harsh. “Most of the time, the victim remembers nothing.”
I gasped. “Can any mage do that? Have I endured all kinds of abuses without even knowing it?” A new reason for my abduction slipped into my mind. Had I been a victim of some sadistic bastard, and he decided to keep me for his own? “Can vampires entrance people? Was Logan doing it all this time?”
“No, not all mages can perform that spell. It’s actually extremely rare.” Kellen took a deep breath. “Vampires can entrance humans in a different way, but I don’t believe it was Logan,” Kellen replied. “Creating a veil like the one you had is also very rare. I believe the same person renewed the veil and the binding.”
“My mother?” I spat the name from my lips.
“No, she can’t create a veil. At least, not that I’m aware of.” Kellen’s displeasure was obvious. “There is so much you need to know.”
“Then tell me.”
“We’ll release your magic first,” he said, lifting my hand with his. “I need to feel your mind. Place my hands on the sides of your face.”
I guided his hand to my face. “Why don’t we turn on the lights?”
“Because then everyone will see.”
“That’s a bad thing?”
“Yes, they should not know your strengths or weaknesses, not yet. Now, be silent.”
A wave of energy washed over me, raising the hairs on my arms. Kellen drew a deep breath and placed his forehead against mine. I fidgeted with the hem of my skirt, unsure where to put my hands.
A light, prickly sensation started at the base of my skull and traveled down my spine. I arched my back as it plunged into my lower back and through my abdomen. A small cry escaped my lips as it crawled towards my heart. I tried to push away from Kellen, but he leaned closer to me and held onto my face.
“Relax,” Kellen whispered.
“That isn’t exactly pleasant.”
“I warned you it might be painful.” A slow hiss escaped his lips as the sensation delved back into my mid-section. “Put your hands on my face,” he instructed.
I lifted my hands to where I thought his face was. My fingers grazed his neck, and I followed the corded muscle to his square jawline.
“What can I do to help?” I asked.
He didn’t reply. The little spark danced around inside my core, the constant movement making me nauseous. I tried to ignore it, but sweat broke out across my brow, and saliva filled my mouth.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” I whispered.
Kellen leaned back away from me, removing his hands and forehead from mine. I scooted back and tucked my head between my knees, taking long slow breaths.
“I don’t think I can remove it,” Kellen said. “At least not here.”
“Is that normal?” I mumbled from my crouched position.
“No,” he replied. “We’ll do this in my home, where I have resources available to help.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“What do mean you could not remove it?” the Magister demanded.
She wasn’t waiting at the door with the dozens of other mages, but she met Kellen and me in the hall before we reached the courtyard.
I noticed Kellen looking past the Magister once again and wondered why he wouldn’t meet her gaze. There had to be a history between them.
“The binding’s intent is complicated,” he replied, his tone cold and harsh.
“Isn’t it always.” She took a step closer to him and placed her finger on his chest. “What makes this one so difficult?”
“This one was meant to kill her,” he replied, still looking over her head.
I watched the Magister’s lips turn up. “I’m sure you’ll not allow that to happen.”
She brushed by him, trailing her hand over his chest, then glanced at me before disappearing into the crowd. A lump formed in my throat as I watched the woman who gave birth to me walk away. The Magister showed no emotion towards me at all. Nothing. All my life, I dreamt of a mother’s unconditional love. Maybe it didn’t exist, at least not for me.
Kellen’s hand on my shoulder distracted my thoughts. I wiped my face and looked up at him.
“Let’s go.”
Chapter 8
I followed Kellen through the patio garden and towards the opposite side of the house that I visited earlier that day. The setting sun cast long shadows across the flowering bushes I didn’t have names for. He pushed open the sliding glass door and waited for to me to enter.
“So, he does have manners,” I said as I walked by, hating that I used sarcasm as a reflex. I wanted to ask about what had just happened. I needed him to explain his comments about the binding being designed to kill me. Of course, I didn’t ask any of that, choosing a snide remark instead.
The door slid closed, and he brushed past me through a hallway that followed the garden. Halfway down, he stopped in front of a large wooden door and looked back at me with a strange expression before shaking his head.
I followed him inside and gasped. The lack of air conditioning hit me first, but the dirt beneath my feet distracted me from the change in temperature. The room was a perfect circle with long, narrow windows cut into the stone walls and skirting the ceiling. I to
ok a step forward, but Kellen’s iron grip stopped my progress.
