I picked at the threads on the throw in my lap, my mind whirling with the new information.
“Why wouldn’t she want a child?” I asked.
“She doesn’t want to give up her throne.” Logan’s voice startled me. He stood at the door, watching us. Had he been there the entire time?
“That doesn’t make sense,” I argued. “She’ll have to eventually.”
The vampire strolled into the room, pulling his fingers through his dark hair. “That depends,” he replied, leaning against the chair next to me. “Water mages live a very long time, longer than other mages.”
My gaze bounced between the two men. “But I thought she had air, not water.”
“You are correct, princess, but her partner was a water mage. It’s how she’s lived as long as she has.”
“I thought she didn’t get married.” My confusion quickly turned to frustration. “What are you trying to say?”
“You haven’t told her?” Logan said to Kellen, who glared at him.
So, he hadn’t been there the whole time.
“We just started this conversation,” Kellen retorted. “I haven’t made it that far, but since you brought it up, you can explain.”
Logan returned the glare and dropped into the chair between us. “As you know, most mages attune to one element, which by itself is not balanced.” He pointed one long finger in the air. “For instance, fire is very destructive on its own.” He raised another finger and brought them together. “But if you pair it with earth or water, it becomes stable and more easily controlled.”
“Yes, Kellen sort of explained their dynamic,” I agreed cautiously, not sure if Logan knew of Kellen’s dual talents.
“Exactly! Kellen is a perfect example.” He dropped his fingers and motioned towards Kellen. “He doesn’t require a partner because his elements balance each other. Mages with only one element need a partner to balance them, or the mage becomes unstable, along with their element.”
“Oh, that makes sense.” I thought about my own elements and wondered what that meant for me. Did Logan know I also had two?
“The Magister’s partner was a water mage. He agreed to slow her aging as long as she pursued a family. It’s the Magister’s duty to her people to ensure the line is not broken.” He folded his hands in his lap and avoided my rapt attention. “She played along for a while, but it became evident that she had other ideas. I… her partner discovered her making plans with one of the vampire council.”
“You were her partner?” I asked in a soft voice, not missing his correction. “You’re a mage?”
“Yes and no. I’m a vampire,” he replied, still not looking at me. “My element considers me dead, which is technically true.”
I scooted to the edge of my seat and placed my hand on his knee, suddenly feeling sorry for the man I didn’t trust. “But why?”
He looked up at me, pain clouding his eyes. “I was her first experiment with immortality. She paid the vampire council a very large sum of money to change me, against my will.” He gently removed my hand and held it in his own. The gesture was tender and personal. “She thought I could be a mage and a vampire. She assumed my element would heal whatever damage the vampire venom did and I would be an immortal mage. I tried to tell her that my element would not tolerate the curse of death, but she wouldn’t listen. She insisted I could call it back.” He shook his head and rubbed his thumb across my palm. “Don’t let her take it from you.”
“Can she really take it?”
“If you go back to Vegas, the vampires will find you,” he replied, dropping my hand and leaning back in the chair.
I looked over at Kellen, then back to Logan. So, I really was trapped here. According to these two, it was just to ensure my safety. I gathered the blanket around myself again and folded my hands in my lap. Logan’s gentle touch seemed just as sincere as his sadness for being forced into a vampire. Something my mother did to him.
“How old are you?” I asked, a theory swirling around my thoughts.
The two men looked at each other and shrugged.
“Does it matter?” Kellen asked.
“Yes, well, no, but kind of,” I replied. They both gave me a skeptical look. “I have a lot of questions, and you two keep adding more than you’re answering. First question is for Logan: was I born before or after…” I paused, uncertain how to say his change to a vampire.
“I became this long before you were born, princess,” he replied.
“Okay, so that eliminates you as my father,” I said, eliciting surprised looks from both of them. “Second, Kate said she never met Logan, but obviously you two know each other very well.”
“We’ve kept Kate out of this,” Kellen replied. “The less she knows of my traitorous plans, the safer she is.”
“So, she isn’t here right now?” I asked, pushing down my panic. He told me Kate changed my clothes.
“It would seem counter-productive to have her here, wouldn’t it?” Logan responded.
“Then who changed my clothes?” I could hear my voice rising quickly. “You said that Kate did.” I pointed at Kellen accusingly.
He leaned back in his chair and laughed.
“How dare you think this is funny!” I yelled at him.
“It’s hilarious, little girl,” he said, still grinning. “We’ve dumped a lot of really bad news on you in the last few minutes, and you get pissed because you think I saw you naked.”
A burning heat rose from my neck and across my face. I turned my glare on Logan who threw his hands in the air.
“Don’t look at me. Kate wasn’t here when I arrived.”
“Settle down,” Kellen said with a chuckle. “Kate found us in the practice room. She took care of all your needs before she left.”
“You’re an ass,” I said, drawing my knees to my chest and pulling the blanket tighter.
“Probably,” he replied, shrugging. “What’s your next question?”
“I don’t know. You distracted me.” I continued to glare at him as I tried to bring my brain back on track. “Alright, what happens when a mage’s partner is gone?”
