Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats) (5 page)

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.”

Kiarra blinked. “Naughty?”

Neena gave Jaxton a sly glance. “He may not be able to control himself around such a beautiful

woman.”

“Neena,” Jaxton growled in warning.

Neena laughed and blew him a kiss. “No worries, Kiarra. I wouldn’t leave you with someone

dangerous, although I think a
little
danger makes life interesting.” Neena moved her gaze to Jaxton. “Of course, others just need a kick in the posterior once in a while to keep them in check.”

Ignoring Neena, Jaxton looked Kiarra straight in the eye and motioned forward. He could only imagine

what she thought of him now.

She hesitated, but after Neena gave her a gentle push, she came a little closer. The unsure woman now in front of him was the exact opposite of the woman who’d stabbed him. There was strength in there

somewhere and he would have to extract it the only way he knew how—by pushing her boundaries.

Jaxton put out his hand. “We’ll start training tomorrow morning.”

Chapter Five

The room swayed back and forth as Kiarra struggled to stay upright and focus on what Neena and

Jaxton were saying to each other. Between shaking off the aftereffects of the tranquilizer, her lack of food, and an overload of new information, Kiarra was exhausted.

She’d contemplated sitting down on the nearby bed, but then Neena had given her a push and now

Kiarra stood in front of Jaxton, his hand out, telling her they’d start training tomorrow.

Taking his hand would make things easy. Yet due to her exhaustion—or maybe fueled by her newfound

hope, Kiarra didn’t know—but she ignored his proffered hand and blinked to bring his face back into

focus. “I haven’t agreed to stay with—let alone work with—you yet.”

He retracted his hand. “It’s not open for discussion. I’ll train you, and when you’re ready, you’ll work for DEFEND. Think of it as the price for rescuing you from the AMT.”

So bossy
. “I never asked you to rescue me…” She paused as the room started to spin. Kiarra closed her eyes, hoping that the lightheadedness would pass.

Lights danced across the inside of her eyelids. She took a deep breath, smelling a familiar combination

of soap and clean male, but the dizziness didn’t go away. She knew what was coming. This had happened

before, a few months ago, after a grueling three days of medical tests.

She was going to faint.

Kiarra opened her eyes, but ignored Jaxton’s outstretched arms and tried to take a step toward the bed.

If she could just sit down a minute and put her head between her legs, she could regain her composure and avoid showing any more weakness in front of Jaxton and Neena. For some reason, she wanted to show

them that she could be strong if she tried hard enough.

She took another step toward the bed, but faltered, her knees buckling. Warm hands grabbed her arms

before she blacked out.

“Kiarra, lovey, focus.”

The darkness around her gradually faded as light came over the horizon, highlighting the trees of the
surrounding forest. Birds chirped in the distance, their song joined by the bubbling creek somewhere
behind her.

Kiarra looked around and realized that she was standing in the middle of a forest, with no memory of
how she’d gotten there. She heard a whistle and looked up to see Neena perched in a tree, her blue cape
swirling in the nonexistent wind.

“Neena?”

Neena smiled. “Do you like my cape? It makes me feel a bit like a superhero.”

The woman swung down from the branch and flourished her cape before taking Kiarra’s hand in hers.

“Yes, my dear, it’s me, Neena. You fainted, but a little unconsciousness is nothing to me.”

Kiarra frowned. She didn’t remember fainting. Was she dreaming?

Neena said, “Of course you are, my dear. Few people can converse with the unconscious. Believe me,

I’ve tried.” Neena tilted her head. “But let’s get serious for a moment. If you ever need to talk to me, you
can contact me through your dreams. It will take a little training to learn how to do it properly, but if you
think of me whilst dreaming, I will try to get in touch.”

“How can you—”

“That explanation is for another time. Just remember, think of me in your dreams and I will try to
answer.”

Neena snapped her fingers and the forest disappeared.

Kiarra opened her eyes. She was back in the blue bedroom where she’d first woken up, except now the

room was low-lit, with shadows on the walls. “It was only a dream,” she said with a sigh of relief.

“Was it one of the good kind of dreams where you wake up all hot and bothered? Those are my

favorite.”

A light turned on, Kiarra shot up in the bed, and her head exploded with pain. Her hands flew to her

pounding head, but after a few deep breaths, she was able to focus again. She opened her eyes to see a man with light brown skin and short, spiky hair sitting across from her. He seemed vaguely familiar. “Who are you?”

The man picked up a blue covered cup with a straw and walked toward her. He was shorter than Jaxton,

but broader through the shoulders. “It figures that the boss forgot to mention me. He doesn’t like the

competition, especially since women prefer me ten to one.” He grinned and winked. “I guarantee a good

time.”

She frowned. His wink and full-on grin made her suspicious. “Are you teasing me?”

He whistled and shook his head. “We’re going to have to work on your sense of humor.” He held out

the covered cup. “I’m Marco, the boss’s right-hand man.”

She gingerly took the cup, but didn’t drink as she eyed the easygoing man. Marco’s manner was

definitely different from the guards and researchers inside the AMT.

Marco held out his hand and wiggled his fingers. “If you’re worried that the smoothie is poisoned, give

it here. I’ll drink first to prove that it’s safe, and then when you take a sip, I’ll revel in our indirect kiss.”

