Blaize and the Maven: The Energetics Book 1 (11 page)

She kept silent. The pain and anger mixed inside her skull in an ugly headache. She hated feeling like this, and she especially hated the fact he had created the situation. She wanted to curl into a ball on the sofa, but she knew if she moved her head at all, the pain would just increase. She was grateful for the cool, wet cloth across her eyes and forehead, which provided some measure of relief.
 

“I know you’re angry with me. But I don’t want you to leave.” Cuinn said, his voice low but persistent.

“You don’t want me to leave? Or you can’t get rid of me?”
 

Blaize’s eyes were still closed, and it took some effort of will to string that many words together, but her anger cut through the pain like a laser, forcing the words out with a deadly precision.
I won’t stay where I’m not wanted.

Of course when she was no longer focused on talking, the pain rushed back. She gingerly put her hand up to her head to feel the damage. There was a bump the size of a robin’s egg on the back of her head, and her hair was matted with water from the melting ice and something stickier, which she assumed was blood.
 

“Ouch.” She tried to keep her exclamation under her breath, but Cuinn responded immediately.

“Can I get you anything? Let me know when you’re ready to sit up.”

Blaize kept silent because of the pain that had pulsed through her skull like thunder when she’d touched the bump.
 

Stupid. Never press a bruise.
 

“Blaize?”

Maybe if she ignored him, he’d get bored and read a book or something. Although his voice was nice to listen to and didn’t increase the pain in her head too much. Though the fact it didn’t hurt just irritated her more.
Gah.
She grit her teeth and resolved to wait him out.

She didn’t have to wait long.

“I think you can help me.” He was hesitant.

“Really? You want my help? After the morning we’ve had?” Her mouth dropped, and she pried her eyes open only to find the cloth blocking her view. She put a hand up and pushed it to one side, blinking in the gloom. She saw Cuinn’s silhouette next to her. What in Source’s name made him think she’d help him now?

“Let me tell you what’s going on.” He spoke haltingly at first but gained strength as he gathered pace.
 

He finished, “Something’s coming, something very bad, that threatens the whole of the energetic race. And right now, I don’t know enough to stop it. Yet I’m somehow involved. And honestly, I’m conflicted about you.”

Blaize snorted. Softly so her head didn’t move too much.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t have a lot of time right now, and I hadn’t planned to take on an Adherent. But I’d be a fool not to take all the help I can get.”
 

His head dropped and he gazed at the space between his feet. “This is a challenging project, with far-reaching consequences if the prophecies are right.
 

Oh shit.
She hated it when she had to feel sorry for her enemies.

“How do you think I can help?” She really hoped she couldn't. Cuinn was a rude idiot, but he clearly had a lot on his plate, and she could see that adding a new Adherent to the mix might be a bit much for him.
But then why did he agree? He should have just said no and we could have avoided all this.

“If I’m training you in Ajna, then you’d have to understand dreamwalking and how prophecies work. It would include prophecy research. We could work together and you could help review previous prophecies for relevant information.” Cuinn’s head came up and his eyes brightened as he outlined the possibilities.
 

“Grunt work, you mean?” She was better than that. He didn’t need an Adherent; he needed a servant.

“No,” Cuinn sounded surprised. “You’d be doing this anyway. At the moment I’m doing it, which would probably continue, so I’m not asking you to do anything I wouldn’t be doing myself. And maybe, if you show some talent for working with Ajna energy, you can support in dreamwalking too.”
 

He told her about the personal prophecy he’d received from the Ajna farseers.

She listened, feeling her stomach squeeze at his mention of a personal prophecy. She’d only heard about one of those, and it had turned out badly for all involved. She put a hand up to her eyes and rubbed them, trying to clear the cobwebs so she could think as he talked.

When Cuinn finally went quiet, he sat in the armchair next to Blaize’s head, his body rigid and still.

She considered his words. It sounded as if the problems he was dealing with were greater than him. And he was pretty senior in his Guild if he could get in to see the Guild Leaders.
I really need to find out more about him.
She hadn’t been in the mood to discover much about him before she came.
 

And if she was honest with herself, she was intrigued by his story. Some kind of threat that affected everyone she knew and was close to? The Warrior in her, her Manipura energy, rose up ready to protect.
 

“What do you think?” he asked.

How bad could it be?
 

“I think … it sounds interesting. Now, for Source’s sake, let me rest.”

But Cuinn couldn’t let Blaize rest.
 

Instead, he talked at her for what felt like hours, but she wasn’t listening. She was too tired.

Tierra came in to relieve Cuinn. She brought hot tea and freshly baked muffins. They smelled pretty good. For the first time in hours, Blaize turned her face away from the sofa cushions and back into the room.

Tierra put the food down and bustled around the room adjusting cushions and straightening things as she went. Although as far as Blaize could see, the cosy room was already spotless.
 

Blaize cautiously raised her upper body until she was leaning back with her head upright. Tierra made a pleased noise when she turned and saw Blaize’s efforts.

“Well done. I think you should get some food into you as you didn’t get breakfast,” Tierra said. “I’ve sent Cuinn off to do whatever he needs to do. And I’ll try not to babble at you like I did last night. I’m glad you and Cuinn have sorted out your differences and you’ll be staying with us. It’s a pleasure to have you here.”

