Wiping the wetness on the blanket, she laughed. “Geez, one question at a time! Each earring has a different spell. Only two of them are constant so I don’t have to renew them. The other ten require cleansing and re-imbuing once I’ve depleted the spells. If, after a year, I haven’t used all the spells, I still have to re-imbue them as the energy will fade away.”
She touched the earrings on her left ear. The magic swirling in them hummed under her fingers. The used ones had a different vibration of energy. When drained, they’d feel the same as an ordinary piece of jewelry.
“The bloodstone’s so I can understand different languages and it’s a constant. Emerald to slow my descent if I fall. Peridot gives me a fire shield while the star rose quartz causes an earthquake. The sapphire lets me cast flames from my fingers. Last on this ear, the garnet. Holds a person, but one at a time.”
Her hand drifted to her right ear. She twisted her head so Jackson could see each piece of jewelry. She fingered the pearl decorating her tragus. That one and the bloodstone hurt the worst going in. The others had less cartilage to pierce.
“On my right, the pearl gives me a constant mental shielding. The agate for physical shielding and the diamond casts invisibility. Notice the top two are defensive spells? Makes it easier for me to remember which ones to use during battle or when I’m running away.” She said the last bit with a chuckle.
“Now the bottom three are my offensive spells, to give me an edge when fighting. The jasper creates a gust of wind and the amethyst shoots magic arrows. The ruby will cast fireballs which I know the troll just loved.” She smirked, glad she hadn’t been a hindrance. Instead, she’d proven her worth and fighting prowess to Jackson.
“And that’s all of them. Most of them have five castings and then they’re pretty decoration. Some, though, have ten. Like the fire shield and the fireball.” A deep breath as she flopped down onto the bed. Sharing, exposing herself went against every instinct. Her fingers burrowed into the blanket, clutching at the thin fabric as she waited his reaction.
Very few people had her trust and with good reason. Only one person was privy to all of her secrets - Keeper. Markus, she trusted with her life, but even he wasn’t aware of the imbuing or her magic resistance. To keep both her and Markus safe, she kept this information from him.
Jackson turned on his side, raised his upper body and rested his head on his hand. She took a moment to admire his chest, trailing her fingers up his ribcage before sneaking a peek at his face to see his reaction to all this information. He appeared calm and thoughtful.
“So why earrings? Why not rings, necklaces or some other type of jewelry?” His questioning more curious than anything. His inquisitive nature had taken over.
“Because no one asks why I’m wearing so many earrings. They think it’s a quirk. Rings and necklaces would get in the way during battle and they might get lost. Gems because it’s easier to cleanse the residual energy and are best for holding a spell. Takes a lot of practice though. Took me over a decade to learn how to do it correctly. I exploded a fair bit of gemstones.” She chuckled at the memory.
So young, not yet in her teens. She’d let loose some curses she’d heard from older mages and Keeper had reprimanded her. Told her she hadn’t earned the right to swear.
“First time it happened, it scared the hell out of me. Thank goodness Ke... my teacher was with me. He told me it was normal. Happened to him as well. I would’ve given up without him keeping me sane.” A sad smile as she thought of Keeper’s endless patience. She missed him, missed his sage advice.
Between her time with Keeper and Markus, plus weekly visits with her family, she’d never been out of touch for so long.
Which brought to mind a potential ally. Hesitant, unsure of his reaction, she broached the touchy subject. “Hear me out before you say anything. I think we should involve Markus. He has lots of contacts, more than anyone knows. Once he sees all the information you’ve gathered, I’m sure he’d help us. He’s not unreasonable. And he doesn’t blindly follow what the Coterie says.”
Jackson was shaking his head before she finished speaking. “No, no way. I don’t want him involved. Bad enough he’s hunting me. No need to give him a target by talking to him.”
“Why not? I know he’d help if I asked him.”
