He tired of his sudden outburst and kissed my hand, leading me back to the table. “Have you ever played miniature golf?”
I sipped the grape soda and smiled. “I am the goddess of the volcano.”
“Have you ever been on a roller coaster?”
“Unfortunately.”
“Have you ever eaten caviar?”
“Uh…”
“Settled.”
“I’m not sure I want to eat fish eggs; just because I haven’t done it doesn’t mean I—”
“Won’t try it. That
is
what you were going to say, wasn’t it?”
He was impossible. “You win, but you’ll have to plug my nose and shovel it in.”
Logan lifted my hand to his cheek. It was smooth and freshly shaved, and I imagined it smelled nice. He never wore aftershave or cologne. He didn’t need to. A throaty purr rolled over his tongue. “Nothing would please me more than feeding you.”
“Your turn.” I nodded at the lane, pulling my hand away. “I’ll be right back; I need to stretch my legs.”
“Silver?”
“Yes?”
Logan cupped my face in his hand and brought everything to a standstill. His thumb traced over my cheekbone and, for the first time, I found myself really looking at him. Deeper than just his irises, deeper than just the way he gazed back at me. Something flickered in there—tender and secretive.
The magic was broken when he let go, looking uncertain about his own behavior. “Hurry back.”
“Try not to miss me, Mr. Cross.”
I floated like a cloud through the musty smell of sweaty socks, the drunks at the bar, and screaming kids at the arcade. I never felt so disconnected from my old life; I didn’t belong in this world anymore.
I made it to the far end of the building by the exit where the bathrooms were tucked away. Two young girls flew out of the open doorway, one splashing the other with water as they ran down the carpeted hall. The bathroom could have used a little cleaning with a mop… or a flamethrower. After I washed my hands and smoothed out my hair, I dug through my purse, searching for a few extra coins when a hand slapped over my mouth.
A sharp needle stung against my neck. The sounds of pins exploding, music, and laughing faded away. I never had a chance to react; an icy wave rushed through my chest, and I blacked out.
***
I lurched forward to vomit, but nothing came up. Rubbing the dust away from my itchy nose, I squinted at the dim light from an outer hall. A bulb flickered as if on the verge of burning out. It reminded me of a horse stall, or Alcatraz.
Scattered patches of straw covered a dirty floor. The walls were made of knotted wood, and corroded bars separated my room from the hall. It was dilapidated, and yet partially remodeled. A small insect scurried through a crevice in the wall behind a wooden bucket.
I put weight on my hand to straighten my legs when a metal sound caught my attention—a shackle, locked around my ankle. The chain snaked across the floor to a heavy bolt plugged into a concrete slab on the wall.
“
What the hell
?” I murmured. The last thing I could remember was staring at the yellow tiles on the bathroom wall.
My temples throbbed as I stood up in my white bowling socks. I could reach all the corners of the room except by the bars; the chain kept me about two feet from it.
“Hello?” I called out.
No answer.
I dropped to my knees and tried to enter the Grey Veil.
Nothing
happened. Stunned, I stood up and tried to flash, but all I did was stumble and fall. There was no sense of time.
Was I human again? No, my core light was bound into a small coil, but it was still there.
The chain scraped across the floor. Could the metal be suppressing my abilities? Stunners were tempered with magic that paralyzed a Mage when driven into their flesh, but merely touching them wouldn’t have any effect. I knew because I handled Justus’s knives on many occasions. This power was like nothing I’d read about, and it scared the hell out of me.
A door opened in the hall, and I curled up on my side.
“You don’t need to pretend. I know you’re awake.”
It was a man’s voice. He squatted on the other side of the door, gripping the bars. Not really a man, but a boy who didn’t look a day over twenty-one. His eyes were light—maybe hazel—and shaggy brown hair covered his ears. His physical appearance was boyish, from the slope of his shoulders to his casual posture.
“Hungry? I brought you an apple.”
“We’ll be friends. You’ll see. I’m the handler; I bring all the meals and clean up around here, but I can keep you company.” He looked down the hall for a few seconds. “It gets lonely at night. Nero doesn’t care how long I’m down here as long as I’m out when he comes.” He dropped his ass to the floor, claiming a permanent seat.
Nero, that bastard
. I stewed on it for a minute, but in a strange way, I was glad he caught me. This was exactly where I needed to be. If Nero was holding others against their will, I had a chance to free them. This wasn’t misfortune; it was opportunity.
“My name’s Finnegan, but you can call me Finn. What’s yours?”
Silence.
“That’s cool, you don’t have to talk. They usually don’t say much at first.”
I sat up. Finn was looking at a cheap watch with a blue band.
“Where does he keep the others?”
“They’re on the far end of the building. You’re in isolation. What did you do to piss him off on your first night?”
“How many are there?”
“Well, four like you, and three transients.”
“Transient?”
“That’s what we call them when they’re still human. Nero’s shopping for another Creator. Samil’s death threw a wrench in… whatever. I doubt he’ll be able to find someone with the same magic he had. That’s what Nero is looking for, and he’s pretty pissed about it. Samil was a real asshole, anyhow.” Finn scratched his shoulder. “Come on, I told you my name. It’s only fair you tell me yours.”
