Awakening (3 page)

“
Client confidentiality.”
He leaned back in his chair and took on a thoughtful
expression.

“
Exactly.” I poured myself
another glass of soda.

He watched me in silence for a few
moments. “I would like to know who pointed you to our
doorstep.”

Again with the questions.

“
Someone who wishes to
remain anonymous.”

He could keep asking questions, and I
would keep being evasive. This was going to be a long couple of
hours.

“
A lot of people know the
type of work we do, but most of them, I’d imagine, wouldn’t run in
the same social circles as someone like you.”

The way he said ‘social circles’ made
it clear it wasn’t a compliment.

“
And what would you know
about the social circles I run in?”

He took his time answering, his eyes
scanning slowly over my appearance. “I haven’t seen you in this
part of town before. If I had to guess, I would figure you for a
Middleton gal.”

Middleton--a quiet, sleepy suburb
about thirty minutes from the city. He wasn’t wrong. I’d lived on
the outskirts of Middleton most of my life.

“
Let me guess, your father
is a plumber and your mother a school teacher.”

Actually, he couldn’t have been
further off the mark. I forced a smile onto my face. “Do you do
fortunes? Are you going to tell me my horoscope next?”

“
Not something I normally
dabble in, but I could if you wanted me to.” His eyes focused on me
in a way I found disconcerting, especially when they began to
change color, from dark gray to a warm caramel. Eye color didn’t
naturally change in seconds, but one thing could make the
transformation happen I knew from experience--magic.

“
Stay out of my head,” I
said with as much force as I could muster.

Darla spoke up, “Luke, stop being so
rude.”

“
Why? What’s she trying to
hide?” He looked over at Darla, an amused expression on his face.
“Does she have top government secrets hidden away in the recesses
of her mind?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he got up from his
chair and started clearing away the dishes.

“
I’m the private ‘no
trespassing allowed’ type. Let’s leave it at that,” I answered
quietly to his retreating back.

He spun around so fast my breath
hitched in the back of my throat. He put the dishes down none too
gently, and they rattled loudly as they hit the surface of the
trunk. “What’re you really doing here?”

I closed my hands around my now empty
plastic cup, crushing it. I took a deep breath and relaxed my grip.
I wouldn’t be scared off by this guy. I had food in my stomach, and
I was feeling less shaky. I needed him to help me, and it would be
even better if I could get him to see me as strong and
capable.

I took a deliberately long pause
before answering, “Paying you a lot of money.”

He took a step toward me. “To learn
the dark arts?”

I could almost feel the wave of
violence and intimidation wash over him. He clenched his fists and
towered over me menacingly. Here, I was in this stranger’s
apartment. No one knew where I was. At any moment, he could decide
I was not worth the hassle and--what? Kill me? He already had my
money. I‘d paid him the money upfront like an idiot. I had heard
stories about his kind. Most of them seemed outlandish, but I knew
there was truth buried within the tall tales. Anger I could handle,
but not violence, not now, not after what had happened. At the very
thought of it, my stomach clenched and my mouth
trembled.

I looked over at Darla. She was
watching us, her expression sullen. So far she’d shown me only
kindness. She wouldn’t let him hurt me, I was almost certain of
it.

He glared down at me, and I tried to
look confident and fearless, but I didn’t trust my voice betraying
me, so I nodded.

“
Why did you come here? Why
are you so desperate to learn the dark magics?”

I forced myself to sit up. I used to
have a backbone, and if there was ever a time to show it, it was
now. I wouldn’t tremble like a scared rabbit in front of this guy
anymore. I could feel the anger growing within me. I tried to hold
on to the feeling, will it along, forcing the flames of it to warm
my blood and fuel my words.

“
Why does it matter? I need
to learn, and a friend told me that I could find someone here who
would teach me!”

My reaction didn’t seem to surprise
him. He’d been pushing, and I’d finally pushed back.

The anger abandoned me as suddenly as
it had come. “Look, you guys seem pretty open about what you do.
The shop even has a phoenix on its sign. It’s not like you’re
hiding who you are.”

“
I’m not ashamed of what I
am.”

“
A lot of people don’t
share that view.”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you one of
them?”

I slumped back against the pillows.
“I’m the live and let live type.”

His face softened, and he took a step
back. “A healer.”

“
I told you I was.” I was
so tired, so sick of all the questions. All I wanted to do was go
somewhere safe, somewhere where I could try and get some
rest.

“
But not now?”

Why did he keep pushing? When I put
down the cup, my hands were openly shaking again. “Not
anymore.”

“
I’ve never heard of one of
your kind walking away from the calling.” His voice was softer now,
less demanding.

I was anxious to change the subject. I
knew the Triads were one of the largest street gangs in the city.
They were mostly mage born--many of them vicious human beings. Part
mage and a whole lot of natural born killer types--a deadly
combination any way you looked at it.

“
You said the Triads are
out in the streets causing havoc. Do they do that a
lot?”

“
Recently more than
usual.”

“
So it’s not safe for me
out there?”

“
No.”

Those dark eyes were watching me. Once
again, I felt like a puzzle he was trying to work out.

“
I could pay you to be my
bodyguard and escort me home.”

He shook his head. “It’s not safe for
even the likes of me out there these days.”

Now that was something. I had never
heard of a death dealer being afraid of anything. They were what I
considered the top of the magic food chain--the hardest of the
mage-born to kill.

“
And you’re proposing what?
I should bunk down here tonight?”