“We can’t trust Markus. He tried to kill us with the Devouring Plague or have you forgotten that?” He demanded, now sitting up, no longer calm. “We had to cut through Fay territory to escape. It almost cost us our lives.”
“Markus doesn’t know the Devouring Plague. He doesn’t!” Julia snapped at him. Markus would never hurt her. She’d known him for over thirty years, most of which he’d been her mentor. He might be an overbearing ass sometimes, but he wouldn’t try to kill her. She vehemently ignored the tiny niggle of doubt.
Would he ignore his duty as an Enforcer if he found out about her resistance? How far did his loyalty extend to her?
“How do you know? He’s not with you every second of the day. Hell, he doesn’t know about your earrings! You keep secrets from him, why can’t he keep secrets from you?”
Jackson’s words pounded into her, reminding her of the lies she lived. Each one ripped at her. Protection, of herself and others, lived at the core of her being. The choices she made may not be the best ones, but when the alternative was death…
“I’ve seen his grimoire.” She quietly said. Shame threatened to choke her, a hard lump in her throat she forced down, as she admitted this terrible deed.
Mages never, ever looked through another mage’s grimoire. A huge invasion of privacy, it was worse than reading someone’s diary, and simply wasn’t done. As a mage grew in power, his collection of spells also grew. Most wrote them down, making notations of how to cast a certain spell, how to shape the energy and any variations made.
There were, of course, public records of spells detailing how much energy to use, which spell component, etc. Junior Enforcers as well as civilian mages had access to this information. Senior Enforcers added yearly to the collection, but only spells known to work without flaws. Any experimental ones stayed in a personal grimoire until perfected.
“You did what?!” His mouth dropped and she wondered if he was rethinking his decision of trusting her. Then again, why should he trust her? She’d done nothing but lie to him, even if by omission.
“I know I shouldn’t have done it. I’ve felt horrible about it ever since.” She lowered her head, hiding her face with her hair. “It was about fifteen years ago. Spells were so hard. I just wasn’t getting it. He made it look so easy. I’d already accessed my magic, so that wasn’t the issue. I thought maybe, perhaps, he had shortcuts written down. Something, anything that would help me.”
Her fingers twisted together, nervousness and fear eating at her. How could he want her after this? Maybe the Coterie was right and she was defective.
No, they were wrong. She wasn’t a disease to be eradicated. She made mistakes, same as everyone else. It didn’t make her evil.
Straightening her shoulders, she continued, “I read through his whole book. He had nothing in there about the Devouring Plague. Most of his spells illusion based. Since I’m not strong in illusions, they weren’t much use to me.”
Jackson gathered her in his arms, his heart thudding against her ear, steady and strong. That small, heartwarming gesture showed his lack of censor over her actions.
A tiny sob, a tear down her cheek and the dam broke open inside of her. She buried parts of herself in a deep grave, her worst sins covered with mounds of dirt. But it was suffocating her, cutting off the necessary air to breathe. Half a person, smiling through the pain, pretending it didn’t hurt.
He accepted her now, but would he if she told him everything? Would he love someone deemed an abomination?
Keeper always emphasized how important it was to keep quiet, to hide her true self. Was she truly that awful? Had her friend deserved death at such a young age, when she’d scarcely begun to
live? How long would she have to live this lie? A mage’s life span easy surpassed several millennia and she was barely into her fourth decade.
So hard she tried to forget what she was, to steal a little bit of normalcy for herself. It was selfish, yes, and in the end she would hurt both her and Jackson.
She didn’t have the strength to push him away and ignore how alive she felt with him. An impossibility.
His acceptance became a craving deep inside. For once she wanted someone who love her unconditionally. When he found out, though, their love would wither. He’d hate her for her lies, would despise her for being broken.
Her tears came on stronger. Great sobs wracked her body as she poured her soul out into those wet drops. Everything she wanted to say came out silently as she mourned the death of their future. He just held her. He seemed to know words couldn’t help her right now. Lovingly, he stroked her hair and when the crying lessened, he gave her a tender kiss on the forehead.