The kid spoke easy, and nothing about him came across as malevolent. There was loneliness in the way his eyes wandered around the room. Finn avoided eye contact, as if he didn’t know how to behave with strangers.
“My name is Silver. Tell me, kid—if that’s what you are—why are you involved with Nero?”
“If
that’s
what I am?” he laughed. “You’re funny. I have no choice because he owns me.”
“You can’t own someone,” I pointed out.
“I’m a Shifter. I was sold to Nero for a price, so that makes me his. Unless he sells me, declares me free, or dies—he owns me.”
Finn shrugged matter-of-factly and twirled an apple by the stem. “Do you want this? Mealtime isn’t for another four hours. Those in isolation are put on food restriction, but not all the time.”
“Are you the one who stuck me with the needle?”
“I never go out,” he said, dragging his eyes away. “That was probably Diego. You don’t want to mess with him, so if he comes down here, keep your distance. He’s not right in the head.” Finn tossed the apple in the air and caught it. “Diego is like an apple that looks okay to eat, but there’s a tiny hole in the skin. When you cut it open—it’s rotten inside.”
“Why am I not able to use my gifts?”
Finn set the apple down and lifted a finger. “The metal keeps the power chained up, and not just with your kind, either. I heard he paid a shiny penny for them, too.”
“My father owed a debt and sold me to pay it off. That guy sold me, and three owners later, here I am.”
“Jesus.”
“Tell me about it.”
Finn hopped to his feet and rocked on his heels. “I’ve got to go, Silver. Strange name. Nero will come, but I don’t know when. I hope it’s not for a long while; I hate the way they are after he visits them.” He glanced down the hall and back. “Stay quiet, and try not to cause trouble.”
Little did he know.
Finn smiled and shuffled away. I peeled the label from the skin of the apple and decided to trust him.
Chapter 27
Hours later, the hall door opened.
I curled the chain around my fingers anxiously. I spent the last few hours planning to wrap it around Nero’s throat if he attempted to steal my light. When the white tennis shoes came into view, Finn proudly crossed one foot in front of the other while holding a tray.
“Lunch, madam.”
“Lunch? I thought it was morning.”
“Nope. You were knocked out for a while,” he said, unlocking the door. Finn set the tray in the center of the room with a watchful eye.
“My friend will track me down. He’s a Chitah.”
“Hmm.” Finn twisted his mouth. “Nero’s guards are good about planning stuff; they wouldn’t risk a Chitah tracking them out here.” He backed up and swung the door closed.
“He’ll come,” I insisted.
“I hope he does, but I seriously doubt it. Sometimes they use the spray because it confuses their sense of smell.”
Logan was my only hope. Hearing Finn’s confident words that I wouldn’t be saved was disheartening. All that fairy tale shit I heard growing up was starting to piss me off.
“Where am I supposed to go to the bathroom?”
Two red marks spread across his cheeks. “Sorry, I forgot to... that bucket,” he pointed. “Hope you weren’t drinking out of it. You’re only allowed to leave the room once a week to clean up, but that’s the um...” He lifted a shoulder and chewed on his lip.
The food added insult to injury: peas, corn, rice, and sunflower seeds—no utensils. Nero wanted me to behave like an animal, shoveling it in with my hands.
Finn rubbed his nose. “It’s what everyone gets in the beginning. I
know
why. Don’t let it get to you. Soon you’ll be upgraded to spaghetti and mashed potatoes, so enjoy this while it lasts.”
The lock slid into place as Finn sat down Indian style in the hall.
I dropped to my knees and eyed the plate.
“How long have you been a Mage?”
“Less than a year. What can you tell me about the others?”
I wondered if Finn was supposed to be telling me all this, but he perked up whenever I asked him a question.
I studied my plate and folded it like a taco, letting the food slide in through the open end.
Finn laughed contagiously.
I gave him a shit-eating grin. There was no way I was going to be forced into primitive behavior. “Someone may treat you like an animal, Finn, but never act like one. I’m hardheaded. I take after my Ghuardian.”
“What’s that, a custodian?”
“Not exactly. The meaning is different from the human word, so you won’t find it in the dictionary. It’s an old word among Mage. After Samil’s death, I needed someone to take me in, and the Mageri appointed him.”
“Oh. The new ones usually came right after he made them. Except that changed a few months ago when they started bringing in humans. I don’t know if that was Nero or Samil’s idea; the two of them were always fighting.”
“How much do you know about what Nero is planning?”
“Enough to make me dangerous.”
Finn looked about as dangerous as a dragonfly caught in a summer breeze
. “None of us know the big picture; we just see our piece of it. The guards know even less than I do, but for what they get paid, I doubt they care.” Finn rubbed his nose as if the dust were bothering him. “Are you the one that killed Samil?”
I was surprised by the question. “No, I wasn’t the one. He deserved what he got, Finn. Samil was a cruel man.”
He twirled a shoelace between his fingers absently. “No doubt.”
Finn brought me some water when I finished eating. The stall was hot and stuffy. I wondered what would have happened to me if I’d never met Justus. What were the chances a juicer would have picked me up? Here I sat—once again—in trouble, and yet I would have been worse off living in ignorance.
“Hey Finn?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you mind keeping me company?” My eyelids drooped.