Chapter 22

“I would like to see you just try it you fucking piss-poor excuse for a Mage! Come on then, swing away. I’ll give you the first shot, but after that you better flash your arse off, you limey bastard.”

“So it is you who will challenge me?” Deep laughter broke away from Samil. “Well then, I wager that it will not last very long. What a shame, your power wouldn’t be enough to charge my phone as green as you are.”

Through the trees they came into view—Simon and Samil were standing ten feet or so apart between the cars.

“Right here, right fucking now. All mouth and no trousers.”

“Shame you won’t see her curse your name during her beatings,” Samil said in a thick accent.

Simon bared his teeth and charged with a fury that could only be rivaled by Justus, who flashed over and slammed him up against the car. The passenger window shattered from impact.

Samil casually strolled back to his SUV, brushing his shoulders with his hand.

“Enough, Simon!” Justus pressed a forearm into his neck. “You risk further punishment from the Council—do not provoke him.”

Simon defiantly shook free of the fists that held him down and kicked his shoe into the dirt, sending up a flurry of rocks. “It’s not right!”

Samil stood by the driver’s side door as Justus tossed my bag in the back. He eased me in the back seat, making it clear he didn’t want me sitting beside my maker any more than I did. If sitting on the roof were an option, I might have happily taken that.

The door slammed shut and I wrinkled my nose at the smell; it was like rancid pine cones and cheap vinyl. The interior light slowly dimmed and my breath fogged up the window as I leaned my face against the cold glass.

“I suppose you’ve tasted her. Extraordinary, isn’t she? Can’t say I’ve had the full pleasure, but no one makes them quite like I do. All good things come to those who wait, isn’t that right?”

Cobalt eyes drifted down to watch me, softened and full of words I knew he would never speak out loud. He cared. Despite the fact we butted heads and spent six hours a day trying to kill each other, the man cared for me. Why did I ever doubt?

Because he was letting me go, that’s why.

“Fear not, Ghuardian.” The word rolled off Samil’s tongue like a curse. “She’s in capable hands now.”

His laugh was unexpected and poisonous. My fingers clawed into the armrest of the door as I shut my eyes and pushed down all the sorrow and anger that was rising up within me. I refused to let my emotions take over. I was no longer Zoë; I was no longer a Mage. I was now a person I did not recognize. I was Silver, I was his, and I was nothing more than property.

A light tapping noise snapped me back to reality. Justus touched the window with his fingertips and I reached up, running mine along the glass. Please don’t leave me .

His arms lifted over the car and he leaned over so I could no longer see his face.

My body came three inches off the seat when heavy fists slammed down on the roof of the car. If my heart was asleep before, it was now wide awake, on its fourth cup of coffee, and chilling out in my throat.

“One finger harms her, Samil, and I will bury you.”

“Tsk Tsk. Careful, Mage,” Samil replied with edged humor. “What would the Council think of such threats?”

“It’s not a threat. It’s my word of honor.”

***

My seatbelt was pulled off and Samil dragged me across a gravel driveway. The rocks were white and sharp at the edges, as my hands could attest to.

“Home, sweet home, little girl.”

I cringed as my bag landed on the arm I used to shield my face. Samil straddled me, bending over with his hair spilling down like dirty rain.

“Last time we met like this, I believe you looked a little… different.” He spun a lock of my black hair between his fingers. “Took time to find you, but when I picked up on your energy, it was unmistakable. You can’t run from me, Silver. You belong to me and I will always find you.”

He stood up before I had a chance for my thumbs and his eyeballs to make their introductions.

“Get up,” he snarled.

I tightened my lips and shot profanities through my eyes.

He backhanded me.

I spat a mouthful of blood on his big black boot and redirected my anger. “Thought you could use a shoe shine.”

They say the first hit is never the last. They’re right. Whoever they are, they know.

“It’s going to be so satisfying to break you.”

Except what he didn’t know was that I had been there and done that . I was a survivor and would never be broken by anyone.

The white paint was so pristine on the three-story house that it was almost as if it were freshly painted. It was surrounded by a well-manicured lawn, illuminated fountains, and rose bushes all along the outside walls. There was a lot of money and pretentiousness put into this place. The porch was adorned with two life-size bronze sculptures of snarling lions and I thought if I stared into their jeweled eyes too long they might spring to life and gobble me up. I had never been in a house that fancy and always wondered about the people who inhabited them.

Now I knew.

Sailing across a smooth polished floor, I hit the end of a banister with my shoulder.

