Blaize and the Maven: The Energetics Book 1 (15 page)

Blaize stayed on alert. "I'm just going to use the bathroom."

She got up, movements abrupt, and stalked towards the door in the back. She'd touch the waitress and read what she could. If there was a threat, she needed to know.

But when she reached the back, sticking her head into the small kitchen, there was no one there but a young man with blond hair putting a sandwich together. "Can I help you?"

"Is Indigo here? I just wanted to ask her a quick question," said Blaize.

He shook his head. "She's stepped out for a minute as it's her break. Sorry. Do you want me to pass a message on?"

"No. Thanks." Blaize went back to their table, disappointed. The uncomfortable feeling had gone.
Am I imagining things?
Then a thought struck her.
What if the threat was from Cuinn?
Her stomach lurched.

She sat down opposite Cuinn, assessing him as a threat. He was strong, she knew that, despite having shown her nothing of his power. And strong Ajnas could project thoughts into others' heads, like Huo had at the trial. He hadn’t mentioned that gift, but she knew very little about him.
 

She shrugged.
It’s not like I’ve got anything to lose. “
Are you threatening me?"

“Are you serious?” Cuinn put his coffee down. If there had been anything unusual in the coffee shop he’d have known it, and he sensed nothing.
Now she's accusing me?
 

He didn't have the patience for this. He hadn’t told Tierra or Blaize about his vision of the night before. He was convinced he’d interpreted it wrongly. The idea of this irritating, possibly crazy girl as a part of the prophecy disturbed him.
 

The vision had affected him too deeply. He’d known her less than a week, and he'd shed tears after seeing her disappear from the vision.
Dammit
. He was losing it.
 

And now this.

“I’m not threatening you, Blaize. Far from it.” He pushed his chair out from the table and stood up. “Let’s go back to the house. It sounds like we could both do with some space.”

“It’s fine. I’m sorry.” Her cheeks were flushed. “Whatever it was has gone.”

“Maybe it was the sugar or the caffeine going to your head. Or jet lag. Or you’re oversensitive to Rosa's energy.”

Her lips flattened and her eyes sparked. “No. I sensed something, and it felt like Manipura.”

Unlikely. The nearest energetic was in Vancouver as far as he knew. Energetics weren’t territorial, but in an area with a population as small as this, they tended to ask permission before settling in.

Was she getting confused about her own energy? Either way, they needed to head home. Perhaps he'd start her off on some grounding meditation exercises.
 

She could do those in her own cottage, and he could get back to work.

***

Blaize walked along Merrow’s Main Street filled with shoppers, mothers and babies, and even the odd tourist, and felt a shiver run across her back. Cuinn was back in the cafe paying, and Blaize had come out for some air, regretting the impulse that had caused her to accuse Cuinn.
 

She stopped and turned around, surveying her surroundings, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She frowned and was moving on again when someone shouldered her out of the way, knocking her off balance. She staggered and spun around, tensed, looking for who’d bumped her.
 

The most likely culprit was a dark head moving quickly away from her. A dark head that looked familiar. Blaize began to jog after the figure, who she was almost certain was the waitress from the coffee shop.
What was her name?

 
“Indigo? Indigo. Wait, I want to talk to you,” Blaize pitched her voice to carry to the woman, ignoring the glances from those around them.
 

The other woman glanced back and started to run in earnest. That only made Blaize more certain that she was right. All her instincts were screaming at her to catch the woman, human or energetic. Just because Cuinn didn’t believe Blaize’s gut about the woman being dangerous didn’t mean Blaize shouldn’t check for herself. He wasn’t her Maven yet. And the woman had been stick thin. No match for Blaize’s own training and honed muscle.
 

She would find out what was going on without any help from Cuinn.

Blaize sprinted down the street, dodging strollers, and small dogs being towed behind smaller children. The gap between her and the figure was closing. It might have been a week since Blaize had last trained, but she was fit, agile, and very motivated.
 

A ripple in the air, and Blaize sensed energy being used.
Shit.
She didn’t know what energies the other woman had, but at least now she knew she was dealing with an energetic and not a human. Though she must be a well-shielded energetic not to have triggered Cuinn’s nose for power, and to have set off Blaize’s own instincts only a little.

Blaize spun around a corner and came up sharp. She was in an alley between shops that was sheltered from the street. There was nothing in the alley but garbage cans—and the energetic.

“What do you want?” Blaize said. She put her arms up in front of her in a defensive crouch, and pulled a little energy from the ether, spooling it inside. She was as able to defend herself physically as energetically. And she was ready for either.

The woman didn’t speak, but closed her eyes for a second before bringing up her arms fast and shooting a stream of fire at Blaize.

Blaize staggered back, throwing up her own defensive shields to protect herself. She hadn’t expected the other woman to attack so quickly, especially so close to humans.
 

“What do you want?” Blaize said again. She wasn’t ready to make a move, though at this point, if she saw an opportunity to restrain Indigo, she would. She’d dump her in Cuinn’s lap and not say “I told you so.”
Well, maybe just a little.
 

It was against all energetic laws to use energy close to humans, so Blaize had reason enough to hold the woman. But Blaize needed to keep Indigo in this alley until she could either calm her down enough to have a rational conversation or she could take her down.

“Indigo, is it? What are you doing in Merrow?” Blaize kept her tone reasonable though the fire in her blood was itching to get out. She tried another tack. “What’s your auxiliary Chakra?”
 

It was obvious enough that the woman’s dominant was Manipura, just like Blaize’s.
 

Indigo’s eyes were hard and burned with emotion. She still said nothing. She was angry. Not just angry, raging. But Blaize had no idea why, which meant she wasn’t sure how to address it.

