He frowned. They were just talking about it… Oh, they weren’t supposed to talk about it in front of him. A stranger.
“Yeah, we’re supposed to pretend not to know,” a young woman commented. She had blonde curls, cut short, and a scar on her left cheekbone. These kids were just as tough and beaten up as Sawyer. “I mean, we all do know but…”
“I’m an IMPO agent, please stop,” Jasper held up a hand to silence them. They were all non-Magi, but with Sawyer involved, the IMPO could very well find this a problem. The team could be implicated in, what amounted to, a conspiracy. This was becoming an actual criminal conspiracy. He hadn’t expected it. “I’m going to pretend I’ve heard none of this.” He pointed to Sawyer after that. “You have fifteen minutes to meet us out front.”
“Fine, we’ll be done by then,” Sawyer growled, turning away from him. He took that as the dismissal it was and left her to it.
Jesus. He shook his head as he passed Zander who was telling the kids that it was time for him to leave. When he got out of the room, Zander was hot on his heels.
“These kids worship her,” Zander mumbled. “Like they are head over heels in love. It’s awe-inspiring and a bit terrifying.”
“Yeah,” Jasper hissed. “And all the older ones are in on it. They fucking know what she does. They know, even if they don’t talk about. This shit is straight up a criminal conspiracy involving minors.”
“She’s done good things for those kids,” Charlie walked over them, hearing them talking about Sawyer and her little ‘class’. “No one paid them any mind, but Sawyer saw what was happening and started putting an end to it.”
Jasper turned to Charlie and frowned. Jasper liked the law, the rigid expectations that society was held up to. He was willing to bend a little, unlike Vincent, but he wasn’t sure he could bend as far as Sawyer did. Zander could but not Jasper.
“It’s not legal,” he reminded Charlie, “and you are an accomplice.”
“She breaks into my files, and I have no idea what she does with the information.” Charlie grinned for a second. “When the ‘good guys’ forget about them, who else do they have? She gets them part-time jobs, finds them homes if they need them. She teaches them self-defense, so they can protect themselves from bullies and their own families, if necessary. You’re taking her out of here anyway, get over it.”
“You’ll keep those kids out of trouble?” Jasper pointed to the door leading to their training room as Charlie nodded.
“You make it sound like it’s hard,” Charlie grunted. “Those kids don’t get into trouble. You need to understand—Sawyer does the dirty work, so they’ll never have to. She gives them the protector they need and cheers them on to making better lives for themselves. All of those teenagers are straight A students now, and the oldest is in college. He just won’t move on from this. Liam is getting a physical therapy degree and becoming a personal trainer, so I’ll have hire him.”
Jasper felt like he had just been reprimanded, and Zander cleared his throat. She was their hero. That much was clear.
“You all need to hurry up and get her out of here,” Charlie sighed. “I’m starting to feel guilty.”
“She’s got you figured out, by the way,” Jasper told him. “She guessed on her own.”
“Wonderful,” Charlie turned and walked away, grunting in annoyance at the situation. “I didn’t want her to…” He walked away without finishing, and Jasper rubbed his eyes.
This was becoming a bit messier than any of them had intended. They hadn’t really considered that Sawyer had things she needed to take care of before she left. They just assumed that she was criminal, always ready to run, so it wouldn’t be a big deal if she disappeared into the night. Sure, they looked into her life, but they hadn’t really considered it.
Jasper started reciting facts he knew about New York’s non-Magi crime problem. He was getting stressed, and that would calm him down. It didn’t help as much as he wanted, since he remembered she was a part of the crime problem in New York.
After two minutes of trying that, he switched to random Magi facts. He recited the rarity rankings for abilities in his head. Common. Uncommon. Rare. Mythic.
He had two Common-ranked abilities and two Uncommon abilities. Phasing, air manipulation, dream walking, and illusions. Phasing and air manipulation were Common, while dream walking, and illusions were Uncommon. He had a strong and deep Source, so he could create powerful illusions that could fool a mind that wasn’t strong enough to fight back. He could delve into someone’s subconscious with dream walking and find out their most hidden secrets. He never used that skill, since it was an invasion of privacy.
