Meta Marshal Service 2

by B N Miles

  “It’s absurd,” Izzy said, that anger back in her voice. “It’s just an excuse for the families to control magic.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “Listen, I’m not here to debate politics. I just want to heal your friend and be on my way.”

  “Right, of course.” Cassie detached herself from Jared and walked over to Izzy. She took the girl’s hand and led her over to where Jessalene was watching the exchange with tired eyes. “Jessa, this is Izzy. She’s going to heal you.”

  “Hi,” Jessalene said. “But I’m not really sure I need healing.”

  Izzy frowned at her as she slowly sat down on the couch, her knees pointed toward Jessalene. Jared walked over to Lumi and gave her a look. She stood there, stiff and annoyed, watching the exchange.

  “How about you let me take a look,” Izzy said. “And if you really don’t need it, I’ll get out of your hair. Okay?”

  “Fine,” Jessa said with a sigh.

  Izzy began to inspect Jessalene, rolling up her sleeve and removing the bandage to take a look at her wound. Izzy’s fingers gently brushed against Jessa’s skin along her temples, on her cheeks, down her neck, along her chest. Jared leaned up against Lumi and whispered, “Why are you so aggressive right now?”

  “Independents are dangerous,” she hissed back.

  “We’re Independents,” he pointed out.

  She blinked and reared back, staring at him. He grinned at her and laughed a little. She clearly hadn’t thought about what it meant for her when she left the Medlar, but now technically every use of her magic was illegal. The Magi could hunt them down and wipe them out if they chose to, and nobody would bat an eye. They wouldn’t, because it would be dangerous and would require a lot of work to kill two former Magi Fists, but it was always an option.

  “I didn’t think about that,” she admitted.

  “I figured. Look, I’ve met a couple Independents since leaving the Bechtels. Some of them are good people and pretty skilled, and some of them are more like what you’re thinking. You can’t just… assume she goes either way yet, okay?”

  “I just don’t like having her touch Jessalene. I don’t know how skilled she is.”

  Jared nodded. “I hear you. But look at her Mark. She has a lot of practice, at least.”

  Lumi grunted in response but her frown didn’t go away.

  Izzy finished her evaluation of Jessalene and sat back, her back straight, her palms flat on her knees. Cassie lingered on the other side of the Dryad, playing with her hair.

  “Okay, Jessa,” Izzy said. “I think I can help you. In fact, I know that I can. With your permission, I’ll fix that wound, but there are also a few other nagging things I can take care of. Like for example, your right knee gets sore sometimes, right? And your back aches at the end of the day, especially when you’ve been walking a lot, right?”

  Jessalene laughed. “Yeah, it really does. I always figured it’s because my boobs are so huge.”

  Cassie snorted. “They’re not huge at all,” she said. “Mine are bigger, and I’m like three inches shorter than you.”

  “I know, I’m joking.” Jessalene grinned at Izzy. “So you can fix that?”

  “I can,” she confirmed. “Nikita paid my full fee upfront, so I’m happy to take care of whatever I find. How’s that sound?”

  “Do me next!” Cassie said, perking up. “My back hurts, too.”

  Izzy laughed. “Pay my fee and I’ll gladly help you out.”

  “How much?”

  “Ten thousand per ailment.”

  Cassie sucked in a breath and looked at Jared. “Can we? Can we? Please!”

  “Not right now,” Jared said. “Let’s worry about Jessalene.”

  Cassie nodded and frowned a little. “He’s right. Sorry.”

  “It’s okay, sweetie.” Jessalene leaned over and kissed Cassie’s cheek. “You just get excited sometimes.”

  “I really do.” Cassie laughed and leaned back. “Okay, Izzy. Show us what you can do.”

  Izzy shook her head, a little baffled smile on her face, then looked back to Jessalene. “Ready?” she asked.

  “Ready.”

