Magic Born (5 page)

“It doesn’t really matter which direction we head in, so we might as well go see this Casper guy. If he knew your mother, he’s probably a mage and might be able to help. He should at least know of a portal to Elustria that you can use. If it turns out he’s an ally, I’ll leave you with him.”

That last part brought me up short. The comfort I’d felt at his use of the word “we” quickly evaporated. I’d gone from possible friend to troublesome human to be passed off in record time. “Wait, so you’re not going to help me figure this all out?”

Alex fidgeted, squirmed like a little kid forced to sit still when he really wanted to run. “I don’t get involved in mage business. I feel obligated to safely deliver you to your own kind, but after that, I’m shifting back.”

“So why don’t you just take me to Elustria now like you originally planned?”

“That was before an assassin sent a tracker orb into your apartment, a tracker orb that saw me. Whoever is coming after you now knows that you have the help of a shifter. They’ll be expecting you at one of the portals we use. It’s too risky. I don’t have any way to contact a sorcerer to try to get another one opened. I had never planned on going back.”

I had to trust that Alex knew best. “I can look up the address of Magical Games on my phone, but I don’t have a way to contact Casper.”

“Do you think it’ll be within driving distance?”

“I think so.”

“Then we’ll drive through the night. Once we get there, we should be able to find someone who can contact this Casper guy, and we can see what he knows.”

“And when you say we’ll drive through the night, you really mean me.”

“Yes, but I’ll stay awake in solidarity. We should get a move on. I don’t want to stay in one place for too long. It’ll be a lot harder to track you without the orb, but the magic that necklace released was pretty powerful. It’s possible for someone to track it.”

I paid for the food, and the waitress gave me a to-go cup of coffee. I wished I could sleep, but even if I could teach Alex to drive, my car was far too temperamental for a beginner.

As I headed north on the freeway, the talisman around my neck glowed pleasantly, seemingly in approval of our plan. I concentrated on that, hoping it would settle the nervous fluttering of my stomach that wondered what on earth I had gotten myself into.

A
ccording to my phone
, we’d make it to the headquarters of Magical Games, Inc. by midmorning, assuming I could stay awake the entire way there.

“So how does this tracking thing work? Could someone know where I am because of the necklace?” Talking would prevent me falling victim to the lulling effects of the road passing by in the darkness with no break in the monotony.

“I’m not entirely sure, and it’s not like there’s one blanket answer. The rules are completely different for a sorcerer than a mage. A sorcerer would be more likely to trace the magic within the necklace. Mages are closer to your idea of witches. They need something—a wand, talisman, some sort of magical object—in order to perform spells. Could there be a mage who has figured out a way to track the necklace? Sure. For all I know, the necklace has been tracked since before your mother died. Whoever it is could have been waiting for me to deliver it to you.”

“Gee, thanks. Could’ve sold it to a pawn shop, but no, come knocking on a college girl’s door and turn her life upside down. That’s a much better use of your time.”

“There was a concern that you’d be able to be tracked anyway. Mages all have a magical spark inside them. You have one passed down from your mother. It was only a matter of time before you were found. After your mother was killed, the natural assumption was that whoever killed her might come looking for you. You could have been left defenseless. That talisman saved your life earlier.”

The little thing had come in handy, but I wasn’t convinced that all this had been inevitable. I still had my doubts that this Meglana woman really had been my mother. “And how do you know for sure that I’m her daughter?”

“Oh, I’m sure.” His answer came quick and confident. No further explanation seemed to be forthcoming. That was the most sure statement I’d heard him make thus far. He couldn’t speak with authority about the world he came from, but something had him convinced that I was Meglana’s daughter.

“How can you say that?”

“I doubt the talisman would work for anyone else. The reaction it had when you were threatened was telling.” This statement lacked the confidence his earlier assertion had held. His certainty didn’t spring from that reason.

“But that only happened a few hours ago. What had you so convinced that I was her daughter before?” I took my eyes off the road for a moment to see if I could figure out where his hesitance came from. Nervous eyes darted to the side and met mine then focused quickly back on the road. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”

“The talisman knows who its rightful owner is. It led me to you. It wouldn’t make a mistake.”

“Led you to me? How do you know it didn’t mean to take you to the girl next door?”

“Oh, I know.”

His insistence only made me more curious. “But how? Did a voice speak from the heavens? You’re turning my life upside down, attracting a magical assassin to me, and all because you have a feeling that the talisman led you to my door?”