He moved on to Zander, who was standing next to him. He had three Common abilities, and one Uncommon. His Common abilities were water manipulation, shielding, and healing. His Uncommon ability was telepathic communication. Zander could touch his Source to someone’s mind and send them messages through that connection. It was a one-way street, though, unless the other person also had the ability.
As Sawyer walked out, he sighed. Animal bonding was Common like phasing. Blinking, that annoying short-range teleport was Uncommon, but her sublimation and cloaking were Rare. He was seriously impressed with that. She had two Rare abilities, and her evident control over her powers meant she was a force to reckoned with.
“Are you doing that weird thing where you recite facts to yourself?” She asked him, stepping in front of him. He snapped out of his thoughts and frowned at her.
“How did you…?” He ignored Zander’s laughter.
“You always get a spaced out look when you do it. That much, it seems, hasn’t changed.” She rolled her eyes. “Geek.”
“Brute,” he mumbled.
“You’re both weird,” Zander chuckled. Jasper watched him look over Sawyer casually. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah…” she sighed, looking around the gym. Her gaze landed on Charlie, and Jasper took that as his sign to get out.
Jasper left the gym quietly and made his way to the loaned Range Rovers they got from the IMPO’s New York headquarters. New York was the permanent home to the IMPO’s leaders, along with the World Magi Council. He hated being in this city because it put their odd team too close to those who really didn’t like them.
He leaned against the Range Rover and tapped his foot. He was ready to get the hell out and see home again. A good book, some quiet classical music. Maybe he could start another online class, teach himself another new skill. He already had four bachelor’s degrees. What was one more, at this point?
“She’s still beautiful.”
Jasper nodded aimlessly at Zander’s communication. He looked through the front windows of the gym and saw Zander smirking at him.
“Brazen. Tough. Not much has changed, except now I think she could actually kick my ass instead of just trying. It’s hot. I am excited about this. You?”
Jasper gave an exaggerated eye roll. Zander was right, but Jasper wasn’t ready go down that path again. She might not have changed much, but Jasper didn’t know this new Sawyer. She took the law into her own hands. Not only did violence not scare her, but she wasn’t afraid of blood, either.
Zander found it interesting and sexy. Very Zander.
“It could be like old times again once we get this Axel shit settled.”
Jasper narrowed his eyes at Zander. Damn him. Jasper couldn’t respond without alerting everyone in the parking lot and building to what was going on. He also didn’t have a response. He just didn’t know where this was all going to go. He did know that Zander was getting ahead of himself, but Zander always did.
“She’s done with Charlie and I see Vin and Elijah on their way. It’s time to go.”
“Thank fuck,” Jasper mumbled to himself, pulling open the door he was leaning on.
13
SAWYER
Sawyer was loaded into a Range Rover and sat in the back by herself. Elijah drove while Vincent read over her file again. He carried it every
where, the fat thing that apparently held most of her life.
“Where were you from sixteen to twenty?” He looked back at her, and she shrugged.
“Just roaming around, really. Didn’t put down roots, pickpocketed. That sort of thing.” She gave him a tight smile. She had practiced this story a long time ago, and everyone who knew her after Shadow ‘died’ would only know this version of her life. Except Charlie, and he’d been nice enough to keep her secrets tucked in the shadows where they belonged. “Tried to find my place in the world.”
“You were adopted though, what happened with that?” Vincent pressed. She was going to lose her patience if he didn’t step-the-fuck-back on this line of questioning.
“He was an asshole, and I hated him,” she shrugged nonchalantly. Not a lie in the slightest. Her ‘adoptive’ father was a prick, and he’d been a recruiter for Axel. He looked out for any potential strong, young Magi that could be easily swayed to crime. A lonely young woman whose friends were off traveling the world and hard to reach? No family whatsoever? An easy mark.
