Immortal Moon (13 page)

“Why do you fight?” he asked, his hand
lazily stroking her arm.

She shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess because
it’s a waste of my training not to. You know Fiona got Sam to pull
strings so that I could go to the Academy of Magic and Science with
her.”

“I knew you attended, but I didn’t know
that.”

Anya sat up, pulling the sheet with her and
wrapping it around her torso to cover her breasts, much to
Jarrett’s consternation. She sat cross-legged next to him on the
bed.

“Fiona started at the Academy at fourteen
under a City-Guard contract, and because of her power and skill,
went straight into the Blades. But I’m a norm, I couldn’t sign a
guard contract and there were no guilds to contract with.”

Jarrett nodded. To him, the Academy was a
new-fangled way of training city guards and Blades, but he
understood how it worked. Originally built to teach and train the
Black Blade Guard agents and City Guard officers, the cadets signed
contracts to work at least two years in exchange for their free
education and training. It had opened almost half a century ago to
civilians, and now the rich could pay for their children to learn
math, history, science, and magic beyond what they could learn at
home or in community-run schools. But few could afford the tuition.
Many mages were able to attend by signing contracts with local
trade guilds. Depending upon their type and level of magic, they
could contract with an organization like the crystal chargers
guild, the healer’s guild, or any of a dozen other trade guilds, to
work for the guild or in a guild-run shop for two years for a
minimum wage and the cost of their education. There were no such
trade guilds or scholarship contracts available for norms.

“Pinky couldn’t afford to send me,” Anya
went on. “But Fiona wouldn’t take no for an answer. And you know
how she is. Just before she started her second year at the Academy,
she threw a hissy fit and threatened to quit if I couldn’t go.”

Jarrett chuckled. “That doesn’t surprise me.
I’m guessing she threw the fit in the middle of Sam’s office.”

Anya nodded, smiling at the memory. “Yep.
Sam has always been like an uncle to all of us, and you know he
can’t say no to Fiona. So, he pulled some strings and I got in. Of
course, all I’d ever wanted to be was a Black Blade Guard, like I
knew Fiona was going to be, so that’s the curriculum track I went
on. I took physical training, law and administration classes,
everything. But then the two years of school were done, and it was
time to test and become an official guard cadet. I was allowed to
take the test because it was a part of the graduation requirements,
but despite the fact that I had the highest grades in the class, I
was denied cadet status.”

“Because you’re a norm.” Jarret said.

She nodded. “Got it in one. They told me it
was too dangerous of a job for a norm. I had always known that was
the policy, but I’d ignored it. I guess I thought that Fiona’s
temper had gotten me in the door, but my skill and determination
would get me to where I really wanted to be. And I really wanted to
be a guard. But it was a no-go. I was offered a job in
administration. I could work at the City-Guard offices, or even in
the Black Blade Guard offices, but I could never be an officer or
an agent.”

“That really sucks.” He felt stupid because
that was all he could think to say.

“You said it. It sucks.” She gave a half
laugh. “Could you see me sitting behind a desk typing up reports
all day? I’d have kicked someone in the throat two hours into my
first shift just to relieve the boredom.”

“I could definitely see that as a potential
outcome,” Jarrett said through laughter. “If it means anything, I
think tending bar suits your personality more than administrative
work ever could. Though I can see where you would want to do
something more physical once in a while.”

“I started out just training with Fiona on
the weekends when she was going through her year of Blade training.
Then I started street-fighting for the money. Now, I still make a
pretty good side income through the fight houses I frequent, but
it’s more about the physical activity, and maybe a little about the
adrenaline rush.”

“Nope, sorry, don’t buy it,” Jarrett
said.

“Excuse me?” Anya said, sounding more than a
little put off.

“I get that those are the reasons why you
fight, to a point. But I think there is more to the story. Your
frustration at not being able to work in your chosen field is
enough to make you want to show off your skill every chance you
get. But it won’t make you fight like a demon’s after you,” he
said.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she replied,
shaking her head, her brow furrowed.

