The woman tossed the duffel bag at Jaxton without looking and turned with a warm smile on her face. “Do you really want to waste two of your three allotted questions on such silly things?”
Kiarra frowned, her curiosity stronger than her caution. “Three questions? I don’t understand.”
The woman winked. “I’ll give you a few freebies, since you’re new around here.” The woman took a step toward her and Kiarra gripped the blanket tighter, still uneasy but wanting to know what the hell the woman was talking about.
The woman continued, “I only grant three answers to a person at any given time. Because of my secret—and brilliant—abilities, too many people want to know trivial things, such as who will win a singing contest or what sports team will earn a championship title.” She waved a hand in dismissal. “The three-question limit saves my sanity.”
Jaxton muttered something in the corner, but the woman just blew him a kiss and said, “Jaxy loves me despite his attitude. He believes that my three question rule is childish.”
Kiarra glanced over at Jaxton. “Love” was the last word she would use to describe his expression.
She wondered at the relationship between the woman and Jaxton. The best she could tell, Jaxton was in charge of the men in black from the AMT. Yet Jaxton let this woman say and do as she pleased with barely a word in protest.
The woman took another step toward Kiarra, but just in case she really only had three questions, Kiarra looked in Jaxton’s direction and asked, “Why do people seek out this woman for answers?”
The woman laughed. “Clever girl.” She waved a hand at Jaxton, but never took her eyes from Kiarra’s. “I’ll handle this, Jaxy.”
Jaxton started tapping his fingers against his arm. Kiarra nearly smiled at his irritation, but caught herself just in time; she hadn’t felt the urge to smile in years.
As she met the woman’s brown-eyed gaze, Kiarra wished she could unsettle people like this woman, using nothing but her words and attitude. But for now, all she had going for her was the threat of elemental fire—at least until someone called her bluff.
The woman touched her arm, but rather than tensing or bolting at the touch, a sense of calm came over her. It made no sense. She looked up with a frown. “Who exactly are you?”
“I’m Neena.” The woman held out a hand. “And we need to have a little chat. How about we go downstairs, for some girl time?”
She eyed the hand, but didn’t take it. “Girl time” as a child had meant sleepovers and gossip. Kiarra wasn’t interested in either. She wanted to know what these people were going to do with her.
“Neena, leave her be,” Jaxton said. “She clearly isn’t ready for a one-on-one with you yet.”
Jaxton’s words prickled. People had assumed things about Kiarra for far too long. True, given the choice, she would like nothing more than to be alone in her room for a few hours and sort out her thoughts. But for no explicable reason, she wanted to prove the man who had kidnapped her wrong.
Besides, the woman’s presence had lessened her fear and uneasiness. Kiarra didn’t want that strange calmness to disappear just yet.
She gripped the blanket tight in her hands one more time before letting it drop to the bed. She reached out and took the woman’s hand, feeling even more relaxed at the contact, almost as if she didn’t have anything to fear from her. “Let’s go.”
Neena winked. “I knew you’d have a change of heart.”
Neena pulled her off the bed and the pounding inside Kiarra’s head, one of the aftereffects of the tranquilizer, intensified. She managed to stay upright despite the pain and allowed the woman to pull her out of the room and down the stairs.
Chapter Four
Neena didn’t release Kiarra’s hand until they reached the downstairs living room, where there was a couch, a bookshelf, some end tables, and a large painting of some mountains, which was hanging over a cold fireplace. Kiarra eyed the fireplace and rubbed her arms against the chill in the room, wishing she’d brought the blanket down with her, something she never would’ve been allowed to do inside the AMT.
As Neena walked over to a large black bag on the far side of the room and rifled inside it, Kiarra wondered if Neena had been the one to discover her secret and send Jaxton and his men to break her out of the AMT. Neena looked innocent enough in her tight-fitting jeans, gold flats, and silky green top, but Kiarra knew appearances could be deceiving.