  She placed her hand gently on Jessalene’s leg and closed her eyes. Jared felt Izzy open herself to the priori and began to gather it in. He’d been healed by a Medlar healer not too long ago, and as Izzy’s hands began to glow a faint orange, he knew the pleasant and gentle sensation Jessalene was feeling.

  The glow spread from Izzy’s hands and moved up Jessa’s body. Lumi leaned against Jared. “She’s good,” she said. “Look at the way it spreads. Slow and even.”

  “I don’t know much about healing magic,” Jared admitted.

  “There are a few different types,” Lumi explained. “What I did to Jessalene is one kind, where you’re reknitting the flesh together. Another kind is what Izzy’s doing, where her power searches for inconsistencies in the body and fixes them.”

  “Interesting,” Jared murmured, watching as the glow moved to envelop Jessalene’s body. She leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes as Izzy funneled more power into her. Jared was tempted to stop it, just because he’d grown up so used to magic being nothing more than a destructive force. Every Magi he knew used magic to kill or maim or break, and so few of them used it to rebuild and heal.

  He realized that said a lot about the Magi families.

  Magic could be used for so much more than destruction. There were whole wings of magic dedicated to healing, to rebuilding, to creating new materials. And yet so few people studied them at all.

  The glow intensified for a moment as Izzy drew in more power. It brightened all over Jessalene, and even Cassie leaned back and away, her eyes squinting against the light. Izzy remained motionless, eyes closed, back straight, her long hair blowing gently in some invisible breeze as the power emanated from her hands and though Jessalene’s body.

  And then, as soon as it began, the light faded. Izzy let out a breath and Jared knew the Need hit her hard, he could see it in the way her body tensed. She leaned back, taking her hands from Jessa, and cleared her throat. “How’s that?” she asked.

  Jessalene blinked a few times then sat up. She seemed clearer, like whatever exhaustion she felt had been washed away. She looked at her hands, touched her arm, and laughed. “It’s gone,” she said. “Holy shit.” She jumped to her feet and stretched. “I feel amazing.”

  Izzy gave her a tight smile. Jared walked over and Jessa jumped up onto the coffee table, grinning wildly, then jumped back down and threw herself into Jared’s arms. He laughed and hugged her tight.

  “I feel so much better,” she sighed.

  “Glad you’re back,” he whispered, and kissed her cheek.

  She grinned and pulled away. She looked back at Izzy, who seemed a little confused about all the affection the girls were showing Jared, or at least that was his guess. “Thanks so much,” Jessalene said. “And I guess I should thank Nikita, too.”

  “Don’t worry about Nikki,” Jared said. “She got what she wanted.”

  Lumi gave him a look but he shook his head. He’d tell everyone later. He didn’t want to talk about it in front of Izzy, considering how upset it had made her the first time around.

  “Of course.” Izzy stood. She was tense, much tenser than she had been when she came in. Jared could almost feel the Need coming off her, and he was tempted to offer up his own services, but he knew that would be going much too far. Even though he could take care of Izzy, and was more than willing, the girl had made it clear that she wasn’t interested. “If there’s nothing else, I’m going to get going.”

  Jared shrugged. “You’re more than welcome to stick around, if you’d like. We can meditate together. I know… the Need can be rough.”

  Her face tightened. “The Need is fine,” she said. “But thank you for the offer. I’m going to head out now.”

  Jared nodded and released Jessalene. She hopped over to Lumi and hugged the little powerful Magi girl, and he couldn’t help but smi
le and shake his head as he walked over to let Izzy out.

  The healer moved with him over to the door. He opened it for her and she lingered on the threshold. “About what happened—” she started to say, but stopped herself.

  “I’d do anything to help them,” Jared said, his voice soft. “You see that now, right? I didn’t want Nikita to feed off me. I didn’t want anything to do with that. But if it meant healing Jessalene… I’d do it. And we need that information. It’ll help me keep them safe.”

  Izzy met his gaze. It wasn’t disgusted or angry. It was more… fascinated. She lingered there for a moment, both of them close together in front of the door. “Maybe I misread you, Jared,” she said.