I looked up and against his hellboy appearance of the long black trench coat and matching heart, was a stark contrast of—for lack of better words—baroque. Gaudy mirrors with brass frames hung on maroon walls. The furniture was crushed red fabric with gold trim, black chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, the windows were arched, and an oddly constructed staircase curved up three levels of the house.

I laughed uncontrollably. “You look like a piece of shit in a porcelain toilet.”

“Maybe you should clean that toilet with your mouth,” he said.

Halfway down the stairs that led to the basement, Samil shoved me the rest of the way. I landed on my bag, which broke the fall.

“Welcome home, Silver. I think you’ll find your quarters quite accommodating. Let us go over the rules, shall we?”

His heavy boots stomped down the wooden steps, making a hollow noise in the empty room as he spoke. “You will not disturb me when I am upstairs. Save your screams, no one can hear you out there and those who come to visit me won’t care. Test me, little girl. I just dare you.”

“You only have me for seven days.”

One foot retreated before it forcefully kicked me in the side. I groaned with my face flat against the cold concrete floor, coughing in pain.

“Rule number two: every time you smart off to me, I will beat you until you have no more fight.”

Big deal. I had a feeling this asshole was going to do it regardless.

I looked at my new home. The basement only had two lights, which didn’t offer much. There were boxes by the stairs and the floor was as concrete as the walls. A pile of dirty blankets in the corner told me this was my bed, and I wondered if I was the only one who had ever slept there. Samil’s arms were folded tight and he seared me with his cold, sharp eyes. I wiped the blood from my mouth on the back of my hand.

“Beg me to heal you,” he demanded.

Samil had a strange accent; his tongue rolled thick and made the pronunciations very rich and dark as if it might be Eastern European. But, like Simon, it was perhaps not his true accent. If these men were hundreds of years old or more, then living in different places would influence their speech. It could have been Egyptian, given I had never traveled anywhere or met anyone to truly know the difference.

“Go to hell.”

He sneered and shook his hands over his coat. “You first. It’s only going to get worse, little girl. I have all the patience in the world. I’m going to enjoy making you beg. Make no mistake about it, you will beg. They all do… eventually.”

“Beg for you to take a shower; I always thought your B.O. was just an urban legend.”

His eyes narrowed to razor-thin slivers, but to my astonishment, he turned and went up the stairs, sliding a series of locks into place. I had a feeling that wasn’t a get-out-of-jail-free card—it was a rain check.

I flipped on the switch and stared at a concrete wall in the bathroom. There was no mirror and I guessed that it was removed because it could have been used as a weapon. I felt the residual pain on my arm and thigh and knew it would not be long before they bruised, but I healed faster than humans did so I wasn’t overly concerned.

My bed of blankets stank of mold and I turned my mouth in disgust. I shook out of my coat and slipped a sweatshirt on that Adam had given me. My body shook with a violent chill as I placed the coat over my bag and used it for a pillow.

***

When I woke, my thigh was screaming.

“So much trouble, you. And worth it all remains to be seen.” He bent down and grabbed a fistful of my hair. “Ready to beg, Silver?” He laughed. “Oh, how I bet you love your new name. Did you ever watch The Lone Ranger ?”

I jerked my head back and scrambled up against the wall, knees pressed against my chest, as he crouched in front of me. Bastard kicked me in my sleep.

“Why did you do it, why me? There are a million people who would want immortality, why force it on someone who didn’t want it?”

Samil’s words rolled from his tongue like molasses. “I am compensated well for my deeds, and I take great pleasure from the Learners I have made.” He huffed out a short laugh. “It’s a formula, girl, one which I intend to keep secret. Why you? Well I can’t take full credit… but you should thank me. How dare you turn up your nose at what I have given you. Your life has more worth than it once did… humans are nothing but cattle. Tell you what—I’ll let you have one shot at me. You only get one, so make it count.”

I heard a loud snap as I realized my hand had flown across his cheek. I didn’t even stop to wonder if he were serious about giving me a free hit or just baiting me.

“We have all the time in the world to play.” With that, he landed his knuckles on my face and I blacked out against the concrete wall. The bastard lied.

“Ow.”

I opened my eyes, groggy and with the worst kind of headache. Pulling my neck up was not without its agony, either.

I sighed when I saw all the contents of my bag tossed over the floor as if a tornado had blown through. I picked up tiny bits of plastic near the wall that had once belonged to my cell phone.

At the foot of the stairs there was a tray with a silver lid. When I lifted it, an empty china plate stared up at me.