No matter how much the woman’s presence calmed her, or how well they treated her, Kiarra needed to be careful. These people were nicer to her than the AMT staff—which, frankly, wasn’t hard to do—but she was a long way from trusting them.
Neena extracted a beat-up book from her bag, held it up, and said, “Catch!”
Kiarra managed to catch the abused book and read the title: DEFEND Rules and Regulations.
Neena walked over and tapped the title with one of her perfectly shaped fingernails. “This darling has saved me many times, so take good care of her. She comes in handy when you want to skirt round the rules without breaking them.”
She didn’t want to waste any of her three—or was it now two?—questions, but right now, Kiarra had no idea what the woman was talking about. “What’s DEFEND and why do I need to know about its rules?”
“That’s two questions wrapped into one, but brilliant as you are, I’ll humor you.” Neena tapped the word “DEFEND.”
“DEFEND,” Neena continued, “stands for Defending Every Feiru’s Equality, No Discrimination. I know the name is a bit rubbish, but I had more pressing things to worry about at the time.”
“At the time?”
Neena got a far-off look in her eyes. “Ah, the days of cajoling my first recruits.” Neena shook her head and continued. “You and I are both part of the first-born club, my dear. Shortly after the Chatterjee clan rescued me from the AMT, I decided to turn my anger into something more productive. Hence, DEFEND.”
Kiarra’s heart skipped a beat. “You’re a first-born?”
Neena gave a sympathetic smile. “Yes, and while I wasn’t imprisoned as long as you, it took me a while to feel comfortable with myself again. I didn’t become a leader overnight, but you will get there.” She tapped a finger against her chin. “Actually, some claim I’m still not leader material. But they change their tune before long.” Neena’s eyes took on an evil glint. “I can be quite persuasive.”
Kiarra hoped she never needed to be “persuaded” by Neena.
She didn’t know the circumstances surrounding Neena’s imprisonment and escape, but at least now she knew that others had come out of the AMT alive and stayed that way.
Maybe Kiarra could do it too.
Neena turned away from her to look out the window and Kiarra realized that Neena still hadn’t answered the second part of her question. “Why do I need to find a way around the rules?”
Neena faced her again and winked. “That is for you to find out.” Neena’s face grew serious. “But make sure to memorize the basics of the book. We all make mistakes, but I won’t tolerate deliberate harm to my organization.”
Kiarra glanced down at the battered book in her hands. “But why would I need this book?”
Neena smiled. “Because, my dear, you are my latest recruit.”
“What?”
“It’s not going to make sense to you now, but it will in time.” Neena tilted her head. “And you can’t refuse, because I know not only the secret of your fire, but also the one about your blood. I’ll expose them both to the world if I have to.”
Kiarra stopped breathing. “How do you know about that?”
Neena waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter. Besides, if you agree to work and train with DEFEND for three months, I’ll make sure my people protect you. No doubt the AMT enforcers are already coming after you by now.”
Kiarra was worried about the AMT enforcers, but Neena’s offer was little more than blackmail. If Kiarra refused, or tried to escape, and word got out about her lack of ele
mental magic, Kiarra would spend the rest of her life inside a research facility.
A breeze brushed against Kiarra’s cheek and the sense of calm from earlier returned. She looked up at Neena. “I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
“You always have a choice, my dear. But whether you decide to take the correct path or not is up to you.” Neena scooped up her bag, pulled out a phone, and looked at it. She clicked her tongue. “I’ll give you fifteen minutes to make a decision. Come upstairs when you’re ready.”
Before Kiarra could muster up another word, Neena was gone.
Without Neena’s presence, the strange calmness that had come over Kiarra disappeared, and the reality of her situation sank in. She was exposed, in a strange house full of strange people, one of whom was threatening her with blackmail.
Part of her wanted to take the easy way out and finish what she’d started back in her cell in the AMT, and kill herself. But as she looked out the window across the room, taking in the trees and bushes in the yard, she realized how much she wanted to live now that she’d had a taste of the outside world again. Neena’s offer might be the only chance she had to do that.
