Sterling (13 page)

The only thing I gave him was a sour look. Now was seriously not the time.

Justus examined our body language and a smirk lit up his eyes. “Perhaps,” he let slide off his tongue, “she wasn’t charged enough by your encounters.”

Ouch
.

Adam looked at me almost accusingly. “What were you two doing?”

But it was Justus who replied back. “Nothing I would recommend her ever doing with you, human.” There was a verbal warning stretching across the room like invisible daggers. “You cannot touch her, and she definitely cannot touch you.”

Adam exploded onto his feet and Justus rose simultaneously. “Are you challenging me? Step outside and we’ll settle this like men. I only brought you here for information. You keep your insults in check or I’ll knock you on your face.”

I just sat back ringside, half-amused by the level of testosterone but equally unsure of how to handle the situation or even, whose side to take. Justus was out of line for playing instigator but I wasn’t ready to kick him out just yet. He knew more about me than even I did.

“Our kind does not mix with yours for a reason. I will say no more in the presence of the human. I must speak with you alone.”

“Adam,” I begged, searching for some kind of understanding. It was then that I saw the look in his eyes—as if I betrayed him. When he left the room without a word, I sunk in the red chair—miserable with guilt.

"Were you not approached to become one of us?”

“Attacked would be a better word.”

He pressed his lips and looked away. “The one who made you is a Creator. There are only a small few who possess the ability to create another Mage. It is regulated by the Mageri—the higher order of Mage law—and the Creator presents them officially. They do not abandon their progeny. There are regulations. If a Creator wants to make the blonde at Starbucks a Mage, that’s his decision. But everything must follow by the book.”

My chin rested against my knee as I idly picked at my toenail. Did he think I understood anything he was talking about? I was still trying to get over the fact that he referred to Adam as a human. Sparkler fingers or not, I still thought of myself as human. Justus suddenly grabbed both sides of the chair and shook it.

"Pay attention, you repeatedly try my patience."

“Get out of my face,” I yelled. I wasn’t a fan of space violation, and his car was parked over the line.

"Who is your Creator?" When he stepped back, I looked at him with a measured degree of restraint.

"I don't know."

"Learner, you would be attended by your Creator through your first years. You appear in a human bar and pretend to not know the custom of introduction; did someone put you up to this to gain information? Who is your Creator?"

“I. Don’t. Know.”

“LIAR!” he roared as his body swayed forward like a dog on a tether. “How can you NOT know?”

"Because maybe he’s a rogue, a criminal, ever think of that? Don’t you think it’s possible there are Creators who break your laws? I don’t know why I am what I am, or even how. All I can tell you is that this man sliced my throat and left me for dead in the middle of an open field. I’m sorry if I didn’t have a chance to exchange fucking names!" I screamed back. “So you can take your self-righteous ass to the bank and deposit that. And by the way, you approached me in that bar, not vice versa. So don’t play off like I’m trying to come after you for something.”

Justus swayed with a blank expression. "He hurt you…your Creator?”

Tapping my head in annoyance I said, “Are you listening? He killed me. Dead, as in my heart stopped.” I threw my head back and closed my eyes. “Doesn’t matter, you won’t find him anyhow. He’s probably dead.”

"First of all, you didn’t die. Second of all, how is it possible he would be dead?" Justus stared down his nose at me like a child who was making up a story so they wouldn’t get in trouble.

"Before we take this conversation any further then you need to know one thing—
I fucking died
. I’m not going to play ring-around-the-rosy about it either, accent it or don’t but quit challenging me on it. If that’s not how a Mage is made then I guess he broke some rules. He’s probably in the cemetery because in the end I heard a loud noise, like a shotgun."

He dropped his arms and turned away. "This is unprecedented."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

Justus finally took a seat by the window.

"After my body changed I started to notice something was off. I shocked Adam with my hands as if they were a pair of CPR paddles.”

"New body?"

I gave my hands a magical wave over myself. “And you said there was no magic involved.”

"You woke up changed…physically?"

"No, I woke up as myself in a body bag full of my own blood.” He cringed when I brought up that juicy little tidbit. “I changed later, I was still unconscious but Adam saw every mesmerizing detail of it."

Justus flew out the door, which thumped against the wall on his exit. A couple of minutes later he returned with Adam tracing his steps.

"Please, sit," Justus said as the door clicked shut. He motioned Adam towards the table who gave me an inquisitive glance before obliging him.

"I would not involve a human in Breed matters as this is not within the law, but you already know more than you should. I need you to tell me what happened to this Learner; she says that you witnessed her body change and I want to know every scrap of fact.”

Thirty minutes later, Adam divulged every detail of my transformation—some of which he never mentioned to me. Hearing it out loud, knowing it was fact made me question the sanity in that room. It didn’t seem possible in a world of science that magic really did exist.

Adam wasn’t without his own questions. “You said juicers steal from humans?”

“Only the strung out ones will attack humans—they’re just a sampler. A human doesn’t hold as much energy and they will die when used up. The high you get from juicing a human is not as gratifying and it requires more to get their fix, which is why there are often multiple attacks. It makes them easy to find, they get sloppy. That’s why most hunt for unprotected Learner’s. A Mage can be used repeatedly as an infinite source of power, and that is very desirable for a juicer.”

“What did you mean by conceal?” I asked.

“It is custom that we do not conceal entirely in a human establishment. We flare, it’s our call mark. Once a Mage picks up the flare of another, you either introduce yourself or face the consequences. I can’t pick it up on one so young since you don’t know how to flare. Until you are properly learned, you must be escorted in public. I’m not interested in learning you. Right now, I need to learn
from
you. Who is your maker?”