Kellen’s smile vanished. “Eventually, the mage and their element will become unstable.”
“How long has your Magister been without a partner? And what does unstable mean?”
“About forty years,” Logan replied. “Air is not as volatile as fire, but she’s declined rapidly in the last five years. She will eventually go insane.”
“That explains the looks of hope I saw at the palace,” I said. “They don’t expect me to fight her, do they?”
The two men exchanged glances.
“No!” I leapt to my feet, letting the throw fall to the floor. “Look at me! Do I look like a fighter to you?”
“Yep.” Logan smiled and draped an arm over the back of the chair. “I’ve had firsthand experience with your viciousness.”
“You are not funny,” I hissed. “There is no way she feels even a little threatened by me.”
“You’re right,” Kellen agreed. “And I’d like to keep it that way.”
“How dare you call me weak!” I heard the absurdity in my words as they flew from my lips, but I couldn’t stop them.
A burst of laughter erupted from Logan. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and hid his face in his hands. His wide shoulders shuddered with his muffled amusement.
“You two are unbelievable,” I said, picking up the throw and wrapping it around my shoulders. “I’m going back to bed.”
“AJ, wait,” Kellen said, holding a hand towards me.
I saw his lips twitching, and it infuriated me even more. I knew I was being childish, but how was I supposed to cope with everything they told me?
“There’s more you need to know that can’t wait,” Kellen continued, smoothing the smile from his face. “I told Kate you were attuned to air and asked that she report it to the Magister. I also told her not to come back because the portal was acting glitchy.”
>
“Why would you do that?” I stopped just outside the small circle of chairs.
“If the Magister knows you have water, she will try to force a partnership,” Kellen explained. “But if you have the same element as her, she won’t consider you a threat or an asset.”
“What does it mean to force a partnership?” I asked, sitting on the arm of my chair. “Can’t mages decide on their own?”
“The element decides, not the mage,” Logan replied, his previous humor at my expense now gone. “Mages have been trying for years to choose their own, for all kinds of reasons, but it never ends well.”
“But the Magister is desperate,” Kellen added, my gaze snapping to him. “She hasn’t found what she wanted with the vampires, and she knows she’s losing her mind.”
My brow furrowed as I absorbed all the information. The concept of balancing the elements made sense, but the rest of it didn’t. “So, why lie about the portal? Or is it broken?” I asked, moving to the next question on my mental list.
“It’s glitchy because a vampire has tampered with it,” Kellen replied. “We’ll be attacked tonight, and the vampire horde will destroy our portal in their attempt to reach the palace.”
“What?” I looked at Kellen with panic rising in my chest. “You’re not serious, are you?”
“Yes and no,” Kellen replied. “Logan will destroy the portal. I’ll call Kate and let her know that you and I went to town to shop for clothes for you. When we returned, we found the portal shattered.”
“She’ll believe that? How many people shop in the middle of the night? And wouldn’t the ‘vampires’ just use the portal?”
“They can’t. The portal is designed for the living, not the dead,” Kellen explained. “The group that invaded my home were young and didn’t realize the limitation.” He crossed one leg over the other and continued. “It’s Vegas. When don’t people shop?”
“Oh.” Once again, my gaze danced between the two men. They had this all figured out. How long had this plan been in place? “Where is the Magister’s palace? I assumed it was nearby since the others used the van to get there yesterday.”
“They didn’t use the van,” Kellen replied. “They used the portal, which is why they arrived at the palace before we did. The location of the palace is a closely guarded secret. The only way to get there is through a portal.”
“And yours is not the only one, right?” I asked. “Wait a minute. Why would you have one? It seems like you’d have to be pretty important to be allowed that access. And shouldn’t there be tons of guards at the house protecting it?”
“So inquisitive,” Logan interjected, “and a little too observant. This conversation could last for hours. The more you tell her, the more she wants to know.”
“You thought I would just sit back and listen to your tale without questions?” I argued. “Until yesterday, my biggest concern was my next meal and my next extremely temporary job.”
Kellen stood and looked down at me. “Just know this estate is well protected by many things. Having a retinue of armed guards would draw attention, which we don’t want.”
I realized that was the only answer I was getting, but it didn’t satisfy my need to know.
“So why have you isolated us from them?” I asked.
“To train you.”
Chapter 11
“What do you mean I have to share my space with him?” My outrage escalated when Kellen informed me that Logan would be staying at the estate. “He’s a vampire, and I’m dinner.”
“There isn’t enough of you to be more than a snack, princess,” Logan quipped, smiling at me. I glared at him and turned back to Kellen.
“This.” I pointed at the vampire but didn’t look at him, keeping my scowl targeted at Kellen.
“The house only has so many rooms, AJ,” Kellen replied. “You aren’t sharing a room, only the bathroom that connects your rooms. Logan will not bite you, and I don’t imagine he’ll use the bathroom for more than the occasional shower.”