Blood rushed to Kiarra’s cheeks, and unsure of how to respond to that, she held out the cup to Marco.

He winked at her as he placed his lips around the straw and took a deep pull. He sat back, smacked his lips and said, “Tasty. Try it for yourself.”

Kiarra took a few sips; the tart, fruity taste was almost too much for her taste buds.

Now that her stomach was no longer rumbling, she eyed Marco and decided that a man with laugh lines

around his mouth and crinkles at the corners of his eyes probably wouldn’t strike her for asking questions.

She cleared her throat. “Where are Jaxton and Neena?”

He waved his hand. “Neena’s gone home and Jaxton is busy. I’m here to take care of you and make sure

you eat something.” He stared pointedly at her cup.

Kiarra took another sip to avoid replying right away.

She needed to continue her earlier conversation with Jaxton, but had a feeling he would call her bluff.

While she was trying her hardest to be the woman she was inside her head, things weren’t going to plan. No doubt Jaxton would use her fainting and display of weakness to his advantage.

Aware of Marco’s gaze, Kiarra pulled the straw from her lips and decided to work on at least one of her

weaknesses with this man by trying to talk to him. “Will Jaxton be stopping by later?”

Marco placed a hand over his heart, an exaggerated look of pain coming across his face. “You wound

me, madam. Are you that keen to get rid of me?”

Kiarra nearly spat out her drink at his absurdity. Marco winked and said, “No worries, boss man should

be around later today.”

But she was anxious to know what her immediate future held. Kiarra was about to press further when a

man’s scream reverberated down the hall, making her jump. “What’s that?”

Another scream rent the air and Marco sighed. “If he keeps this up, we’re going to have to drug him

unconscious again.”

Kiarra remembered the man she’d glimpsed during the escape, the one unable to hold himself up. That’s where she’d seen Marco before; he’d been the man standing in her doorway, struggling to keep her cell

neighbor upright. “Are you talking about the other person you rescued from the AMT?”

Marco shrugged one shoulder. “I see no reason to lie. He’s not doing as well as you.”

Another scream and a chill went down her spine. The sound reminded her of some of the other AMT

inmates.

A man clawing his own face, blood running down his cheeks; a pregnant woman throwing her belly

against a counter and then the floor; a catatonic child being led down a hallway.

And many of their screams had been identical to the ones now echoing down the hallway.

There was a possibility that the screaming man was too far gone to ever fully recover. But there were

techniques to help ease his pain and bring him some measure of peace. Jaxton and his men, however,

probably didn’t know what they were or how to treat him.

Kiarra had always wanted to help the tortured prisoners she’d seen inside the AMT, but had never been

allowed the opportunity. Yet she was no longer inside the AMT, meaning that those restrictions didn’t exist here. She could finally reach out and ease someone’s pain. Most of all, she could be useful.

She didn’t care if Jaxton would get angry at her or not—she had to do something to help.

Kiarra jumped up from the bed, faltered a second before finding her balance, and headed for the door.

Marco grabbed her wrist and Kiarra prevented herself from flinching as he said, “Whoa, wait a second.

Where do you think you’re going?”

Kiarra made a fist and pointedly looked at his grip on her arm. “Let me go.” She raised her gaze to meet Marco’s eyes. “I know how to calm him without the use of drugs.”

Marco stayed silent, the grins and winks gone. He might like to joke around, but it was obvious that he

took his duty seriously. Kiarra opened her mouth to try and convince him some more, but he beat her to it.

“Fine. But if this is a trick, just know that I will handle you myself. Are we clear?”

The command in his tone surprised her, but Kiarra nodded and Marco directed her down the hall. She

heard another scream, but this time it was louder, coming from the door to her right. Marco made a gesture with his hands, indicating for her to go inside. Kiarra took a deep breath and opened the door.

The screams were high-pitched, but she resisted the urge to cover her ears. She took in the scene in

front of her and instantly understood the root of the problem.

Jaxton stood next to a bed, trying to hold down a thrashing man, but every time Jaxton touched the

man, he screamed again. The sound went straight to Kiarra’s heart and something inside of her clicked into place. She wasn’t defenseless any longer. This time she had the power to help.

She gathered her courage before shouting, “Don’t touch him!” and charged straight at Jaxton.

Garrett was screaming again.

Jaxton rushed to his brother’s side and tried grabbing his hand, but Garrett started to scream louder at the contact. Garrett bucked and nearly punched Jaxton in the face with his free hand, forcing Jaxton to pin both of Garrett’s sweat-covered arms to the side.

What the fuck happened to Garrett inside the AMT?

At this rate, he was going to have to drug his brother again. Jaxton racked his brain for some other way to calm his brother and break through his wild haze. Jaxton and Garrett had been best mates growing up.

Surely he could think of something.

His brother continued to squirm, but Jaxton refused to pity Garrett’s condition. The Ward family were

always blunt and honest with each other, and Jaxton hoped that business as usual would bring Garrett back from the edge. Jaxton struggled to keep his brother in place as he said, “Garrett, mate, you need to calm the fuck down.”

Garrett only bucked harder. With his arms restrained, Garrett kicked out with his legs and Jaxton grunted when a kick landed on his thigh.