“
It’s getting late. The
streets are dangerous, and you don’t look like you’re up to
fighting off trouble at the moment.” He did a sweeping gesture with
his arm that took in his sister. “We are offering a place of
refuge.”

Darla got up and walked over to me.
She sat down next to me and patted my hand as if trying to offer
some kind of comfort. “We’re about the same size. I have some sweat
pants and a t-shirt I could lend you. Luke’s right, it’s not safe
out there. You should stay with us.”

It had been a long time since anyone
had offered to help me. I wanted to say no, but it would be foolish
to go out and risk my life.

I moved my hand away but gave her a
smile so she wouldn’t be offended. “I’ll take you up on the
clothes, but what I could go for right now is a hot
shower.”

She pointed across the room. “The
bathroom’s over there. You can find clean towels in the
cupboard.”

* * * *

The tub was an old-fashioned one. It
had a metal circle at the top that held a white and black polka dot
shower curtain. A hand-held shower head hung from a long
retractable metal coil.

I slumped down on the side of the
bathtub and wondered if I had the energy to take a shower. A pile
of clean clothes sat on the toilet seat. The hot water would feel
good against my skin. It might clean away the dirt, but what about
the guilt? Could it wash that away?

I forced my body up and got
undressed. If I had any sense I would get the heck out of here, but
I knew I couldn’t. Not yet, not until I got what I needed. I looked
in the mirror and shook down my hair. Now free, it came to rest at
my shoulders in waves. I turned away from the mirror and stepped
into the bathtub. I reached for the shower head and held it over my
head with one hand as I turned the knobs with the other.
I took a long shower, spraying the hot water back
and forth across my body.
When I finally
got out, I rummaged through cabinet drawers until I came across a
towel and boar hair brush. I dried myself, and then took my time
brushing my hair. When I was done, I changed into my borrowed
clothes.

Darla was wrong, we weren’t the same
size. She might be younger than I was, but she had a lot more
curves. Everything was a bit too large. I tied the bottom of the
white t-shirt into a knot and pulled the drawstring on the gray
sweat pants tight. For some reason, I felt more vulnerable when I
came out, even though I was fully clothed. I realized it was
because I was wearing someone else’s clothes.

I was in a strange place, with people
I had just met, and I was about to bunk down like a guest. An
unwelcome guest. Even though he said I should stay, Luke’s
expression was not one of welcome as I came out of the
bathroom.

“
You were in there a
while.” He was standing against the row of windows. He looked even
bigger than I remembered. Was it possible that he’d grown five
inches since I stepped into the bathroom? Impossible. It was just
the play of shadows against his body.

“
Sorry, did you want to
take one? I didn’t mean to hog all the hot water.”

“
I usually take my showers
in the morning.”

I was having a hard time keeping my
eyes off him. He’d changed and currently sported no top and a pair
of black sweatpants. Those broad shoulders tapered down to a very
cut stomach. Suddenly the image of him dripping wet stepping out of
the bathtub flashed across my mind. I couldn’t help it--I blushed,
and like an idiot, the only thing I could think of to say was, “Oh,
okay.”

“
Darla put an extra blanket
on the back of the couch in case you get cold.”

“
Thanks. Where is
she?”

He gestured toward one of the
partitioned sections. “She went to bed.”

I stood there feeling like a moron,
not sure what to say next.

He pointed to the couch. “The sheets
are fresh, but the pillow is a bit lumpy. We aren’t set up for
house guests. I’ll leave the light on in the bathroom and the door
ajar, that way you’ll have a bit of light in the room if you get up
in the night.”

“
I doubt I will. I’m a
pretty sound sleeper.” It wasn’t a lie--not really, I used to be a
sound sleeper until the nightmares had set in. Chances were I would
wake up in a cold sweat, trembling from head to toe. I desperately
hoped I didn’t wake up screaming at the top of my lungs.

I gave him a smile and moved past him
to the couch.

He walked across the room and flipped
off the overhead lights.

I settled under the covers and watched
the shadows from the window play against the ceiling. “Thanks again
for the food, the shower, and a place to crash.”

He stopped but didn’t turn around. “No
problem.”

“
I like your place.
It’s…comfortable.”

“
I’m glad you approve.” His
voice sounded amused.

“
Goodnight.” And as I said
the words, I swear I heard my brother’s voice whisper in my ears,
“And don’t let the bed bugs bite.” But it had to be my imagination.
Lack of sleep was starting to affect my ability to function. A good
night’s sleep and I’d be stronger tomorrow and maybe ready to take
on whatever challenges came my way.

Chapter Two

It was the scream that woke me. I sat
straight up and realized it wasn’t coming from me. Another high
pitched scream rang out, not one this time, but two, coming from
the direction of the windows. Almost immediately following the
screams, a loud crack of thunder sounded.

“
Son of a…!” A voice rang
out in the dark, and I could hear feet hit hard against the floor.
A shadow flashed across the room. It was Luke. He was out of bed
moving toward the windows.

Before I could ask what was going on,
he swung the closest window wide open and headed out onto the fire
escape.

What the heck was going on? I got up
and went to take a look. It was raining outside. The water was
coming down in sheets, and as I leaned over the windowsill
raindrops pelted against my face.

I could make out a group of guys
surrounding a woman in the alley street lights. The woman was lying
on the ground with her hands pressed against her head. High pitched
screams were coming from her every few seconds.

Luke was going down there to confront
the guys. Were they Triads?

“
What’s going
on?”