“When you fight, you aren’t just fighting to
show your skill. You are driven by something deeper, darker. I saw
it a little in your first two fights, but nothing like that last
one. After he knocked you down, you fought with a rage and fury
that could only be fueled by deep, dark pain. And not the kind in
your leg.”

“I…” she mumbled, a shadow moving across her
features.

“Don’t deny it. I saw it.” He kept his voice
low and gentle. “I know it’s not my business, but will you tell me
what it is? Will you tell me what makes you fight so
ferociously?”

She let out a tiny, sad laugh. “You know,
you’re the first person to ever ask me. Well, my family knows, but
no one else has ever paid enough attention or cared enough to
ask.”

He took her hand in his. “You don’t have to
answer. You can tell me to shut the hell up and mind my own
business, but I hope you won’t. I’d like to know what caused you so
much pain.”

She let out another laugh, and this one had
a little more spunk in it than the first. “Why, so you can go kick
its ass?”

He flashed his most toothy grin at her.
“Maybe.”

Her smile had a sad tinge to it. “Somehow I
have no doubt that you would if you could, but there’s nothing for
you to assassinate. It’s just bad, old memories. But I’ll tell you,
on one condition.”

One eyebrow shot up. “What’s that?” he
asked, dubious.

“Let’s lie back down, and you can hold me
while I tell you my story.”

“Okay,” he said softly.

They laid down on the bed, both on their
sides, her back against his chest and his arms around her. They lay
quietly like that for a long moment, but Jarrett didn’t want to
push her. He had a feeling that whatever she was going to tell him
was very painful for her to even think about. After a while, she
began to speak.

“I know you’re older than Pinky, so that
means you grew up in a world where most people had no idea magic
existed.”

It wasn’t exactly a question, but Jarrett
answered anyway. “I did. As a matter of fact, the world I grew up
in considered magic an abomination. Magic and paranormal creatures
were believed to be nothing more than stuff of fairy tales. Yet any
talk of real magic was considered evil, an abomination. I had a
hard time adjusting to the truth when I was changed. It took a long
time to realize that I, and those around me, weren’t inherently
evil because of what we had become.”

“Then you might understand this better than
I thought. You grew up with fairy tales of magic. I grew up in a
world of magic where the fairy tales I told myself at night were of
a world where magic didn’t exist. I spent the first decade of my
life wishing for such a world, or just one tiny place in it.”

Though he was positive he wasn’t going to
like the answer, Jarrett asked, “Why?”

“I grew up in a gypsy clan. According to the
few stories that existed, my ancestors fled their homes during the
cataclysm, and like many families, never found a place to call
home. After a couple of generations, traveling was home. It was the
one thing I ever enjoyed about my childhood, moving around, meeting
new people.”

Jarrett dropped a kiss on the top of her
head and smiled into her hair. “Something we have in common. I’ve
been a nomad all my life. First by the fate of birth, then by
choice.”

She turned her head slightly to look at him,
“Really? I’d like to hear about it.”

He kissed her again, this time on the tip of
her nose. “Nice try. Some other time. Right now is time for your
story.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, and then
flipped to face him so that her head rested against his chest.
“Well, as I said, I was born into a gypsy family, which isn’t such
a bad thing. But, fate is a fickle bitch and didn’t seem to be in
my favor. I was born a norm in a family of mages. Mages that used
their powers to make money, both legally and illegally.”

Jarrett didn’t like where this was going,
but he remained silent.

“I don’t really remember what it was like
before my parents realized I was norm. But once they did, they
weren’t happy.”

“But you still were quite young when you
came to live with Pinky, weren’t you? Magic abilities don’t usually
present until puberty,” Jarrett cut in.

Anya shook her head against his chest. “That
is when they are measurable, and specific abilities become
apparent. Most magic users have the ability to manipulate energy at
least on very low levels at a young age. I don’t know exactly how
old I was, around four or five, but I remember not being able to
turn off a crystal lantern, and one of my cousins, who was the same
age, turned it off for me. An adult noticed and they made me try
over and over again for hours to turn it on. I couldn’t. That’s
when they realized I was a norm, or dud, as they called me.”