“Remove your shoes.”
I looked at my worn sneakers. They were ugly, but they were cleaner than the dirt floor.
“Just take them off,” Kellen said more gently. “I’ll explain in a minute.”
He sat on a low, wooden bench removing his own shoes and socks. I shrugged and sat next to him, kicking my sneakers off my feet and peeling away my socks.
Kellen rolled up the ends of his jeans, exposing his well-toned calves. I looked down at the skirt I still wore and the boney legs connected to my small feet. A childish giggle escaped my lips before I could stop it.
“How ridiculous do we look?” I asked, pointing at the difference between us.
“You need to eat,” he said, pushing himself from the bench, and seeming to ignore my absurdity.
“Yet we haven’t had a meal all day,” I retorted, my humor quickly fading. “And here comes the witching hour.”
He stopped and looked at me, his lips turned down in a frown. “I’m sorry. You’re right. Let’s get some food before we do this.”
“As hard as it is to believe, my body is used to one meal a day,” I replied. “I haven’t died of starvation yet. I’m sure a few more hours will hardly matter.”
He continued to stare at me, then mumbled to himself and moved to the middle of the room. When I didn’t immediately follow him, he rolled his eyes and pointed at the ground next to his feet.
“Stand next to me,” he said with barely controlled patience.
I strolled towards him, enjoying the cool soil beneath my toes, and stopped at his side. He turned me around and pointed me at the door.
“A mage’s magic comes from the four elements,” he began. “The earth beneath our feet, the air around us, the water that gives us life, and fire.”
Water cascaded into a large fountain covering several feet of wall on the right side of the door, and an open fireplace took up the left side, a small fire flickering at its base.
My heart jumped. I looked up at Kellen and smiled. “You’re going teach me magic?”
“I’m going to explain the fundamentals so that when your binding is removed, you’ll understand what I ask you to do.” He stepped around in front of me and looked down. “I need you to be cooperative.”
“I was cooperative earlier, wasn’t I?”
“Yes, but you were trapped in complete darkness.” He swept his arm wide. “Here, you will be distracted.”
“These things were in the other room?” I asked.
“No, that was the fire room,” he replied. “I need more than that to undo what has been done without killing you.”
“There is so much I don’t understand. Will this binding thing really kill me? Why would someone do this to me?” I frowned at him, wanting to ask a dozen more questions. I refrained, suspecting his demonstration would explain some of it.
“Yes, if the binding is not removed or renewed, it will kill you,” he replied. His expression softened for a moment before returning to his impassive stare. “Mages typically attune to one element, and most of the time, that’s dictated by their heritage.” He sat down in the dirt, folding his legs. “Your mother is attuned to air, hence the color of her eyes. I suspect you are as well.” He looked up at me with a scowl. “Sit down in front of me as we were earlier.”
My face flushed with embarrassment, which only worsened when I tried to sit. I was still wearing a skirt. I couldn’t possibly sit cross-legged in front of him in a skirt. I knelt on my knees with my feet tucked under my butt and tugged at the edge of the skirt as it rode up my thighs.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” I warned. He did anyway, and my ears grew hot.
“I assure you that your scrawny legs will neither offend nor entice me,” he said. “The longer you delay, the longer it will take to do this.”
Anger quickly replaced my embarrassment. How dare he? I repositioned myself in front of him, giving him a defiant stare. He returned it with a look of amusement.
“I’m attuned to earth and fire,” he said when I finally settled. “I’ll need to draw from both to untangle the spell keeping you from your magic.”
“You knew you couldn’t do it earlier, didn’t you?” I asked. “Even before we went to the palace.”
“I suspected as much,” he replied, “which is why I didn’t put much effort into making it happen, nor did I protest.”
I looked at him skeptically. That was not much effort? “Then why were you so mad when we arrived in that fire room?”
He stared back at me in silence, then exhaled deeply. “Mothers are supposed to be better than that.”
I dropped my gaze and forced back the tears that immediately swelled in my eyes. “Oh.”
“Are you ready to do this?” he asked.
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“No, not really.”
His fingers brushed beneath my chin, and I allowed him to push it up.
