“We’ll worry about it later,” Vincent said calmly. She eyed him carefully and saw the red eyes he sported, as if he were about to fall apart.
“Yeah,” she whispered. “What are you going to do with me?”
“Take you home,” Zander croaked, standing up slowly. “You’re still in our custody.”
36
SAWYER
The next two days were the longest of her life. She was subjected to a thousand questions by them, and they wrote her answers word for word.
She didn’t understand what was going on.
And, in spite of it all, she just didn’t care.
She waited for Vincent in his office, having been told she needed to be there, but he wasn’t. She heard the door knob turn and glanced over her shoulder to see him.
They had been avoiding each other. For good reason. Sawyer wasn’t sure what to say to him, and she was certain he wasn’t sure what to say to her. The ghost of his nephew stood between them, his name always on her tongue when she saw Vincent. Did he want to know about Henry? Would he one day visit her in prison and ask her to tell stories about the sweet child, nothing like his father or his uncle?
“How are you?” she asked softly.
“Busy,” he replied, smoothly sitting down in his chair behind the ornate wooden desk. He placed a file on the desk. She nearly snorted. Him and his files. “Sawyer, you made a deal with the WMC over four years ago. If I told you that they would honor it, would you accept it? With some changes?”
“Depends on the changes,” she sighed, leaning back in her seat. Jesus. Virgin Mary. Zeus. Bastet. If there were any gods listening, Sawyer didn’t know whether to thank them or curse them.
“Here,” Vincent whispered, pushing the file closer to her. She reached out and took it. She flipped it open without preamble. “How do you do it?”
“Do what?” She asked without looking up to him. She read over the papers inside with care.
“How do you keep moving forward? After everything is said and done, how do you keep putting one foot in front of the other?”
She closed the file and looked up at him. The pain was obvious in his eyes now, and she turned away from him and toward the only window in the room. Outside, it was bright and sunny. One day she would appreciate that again, but that day was not today.
“I remind myself that I can’t change anything that’s already done,” she said in a hushed tone. “I can only change my future. Not my past.”
“That’s it?” He pressed, and she heard an edge of desperation in it.
“It will always haunt me,” she sighed, placing the file back on the desk. “But that’s all it can do. Haunt me. And it will do so, without mercy, for the rest of my life; but I can continue on. Memories can’t kill me, and I can do whatever is in my power to never live through similar experiences. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
“What do you think?” Vincent nodded down to the file, dropping the topic with an abruptness that didn’t surprise Sawyer.
Five years completely at the World Magi Council’s disposal for whatever task they put forth at any point. Probationary IMPO agent. Guarded at all times. Reports directly to the Council. Any sort of screw ups would ruin it all.
If she accepted, she would be dragged out of the darkness. The world would know that Sawyer Matthews and Shadow were the same person and that she was very much alive. Her life of shadows would become one of hard work and sweat and, she hoped, a bit of redemption.
She looked back out the window. Maybe at the end of this new chapter of her life, she would learn to truly enjoy the sun again, and not just need it to warm her weary bones.
“I, Sawyer Matthews, hereby declare that I accept the terms set forth by the World Magi Council in regard to my freedom and the conditions of my pardon.”
Abilities
Glossary
Note:
It’s important to remember that every Magi is unique. Two Magi could have the same ability and use them in different ways due to their personal strength levels.
Example: Sawyer can walk through a thick wall with Phasing but another Magi may only be able to pass through a thin door and push an arm through a window for a short time.
Ranking Code
Common- C, Uncommon-U, Rare-R, Mythic- M
Air Manipulation-C- The ability to manipulate the element of air or wind.
Animal bonds-C- The ability to bond with one to five animals. A person with this ability can feel emotional currents of the animal and use the animal’s senses by inserting themselves in the animal.
Animation-C- The ability to make inanimate objects do tasks for time periods. I.e. Dancing brooms
Blinking-U- The ability to teleport short distances (10-20 feet) within eyesight.
Cloaking-U- The ability to become invisible.
Dream walking-U- The ability to walk through the dreams of others and go through the person’s subconscious to reveal secrets and memories to the person.
Earth Manipulation-C- The ability to manipulate the element of earth.
Elemental Control-M- The ability to manipulate all elements and all combinations of them.
Enchanting-C- The ability to enchant physical objects with specific properties, such as never losing a sharp edge for a blade.
Fire Manipulation-C- The ability to manipulate the element of fire.
Healing-C- The ability to heal physical wounds.
Illusions-U- The ability to alter an individual’s perception of reality.
Magnetic Manipulation-U- The ability to control or generate magnetic fields, normally a very weak ability.
Naturalism-C- The ability to control the growth of plant life and identify plants’ properties.
Petrification-R- The ability to freeze a person’s movement without harming them by touching them.
Phasing-C- The ability to walk through solid objects with concentration.
Portals-U- Temporary holes through time and space to travel nearly instantly. (Not time travel)
Reading-R- The ability to read the abilities of others, requires touching the individual.
Shape-shifting-U- The ability to take the form of one animal, not chosen by the Magi.
Shielding-C- The ability to create force fields that block physical interaction.
Sound Manipulation-U- The ability to manipulate sound waves.
Sublimation-R- The ability to transform into a gaseous form, normally looks like black smoke.
Telekinesis-C- The ability to move objects physically with the mind.
Telepathy-U- The ability to send thoughts to others for silent communication. Cannot invade the thoughts of others. This is a one-way ability, unless the other person also has telepathy.
Tracking-R- The ability track a single individual by having a item that belongs to said individual.
Water Manipulation-C- The ability to manipulate the element of water.
About the Author
Kristen Banet has a Diet Coke problem and smokes too much. She curses like a sailor (though, she used to be one, so she uses that as an excuse) and finds that many people don’t know how to handle that. She loves to read, and before finally sitting to try her hand at writing, she had your normal kind of work history. From tattoo parlors, to the U.S. Navy, and freelance illustration, she’s stumbled through her adult years and somehow, is still kicking.
She loves to read books that make people cry. She likes to write books that make people cry (and she wants to hear about it). She’s a firm believer that nothing and no one in this world is perfect, and she enjoys exploring those imperfections—trying to make the characters seem real on the page and not just in her head.
She might be crazy, though. Her characters think so, but this can’t be confirmed.
Also by Kristen Banet
The Kingson Pride Series
Wild Pride
Wild Fire
Wild Souls (March 2018)
ten Banet, A Life Of Shadows
A Life Of Shadows Page 32
