Sterling (28 page)

Justus was kneeling on one knee in deep thought as I arrived; I wondered how long he had been there. His dress was very different than what I had ever seen him in. Instead of a tight fitting shirt, he wore a loose fitting brown tunic as if he stepped out of a Robin Hood movie.

“Silver.” Justus touched the tip of my shoe with his finger and rose to his feet as I turned away.

“Does he feed you? How has he cared for you?” his voice asked demandingly.

I tucked my hands beneath my arms and tried to concentrate on willing away the marks but I seemed to have no control over my appearance. “Did you come up with a plan?”

“I want you to tell me everything that goes on. Where he lives, who visits him, what he’s told you.”

“He’s stinking rich, Justus. You’d never know it to look at him. Where do you guys get that kind of money?” I felt him against my back.

“What else?”

I sighed quietly. “Well he’s had one visitor, someone he knows and does business with but I don’t know his name. I don’t really have any information Justus; it’s only been one night.”

“Silver, you need to give me the details. Simon is doing a background check on Samil but so far, he’s come up clean. You must cooperate.”

“I am,” I said flatly.

“Do you want to remain with him permanently?”

“Is that a threat or a wish?”

My energy was gone, evident in my voice, my heavy eyelids and the lack of movement. It took everything to even get there without passing out. “I don’t want to talk about it right now okay? I just want to sit here and forget—”

“I don’t have time for your silly nonsense,” he scolded taking hold of my arm. When it pulled free, he suddenly went very, very still.

“Look at me.”

I turned around with slow precision to face him and his eyes pierced with light as they fell over my cut lip and broken hands which he held delicately in his own.

“It doesn’t hurt here.” I pulled away and my arms fell to my side. “I’m just tired, not broken—got it?”

Justus turned his back to me as he looked into the thick of trees. “Don’t say anything to agitate him. Comply with whatever he wants. He is the worst kind of coward, Silver. No man of worth would inflict such injuries on an innocent.”

“That’s not what you have been teaching me.”

“To hell what I taught you!” he yelled. “Should he beat you—then appear to weaken before him. If he senses your strength he will beat you harder.”

“I’m not doing anything you wouldn’t do yourself, hypocrite. You’re telling me not to fight back, I’m sorry but that’s not in my DNA. You warned me early on this kind of thing happens, and now I understand why you’ve worked so hard to train me.”

“The Council will know of your treatment.”

“The Council doesn’t give a shit. You told me yourself the Creator gets extra privileges because of what they are. Why is that? Does the Mageri think they’ll go on strike and quit creating more, ending our line? Someone needs to change the rules. Anyhow, it wasn’t him that did this. Well, not all of it.”

With that revelation, Justus spun around and outrage spread across his features; his eyes blazed like a raging fire and every muscle in his body tightened.

I stepped back.

“Who beat you?” A muscled twitched in his face.

“Never mind.”

Justus stepped forward. “I’m going to ask you again, who beat you?”

I held my tongue as I thought about what it could mean to tell him. I loved seeing the fire in his eyes—that protectiveness warmed me in a way that words could not. But I wasn’t about to give him more information, I was afraid he might do something stupid and get himself in trouble with the Council.

“What are you keeping from me?”

“Comply? Do whatever he asks? Just get me the hell out of here!”

“Silver, I am your Ghuardian and I am bound to the laws of the Council. But I swear as your Ghuardian these men will die.” His body moved up to mine and his head lowered to meet my gaze. “I want to know who put their fist on you.”

“Are you saying that it’s acceptable that my maker does it but now that someone else is in the picture—”

“That’s not what I meant.”

I sighed. “I know. But I don’t want you acting irrationally; I need you sane. I can’t live with your death on my conscience. I know you’re a man of honor; you follow the laws and have taken the Ghuardianship far more serious than I did as your Learner. Walk away from this. I am not—”

My words cut off when his hands cradled my neck.

His devotion to defend me ran deep. What he felt for me as a man was questionable, but what he felt for me as a Ghuardian was undeniable. If there was ever any doubt of where I stood with Justus, it was answered in just four words.

“You belong with me.”

Chapter 23

After five long days, one thing I could count on was routine.

Samil was usually drunk when he wandered down to punch me around like I was some no good stray dog. Each time he asked me to beg to be healed, I gave him the finger. There was an advantage in knowing how to push his buttons. I was not fed, and my body slowly began to weaken. While his intent was to break me, I knew there was something more underneath it all. Resentment, and it had a lot to do with my nightly visitor.

Every night around the same time, the small man with the spectacles came in and stole my light. The first two nights I struggled and fought back. I learned the hard way that he followed through on his promises; being repeatedly slapped in the same spot carried more pain than a full beating. Chinese water torture taken to a whole new level.

His taste for me was becoming an addiction and the arguments between him and Samil increased in frequency. Samil never stole my light and I could see he wanted to, but there must have been some agreement.

The visitor was angry with Samil weakening me; apparently, it had an effect on the quality of the light. Samil claimed his right as my Creator to inflict whatever punishment he saw fit.

My body was frail and I reminded myself that I was a Mage and all of this was only temporary. What I wouldn’t give to be back on the sofa with a box of crackers and a book of Mage law.

I could only guess the reason my healing was slowed to a non-existent state was because of how much energy was being juiced from me.

After the first night with Justus, I quit my visits to the Grey Veil. My deteriorating condition would only fuel his anger. He warned me so many times about these types of people and how a Mage was my own worst enemy—I just never imagined. My perception was changed, now, and going forward I would be stronger for it. And smarter.