  “That’s okay. Most people do.” He grinned. “I’m actually quite dashing and lovely, once you get to know me.”

  A little smile slid across her face but quickly faded. “Be careful with Nikita,” she warned. “I’ve worked for her a few times now, and she always uses me to gain leverage over others. That one’s crafty and dangerous.”

  “Oh, I know,” Jared agreed. “She wouldn’t save a dying puppy if there weren’t some advantage in it for her.”

  Izzy smiled again. “Yeah, can’t deny that.”

  “Listen, if you ever want to… I don’t know, talk with some other Independent Magi, you know where to find us.”

  Her eyes flipped to Lumi and her frown came back. “She doesn’t like me. And that Mark…”

  “Don’t worry about her,” Jared said. “She’s new to all this. Still has her old prejudices, but she’ll come around.” He laughed a little. “She just realized that we’re technically Independents now ourselves.”

  Izzy smiled a little. “Well. It’s been… nice.”

  “Thank you,” he said, and meant it. “I really appreciate you healing Jessalene.”

  “Here, take this.” Izzy reached into a pocket hidden in her skirt and handed it to Jared. “My card. That number is my personal cell. If you ever need me, call it.”

  “I will.” He slipped the card into his jeans. “Thanks.”

  “See you soon then, Jared Bechtel.” She smiled, opened the door, and walked down the stoop.

  Jared lingered there and watched her go.

  “You like her.”

  Jared almost flinched as he shut the door and turned to Cassie. She was grinning at him and she waggled her eyebrows.

  “She’s nice,” Jared grunted.

  “She’s pretty,” Cassie said. “Really pretty. And powerful. She healed Jessalene in like a minute.”

  “I saw,” Jared said.

  “You saw which part? How hot she is? Because seriously, Jared, if you wanted to bring her into our relationship, I doubt anyone would mind.”

  Jared gave her a look. “Cut it out.”

  “I’m just saying.” She nuzzled up against him then kissed his neck, right under his chin. “Or maybe three girls is enough for you?”

  “You’re all more than enough for me,” he said, grabbing her hair and kissing her. She purred into his kiss then pushed him away, laughing.

  “Don’t get greedy,” she said, skipping away to join Lumi and Jessalene.

  He stood there by the door and took a deep breath. All three girls laughed at something Cassie said and began to head to the kitchen. “Want some tea?” Jessalene called back to him.

  “Yeah, please,” he said. “Be there in a second.”

  He watched them go, a smile on his face that slowly disappeared as his conversation with Nikita came back to him.

  Now that Jessalene was healed, he could think about what their next steps would be.

  The Medlar were up to something. That much was obvious. He didn’t know what their ultimate plans were, but he knew that he had to keep investigating their movements. The problem was, his status as a Marshal didn’t exactly let him push into more criminal territory. Marshals had a fairly limited range. They transported prisoners and served federal warrants. Sometimes they hunted escaped convicts or anyone skipping out on bail. There was a reason they needed a warrant in order to use official Marshal time to look into the disappearance of Wen Bet.

  But now that they’d figured out he was dead, he’d need some new excuse to look into what the Medlar were doing.

  Then again, maybe it was better if he didn’t do it on official time.

  That way, he could protect Wyatt and fly under the radar. He knew Jessalene, Cassie, and Lumi would all be very interested in what Nikita told him, and he suspected Lumi might know a thing or two about all of it. He didn’t want to accuse her of holding information back, but he knew without a doubt that she was. He’d touched on some of it when they’d connected together, just fragments of thoughts and feelings, but it all hinted at something bigger going on with the Medlar.

  She’d come around. This was a hard transition for her, and he couldn’t expect her to dump every single one of her family’s secrets right at the outset. She’d already proven herself, and so he’d give her time.

  “Jared, come on,” Jessalene called from the kitchen. “The party is starting without you.”

  He smiled and moved away from the door.

  The easy part was over. Next up, they’d find Wen Bet’s corpse, exhume it, prove he died before the Medlar began buying Jessa’s land, and then…

  Well, and then go to war.