Pressed against his chest, she hid her face, ashamed of her red eyes, puffy nose and tear-streaked cheeks. His gentleness almost triggered another bout of crying, but she firmly told herself to get it together. Enforcers valued strength, physically, mentally and magically. Breakdowns a sigh of weakness and not tolerated.
The last time she’d cried - the day of Irene’s death. Even then, she waited, wanting complete privacy to mourn.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered, hoping he wouldn’t ask her the cause of her breakdown. She had no way of explaining it. The thought of more lies glued her tongue to the roof of her mouth. He’d heard enough of them from her.
Pain registered, breaking through the swirling mass of sorrow. Flexing her fingers, she unclenched her fists. Small crescents on her palms mocked her. Little smiley faces, happy with their lot in life, no fears dragging them under the surface. Had she ever been carefree?
She rested her palm on his waist, a light touch connecting her to Jackson and reinforced her resolve.
She couldn’t give him up. Refused to give him up. Even though it hurt, she’d continue the same farce with Jackson she had with Markus. She’d been lying to Markus for as long as she could remember about her abilities. What did it matter if she did the same with Jackson?
It does matter. A treacherous part of her hissed back. She ruthlessly crushed that voice, determined to enjoy her time with him, no matter how fleeting.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry.” He responded, smoothing her hair from her face. “I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard about Markus. I keep forgetting not everyone is corrupt. There’re good Enforcers out there who want the truth.”
Jackson thought she was crying about Markus? Guilt stabbed her as she recalled they’d been speaking about Markus before she broke down.
Great, now he probably thought she cried to get her own way when nothing could be further from the truth. Sniffing, she gained control of her wayward emotions, locking them up tight. They had no time for her to break down. There was too much to do: talk to Dawn; find Markus and convince him to help; figure out which werewolves broke the Treaty and was hunting humans; and find out who framed Jackson. Well geez, put like that, it certainly sounded easy, huh?
Julia’s head hurt, both from crying and from realizing how much they still had to accomplish. At least talking to Dawn would be simple. They’d see each other in the next few hours.
“I don’t want you to think I’m using tears to get my way. I’m honestly not. If you feel we can’t trust Markus then I’ll concede to your wishes.” She kept her voice steady to show she wasn’t using emotional blackmail. She held her breath though.
Markus was their best chance of getting answers. A high level Enforcer, he had access to databases she couldn’t begin to guess at, never mind the amount of informants on his payroll. She’d even heard whispers he had Fae snitches, a xenophobic bunch. However, as she said, he didn’t blindly follow everything the Coterie said. She was sure he conveniently received wrong times from his sources when he didn’t want to catch someone.
She suspected Markus was on Jackson’s side. Months with no real developments was unusual for him. Well, minus her kidnapping, of course.
Chapter Sixteen
JACKSON DIDN’T LIKE his choices. On one hand, he didn’t want to involve Markus, the main person hunting him for the past several months. On the other hand, Markus would be valuable help, provided he wanted to help them. Would Julia be able to sway him or would he ignore her arguments and whisk her away to safety?
His instincts told him to keep Julia close and not risk losing her, but he concluded he was doing her a disservice. She was a strong woman with her own mind. Hell, she made it through the Enforcers training and had successfully stayed paired with Markus, one of their top ranking Enforcers. Only the actual Elites guarding the Coterie leaders were held in higher regard than him. He knew he needed to trust Julia. Why was this so damn difficult? The urge to protect and shelter her was screwing with his head. Either he trusted her to stay safe or he didn’t.
He flopped back on the bed. Care and tenderness overwhelmed him as he brought her down onto his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Stroking her back, he continued weighing the options, wavering back and forth. Finally, he made his decision.
When he spoke, Julia jumped in surprise as he’d been quiet for so long then settled back against him. “Yes, contact him. You’re correct. He’s valuable help and we need it. This is way more complicated than a frame job.”