“You are going to make this difficult, aren’t you?” Vincent gave a small frown. He was quiet like Jasper, she’d noticed, but it was colder and more stand-offish. He only had small expressions, tiny movements of his lips and eyebrows, that meant she had to pay attention to him when they spoke. His voice gave away nothing. “I thought we had an agreement. You get to tie up loose ends, and we get a cooperative protectee.”
“I agreed to come willingly,” she grinned, “not give you all of my deepest secrets. Or even, really, talk to you at all. So be thankful I’ve told you as much as I have.”
“She’s got you there, Vin,” Elijah chuckled. “Also, can this wait until we get home, or at least on the plane?”
Vincent continued to frown at her, so she flipped him off. That, oddly, made him turn the frown into a small smile. He was a weird man, this Italian Magi.
“Yeah, wait for the plane, Vincent,” she mumbled in Italian to see if he would respond.
“You don’t give the orders here, little thief,” he responded, also in Italian, his smile growing.
“If both of you could speak English, that would be fantastic,” Elijah muttered under his breath. She watched Vincent give a small eye roll, and she started getting increasingly more curious about the guy.
“Learn Italian,” Vincent told him, back to the straight face and bland voice.
“You keep saying that,” Elijah groaned. “But I learned German for you. I don’t think I’ve got the mind for anymore.”
“A pity,” Vincent turned back to her. “How many languages do you speak?”
“Six,” she smiled at him. “I’ve been trying to learn German and Japanese as well.”
“Well, Elijah can help with your German.” Vincent looked thoughtful. “Jasper is our Japanese speaker.”
“Is it common to know multiple languages as an imp?” She leaned back in her seat, and Vincent gave a small shrug.
“It’s preferred, but many don’t learn multiple languages; so, they can’t get sent out around the world. Only Zander doesn’t speak any second languages on our team, which is fine.” Vincent pulled a notepad and pen of out his pocket. “Write your languages down. I wouldn’t mind having a translator for anything if none of us speak it.”
She took the notepad and pen slowly as Elijah turned them into the airport. She didn’t write anything, wondering if this was really something she could give up. She considered it for a long moment, wondering what future repercussions could come from them knowing. She made her decision quickly when she noticed Vincent was still watching her with quiet intensity.
“I tried to get a variety of languages, so no matter where in the world I end up, I can find someone to talk to,” she wrote them down as she spoke. She tore off the page and held it out to him.
“My notepad and pen,” he looked over the list and then folded it. She watched it go into a pocket of the black cargos. They were all wearing the exact same thing: black cargos, black tees, black boots. She rolled her eyes as she gave him the notepad and pen she had tried to keep. “Thank you.”
“Yup,” she sighed.
“You didn’t really think that was going to work, did you?” He frowned.
“It’s actually surprisingly easy to steal from people. Take smokers and the endless lighter conundrum. Hand someone your lighter to borrow, and suddenly, they’re walking off with it while you completely forget about it.” She shrugged. “Speaking of a smoke, can I get one before getting on the plane?”
“Yeah.” Vincent pulled out a pack. “I’m also a smoker.”
“You are both gross,” Elijah cut in. “But I dipped as a teen, so I really can’t say anything. I’ll take one of those if you’re willing to bum me one.”
“Yeah, I can bum you one, hypocrite.” Vincent stepped out the moment Elijah got the SUV parked near a stylish little jet. Sawyer had to be released by Elijah. Someone had decided child locks were necessary.
“So, when do I get my magic back?” She held up her left wrist, and Elijah shrugged.
“When we can be sure you won’t run for it.” Elijah smiled as he said it, even throwing in a little wink. “You can start trying to convince me any time, now.”