  He hurried into the kitchen with a smile on his face.

  46

  Jared slept fitfully with Cassie, Lumi, and Jessalene all crammed into his bed. Their naked bodies drove him wild, but they were all sated from a night of tasting each other, high on their victory, and happy that Jessalene had been healed.

  But Jared couldn’t seem to make his brain calm down. Their soft snores made him roll over onto his side and stare at the far wall. His brain kept running in circles as he thought about exhuming Wen Bet and about what the Medlar could possibly need with parcels of land stretched out all over the world.

  He heard a rustling and looked over. Lumi was sitting on the side of the bed, looking down at his bare hardwood floor. The gray sheets slipped down her shoulders and nestled onto Cassie’s legs. She slowly stood up, her naked body pale and beautiful in the weak moonlight. She walked across the room, past his dresser with the middle drawer hanging open, and past the bathroom door. Jared followed her with his eyes, his cock stirring at the sight of her breasts and firm ass. She stooped down and picked up her shirt, pulling it over her head, and found her panties in the pile of clothes. She pulled them on then looked back at Jared.

  She gestured for him to follow her.

  He hesitated, but Jessalene and Cassie hadn’t stirred. Lumi opened the door and slipped out into the hallway, leaving it open a crack.

  Jared got out of bed, found a pair of sweats and a matching black t-shirt, and followed her.

  She walked downstairs, through the living room, and into the kitchen. Jared flipped on the light as she put water on for tea. “Couldn’t sleep?” he asked.

  “No,” she said. “And you couldn’t, either.”

  “Thinking about next steps,” he admitted.

  She nodded. “You wore out the other two.”

  He smiled a little. “You had a hand in that.”

  A little smile ghosted across her face. “Yes, well. Can’t help myself, I guess.” But her smile vanished as she put the electric kettle down on its base and hit the power button. She turned to him, arms crossed, face pulled into a frown. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

  “Okay,” Jared said. He walked to the refrigerator and took out a beer. He cracked it open and took a long sip, deciding beer was better than tea at this time of night.

  Lumi looked away from him. “You know my relationship with my family is… complicated.”

  “I think I can understand that better than anyone else,” Jared said.

  “Yes, I think you can. Especially after…” She trailed off and closed her eyes. “I’ve never slept with another Magi before.”

 
That took him off guard. He always assumed that most Magi were fucking each other all the time. Sleeping with another Magi was dangerous because of the connection it forged, but most Magi found someone they trusted and did it anyway, at least when they were younger. Jared had slept with a Magi he knew from another close family, a girl that was being trained alongside him. They both got a taste of the other’s emotions, thoughts, and memories each time they came together. It was the best, most efficient way to clear the Need. And it was pretty fun.

  “I’m a little surprised to hear that,” he admitted.

  “I’ve always turned to other methods,” she said. “Or found non-Magi men to sate my need. Sometimes I used Metas, if they were available. I was always careful, however. I never wanted… I never wanted another Magi in my head.”

  “I understand,” Jared said softly. “It’s a little strange.” He sipped his beer and watched her without speaking.

  “I know you saw things in there,” she said, not meeting his gaze. “You know I’m holding things back.”

  He nodded once. “I do.”

  “But you haven’t said anything. You haven’t told the others.”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Why?” She looked right at him, and he sensed a confused and pleading note in her question.

  He sighed and put his drink down on the counter. He leaned back on it, palms curling around the edge. “I know how hard this is for you,” he said. “Leaving your family isn’t as simple as it might seem. Yes, you’re angry with them, and yes, you might even hate what they did to you. But they’re still your family. I can’t expect you to just… give us everything all at once. I want you to trust us, Lumi, in the same way that we trust you.”

  She nodded and bit her lip. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Thank you,” she said. “I don’t know where I’d be without you, Jared. Probably back with my family by now, back being used by them, back being treated like a weapon and a monster.”

  “I’m glad you’re still here,” Jared said.