"Sounds good to me," I said and turned to Amari. "Are you going back to the loft?"
"Yeah. I haven't been awake this early in years. I'll catch a few more hours of sleep before I open up the bar."
"Good," I said, giving Amari a quick kiss and collecting my things. "Lead the way," I said to Brody as he held the front door open for me.
After a quick stop at Brody's place, where he showered and changed into a nice but poorly sized suit, we were headed to his office. I'd left my car at The Laughing Cat the day before, so Brody drove.
He had a really nice car. I didn't pay attention to the make or model, but the leather seats hugged my curves, the ride was smooth, and the wood accents on the console all said luxury vehicle. I was no expert, but the suit he changed into, while too big for him, looked very expensive.
My curiosity got the better of me. "What do you do for a living, Brody?"
"My family owns a shipping company. I try to keep everything running smoothly and our clients happy."
"Um—"
"I know," Brody said with a smile, "it sounds like a line every bad guy uses for their illegal operation. I promise it's a real shipping company. We work out the logistics of international shipping, so small and medium-sized business owners don't have to."
That wasn't what I was worried about. "I'm guessing your family works with you in your family-owned business." He nodded.
"Brody, being around them is dangerous for you, especially while you're still so new. Hell, I didn't even see a non for two months after my initiation. Pilar is the exception, Brody. What about yesterday’s mob in the circle was unclear?"
“Trust me,” Brody said.
17
Brody's office - or should I say, office building - was on the outskirts of The Circle. The gleaming tower stood in stark contrast to the rest of the gritty, industrial port area, but it did make sense to have shipping offices by a shipping port.
Brody was all smiles during the twenty-floor elevator ride, but I was a ball of nerves. I didn't want to see him get hurt, especially by his family. I knew what that was like.
I tried to wipe the anxiety off my face as we exited the elevator but when I saw the open, glass-walled layout of his floor, I knew this was going to end badly.
I scanned the floor. There were only two exits, the elevator we just came from, and the emergency stairs that were wired to the fire alarm.
If it came down to it, I’d trigger that alarm in a heartbeat.
"I didn't know there would be so many people," I whispered as they made calls and chatted with each other in common areas. Separate offices lined the back wall of the floor, but everyone kept their doors open, and all the walls were glass. Everyone could see everything all the time. There was no way we could go unnoticed for long. Brody wasn't going to last more than a moment.
"Relax," Brody said in my ear as we walked through the reception area. "I can handle this. I promise. I worked it all out last night while you were Rip Van Winkling."
I looked him square in the eyes. He meant it. He really thought he could handle at least a dozen nons less than two days after his initiation.
I had to admire his confidence, but I wasn't looking forward to seeing him fail.
"Brody!" someone yelled from across the office.
I shrunk in on myself. Pulling all my energy within, I looked at my boots and tried to take up less space.
"I thought you weren't going to be in today," the fast-approaching woman said with a smile in her tone.
"I wasn't," he said and stretched an arm out to her. "But things changed." The woman took his hand and turned toward me expecting an introduction. "Mom, this is Zora Joutsen. Zora, this is my mother, Venus Alexander."
I looked up just long enough to give her a quick nod.
"Oh, don't be shy. I won't bite," she said and held out her hand.
I met her gaze with my own icy-blue stare. "I'm not shy, Mrs. Alexander. I'm uncomfortable." I said and took her hand. I pushed the smallest fraction of energy to her. She snatched it away as soon as it reached her.
She didn't know what happened - of course, she was a non - she only that she didn't like it, and by extension, me.
Before his mom could say anything, Brody stepped between us, ushering me toward the back offices. "We'll catch up later, Mom. I've got some things I need to handle."
Once the office door clicked shut behind us, Brody snapped, "Was that really necessary, Zora?" His mottled-green eyes leaned more toward emerald with anger.
"It was," I said, consciously keeping an even tone and expression. Being on display in his fishbowl office made me extra self-aware.