Her arms tightened on him for a moment and she lifted her head. Her beautiful brown eyes shone with happiness. “Thank you.”
She leaned in for a kiss and he was happy to oblige. One hand slid into her hair while other one drifted down to her back to rest on her butt. He squeezed, enjoying the feel of her smooth skin. He nipped her bottom lip then slipped his tongue between her luscious lips.
Before he drowned in the pleasure of her body and lost all coherent thought, he drew back and asked “How will you contact him? Where will you meet him?”
Julia appeared to have trouble concentrating, her eyes dipping back to his lips. He smiled, loving her reaction. Just as infatuated with her, he could barely keep his hands to himself. Running his hands along her sexy body, she wiggled against him. Ah, a ticklish spot. A wicked grin as he did it again.
Squealing, she grabbed his hands and forced them above his head. He didn’t mind. Now, her naked body stretched along his.
“Hmm, oh, through Nathan. We’ve set up safe spots beforehand, so no worries there.” She sucked on her lower lip, distracted from the conversation. She shook her head, released his hands and pushed against his chest. “I need to get ready and head out to Dawn’s place.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he held her still when she tried to extract herself.
“Uh-huh.” He agreed while trailing kisses on her neck. He bit near her collarbone and she rewarded him with a deep moan.
“This will only take a minute. Honest.” He said as he made his way up to her ear and sucked on the lobe. Her body shuddered in pleasure.
“If you want me to stop, tell me and I’ll stop.” He breathed against her ear.
She leveraged herself above him, glared and all but growled, “Damn you. You started it, now you’ll finish it.”
She lunged at him and he was more than happy to play.
JACKSON WAS TOO tired to even think about moving. When Julia stirred, he gave a half-hearted attempt at stopping her. He lazily grinned when she got up and he had an unobstructed view of her backside, one he thoroughly enjoyed stroking.
“Oh crap. I’m gonna be late. And I’m blaming you!” She yelled over her shoulder as she rushed to the bathroom.
How did he get so lucky? She was a wild combination of tenderness and ferocity. He could never go back to his empty life after this. She filled up holes in his soul he didn’t know existed. Just her smile livened his day.
Faint dread trailed up his spine. What if she changed her mind? Once they were back in “the real
world”, would she consider this was a brief interlude? His body ran cold at that thought. He couldn’t lose her. She was the light missing from his life.
He pushed those thoughts out of his mind. Pointless borrowing trouble as they had enough to worry about. Julia at this art show, for one. Too many unknowns, Julia unprotected and in the open.
Calm. Fear has no place in this relationship.
Julia went through the same training as him. Her partner, one of the best Enforcers, would’ve taught her tricks for staying alive. Those fascinating earrings gave her a distinct advantage as well. All of it added up to a kickass woman. An intelligent, sexy, delectable woman capable of surviving.
As he extolled her virtues, the scrumptious woman in question sashayed out of the bathroom, fully dressed. Shorts and a t-shirt never look so hot before.
She must have picked up on his thoughts as she gave him a mock glare and told him “No touching. I don’t trust you to keep your hands where they belong.”
Waggling his eyebrows, he tried to entice her back and replied, “But they would be where they belong. On your sexy, delicious body. Come here and I’ll show you.”
He sat up and reached for her.
Laughing, she stayed on the other side of the room and he sighed. “Fine, leave me in my despair. I guess I’ll have to drown my sorrows with Reese’s Pieces while you’re gone.”
“We don’t have Reese’s Pieces. Do we? Have you been hiding Reese’s Pieces on me?” Her eyes narrowed threateningly. “When I get back, we’re going to have a long talk about the dangers of withholding peanut buttery goodness from me. And there better be some left for me!”
He grinned at her thunderous expression. The more serious of the two in his and Victor’s partnership, he rarely teased anyone. Victor was the one who went out of his way to rile others up, tweak some tails and sometimes piss them off. He now understood the drive to do so.
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