Besides, who knew—maybe after her training Kiarra would even find a way to help the other first-borns from the outside.
She didn’t trust Neena, but if things went bad, she could always end her life later. As long as she acted like she wanted to live, and put in a little effort toward her training, they’d never suspect her Plan B, if it came to that.
Decision made, Kiarra took a deep breath and stood up. As she made her way up the stairs, she tried not to focus on the fact that she was merely trading one prison for another.
Once the two women left the room, Jaxton started wondering how much Neena was going to disclose to Kiarra. The rules of DEFEND were very clear: only Neena or Aislinn—the other co-founder and co-leader of DEFEND—were allowed to talk about the organization with outsiders. Occasionally they gave permission if neither of them could logistically meet with someone, but those exceptions were rare.
Neena and Aislinn were very protective of their creation.
Not that he could blame them. DEFEND had started with just the two of them, but after years of sacrifice and hard work, it was now a worldwide operation with growing clout. DEFEND was the only grassroots Feiru organization that had a chance of taking on the powerful AMT Oversight Committee and changing the status quo.
Neena, for the most part, did the recruiting. And judging by Neena’s unexpected visit and interest in Kiarra, he reckoned that the recently rescued first-born was as good as inducted into their fold. Not that Neena would listen to him in this instance, but Jaxton wasn’t sure if Kiarra was the type of recruit they were looking for. At least not until after she’d had time to heal.
Whatever Neena decided, he just hoped she would hurry the hell up so he could get on with questioning Kiarra. The sooner he had answers, the sooner he could hand her over to a DEFEND trainer. Jaxton not only needed to catch up on his own DEFEND workload, but he also needed to focus on his brother’s recovery.
He refused to believe Garrett was a lost cause.
For now, since his brother was still drugged unconscious, Jaxton decided to check in with Taka about their research on a prominent Feiru politician named James Sinclair.
He headed up the stairs and into the room at the end of the hall, where he’d set up an ad-hoc workspace. Taka sat in front of a monitor split into four boxes, each displaying a view of a room or the house’s perimeter. Off to the side of the room was a giant whiteboard with the words “Adams” and “doctoral research” scribbled in blue pen. Stacks of paper and newspapers covered the table in the corner, while black ashes of what used to be paper curled in the cold fireplace.
Kiarra and Neena were in one of the boxes displayed on the monitor. They were standing in the middle of the front room, talking. Satisfied that they hadn’t tried to sneak out the back door, he turned toward Taka and said, “How’re you progressing through the intelligence backlog?”
Taka scribbled a few more words and then looked up. “I’m about a quarter of the way through, but I found something I wanted to show you.” He shuffled through his stack of papers and handed a set to Jaxton. “One of DEFEND’s sources learned about a series of meetings between James Sinclair’s deputy chief of staff and several staff members from the Council of Eastern Australia. My guess is that Eastern Australia is Sinclair’s next target.”
Jaxton nodded while skimming the account. James Sinclair was influential with both the central Feiru governing body—called the Feiru High Council—and the AMT Oversight Committee. Over the last ten years, Sinclair had worked behind the scenes to influence general worldwide Feiru policy. But recently, Sinclair had shifted his focus to the smaller Feiru local councils. “Sounds similar to what happened in Wales and Northern Brazil.”
“Exactly. And if it follows the same pattern as those two other local councils, then the Council of Eastern Australia will soon be announcing their policy shift toward Article I.”
Article I of the Feiru Five Laws restricted what the Feiru people could and could not do in the human world, especially with regards to human governments and multinational corporations. Many Feiru resented the law and what they viewed as second-class citizenship, which was strange considering that first-borns were already being treated as second-class citizens, and nobody seemed to care.
Jaxton said, “That would make it now five Feiru local councils who support Sinclair’s recent Repeal Article I and Contain First-born Magic campaign. For years Sinclair pushed solely for stricter AMT enforcement, so his shift in focus must mean it’s because he knows something that we don’t.”
