Unbound (10 page)
Authors: Adriane Ceallaigh
This place clouded her judgment. The jasmine scented bath. The protection Gannon offered. It was…too much. All her years of fighting, of being feared, being left alone, and of being lonely broke through her defenses. The truth stared at her, cold and unblinking. It had nothing to do with this house. She wasn’t paying Gannon for his help. She wanted his arms around her, his voice low in her ear. She wanted…
him
. Vulnerability wasn’t allowed, not for her, but she couldn’t find the balance between that and this crushing loneliness.
Tears slid down her cheeks. When Nyx brushed against her, she reached out and let her hands trail along his back. It amazed her that she could touch him and he felt warm even though he was gone and had been gone for more years than she cared to count. She gathered him up, burying her face in his soft fur, letting despair overwhelm her as sobs racked her body. She stiffened when she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. Jubi settled down, patting her head.
“Shush now. He didn’t mean to hurt you,” Jubi said.
She sniffled and peered at him through red, swollen eyes. She’d forgotten he was there. “You think so?” she asked.
“Sure, I do,” he said, now patting her cheek. “You should go talk to him. There is a lot he can teach you. He’s a fool, but an honest one. If he says he’ll do something to help you out, he will. Now go on. Try to make the most of the time you have, before reality breaks in and hurts you.”
Kayla stood, careful not to jar the Sprite. “Thanks for your advice.” She rubbed her face, wiping her nose on her sleeve.
Walking down the hall, she peeked in several rooms before she found Gannon stretched out on a bed, fresh from a shower. He stared at the ceiling. “Hey, Jubi, think you could give us a moment to talk?”
“Sure, no prob,” he said, flying off.
Shifting from foot to foot, she tried to decide what to say. When Gannon raised his head, his silent glower asking what the hell she wanted, she cleared her throat. “Um, I just wanted to say I’m sorry about before.”
“It’s alright,” he said, his voice flat.
“No, I mean it, Gannon. I don’t know what got into me. I’ve never done that before and I’ve never been so mortified with myself.”
His expression softened and he pushed himself up to a sitting position. “To tell you the truth, I’ve been laying here, thinking. I don’t blame you. If I were a woman in your situation, I might have done the same thing. However, that isn’t what I’m into.” He patted the bed beside him.
At his patronizing remarks, she thought about telling him to piss off, but remembered what Jubi had said and thought better of it.
Seeing the anger flash in her eyes, he decided to change the subject. “Do you know the history of the Mages?”
“Yes.” She sat beside him.
“Good… In some parts of the world, there are still bastions of survivors of the Great War, still fighting the good fight,” he said with a faraway look in his eye. He got up to stand near a window.
“What’s this have to do with me?” she asked.
“Nothing
–
yet everything. You remember when I asked about the awakening? There were groups of Mages who hid their offspring with humans. Fearful they would be discovered, they blocked their children’s powers. Sometimes it didn’t quite work and some began to show latent talents, small things no one would pay any attention to, unless you knew where to look.”
“So what you’re saying is I’m one of these…children? And when Keaton found out I could do magic, he decided to enslave me?”
“No. I’m saying someone found out about you. Someone put a compulsion spell on that bag to set your powers free. The fact that you survived the spell told them you had a lot of power.
“So I figure they sent the MoonSkin to rough you up, only they didn’t cover all their bases. See, a young Mage’s magic is brought out by strong emotions, and when the MoonSkin went after Roo…he signed his death warrant.
“He didn’t finish what he’d been sent to do, but your boss is smart. He sent back up. If you hadn’t happened upon the Gate, you’d have been done for. I don’t think the pouch was the real package you had to deliver. I think
you
were the package and they didn’t count on you fighting back.”
“So what do we do now?”
“I think I should examine the pouch to see if I can trace the spell back to its owner. Or at least get some idea of what kind of Mage put it on the pouch.
Kayla thought about it. “If you think it will work. Let me see if I can find the bag. I think I remember putting it in my jacket pocket. If I didn’t dislodge it in the fight, it should be there.” She walked out of the room, not bothering to see if he followed. At last, she found the room where she'd put her stuff after her bath. She went to her coat and searched the pockets, pulling out the small, nondescript bag. Some of its glow had worn off, leaving her with the feeling of revulsion in the pit of her stomach.
Turning, she found Gannon behind her and thrust the bag at him. “Here.” Glad to have it out of her hands, she wiped them clean on her jeans, still unable to rid herself of its slimy feel.
“Can I take it? It might take some time to discern what I can from it.”
“Sure, no problem. Let me know if you find anything.” She walked him to the door, just wanting him to leave. She felt wary of the whole business. Roo leaned against her and Gannon took the hint.
“I hope you sleep well,” he said and closed the door behind him.
* * *
Kayla stumbled up a blind alley, running from something she could not name. It felt familiar. It had chased her before. She ran and ran. She couldn’t dodge it.