Almost all of the boxes in the basement had been cleared out after I tried impaling Samil on his own damn pen. That was the night I got my first broken rib. It was worth it, to draw blood from him brought me great pleasure. It was morbid, but I swelled with pride looking forward to each confrontation—fighting back was empowering even if it didn’t end in my favor.

Part of my demoralization was the removal of all my personal items, including the dirty pile of blankets that kept me warm. The only clothing allowed was my bra and a pair of shorts and I slept barefoot on the cold cement floor. Samil wanted to strip my dignity thread by thread.

Quite honestly, I was running out of threads.

There was a gash in my forehead from the hairline to the eyebrow. My shoulders were riddled with bruises, I had a cut from his ring on my collarbone, and just to sum it up—I was a mess. All things considered in my weakened state I felt tougher, hardened. I never gave the satisfaction of crying which was a silent victory for me.

The visitor’s beatings on the other hand were another matter. He found a sensitive spot on my side and slapped it repeatedly with full force…minutes went by and beads of sweat formed on my brow as I writhed in agony. On the second night I was prepared to fight, I wasn’t prepared to get punished in the same manner in the exact same spot which was still raw. The pain was so severe I actually bit into my own arm to feel pain elsewhere.

The door creaked and I remained motionless. Something was off—Samil didn’t give his usual introduction of ‘ready to beg?’ He was also sober.

“Get up,” he ordered. “We’re leaving.”

“Where?” I didn’t just have butterflies in my stomach, I had pterodactyls.

A rope unraveled from his hands and I staggered to my feet. I tried to get by him but he slammed me to the floor and bound my hands behind my back.

Then we were in an SUV and I was reminded that it was near winter as I was shaking from the cold.

A key popped in the ignition and the vehicle roared to life. “If he cannot meet my demands then I will not negotiate. He has no right to take what is
mine
.”

The car rumbled down the road throwing me off balance from my seat. I could still smell the embers from a fire burning, mingling with the scent of pine that was leaking from the vile car deodorizer dangling from his mirror. Despite the impending danger, it felt good to be free again. Nothing good ever came of being tied up with rope and thrown in an SUV driving through the dark woods so I thought of what to say to him.

“I thought I
was
yours?”

His fingers bore into the steering making a hard right turn. Samil’s temper flared and whether he was talking to me or himself, I wasn’t sure.

“He was only to taste but he has grown greedy and now expects me to turn you over. Why he wants you, I do not understand. I have made none that have transformed their appearance as you have, but I do not see anything special about you. He wants you
more
than the others and yet is willing to offer me less? Now he threatens to take without pay.”

I swallowed hard, bouncing on the seat when we hit a pothole. His speed was erratic and my weak heart was struggling to race.

“He doesn’t seem stronger than you.” My voice remained cautious as I did not want to provoke him even further.

“You know nothing of his power,” he snapped.  “He plays with fire.” His lips curled back. “But two can play at that game.”

“Where are you taking me? Look, I’m no trouble.”

“You are more trouble than you know. I do not give so freely to my enemy.”

“Enemy? I thought you were business partners.”

“Friends close, enemies closer.”

“You’re my Creator, I thought that gave you the trump card. Where are we going?” I felt nauseous and scared—I wanted Justus.

I couldn’t jump out of a moving car with my wrists bound. Samil ran a hand through his stringy hair flipping it away from his face.

Justus was right, it took little practice to move myself into the Grey Veil and I found that I could do it with ease, even in the car. I was alone, and I screamed. I screamed so loud it echoed off the distant mountains.

I fell to the ground in panic. “Please hear me, please come. I’m in trouble, I need you. Justus….Simon…
someone
.”

Hands fell on my shoulders. “Silver what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Simon?”

“Tell me what is happening!” he demanded.

Simon looked different. He was dressed in white pants and tall boots with a long coat. He looked like a British soldier from one of those old paintings I remembered from history class. His hair was tied back in a single ponytail and I wondered if that’s who he was before he was turned.

He saw the damage done, all of the marks of abuse, and his eyes became daggers seeking a target.

“Fucking…animal.”

“Simon, he’s driving me somewhere, I think he’s going to kill me. My hands are tied, I can’t get away.”

Simon fell to his knees in front of me.

“Silver you must listen to me. The pendant, do you still have it?”

“Yes, it’s hidden in my bra but I still have it.”

“Good girl. When the time is right you need to pull from it, it will give you enough that you might be able to fight him off, but use it to run.”

“Can you find me?” Simon scooted closer and held me in his arms, brushing back my hair with his hand.

“Yes love, but it will take time pinpoint your exact location. Go back and look around for a sign or marker so we know where to look. If we are within proximity, we will be able to pick up your energy if you do not conceal. But hell, Justus will be able to sense you regardless.”

I drifted back to the vehicle and watched mile markers fly by, hoping for something that I could give to Simon. Two miles passed with my head pressed against the window. A sign blinked in the distance and fast approached as I squinted to read it. Just as soon as I returned I blurted out the mile marker and the name on the sign before I was yanked back out.

“Nifty little trick he taught you, isn’t it? I never did understand the use of that gift, now I see its value.”

Nausea loomed and something salty and metallic was on my tongue. I blinked and felt a warm stream of blood running down my head across my face. Samil had smacked my head against the dash to wake me and reopened a cut. I moaned, trying to wipe the blood from my eyes with my knee but I only smeared it. A fit of anger surged and I spit on his arm.