Taka gestured toward the monitor. “Have you had any success with questioning the woman? Maybe she knows something about what’s happening inside the AMT that could tell us why Sinclair changed his focus.”
“I’m working on it. If Neena could just keep her bloody nose out of everything, I could get something done.” He glanced at the monitor and saw Neena walking up the stairs, alone. Kiarra was still in the front room, sitting on the sofa and looking a bit shell-shocked. “Speaking of which, it looks like Kiarra is recovering from Hurricane Neena in the front room. I need to go take care of it.” Jaxton stood up. “I’ll check back afterward and we can divide up the remaining backlog. In the meantime, see if you can find out what other councils Sinclair is targeting.”
“No problem.” Taka turned back to his stack of papers. “Let me know if you need help questioning the woman.”
Jaxton nodded and left the room, but just as he reached the top of the stairs, he heard Neena’s voice behind him. “Jaxy, darling, we need to chat. Come, I even have scones to share with you.”
Resisting a sigh, Jaxton turned around and followed her to an empty bedroom. Even if he discounted the debt he owed Neena for helping with Garrett’s rescue, he knew better than to disobey Neena to her face.
Inside the room, Neena sat on one of the windowsills and motioned to a plate of scones. “Care for one?”
Jaxton shook his head. “What did you want, Neena?”
Neena nibbled on a scone before she said, “You’re going to train Kiarra.”
He frowned. “Why? Surely someone else could do it. Not only do I need to focus on my brother, but my research on James Sinclair is too important to put off.”
Neena took another bite and Jaxton gritted his teeth while he waited for her to finish chewing.
Finally she said, “You owe me for sharing your brother’s location and serial number, and I’m calling in my favor.”
“Why would you waste your favor on this?”
Neena waved her hand in dismissal. “Oh, it’s definitely worth it. This favor might even put me in your debt, not that I’ll ever acknowledge it.”
“But wouldn’t it be better for her to go to Amma’s place first and rejoin DEFEND later, when she’s ready?”
Amma Gyasi ran the most effective rehabilitation center f
or former AMT prisoners. Jaxton had briefly considered sending his brother there before deciding to take on the job himself.
Neena jumped up from her perch on the windowsill and strutted to the other side of the room, near the door. Her smile disappeared, her features more serious than he’d ever seen before.
The sight made him nervous.
“The Four Talents must be found,” she whispered, “and quickly.”
“Pardon?” A Talent was a first-born with extraordinary powers, but they were nothing more than a legend amongst the Feiru, and even then, they only emerged to help with some great oncoming catastrophe.
Neena’s smile reappeared before she peeked her head out the door, into the hall. “Kiarra is only the first of your guests to arrive. You’ll soon have a full house.” She glanced back at Jaxton with a stern look that failed to scold. “Don’t let Marco turn this place into the Animal House of DEFEND safe houses. I like fun as much as the next person, but let’s take care of business first.”
She was trying to change the topic, and while he had little hope of steering Neena back on course, he was going to try. “Neena, let’s go back to the bit about the Four Talents. Are the legends true?”
Neena ignored him and motioned with her hands.
Kiarra stepped into the room.
Neena wrapped an arm around Kiarra’s shoulders, and Kiarra tensed before easing into Neena’s touch. Either Neena was using her healing elemental wind to soothe the other woman or Kiarra was progressing faster than he would’ve guessed.
“So, Kiarra,” Neena said, “have you made your decision?”
What decision? Jaxton was not doing well with finding out information today.
Kiarra eyed Neena’s hand on her arm. “Will I be able to stay with you?”
Neena patted Kiarra’s shoulder. “I’ll take that as a yes. But as lovely as my company is, I’m a bit slammed for time right now.” She gestured toward Jaxton. “Buzzkill Jaxy here is going to train you. Let me know right away if he does anything rude or naughty.”
Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats) Page 3