Blaize took a step closer. “Why don’t you come with me back to my home? There are several energetics there, and we can help you if you’re down on your luck.”
 

Energetics were rarely on their own. The family and Guild structure meant that energetics were linked like the warp and the weft of cloth. And energetics always, always offered hospitality to each other. It was a fundamental part of their culture. If Indigo turned it down, it would be an insult unless there was a very good reason. Which she would need to provide.
 

Not that Blaize expected her to accept given Indigo had just thrown a fireball at her. You didn’t get much ruder than that. But you never knew.
 

If anything, Indigo’s eyes went harder. The rage in them burned, and power shimmered in the air around her. If Blaize hadn’t been sure in the coffee shop, she’d have needed only a second of seeing Indigo like this to know she was an energetic, and a powerful one. A Practitioner like Blaize, or maybe even a Master.

This time, when Indigo threw the fireball, Blaize was ready for her. She caught it with her own energy and absorbed it, ensuring it didn’t get loose into Main Street behind her. But even as she did, she ducked and crossed the few feet between them. She kept her head down and propelled herself into Indigo’s stomach. The air went out of the other woman in an ‘ouf,’ and she fell backwards, thumping into a large trash receptacle.
 

Blaize grabbed the woman to keep her upright, and put her right arm like a bar across her windpipe. The other woman clawed at Blaize’s arm, clutching it to bring it away from her air supply.

“Really,” said Blaize. “Why are you here?”
 

Blaize was aiming for cool and composed, but her blood was up. A week at Cuinn’s without proper physical or Manipura training and no way to take out her frustrations with him, Blaize was left her with a lot of pent up energy, despite regular sessions of meditation.

“Now’s not the time for this,” said Indigo. She was holding onto Blaize’s arm, pulling on it to keep the pressure off her throat. She was starting to go red.

“Are you ready to come with me? You know you can’t use power like that in public.”
 

“I couldn’t help myself. You’re just so … irritating.” The woman rasped the words out through a constricted throat.

“What?” Blaize loosened her arm very slightly in surprise. Indigo took the opportunity to wrench Blaize’s wrist away from Indigo’s neck and down. Indigo, still holding the wrist, stepped forwards, which broke the arm lock so Indigo ended up behind Blaize. Indigo had now reversed the situation so Blaize’s arm stretched out painfully, Indigo’s hands on her wrist in a lock that held Blaize in place.
 

Blaize could no longer see Indigo. She craned her neck to see what Indigo was doing, but Indigo jabbed her arm down, pulling at the shoulder joint. Blaize winced.
Ouch.

“Much as I would love to spend more quality time with you,” Indigo spat, “now’s not the time for us to meet properly.”
 

She bent Blaize’s arm and forced her against the wall, using her other hand to push Blaize’s neck into the rough surface. It was a classic control arm lock.
 

But Blaize knew Indigo would have to break the hold at some point unless she had an accomplice or some kind of restraints.
 

Blaize was ready for the transition. She just needed a little movement to get out of this. She kept her head twisted to make eye contact with Indigo.

“There’s no need for this. Please. Let’s talk. I have no idea what your issue is with me. I don’t know who you are or what you want. Tell me. Maybe I can help.”

Indigo snorted and just pushed Blaize’s cheek harder into the wall. The irregular surface grazed Blaize’s face, stinging like a thousand tiny whips.

Indigo leaned closer to Blaize, still shoving her into the wall. Blaize was trapped, her arm held tightly up and out behind her back.

“You can still walk away from this, Indigo,” Blaize tried. “Don’t let it become more than it is, or you know I’ll have to report it to the Guild.”

It was likely both of them knew that she’d be telling the Guild anyway, just as soon as she could, but there was no need to escalate things further. Blaize drew power to build defensive shields. She would have to work fast against another Manipura, but it could be done. She could heat her way out of the situation. She drew in a breath.
 

Indigo leaned her weight on Blaize’s arm, and bent her head forward so her obsidian eyes looked into Blaize’s. They were magnetic. Blaize couldn’t look away.
 

“I’d love to leave you something to remember me by, but I’ll get in trouble if I damage you this early in the game.” Indigo’s tone was conversational, but the hate was still there.

“So relax. Take a breath.” Indigo's voice softened, and she almost crooned the words.

Blaize felt her muscles go lax, and she stopped drawing power. She felt … odd. The alley blurred a little and she blinked.
 

Indigo stood, sparks flying from her hands and hair. She drew Blaize upright as she did, easing the pressure on Blaize’s shoulder.

Blaize came to a standing position. Her head felt fuzzy. Confused.
There’s something I’m supposed to be doing. What is it?

She looked around. Indigo was watching her, a smirk on her face. Indigo stepped back towards the entrance to the alley, Blaize staring at her.
Why can't I remember what I'm supposed to be doing?

“Okay. Maybe just a little something.” Indigo’s smirk grew wider.

Blaize felt as if her brain was full of fog. She shook her head, trying to clear it.
 

“Blaize bitch?” Indigo waggled her fingers.

Blaize turned her head slowly back towards the voice. Indigo’s voice. There was a haze in the alley and it was hard to make out the details of what she was seeing. Was Indigo an enemy?
No. Yes. What?

Indigo spun towards Blaize, snapping her foot out and into Blaize’s stomach. Pain blossomed in her abdomen, and she crumpled forward.

***

“Teach me,” Blaize demanded of Cuinn. “I need to learn what she knows. She took me by surprise today. It won’t happen again."

They were home in the kitchen. Cuinn had insisted they report the incident to the police and to Rosa, who had been shocked to hear her waitress had attacked Blaize. Neither report to the humans had involved any mention of energy, and it had gone down as an attempted robbery. Cuinn had asked Rosa to let him know if Indigo returned but had made her promise to call the police first.