"It was not," Brody countered, not caring what his expression conveyed to onlookers. "Don't ever push energy at my family again. Got it?"
I smiled a one-hundred-percent fake smile. "How would you have preferred me to handle it?" I asked with manufactured sweetness.
"I don't know," he said and pulled a hand through his sandy hair. "Just let me figure this out."
"How do you expect me to do that after what happened yesterday? Those nons could have torn you limb from limb! I'm not leaving myself unprotected," I said, saccharine dripping off each word.
"Gods, Zora! Why are you talking like that!" Brody shouted. His eyes were now completely, deep emerald.
I nodded at the glass walls. I was only an exhibitionist when it suited me.
Brody shook his head. "It's polarized glass," he said with a heavy sigh and pointed to the sensor I hadn't noticed by the door. "As soon as it detects a person in the room, the glass tints. We can see out, but they can't see in."
I couldn't wrap my brain around the mechanics of it, but it made disagreeing with Brody a lot easier.
"Just dial down your aversion tactics, OK? I don't want my family to hate you."
That was the entire point.
Brody sighed at me. Again. But his eyes now teetered closer to the olive scale. "Doesn't it get lonely?"
"Keeping my distance and being snarky is the only way I know to protect myself. Lonely or not."
"Just - just hear me out, OK?" he said softly. "I felt you pull your energy inward as my mother approached. Does that seem right to you?" Brody asked. "No one should have to make themselves smaller to survive. No one."
I took a moment to let his words find space within me. I was doing what had always been done. Right and wrong didn't fit into the equation.
"You also don't have to be a bitch to survive," Brody said as an afterthought. I pursed my lips at him. I liked being bitchy.
"No, you don't. You've grown used to it, but that's not who you are," he said to my unspoken thought.
"Nice Pilar impression."
"I don't have to read your thoughts when you put them all over your face. Look, I’m just saying there's another way. Look for yourself. No one the nons here are beating down my office door to get to me, are they?"
They weren’t, were they.
But my way worked. I and wasn’t to keen on potentially risking my free will. I’d come too close before. I shoved my hand in the pocket of my jeans to keep from rubbing my scarred ribs.
The scar would fade slowly because of its energetic nature, but I would never forget how terrified and helpless I felt. It happened so quickly. The man whose name I didn't know, who occasionally jogged by me on my walk to The Laughing Cat, snatched me off the path and dragged me behind a building.
His enthrallment had been growing fractionally every time we passed, and I was totally unaware. He didn't know me - he only knew he wanted my magic - and tried to cut me open to get to it.
I never told Amari. Kaori was the only person who knew.
She assured me that nons enthralling without extended and meaningful interaction was extremely rare, but that's when I developed my penchant for rudeness.
Brody sighed again. "I won't let it get out of control. Besides, it's more likely your neighbor Lucy will become fully enthralled before anything we do leads to harm."
&nb
sp; He had a point. Good thing I’d warded my condo yesterday. I didn’t need her getting any closer. Although, I did have the weirdest mix of feelings toward Lucy. I knew I would like her if she were a practitioner. But she wasn’t, and I couldn’t afford her getting too close.
"Are you ready to try it my way?" Brody asked.
"No."
"Zora, look around. No one’s trying to get in here. What more proof do you need?” he asked. “I want to show you but I'm not going to without your permission."
I let out a big sigh, and with it, the memories of my energy assault. "OK," I agreed.
"Good. OK, leave your energy where it is and try putting a barrier around it."
Much like the polarized glass, I understood his words but had no idea how to make it work. Before I could say as much, Brody pushed thick, suffocating energy at me.
It hit me hard and sudden. Pricking my flesh into goosebumps, his push was filled with need and desperation. It clung to my skin like cobwebs, becoming more tangled and sticky as I pushed back.
"Stop," I gasped, but Brody pushed more.
I put my hands up, a feeble attempt to block the unexpected attack.
"You can't physically stop this, Zora. You have to figure out how to block it." Brody's voice was tight with concentration. This was probably the biggest push he'd ever attempted.