Blaize managed a weak, but genuine, smile. Tierra was easy to be around. She gave off a sense of strength and solidity, comfort and care. And the muffins smelled good. Blaize took one and asked, “What are they?”
 

“Ginger and chocolate chip.” Tierra placed a muffin on her own plate on a small table between them. She poured the tea.

“I’m sorry that your introduction to Cuinn went so badly,” Tierra said. "He's avoided meeting new people for a long time. Usually it's just myself, Adam, and him here."

"Adam's your brother?" asked Blaize.
Anything not to talk about Cuinn.

Tierra beamed. "Yes. He heads up a security team that hunts down difficult Rogues."

Blaize raised her eyebrows.
Now that sounded like a man she could talk to.
"Sounds interesting. When's he back next?"

Tierra deflated a little. "I'm not sure. He comes and goes depending on how the hunt goes. You'll like him. He's quiet but thoughtful."

"Hmmm … a hunter and tracker, works in a Security team but thoughtful …related to you and Cuinn—I'm guessing Mulhadara-Ajna? Muladhara for protecting others, and Ajna being where thoughtful comes from?"

Tierra's smile was back. "Yes. He's the reverse of Cuinn. Adam and I share Muladhara from our parents, and our mother and Cuinn's mother were sisters."

Tierra sighed and switched topics back to Cuinn. "Give Cuinn a chance. He's a good man, really. It’s just he has a lot of balls in the air at the moment. It’s not easy for him, having another Adherent. It’s been a while. I hope he’ll tell you about that sometime.”
 

“What do you mean?” Blaize leaned forward slightly.

“It’s not my story to tell. But, please, don’t see this morning as typical behaviour. He can get very focused, that’s true, but it comes from a good place.”

Blaize had known Cuinn had had Adherents before, but no one had mentioned any problem with one in the past. She leaned her head back against the top of the sofa again and sighed. Was she involved with a Maven with a difficult past? When she was feeling better she was definitely going to ask more questions. And not only that, get answers.

***

Cuinn sat at his desk in his workroom. After Tierra’s efforts over the last couple of weeks, the room was a lot tidier than before, with actual space on his desk and only a small number of books around the room—and most of those on shelves. He was still tired. He’d lain down after his first ‘watch’ over Blaize, but he hadn’t been able to sleep.

Damn it, she infuriated him. He couldn’t think about her without his jaw muscles clenching. Frustrated, he flipped through the pages of a book in his lap without taking any of the information in, realized, and went back to the start.

But his irritation was also laced with guilt, because although it was true he hadn’t actually pushed her down the stairs, he had certainly been the cause of her fall. His heart had raced as he’d carried her downstairs, as he’d focused only on getting her to Tierra’s sure and healing touch.

He hadn’t noticed her thick red hair, soft and touchable against his chest, or her strong, spicy scent.
 

Except he did.

He shook his head and scowled. Where had that come from?
 

He hadn’t had female company that wasn’t related to him for a while. It was probably just a reaction to that.

He thought he’d persuaded her to stay, but he sensed it wasn’t a given. He rested his head on the back of the chair and closed his eyes. Marius wouldn’t be happy if Blaize returned home, whether Cuinn sent her, or Blaize went of her own accord. And Fai … well, he would have to avoid Fai for another fifty years if that happened.

The door creaked open, and his head snapped around. When he saw it was Tierra and not Blaize his face relaxed, and Tierra laughed. “It’s only me—don’t look so worried. I brought you some food. You need to eat. And something healthier than cake and muffins.”

Cuinn looked at the plate and his stomach rumbled.

“Fine. Thanks.” He put the unread book down and took the food.

Tierra angled a chair to face him at his desk and sat. “She’s a nice person Cuinn. And as I said earlier, smart.”

He nodded, then slipped a forkful of pasta into his mouth.

“You need to get to know her. There’s no way you can do any kind of binding ceremony right now. Neither of you trusts the other. You need to have a week or so where you just do stuff together—show her the grounds, take her to the sea, the mountains, anything. Just spend time together, talking and just being.”

Cuinn stopped eating and stared at her. “But what about my work? The prophecies?”

“You need some time off too. Let the dreams and the information that the Ajna Circle members gave you percolate in your brain. Some of the best connections between ideas come when you’re not trying.”

Cuinn frowned but went back to the food. He speared a baby tomato on his fork, then pointed it at her. “You just want me to get out more.”

Tierra smiled. “Of course I do. And in the company of an intelligent, strong woman—what could be better?”

Cuinn was horrified. “She’s here to learn, nothing else.”

But damned if he couldn’t get that spicy fragrance out of his nose.

Cuinn woke early. Much too early. He was finding it harder and harder to sleep even when he wasn’t working. It was taking a toll on him. Wearing him down.

He decided he might as well use the time productively. Given his half-awake, half-asleep state, he decided to dreamwalk.
 

But it was a short and discouraging excursion into the ether. The only new scrap of prophecy he’d seen was a woman in trouble. He couldn’t tell who she was, or what the danger was, but he hadn't been able to do anything about it, and he'd woken with a dry mouth and a neck like a block of wood.