“Pervert.” She rolled her eyes, but he had made a solid point of excluding the implication she needed to have sex with him. The faster she had her abilities back, the faster she could jump ship on this. Without her magic, she wasn’t stupid enough to even consider running for it. She needed them to get comfortable with her and think she was cool with them, then they would relax the leash, and she could run. Not back to New York, though. That burned. She would probably never be coming back to this city. If she ran, this would be the first place they looked.
“Always,” Elijah chuckled. “Let’s get a smoke in before we’re stuck on the plane.”
She followed him to where Vincent had already lit one up. He held out the pack, so they could each grab one of their own. She was happy to see they were menthols, at least, though they were Camel and not her own Marlboros.
As she lit it up, she looked around. She saw Zander and Jasper headed their way. She took a long drag and flicked the ashes as she exhaled. She looked over to Elijah, the unlit cigarette in his mouth. Then, it had a small flame on the end, and he started smoking slowly.
“You can create fire,” she pointed out, and he grinned at her.
“Fire manipulation is a Common ability,” he reminded her. “Just like any single element manipulation.”
“Yeah,” she nodded toward his cigarette, “but you’ve got to be fairly strong to create fire from nothing. You didn’t even steal it from one of our cherries.”
Elijah only shrugged his massive shoulders in response, taking another drag. She went back to her own smoke as Zander got close enough for them to hear.
“Everything is ready to go,” he said, stopping near her. Jasper was right next to him, waiting patiently on them to get moving.
“Great.” Vincent took one last drag and then dropped his smoke and stomped on it. Elijah groaned, which caused Vincent to reach down and pick up the butt. Sawyer finished her own cigarette quickly, anxious to get started so she could get this over with. “Let’s get out of here.”
She put her own smoke out, and kept the butt without Elijah needing to say anything. She didn’t just toss litter around, she wasn’t that much of an asshole. She followed Vincent onto the plane. Elijah tailed behind her, as close to her ass as if he had been glued there.
“Can I get some space, dickhead?” She looked over her shoulder at him, and he shook his head.
“Until we get back to our place, you won’t be allowed much personal space. That’s something you’re going to have to deal with.”
“Damn it,” she growled. “I’m starting to think I’m more of a prisoner than a protectee.”
“And she figures it out,” Elijah chuckled, pushing her slowly onto the plane so the rest of them could get on.
> “So where are we headed?” She looked at Vincent as she sat where he pointed.
“You’ll find out when we get there,” he told her, opening a bag he had with him. “As we travel, I want to go over some of the rules.”
“What type of rules?” She inquired as the plane started moving.
“You can’t leave our property without someone with you.” He pulled a file from his bag and flipped it open. Yeah, she figured that would come. No going out alone. “You are required to go through training to know how best to protect yourself in case someone tries to take you.” She snorted at that one, but he ignored it and continued. “You will be required to travel with us. We still have jobs and work to do. Once we’re satisfied you won’t get killed on one of our assignments, we’ll start taking them up again. We think it’ll only take a month to get you up to speed.”
“What about getting my magic back?” She kicked her feet up on the table between the sections of seats they had. Private jets were always fancy. This one was all black leather and dark woods with small sections of seats and tables that made groups. She looked around to find Elijah stretched out, his feet kicked up on a seat in front of him. Jasper and Zander took an entire section at the back of the plane, both hunkered down for a nap.
“Eventually, you will be able to use your abilities at home, but we’re still in debates over whether you can have them off the property. Elijah said it earlier, it’s really up to you to prove to us we can trust you with them.”
“Anything else?” She sighed and pointed to the file.
“No,” Vincent gave a small shrug. “Sawyer, this can be easy. Think of it as a job or mission. Just do the simple training so we can trust you, and you’ll be fine. You might even like the work.”
“Of course,” she rolled her eyes. “Let’s just forget that you four decided that I needed to go with you, regardless of my personal rights as an American citizen.”
“You’re a Magi, first and foremost,” Vincent reminded her. “The WMC doesn’t recognize individual county rights and laws concerning Magi citizens. You go by the WMC’s rules.”
A Life Of Shadows Page 12