Gods, I was so wrong.
Brody shoved into me. Leaden, jagged energy rolled over me. My body went rigor-stiff trying to brace against it, but Brody was right. There was nothing physical I could do to fix this.
I had no clue how to put up a barrier; I'd never needed one before. "Fuck, I hope this is right," I said and pictured a wall encircling me.
I fell on my ass. The sudden lack of pounding energy toppled me.
Brody smiled down at me and offered me a hand. "That was easy, right?"
"It was," I said, and pulled myself off the floor.
"Sorry you had to see that side of my energy."
"We all have darkness." I shrugged. "Yours is just especially needy. Next time, a little warning would be nice." I said and rubbed my bruised butt.
Brody smiled at me. "Ready to try it on a non?"
"Uh—no."
"You've already done the hard work. A non will be much easier to block than what you just did."
I was still unsure. "Is it really as easy as thinking about a wall?"
Brody gave me a grinning, bobble-headed nod.
"I want to believe you, Brody, but don't you think if it were that easy we would already be doing it? If all any practitioner had to do was picture a wall around their energy, why would we ever stand for such segregation?"
"I can't answer that. I know it works for me. I've been doing it since I was a child. I didn't know what I was doing exactly. I only knew that when I did it I could lie without getting caught."
I could imagine Brody getting himself into all kinds of trouble as a child. Sandy-haired and gem-eyed, I'm sure everyone gave him everything he wanted, even without the benefit of his wall. Now that I thought about it, he was amazingly well-adjusted for as spoiled as he no doubt was.
But it also made me wonder if he’d ever lied to me. His wall would keep my buzzy hand from knowing the difference.
"Still not willing to try it, Brody. Not yet," I amended when he gave me a hurt expression.
"You will," he said with a smirk and tucked himself behind his desk.
18
As Brody worked, I took notice of the interesting things in his office. A tall potted tree, a ficus maybe, sat in front of the sunniest part of the wall of windows. Next to it was an antique side table with an ancient-looking typewriter and an old, cushy recliner I thought about working in. Instead, I decided to set myself up on his very expensive couch. The soft leather didn't stick to my skin or make me sweaty like I'd expected. In fact, it was the most comfortable thing I'd ever sat in. I'd rewritten the first two chapters without moving.
Amari was right. I'd been heavy-handed with my agenda in the first version. This time I didn't spell it out with the first few sentences; I wove my message into the theme more delicately. I was just scratching the surface of new material when Brody waved his arms at me from behind his desk.
"Yeah?" I asked, taking out my earphones.
"They're taking lunch orders, what would you like?"
"Anything with bacon," I said and put my earphones back in. My stomach growled with impatience. I didn't know I was hungry until the mention of food. I ignored the pangs and kept tap-tapping away. I was finally making headway with two brand-new chapters when Brody was waving at me again.
"Lunch is here," he said and pointed to a large brown bag on his desk. I hadn't seen anyone deliver it.
I saved my work and closed the laptop, but before I could make my way to Brody's desk, his office door opened.
"Hey, Brody! We didn't think you'd be in today! Wanna have lunch with us?" Three high-energy women bounced into his office.
An impish smile tugged at Brody's lips. "Sure, come on in. Meet Zora," he said, smile growing to a grin.
Oh, Gods, this was going to kill me.
"Hi!" the first one squealed. "We're Brody's sisters!" Her excitement was exhausting. I gave Brody the darkest look I had. He returned it with an innocent, "Who, me?" expression.
OK, it wouldn't kill me, but I just might kill him.
I put up my brick wall, hoping it would keep their caffeinated-poodle energy out of my space.
"It's nice to meet you," I said to Brody's sisters, offering my hand to each. I didn't get the sharp metallic charge I usually did when touching a non.
"I'm Bailey, and these are my sisters, Blaire and Blake."
Oh how cute, all B names. I'll have no problems keeping that straight.