Alex sighed. “It’s more than that, all right? The talisman is attracted to you. I wore it around my neck as I searched, and I can’t describe it perfectly, but it clearly knew who you were and sought you out. Any time I veered, an overwhelming sense of loss engulfed me. When I saw you for the first time, I’ve never been so attracted to another person in my entire life.”

“Wait, so you’re basing this off of being attracted to me?” Anger and shock urged me to slam on the brakes, but that wouldn’t help anything. Besides, I couldn’t stop a small sense of satisfaction that someone found me attractive. What girl doesn’t like to hear that? “The appropriate response to attraction is asking someone out, not telling her she’s the daughter of a murdered mage and is now being hunted.”

“You don’t get it.” Alex shook his head. “It’s not a normal attraction, believe me. It was magical in origin.” I understood his desire to set the record straight, but he didn’t have to be so vehement in his assertion that his attraction was unnatural. Yeah, I didn’t have guys banging down my door, but no need to sound like the idea of him being attracted to me was ludicrous. “Every part of me called out for you. Every instinct said to go to you. The talisman practically jumped off my chest toward you. And I’m not stupid. That night I met you wasn’t the first time I’d seen you. I made sure the talisman wanted you and that my feelings came from it before I showed up at your door.”

Not a lot of wiggle room left for me in that story. Having a mother of magical origin I might be able to cope with, but the whole being hunted thing really had me wishing a mistake had been made. “Okay, so it’s me. Let’s just go with that. What is it the people who killed my mother want?”

“I have no idea. They probably want to know what she had discovered, what sorts of new magic she practiced.”

“So how did killing her achieve that?”

“If there’s one thing I know about your mother, it’s that she didn’t like to share. She worked hard for her magical knowledge; she wouldn’t give it up to someone who asked.”

“Even someone who threatened her life?”

“Especially someone who threatened her life. My guess is whoever killed her might not have wanted her knowledge so much as they didn’t want her to have it.”

“So why come after me? How would they even know I exist?”

“Your birth was probably registered with the Magesterial Council, and if what she knew was dangerous, they wouldn’t want to run the risk of you knowing what it is.”

“So why can’t I just explain to whoever it is that I’m not a mage and I don’t know what my mother was working on?”

“But you are a mage, Kat. You can’t escape that. Besides, your mother was murdered. I may not know a lot about humans or mages and their behavior, but it’s my general understanding that murderers are not really open to rational argument.”

The only thing keeping me awake was the fear that if I stopped, whoever had invaded my apartment would find me. If I could give back the necklace, I would. Any excitement or thrill it held had long since passed. All I could hope was that Casper would have answers for me. “So you believe that Casper knew my mom? Is it possible he’s working with the people who are trying to kill me?”

“Anything is possible, but I don’t see a better option for us. The only safe place I can think for you is the Magesterial Council in Elustria, but I have no way to get you there. If Casper really is a mage, he’ll have a way to get back to Elustria. If he’s with the people who want you dead, then I don’t see a way to escape even if we didn’t go to him. He has your address, your credit card information, and he knew whose daughter you are. I wouldn’t know how to keep you safe from him.”

There didn’t seem to be much more to discuss once we’d settled on our current path being the only option. Hours slipped by with nothing but the radio playing until the sun lit the sky with pinks and purples as we approached the Canadian border. Red brake lights shone in front of me, and I slowed to a stop. “Shit.”

“What?”

“I completely forgot about the border. I don’t know if they’ll let us by.”

“What do you need?”

“Honestly, I don’t know, but I don’t think they allow you to cross with just a driver’s license anymore, and you don’t strike me as the type to carry a passport. To be honest, I didn’t really expect there to be people checking. I mean, it’s the U.S. and Canada. Don’t people cross over all the time?”

“See, you humans complicate everything.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve never heard of an animal killing another who strays into its territory.”

“That’s what I’m talking about: it’s simpler, none of this paperwork and crap you all have to deal with.”

We really were from two different worlds. The line slowly moved forward, and when the minivan in front of us was waved through, I put on my most charming smile for the border patrol officer who turned out to be a woman.

“And what brings you into Canada today?” The officer sounded bored as she peered at me.

I probably should’ve spent more time thinking of answers to potential questions while waiting. Would fleeing a murderer qualify me for asylum status? Probably not. “Oh, I’m going to the headquarters of Magical Games, Inc.”

“On a Saturday?”

“Yeah, I won a contest, and they preferred I come on the weekend. I’ve got class on Monday.” It wouldn’t hurt to throw in that I had a compelling reason to return.