“The keyword there is ‘connects.’” I deflated, sinking into the deep cushion. I couldn’t really argue. He was giving me a free place to stay so I could learn how to overthrow my mother, the ruler of the mages. I wasn’t doing this. “I can’t do this. I’d rather go back to hiding in my apartment, thinking I was the monster.”
“You can do this,” Kellen replied, kneeling in front of me.
“No, I can’t. I’m going back to bed.” I pushed his shoulder. “I want you to take me home tomorrow.”
Kellen stood and backed away, allowing me to stand and leave the room. I wanted nothing more than to crawl beneath the covers and hide from everything I just learned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke several hours later to the sunlight streaming in the window. I stretched on the soft mattress and wound my fingers around the quilt. My mind didn’t wait for me to wake up before it started cataloguing everything that happened in the last thirty hours or so.
Could I really stay there with two complete strangers, one of them being a vampire? Was he really a vampire, or were they just trying to scare me? He didn’t behave as I expected, and I didn’t see any fangs hanging from his mouth. I knew he was really fast, but did that make him a vampire?
I pushed myself into a sitting position, pulling my knees to my chest.
Why would I stay? They clearly expected me to fight. My ninety-five pounds wasn’t fighting anything, let alone a powerful mage. And what was I fighting for? I owed these people nothing; I didn’t even know they existed until a day ago. My mother clearly didn’t want me, so why did I care what happened to her?
Then, there was this whole magic thing. How was it real? I had to admit it was. I’d seen it with my own two eyes. I wondered if the magic was mine or if Kellen was just trying to make me believe I was a mage. Did I care either way? Did I really want to be part of whatever drama was brewing in their palace?
My thoughts drifted to the Magister. I didn’t even know the woman’s real name, but I couldn’t deny we were related. Was she really my mother? The Magister didn’t deny it, but she didn’t act like the mother I expected. Then again, neither did my foster-mom. At least my foster parents did the best they could to raise a child everyone shunned.
I sighed, my mind overflowing with contradictory questions and answers. Thinking in circles wouldn’t solve anything. I pushed the blankets aside and remembered I was still wearing that ridiculous t-shirt. I mumbled complaints all the way to the bathroom, but I paused when I grabbed the door handle. What if Logan was in there? I didn’t want to barge in if he was in the shower. I put my ear to the door and listened but didn’t hear anything. I tapped lightly, and when no one responded, I went in.
“There better be a lock on the door,” I mumbled.
I looked across the room to the door on the other side. The plain, brass knob was missing the little locking mechanism. Oh, hell no! I pulled a towel from the rack next to the shower and wrapped one end around the doorknob. Regardless of my efforts, the thick towel wouldn’t stay tied around the knob. My face flushed at the thought of Logan walking in while I was peeing.
I looked down at the t-shirt I wore, smiled, and pulled it over my head. I tied one end around the doorknob and wrapped the other end around the towel bar. Confident that I wouldn’t be interrupted, I finally looked in the mirror that covered the wall above the double sinks.
A younger version of the Magister stared back at me. Well, sort of. My poorly cut hair stood out on one side, but it didn’t detract from the beauty that was now mine. I tentatively touched my face with shaking fingers, trailing the perfectly curved chin that hadn’t been there the day before. My wide eyes were flawlessly spaced above my small nose. Why did someone make me suffer a lifetime with that monstrous appearance? Didn’t they realize how hard it would be?
I shook my head and got in the shower.
When finished, I untied the shirt, pulled it back over my head and returned to the bedroom. My clothes sa
t on the dresser in a neatly folded pile. Grateful to have something of my own, I didn’t hesitate to get dressed.
The smell of freshly brewed coffee met me half way down the hall, and the thought of breakfast quickened my steps. Maybe I could try to make pancakes or waffles—anything but eggs.
When I opened the door, Kellen was sitting at the kitchen bar.
“Good morning,” he said, watching me walk across the room.
“Morning.”
“There’s coffee if you want.”
I went to the kitchen and started opening cabinets, looking for the one with coffee cups.
“Two more over to the right,” Kellen suggested.
“Thanks.” I rifled through the collection of cups and found one emblazoned with ‘I Love NY.’ I filled it to the brim and sat down next to Kellen.
“Black coffee?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“Yep.” I almost mentioned my lack of funds to buy fancy creamer or sugar, but I held my tongue.
“Do I get more than one word at a time this morning?”
I rolled my eyes. “Thank you.”
“What did I do to deserve thanks?” he asked, turning on his stool to face me.
I rubbed my finger around the top of the cup, recognizing the loaded question. “I don’t know,” I replied, uncertain how to explain my emotions. He revealed a part of my life that had been hidden from me. I wasn’t sure if I should be grateful or not, but he went through a lot of trouble to make it happen.
“I see. Well, we’re going to Vegas today to take care of your apartment and buy you some clothes.” He slid off the stool and stood next to me.
“I have clothes at my apartment,” I replied, watching his expression, which remained impassive.
“Of course. I’ll be getting the car ready. Meet me out front when you’re done.”
I watched him walk across the room, pull open the glass door and disappear into the gardens. “Damn.”
Magister's Bane Page 7