"Zora Joutsen," I said and tried to give them a smile.
"Scandinavian?" the one to Bailey's right asked. I nodded. "I studied language etymology in college. Guessing heritage based on surname is a hobby," she said as the other two sisters busied themselves turning Brody's desk into a lunch table. "Zora, though, that's not a name I'm familiar with."
"It's a shortened version of my given name." She looked at me expectantly. "Uh-uh. No one knows my full name. Sorry, but the B triplets don't get that info."
She laughed, full out. "We're not triplets, Zora. We're quads," she said and pointed at Brody.
Brody looked up and shrugged at me. "Come over and eat."
Holy shit. I'd said the B-triplets crack as a dig at their cutesy, matching names, but as I watched the siblings around Brody's desk, I noticed how much they communicated without words. With a look and a slight eyebrow lift, one asked the other for a bite of her sandwich. Brody told Bailey to go easy on me with a nearly imperceptible nod in my direction. Bailey responded with the same, "Who, me?" look Brody had given me.
It was no wonder Brody reacted the way he did about cutting out the nons in his life. You didn't get any closer than sharing a womb.
I’d seen instances in other magical systems of twins and triplets having access to magic at an early age. Something about being part of a multiple birth opened different channels earlier.
It was possible Brody learned to wall his energy early on, simply because he was a quad.
Was it really that simple? Was keeping your own energy and magic safe from nons as easy as putting up a metaphysical barrier?
Had Brody figured out the solution to our broken magical system overnight? I shook away the thought and studied the quads while I ate. They shared coloration and approximate height, but that was where the similarities ended. Bailey's sandy blonde hair was cut severely short, drawing attention to all the sharp pixie angles of her face. The one that asked about my name looked the most like Brody. Her bone structure was identical to his, just more feminine. The other one had a rounded face with lazy waves to frame it. They all shared the same strange green eyes.
They weren't so bad. Not with a wall up. I gave Brody a small smile and hoped he knew what it was for.<
br />
"So, what do you do?" Bailey asked me just as I'd taken an enormous bite of my BLT.
I swallowed hard to get it all down. "I'm a writer," I said and waited for the oohs and aahs.
They never came. Instead, an average follow-up question: "What do you write?"
I looked around the desk. The sisters were politely waiting for my answer, without the pushy, angst-filled need I was accustomed to from nons. "Um, fiction, mostly," I said, unsure of myself. I hadn't interacted with nons normally in years.
"Anything we might have read?" Bailey asked.
What a normal question! Brody couldn't keep the "Told ya so!" off his face.
"I don't know. Do you like werewolves and vampires?" Two of the sisters tried hard not to turn their noses up at the idea. I was used to it. The genre was like country music - you either loved it or hated it.
But Blaire, the one with the wavy hair, lit up.
"It's my favorite guilty pleasure," she said, leaning over the desk. "What series do you write?”
"Um,” I couldn’t help a small smile. “The Turning Wheel Series," I said.
"Oooh, I haven't read that one yet. I've had my eye on it. I'll have to pick it up! You don't write under your own name?" she asked as an afterthought.
I smiled to myself. "I took a pen name at my editor's suggestion. She thought my name was too weird and off-putting - that people wouldn't want to buy my books. She was probably right," I said when it was obvious Blaire didn't know what to say. "But don't bother picking it up; I've got some author copies collecting dust. I'll give them to Brody to pass along."
"Really?"
I nodded, smiling in earnest at her. I'd never actually met a fan of the genre outside of a book signing and then I had to be snarky and distant. I didn’t do many of those. This was a refreshing change.
"Yes, really," I said. I'd have to thank Brody with more than just a smile.
19
The sisters' names were easy to keep straight, once I got to know their personalities. Bailey was the oldest and bossiest, and naturally the leader. Blaire had a round face and was the quietest, most sensitive—and the only one into werewolves and vampires. Blake, who looked the most like Brody, had a dark sense of humor. She was sarcastic and witty and was the one interested in surnames.
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