Hearing a latch to the door unlocking, I ran back to the blankets and threw them over my head. I struggled to steady my quickened breath as the door opened. A swish of liquid from a glass bottle sounded, along with stumbling feet. Was he drunk? Would be nice if he left me the bottle—I could use it more than he could.

“No,” he mumbled. “She’s not like the others and that’s why we’re negotiating. I’ve been more than generous, offering my previous Learners for a fair price, but this one is special.”

Panic went full throttle when I heard a second set of footsteps.

“So this is she?” a strange voice spoke. It was sharp, clear, and sent a chill up my spine. “Scant little thing, and you want to negotiate for a pile of rags?”

“Are we good on the temporary agreement or not?”

“You forget yourself; it was one of mine who spotted her, careful how you speak with me.”

“Fuck you, because without me you wouldn’t have these toys. You f-forget that without a maker, without what I alone can do like no other…” Samil’s words trailed off, followed by the sound of him drinking from a bottle.

“While you are her maker, do not forget who I am. You are in my debt, and I will decide when the debt is no longer owed. Show some gratitude.”

There was an audible grunt. “What makes me think this debt will ever be square?”

“Your previous endeavors were less than acceptable, this one better be worth it,” the man said. “Do tell me why you beat her— it would appear you are damaging the merchandise.”

“That pile of crazy is dangerous. If she’s not broken, she’ll grow wild.” Another swig of alcohol. “Have your sample and we can negotiate upstairs. This one I’m not giving so freely as the others; she was a pain in the ass to get. I’ve made her official with the Mageri and—”

“You what ?” he shouted.

“That’s right,” Samil said in a satisfied tone. “So don’t get any ideas, because they have watch on her now. I have to think long-term and guarantee my claim on her.”

His heavy gait trampled up the steps until I heard the door slam. And lock.

My heart thundered as the stranger loomed above me.

One word kept echoing in my head: sample .

“Silver, is it? No need to play dead, child. I know you are awake.” He ripped the blanket off me and frowned.

He was not a big man; he wore round glasses, a neat grey suit, and dusty brown hair crowned his head. He looked like he could’ve been a banker who worked a very boring job. A slender, pointed toothpick rolled across his tongue to one side of his mouth and he slipped out of his jacket, lightly dusting it with his hand. Behind the reflection of his glasses was only a physical resemblance of a human, but no humanity existed in that stare.

“Now you don’t look like much trouble—Samil always did exaggerate.”

Slowly the spectacles were removed from his face and he neatly polished one lens at a time with a white cloth he removed from his pocket. When he finished, he folded the arms of the glasses together and slipped them into his coat, giving it a casual shake as he flung it around the bottom knob of the staircase railing. He rolled up his crisp white sleeves, and I began to back up and crawl away.

“Easy, girl.”

That’s all it took to set me off, talking to me as if I were an animal. I scrambled to get on my feet when his arm yanked my ankle. The breath crushed out of me when he came down over my back and flattened me against the floor. He wasn’t very big, or strong, and yet he was dripping with power.

Hot breath that stank of garlic slithered across the back of my neck and I turned my head as if I had been burned.

“Keep it up, I like it rough. I didn’t have any intention of using you this way—but if you keep tempting me, I just might reconsider.”

“What were you going to do?” I growled through my teeth.

“Were?”

He flipped me onto my back and straddled my sides so there was no going anywhere. My fists balled to hit him, but he pinned me down and my fingers were pried open.

“Let me go,” I yelled. “I don’t know what you want from me!”

My fingers tightened into a fist so impenetrable that his efforts to pry them open were in vain. He looked at me with calmness and made no effort to fight with me. He lifted my arms by the wrists and repeatedly slammed the back of my hands against the hard concrete floor.

Over and over. Until my knuckles bled.

When I could no longer endure the pain, I let out an angry scream and opened them.

“Now I see what Samil means, you keep this up with me and I will not show the kindness he has. I am far more experienced in punishment.” His lips peeled away from his teeth in a snarl. “Let me see what you have for me.”

When his thin cold hands touched mine, I cried out from the pain. The toothpick suddenly fell from his mouth and rolled onto my chest. I shuddered.

With everything happening, all I could think of was how I wanted that vile thing off me.

***

The Mage sat in a stupor after stealing my light, but eventually he lifted the jacket from the banister and left the room. The clock upstairs chimed once and I pushed myself through consciousness until I was standing by the rock at the Grey Veil.

Justus was on one knee, deep in 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 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 had taken everything to even get here 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 I pulled away, 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 with 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 by 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 seriously 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.”