“ID please.” The woman held out her hand expectantly, and I gave her my license. She spent all of two seconds looking at it. “I’m going to need more than this. This driver’s license doesn’t prove your citizenship.”

“I’m sorry, I thought I just needed a driver’s license. I’m just coming over for the day. I’m a student, see?” I handed her my student ID. “I’ve got to be back for classes on Monday anyway. I’m not going to jeopardize graduation over trying to illegally stay in Canada. Can’t you just make an exception this once?”

“I’m sorry, but there’s no provision in immigration law for uninformed students to just hop across the border and hop back over. You’re going to need to turn around.”

I looked up at her with the most pathetic, pleading gaze I could muster. “Please, this is really important. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

“Then you should’ve been better prepared. Now just drive through here and you can make a U-turn and come back with proper identification.”

This couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t go back to my apartment to get sufficient identification. I looked to Alex, frantic, my eyebrows raised waiting for him to come up with some brilliant solution. Did he have some kind of magic that could be useful here?

“You heard the lady, just turn around.” I shot daggers at him with my eyes. He in turn pointedly stared at my chest. It took a second for me to realize that he wasn’t checking out my boobs, he was looking at the talisman that had started to feel a little warm. Better not let it feel too much panic. Right now all the officer wanted me to do was turn around, but I was pretty sure if my talisman decided she was a threat and killed her, I’d have much bigger problems than ID.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself before the talisman did anything to worsen our situation, and followed the officer’s directions to make a U-turn. A few miles down the road, I pulled into the parking lot of a gas station. “So what do we do now?”

“Now we wait for you to calm down so that talisman stops glowing. You have to learn to control your emotions.”

In through the nose and out through the mouth I breathed, willing my panic to subside. “And then what?”

Alex’s yellow eyes twinkled. “And then we storm the border by force.”

“
S
torm the border by force
?” Panic rose inside me. Alex certainly wasn’t normal, but so far he hadn’t struck me as completely crazy.

“Maybe my choice of words was a little extreme. We can just cross the border if you prefer.”

Perhaps something about being a shifter made Alex a little daft. “But we can’t cross the border without proof of citizenship. Didn’t you hear her? And even if we could get my ID, you still don’t have any. The border is not a plus one situation.”

Alex smiled and tapped his head with his index finger. “Thinking like a human again. You’re going to have to stop that. The world is not as it seems to you. You’re talking about human rules, I’m not. Last time I checked, border patrol has no authority over panthers crossing the border.”

I wanted to slap the arrogant gleam from his eyes, but not only did it make them a little cuter, he was also my only hope at the moment. “Okay, so you shift to a panther and go across the border, and then what, cause a distraction for me to drive through?”

“No, you’re going to ride on my back across the border.”

“And leave my car?” I knew she wasn’t exactly enviable, but she was all I had.

“Hey, this is a great honor I’m doing you. Shifters are not pets to be ridden. We only extend the privilege to a select few.”

If the thought of riding on his back with him in panther form wasn’t alarming enough, the idea of leaving my car behind was unthinkable. “No, that won’t work.”

“Why?”

“Because we cut across the border and then what? I’m supposed to ride on your back the entire way?”

“I don’t have any problem with that, but if it bothers you, we can always acquire a car on the other side.”

I narrowed my eyes as I stared at him. “Is ‘acquire’ a shifter euphemism for steal?”

“You could say that.”

Dammit, the little smirk that played on his lips was entirely too charming for someone who had just suggested committing grand theft auto. “I know I’m not a model citizen, but I’m certainly not a thief.”

“I understand. I’m sure that argument will be persuasive to the assassin who shows up to kill you.”

“Ugh. You are aggravating.”

“No more than you are. Why don’t you drive down that dirt road and see if there’s a place you can park out of the way?” He pointed to a barely visible road off to the side of the gas station.

The farther we traveled, the more the car bumped and jostled as the road degraded into little more than muddy potholes. The forest on each side of the single lane stood too thick to penetrate with the car. If the road continued to deteriorate, I feared we’d get stuck. After a few more minutes, I saw a small clearing on the right and pulled into it. The trees thinned just enough for me to squeeze the car through into a clearing hidden from the road. Alex didn’t waste a second once I’d parked.

“Grab what you need and let’s go.” He exited the car and waited for me to join him. For some reason, leaving the car actually hurt. I had nothing left. Leaving my apartment had been bad enough, but that at least was a rental. This car was mine, free and clear, and nobody was supposed to be able to take that away from me.