“The spell is wrapped around your heart,” he said, the softness in his eyes returning. “I know this will be uncomfortable for you, but I need to have my hands in places they should not be.”
My eyes widened. I’d never been touched by anyone. I’d never even been to the doctor. My pulse raced at the thought, and I wasn’t sure if it was apprehension, fear, or something else.
“I will have one here.” He placed his right hand over his stomach. “And the other here.” He placed his left hand on his chest over his heart. “The easiest and most comfortable thing for you is to sit in front of me with your back against my chest.”
“Have you done this before?” I asked, my voice cracking as I looked at the placement of his hands.
“I’ve removed dozens of bindings, but none like yours,” he replied, lowering his hands into the dirt. “A typical binding can be undone with my hands on the person’s face.”
I raised my eyes to meet his and was met with a kindness I had not seen there before. Why was he doing this for me? Did he really care whether I lived or died? Or was it because of my mother?
“Maybe we should leave it there,” I said.
“If we leave it, and the mage that did this doesn’t come back to renew it, you will die.”
“Now that my identity is revealed, they won’t come back, will they?” I asked with resignation.
“Not likely. It appears he or she was tasked with keeping you hidden.”
As much as I hated my life, I didn’t want to die. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then crawled into his lap. I felt small and insignificant as I folded my thin legs over top of his strong thighs. The heat from his chest radiated through the back of my shirt as I leaned into him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered as his hand snaked beneath my shirt and wrapped around my stomach, pulling me closer.
I flinched and closed my eyes as his other hand pulled the tank top down and settled between my small breasts.
“This will hurt,” he said when his hands quit moving. “There is nothing I can do to ease that. Feel free to react however you like, but don’t move my hands.”
I nodded, afraid to speak or open my eyes. The same tingling sensation ran across my skin, but this time it originated from my stomach, beneath his hand. I tracked the tiny spark as it raced towards my heart and giggled as it danced in circles beneath my sternum.
“Does that tickle?” Kellen asked.
“Yes, is it not supposed to?”
He didn’t reply. I opened my eyes and gasped. A ring of flames circled us about ten feet away. I didn’t notice the heat until I saw them. I also hadn’t noticed the soil bubbling beneath the flames.
“Kellen, that is so cool!” I blurted out. “Tell me what you’re doing.”
“Be silent.”
“Oh, right, distractions,” I whispered, putting my hands on his knees. I watched the dark earth move in waves beneath the fire. Its constant motion mesmerized me, and my head leaned back against his collar as I
relaxed. Wasn’t this supposed to hurt?
His fingers started a light drumming against my chest. With each tap, the tingle grew sharper until it felt like needles piercing through my ribs. I gritted my teeth as it turned into a wrenching pain, as if someone played tug of war with my heart. My pulse pounded in my ears, and I squeezed my eyes shut trying not to cry out.
Kellen’s embrace tightened, and I struggled to breathe, but it was nothing compared to the pressure beneath my ribs. A loud snap, immediately followed by more pain, radiated from my sternum, and I ignored my foolish need to be stoic. I slammed my fists against his knees and screamed, but his grasp remained firm.
When I thought I could endure no more, a blinding light erupted around me, throwing both of us backwards. I inhaled deeply, but it was cut short by the pain shooting through my side. I switched to short, gasping breaths, each one excruciating.
Kellen sat up with me still in his lap and held tight against him.
“Relax,” he said quietly. “One of your ribs is broken. Take short, shallow breaths and calm your mind.”
Yeah, right. I tried to do as he asked, but it didn’t work out so well. I couldn’t force myself to think of anything but the pain.
“Can you let go,” I asked between gasps.
“Not yet,” he replied. “Open your eyes.”
I forced my eyes open and nearly choked. Coin-sized droplets of water floated in the air around me. That wasn’t exactly right either. They floated on small, wispy clouds.
“What is that?” I asked, reaching out with my hand. Pain surged through my middle, and I dropped my arm.
“That is you,” Kellen replied.
He removed his left hand from my chest and rested it beside my arm. His right hand remained wrapped around my aching ribs.
“I thought you said I would have air,” I whispered.
“You do,” he insisted.
“But that’s water.”
“Yes.”
I could almost hear him smile. My doubts about magic being real vanished. No one could stage something like this.
Magister's Bane Page 5