Jarrett didn’t want to remark on the word
‘dud’ so instead he said, “But I’ve seen you turn crystal lanterns
on and off.”

She rolled over to face him. “Of course I
can now. Like you said, puberty. Even norms that rank with 10% or
less brain usage can activate crystals charged with basic household
spells, just like you can, even though your magic is limited. It’s
not about being able to push energy. Those crystals are activated
by the basic electromagnetic energy in our bodies, which gets more
powerful after puberty. Norm children can’t use charged
crystals.”

Jarrett’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t know
that.”

Anya laughed. “I guess it is possible to
learn something new, even when you’re older than dirt.” She laughed
harder at his faux-offended expression. “But I only know because I
am a norm, and I made it a point to learn what I could, after Pinky
rescued me, of course.”

Jarrett felt his smile fade. “He rescued
you?”

Anya’s expression shaded, all humor gone.
“He did. As I said, my parents weren’t happy about my ‘dud’ status.
I was considered useless because I wasn’t able to do anything to
earn my keep. And not just by my family, but by all the families in
the clan. I was relegated to nothing more than animal status, lower
actually, because at least the dogs aided in hunting and security.
All I could do was scrub pots and wagon floors. The fact that I
couldn’t even use magic for those menial tasks made them even
angrier at me.”

A sharp pain jabbed into Jarrett’s chest.
How awful for her, to feel so unwanted as a child. His own
childhood perhaps hadn’t been ideal, but for the short time that he
had his father, Jarrett had known the man loved and wanted him. He
lifted a hand up to caress her cheek, but she brushed it away.

“Let me finish. If you’re too sweet I won’t
be able to finish the story, and now that I’ve started, I need to
tell you all of it,” she said, her eyes down, her voice
tremulous.

He pulled his hand back. “Okay, I’m
listening.”

“I was beaten for every tiny infraction.
Since I couldn’t seem to do anything fast enough or right, that
meant I was beaten for everything I did. A day never went by, from
the time I was around four or five, that I wasn’t beaten for
something. Most days, the only time I wasn’t dodging slaps or even
getting spit on by the other clan members was when I was hiding out
in whatever woods we were camped in or asleep on my pallet under my
family’s wagon.”

Pain thumped in Jarrett’s chest, and rage
stormed through him. How could anyone treat any child like that,
much less their own? He wanted nothing more than to find her
parents and rip their heads from their bodies. But he did his best
to keep his breath steady and not show his emotions to Anya. Her
voice was quiet and shaky, but she wasn’t crying. He had a feeling
that any show of anger or negative emotion from him would change
that.

After pausing a moment, Anya took a deep
breath and kept going.

“In the eyes of my clan, I was completely
worthless, and they took pride in telling me so. The other children
made a game out of teasing, taunting, and hitting me. If I hit
back, they would gang up on me and hold me down. I had no friends,
no allies, no one that cared an inch about me. But that all changed
the day I met Pinky, Fiona, and River.” She looked up at him with
watery eyes, a small, tremulous smile trying to take hold on her
lips.

He smiled back at her. “Tell me about
that.”

“I don’t know exactly how old I was, since
after it was discovered I had no magic, my birthdays weren’t
celebrated anymore. But I tried to guess when it was time for it to
come around, so I was around seven and a half. We were in Nash for
market week. I was carrying a pot of stew from the fire to the
table for lunch. It was hot and heavy, and I stumbled on a rock and
fell. I dropped the stew and it spilled all over the ground.”

Her voice was far away, as if she were back
in that moment. Jarrett stayed silent and listened.

“My mother was furious. She grabbed a
horsewhip that was hanging on one of the wagons and started
whipping me. She only landed one blow. I was braced for the next,
but it never came. I looked up and this tall, thin man in a dark,
billowing cloak had the whip wrapped around his hand and my mother
was kneeling on the ground next to me.”