Nyx appeared, curled around her leg, moved away and morphed into a human. “There is nothing to fear. We are here. We will help.”
“Who are we?” she pleaded as he disappeared.
She struck the wall. Pain shot throughout her body. She flew up against a building. Hovering there, she spun, looking for what chased her, but saw nothing in the darkness. Looking down at the alley floor, she saw herself lying there, covered in blood. The sturdy form of Gannon came through the wall, knelt beside her, then moved up the alley and back again. She watched as he picked her up and took her back through the portal, then came back for Roo.
She sat down, put her pack on the floor, and waved to a few of the regulars before she nodded to Mable, who finished taking the order of a man near the end of the counter. Kayla could feel something familiar about him, but she shrugged when she couldn’t place it. She stared at him, boring holes in his head, until he turned and she saw his face.
“Nyx,” she whispered.
“We are always here,” he said and disappeared.
He turned and smiled at her. “Hey,” he said.
She lay on her bed, and pulled him close. Cuddling around him, she kissed him, nipping and tugging at his bottom lip.
He laughed softly. “Slow down, sugar. We have all night.”
Kayla sat up in bed, pushed her sweat-drenched hair from her eyes and cried. What the hell had just happened? Her dreams were a mesh of things she didn’t understand...Nyx, a man running from something…Gannon…it was all a confused mess. The last part, who had that been, she thought, rubbing her lips. She lay back again and tried to go to sleep. Troubled, she tossed, until giving up near morning.
13
Upon waking, Gannon
grinned and stretched, mentally checking the Gates. Whatever had tried to break through had gone.
Then he remembered the pleasant dream he’d had just before waking. He smiled, having not had one of
those
kinds of dreams in longer than he cared to remember. He got out of bed and grabbed the bag. Hefting it, he thought it would be a good place to start Kayla’s training.
He stepped out into to the hall and frowned, smelling something cooking. He changed directions, heading for the kitchen instead of Kayla’s room.
Standing in the doorway, he watched her pad around barefoot. It felt good to have a woman in his kitchen again. Glad for her company, he went in and leaned against the counter before she became aware of him.
“What’s all this, then?”
She looked over at him, beaming. “Oh nothing. Just felt like cooking is all. I haven’t done it in so long. It feels therapeutic.” She cracked another egg and added it to the pan.
“You seem to be in a good mood this morning.”
“I’m trying to be. I had odd dreams last night and I’m trying to figure them out.” Her smile faded.
“Wanna talk about them?”
She shook her head, quiet for a moment before turning back to her pan.“Did you find who put the spell on the pouch?” she asked, nodding at the bag.
“Aye, I have, but I thought maybe you’d like to find out for yourself. The best way to learn is by doing.”
“Now what would give you a fool idea like that?” Tossing the spatula down on the stove, she crossed her arms and glared at him.
“I think you’ll need to learn everything I can teach you about your magic. You need to be able to defend yourself against someone trying to enslave you. I
could
leave you clueless. Then the magic will start to eat at you, until it controls you, or you kill yourself trying to do something too hard. Is that what you want?”
They stared hard at each other until she turned away. “All right, what do I need to do?”
“First, why don’t we have breakfast?”
* * *
Kayla turned back to the stove, self-conscious now that she knew he was watching her. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and pushed the eggs around the skillet.
“Hey, Jubi, do you want something to eat?” she asked the pot of flowers next to the sink.
“Nah.” The dark head popped out of the petals, covered in yellow powder. “I’ve already eaten, but thanks for thinking of me.” He dove back into the leaves. She laughed at him, then spoke over her shoulder, “Gannon, this is almost done. Why don’t you go sit down and I’ll finish up? You want some coffee?”
“Sure do.”
“What kind?”
“Raspberry truffle, if you know how to make it.”
“Yeah, I can find my way around an espresso machine.” She got out plates and dumped the eggs onto them just as the toast popped up in the toaster. She slathered butter and honey onto them and set the toast onto the plates, then took them to the table. She put Gannon’s plate in front of him and went back to the counter to get the rest of Roo’s breakfast made. She set the bowl of rice and tuna on the floor next to the counter and hit the button on the coffee bean grinder.
She measured the grounds into the basket and tamped them down and then placed the small shot glass under the spout and hit the button, watching as the thick brown liquid poured out, capped with soft froth. It had been a long time since she’d done this and she felt awkward.
She dumped half a shot into a cup for herself and poured the rest into one for Gannon.
A shot and a half is plenty of caffeine for anyone.
She quelled an excited squeal when she found his huckleberry syrup and poured it into her cup with trembling fingers.
“Problems?”
She jerked, almost pouring in too much and glared her displeasure at him. “No, it’s just been awhile since I’ve done this.” She topped the coffees off with frothy milk and brought them back to the table.