“I’ll be back.” I kissed my fingers and touched them to the windshield after locking the doors. I saved our GPS location to my phone and put the keys in the wheel well. Once everything settled down, I hoped I’d find my baby in working order.

“You humans bestow a great amount of value on inanimate objects.”

“Hey, all I’ve got left is a cell phone, ID, a credit card, and the magical necklace that destroys things, which is slightly less cool when you consider that it’s also the reason I’ve had to give up everything else.”

“Yes, sad, little human discovered that she is the heir to one of the most powerful mages in the world and therefore has to leave behind a rather unimpressive vehicle.”

Normally I wouldn’t let an insult like that slide, but my ear had caught on the word “heir.” I hadn’t even considered my situation in those terms, but if I was getting all the downsides to being Meglana’s daughter, there had to be an upside somewhere. I’d never known her, so it couldn’t appear crass. “Did she leave me some sort of inheritance?” Maybe that could help replace my car should it be gone when I returned.

“You’re wearing it around your neck.”

Definitely not what I wanted. The piece of jewelry increasingly seemed more of a curse than anything. “See, trust funds, that’s one area where we humans have it figured out better than you magic folk do.”

Alex shook his head and smiled. “You can educate me more later. Let me see the map.”

I opened the app on my phone and handed it to him.

He nodded. “I’ll be able to take us in the right direction.”

Very reassuring. I’d hate to end up back in the U.S.

“How exactly is this going to work?” I had never so much as gone horseback riding.

“I’ll shift, and you just climb onto my back. Wrap your arms around my neck, and keep in mind that I need to breathe. You should be able to grip with your thighs if you need to. Lie down on your stomach and you shouldn’t have any problems. I’m not going to let you fall off or let anything hit you. Just relax and you’ll be fine. We won’t be able to talk once I shift, but I’ll be able to understand you, so if you need anything, just say so.”

That all sounded easy enough, but I still worried that I’d fall off. “Just remember that you have me on your back.”

“Trust me, I won’t forget. You ready?”

I nodded, and he stepped back and shifted into a panther in front of me. The sight was more magnificent than before. It didn’t shock me as much, and it definitely didn’t scare me. It left me with a sense of awe. He jerked his head in the direction of his back to signal to me to climb on. His size made it a surprisingly easy fit, more comfortable than I would’ve expected. The dark fur felt just as velvety as it looked. I wrapped my arms around his chest and rested my cheek against the back of his neck. Once I was settled, he began to walk. His graceful strides resulted in almost no movement for me. For the first time since waking up, my body relaxed. It’d be so easy to drift off to sleep.

Within a few minutes I had lost all sense of direction amid the undifferentiated trees. Alex, though, continued his sure movements, apparently harboring no doubts about the route we traveled. Every nerve in my body prickled on high alert. At any moment a border patrol officer could stop us. A girl riding on a panther’s back would make for an interesting sight. My real fear should be for Alex. If someone came upon us, he was likely to get shot.

No physical characteristics appeared to mark the divide between the U.S. and Canada. I couldn’t tell if or when we had crossed the border. Alex simply continued onward, seeming to have the situation under control.

* * *

T
he sun beat
down on my back, heating it to an uncomfortable degree. The air no longer held the crisp chill of morning. I opened my eyes and realized that I must have fallen asleep. No longer did light rays of pink paint the sky. Instead, my eyes opened to a vibrant blue. I wanted nothing more than to continue my slumber. Alex’s back was more comfortable than I could have imagined. My movement must’ve alerted him to the fact that I was awake, because he stopped and turned his head to look at me. Knowing that we couldn’t speak as long as he remained in his panther form, I slid off his back and stepped away so he could shift.

“Did you sleep well?” he asked.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“The way your weight settled on me. Plus, you had an adorable little snore.”

I wanted to deny it, but how would I know? “You didn’t have to let me keep sleeping, but thanks. How long has it been?”

“A few hours.”

“As comfortable as that ride was, we should probably get a car. It’ll take forever to get there this way.”

“Not forever. How slow do you think I am?” Alex’s offense appeared only partly in jest. “But I understand your point. Where should we get a car from?”

“You’re the one who had this brilliant plan to just walk across the border. I thought you’d have some ideas.”

“Yeah, my idea was for you to take one. Doesn’t really matter to me where it comes from.”

“So I steal a car.” I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the idea of breaking the law, but these were extenuating circumstances. “How do I do it? As soon as the car is reported stolen, we’ll get caught. We don’t need that kind of stress.” The thought of being on the lam increased my heart rate and made it difficult to breathe. “We could try hitchhiking.” If I were by myself, it’d be a better option. People didn’t seem to like to pick up guys on the side of the road.