Only this time when he asked the question it was indirect, as if he were asking himself.

“If you say you were killed, then no one has ever created a Mage under these circumstances. It is transference of power, a consensual act. Progeny belong to their Creator’s until they are fit to become independent. You may not realize what that means now, but your life is no longer your own.”

“I don’t belong to anyone. The man who made me has no rights, none whatsoever, after leaving me to die. That, my friend, is what I consider disownment. He relinquished his rights to me the minute that blade touched my neck.”

“Define,
belong
.” Our heads turned simultaneously to Adam.

“He can claim her whenever he wants. A Creator is responsible for those that they make, because a Learner must know how to wield their power. They are a child. They are…dangerous to humans. If left abandoned, they would be corrupted with power and abused. Abandonment is not taken lightly and no Learner is left to wander. I’ve never seen one abandoned upon their making. A Mage literally owns their Progeny, with full entitlement to them as a parent would a child.”

His eyes fell on me, weighted with concern. “You will be free of him only upon his death, or official disownment of you. And the latter would be more likely. That can only be made official in front of the Council, otherwise he has fair claim whenever he chooses to take it.”

“Like an unclaimed lottery ticket.” Adam sighed. “You mention a Council so I’m assuming you have your own laws. If what he did was—”

Justus waved his hand up. “We have no laws for what he has done to create her. So with that, I don’t know how much of the law applies. No one dies during the exchange. I do not know how that is even possible. It is a great honor and privilege to be made. I cannot explain the transformation—only the Creator knows the magic; perhaps he has a special gift.”

Justus turned his attention to me. “And that was no gunshot; it was the first spark of your life as a Mage.” His eyebrows pressed down, shrinking the color from his eyes and I saw something in there I didn’t like—pity.

“I don’t want to belong to anyone.” I looked to Adam for support.

Adam ruffled his wavy hair, now a good three inches long and made a decision.

“Zoë stays with me as long as she needs, but she is her own. She didn’t consent to any of this and does not belong to your…
kind
.”

I should have liked to hear those words but for some reason I was bothered by them. Adam still saw me as different and wanted to keep me from what I was. I didn’t mind the security of his protection, but if his intentions were to shelter me I was going to have a problem with that.

Justus on the other hand was infuriated, and it showed in the accusatory finger-pointing. “If she does not comply with our laws, she will be considered a rogue! Her maker will know her; he can sense his own. Let me put a fright in you—that he may already have watch on her and is deciding this very moment her fate.”

Adam’s face worried as he rubbed his hand across his frown. We both knew that to be true.

“A human could never offer the protection she requires. Eventually, she’ll run into another Mage and will be taken—used. You carry his mark; for better or worse you are his.”

Something flashed across his face. “I will speak to the Council to be placed as your Ghuardian. I will deal with him if he comes to claim you, if the Council learns of the conditions in your making they may be lenient and for him to relinquish his rights.”

“I am not marked, and who are you to speak to anyone about me, you don’t even know me.” I bit my quivering lip in a feeble attempt to contain my emotions of panic and anger. The adrenaline was wearing out and I had never felt so empty, so exposed for what I was. I occasionally stole a glance of Adam but I was never quite able to read his face.

“You are marked. We are all marked” Justus rose to his feet and lifted his shirt above the belly button revealing with pride what could have easily resembled a small tattoo. It was an inch long on his stomach in the shape of an unfamiliar symbol. “Upon your making you take the mark of your Creator.”

“Nice tattoo.”

His eyes shrunk into tiny slivers that set those golden lashes aflame. “Why don’t you show me yours? I showed you mine.”

“I just bet you’d like that.”

“Your mark will reveal who your maker is, it is unique to only him and all his progeny carry it.”

“Are you bleeding?” While I noticed the tear in his shirt, I hadn’t been paying attention to the dark stain around it. I guess I thought it was dirt or mud but when I finally saw the smear of red against his skin it became evident he was hurt.

“Yes, but I’ll heal.”

“You’re saying that a Mage heals differently?” Adam asked.

The shirt fell loose and Justus tucked his hands over his waist. “I’m saying we are immortal, human. If the mark is known by the Council, it will identify her Creator.”

“Again, I’m not marked. I think I’ve taken enough showers in the past few weeks to do the whole getting to know me bit." Anger was flaring.

Primarily the reason I was angry was the way Adam was looking at me. I couldn’t tell if it was fear or repulsion, but it struck a chord deep inside.

“I saw your shoulder Zoë, it shouldn’t have healed that fast.”

I placed my feet on the cheat carpet and stood up. “You need to leave.”

“Are you refusing my offer?” His nostrils flared. “Think carefully before you answer.”

“I know it’s hard to believe a girl would turn you down, but yeah, I’m refusing you.” I shot him a defiant look, my fingers digging into my palms, anger bubbling up like a bad case of indigestion.

“You need to be measured.”

“Measured?” Okay, at that point I was yelling a little bit. “Maybe you’re a rogue, what makes you think I could trust you? I have a life to get back to that doesn’t involve playing with your magical wand.”

He widened his stance and folded his arms. “You have no respect.”

“Don’t you dare talk to me about respect,” I fumed, going over each syllable. “You think I owe you respect after what your kind did to me, what I was turned into against my will?”

I walked right up to this man who turned my entire world upside down and pushed him.

“Get. Out.”

Adam went rigid, but he did not interfere. That’s what made me even angrier—because Adam always came to my defense. Now I was alone.