“If this is causing you anxiety, you can ride the rest of the way on my back, if you like. We’re actually not that far. It won’t take as long as you think. I’m faster and have more endurance than Earth cats.”

I would like that, probably more than was appropriate. I didn’t know all of the shifter customs and practices, but I doubted they appreciated being ridden around like pack animals. “That’s probably the best idea, for simplicity’s sake.”

Alex didn’t have a problem with my answer. He simply nodded and shifted back into a panther. This time when I climbed onto his back, my body instantly relaxed. It would probably be wise to try to sleep a little more. I had no idea what kind of day I would have, but if it followed in the footsteps of the previous night, as much sleep as I could get would prove beneficial.

The next time I woke, Alex had stopped moving beneath me. Bright yellow eyes peered over his shoulder at me, and I took the hint and slid off his back.

“Based on the map you showed me, we shouldn’t be too far away.”

The GPS locator showed our destination as only an eight-minute walk from our current location. Alex’s sense of direction amazed me. His animal instincts must have made it possible for him to be so accurate after only seeing the map once, hours ago. Stashing my phone in my pocket, I followed his lead, trusting him to get us the last of the way there.

“So do you have a plan?” Alex asked as we walked. “I doubt they’re just going to let you in.”

“Yeah, I’m not too worried.” I had no idea where my confidence came from other than a determination that I hadn’t abandoned my apartment, my car, and my life to be thwarted by a gatekeeper.

A little security hut sat at the entrance to the Magical Games, Inc. campus, manned by a lone security guard. The parking lot beyond sat almost completely empty. My only hope lay in the fact that Casper had seemed desperate to meet me. If I could just convince someone to contact him, or even let me log into the game so I could contact him with in-game mail, I felt sure that he’d see me. Besides, Casper struck me as the workaholic type. He probably regularly stayed in the office on weekends.

Alex and I walked straight up to the security hut, probably looking like a couple of crazies. It occurred to me too late to check my morning breath, but I didn’t have any gum or mints anyway. The security guard stepped out of his little building, a slight paunch stretching out his gray polyester uniform. “I’m sorry folks, but I’m gonna have to ask you to turn around. This is all private property.”

“Oh, we know. We have an appointment.” I ambled right up to him, attempting to appear as if I belonged.

The guard sighed, clearly having a super interesting show or game to get back to in his little hut. “I don’t have any appointments down for today. Without an employee ID, I can’t let you through.”

“You don’t understand, Casper Rothian invited me here himself. I won an in-game contest and he asked me to come here this weekend. My name is Kat Thomas. If you just call up to him, I promise you, he’ll want to see me.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t call Mr. Rothian any time a couple of kids try to get in here.”

“I can prove it.” I pulled up the email on my phone that showed I was a winner and turned it so he could see. Security guard Rick—based on the name tag I had just noticed—took the phone from me and read over the email.

“These kind of things are always arranged in advance. No one’s told me about it.”

I waved my hand in dismissal. “It was all really last minute. I only won last night, as you can see from the email, but Mr. Rothian said he was traveling on business soon, so he wouldn’t be able to meet me for months if I didn’t come this weekend. I told him I didn’t know if I could make it for sure, and he promised me that if I made the effort to get here today, that he’d see me. Just call him, and he’ll confirm.”

When Rick handed me back my phone, the wariness had left his face. “It is true that Mr. Rothian is traveling a lot. But still, he would’ve had a secretary leave your name with me.”

Alex spoke up. “I’m sure one little call isn’t going to hurt anything. If it turns out we’re not telling the truth, you have my word that we’ll turn around and head right back in the direction we came from.”

Rick still seemed unconvinced. Time to take matters in a more drastic direction. I pulled out my phone and navigated to The Codex, the largest fan site for
Wizards and Fae
. Typing furiously with my thumbs, I didn’t even look up as I spoke. “Fine, I’ll just take to the forums. I’m sure the rest of the players will love to find out how this contest is just a scam. And Rick is R-I-C-K, right? Let me ask you Rick, have you ever been the target of an angry online mob? But don’t worry, most of the ire will come down on Casper. You know how us Internet folk love to find out what our online heroes are really like. Turns out Casper likes to put on a good face for the cameras and at conventions while treating the players who made him wealthy like crap. I get that. In fact, I’m pretty sure one of my guild mates is a reporter. I’ll make sure to send him the link to my post.”