Page 29 of The Thief

“I got it from this guy who sold cheap weapons on the black market. He told me it had two fangs’ worth of Chitah venom—enough to paralyze a Mage. It was shaped like a long pendant, and you pull out a small injector. After I jammed it into his neck, he died on me. I was horrified. All that twitching, writhing, and frothing at the mouth.” My eyes stung at the onslaught of memories that had racked me with guilt for months. It had given me nightmares and shook me to my very core. “I don’t think I’ve ever killed anyone before.”

Bear stretched the black sleeve around his wrist. “If he was a young Learner, the venom could have easily killed him. But sometimes those dealers don’t measure that shit out precise.”

“I feel awful about it. He was a real a-hole, but he didn’t deserve to die just for grabbing me.” My lower lip trembled, and salty tears clung to my lashes. “When I first got here, I was in denial—afraid that Regulators would come knocking and execute me. All the work on the property distracted me, but now that things have slowed down, I’ve had more time to reflect on it. Maybe that’s part of why I took a waitressing job. It’s a distraction.”

Bear scooted over and pulled me into an all-encompassing hug. “You can’t second-guess yourself. If you think your life’s in danger, you’ve got to fight for it. I’m sorry you had to do that,” he said, smoothing his hand down my back. “Even bounty hunters never forget their first kill. It sticks with you.”

I sniffed and drew back.

Bear furrowed his brow. “Why were you carrying an illegal weapon? You can’t get locked up for impalement wood or stunners, not unless you’re selling them. But Chitah venom? That’ll land you in hot water.”

“You don’t understand how it feels to not remember anything about your life. It’s like this cavernous hole and you don’t know what kind of demons might crawl out of it. Protecting myself was instinctual. Without knowing who I once was, how could I know if there might be enemies after me? That’s why I joined a pack—for protection.”

His arm returned to the back of the couch. “After that, you ran?”

“No. I called the cleaners anonymously and hid in the bushes.”

“Why?”

“Because I didn’t plan a murder? I don’t know. Everything happened so fast, and I wanted to make sure they cleared the scene and took care of his body.”

“Even if it put you at risk?”

“Part of me wondered if he might still be alive. I checked his pulse, but I’m no healer. Maybe he just looked dead and he’d snap out of it. But he never did. By the time I was ready to leave, it was late, and someone had towed my scooter.” I leaned in and looked at him questioningly. “Tak said he didn’t care about our past—he promised he wouldn’t ask or hold it against us. Remember?”

Bear nodded. “He did.”

“He said as long as we had never harmed women or children, we could stay in his pack. I sure as heckfire didn’t do anything like that, but I guess it’s all the same. This has to be related to Argento. We all have the same hair, and that Mage kept mentioning his Creator. If he was talking about Argento, I bet he wants justice… or revenge. How do you think he found me?”

“Whenever a Mage is involved—especially a new one—they locate their Creator to see how they want to handle the remains. Argento probably came down to ID the body and review evidence. If that was his Learner, he would have been entitled to see everything.”

Learners were what they called a Mage’s progeny. Every Mage had common and rare gifts, and one of the rare gifts was being a Creator. Only Creators could make another Mage by putting their light into them in some special way, but they could only turn humans and Relics. Creators were rare, so the Mageri—their higher body of law—protected them. Killing a Creator was against the law. They had rights if something happened to one of their Learners. That’s what had me shaking.

“Cleaners do perimeter checks,” Bear went on. “They document vehicles and identify witnesses. They’re extremely thorough. It would have taken time for him to research, though.” Bear faced forward and reclined his head. “If his progeny wasn’t independent, he’s entitled to reparations. Did the Mage look surprised when he first saw you in the house?”

I thought back. “I’m not sure.”

Bear raked his fingers through his beard. “Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. Maybe he was looking for you. What are the odds his Learner was dealing with the same banker?”

“My stomach hurts.”

Bear stood and stretched out his hand. “Join me for dinner.”

A smile touched my lips, and I put my hand in his. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

“N-no, ma’am. It’s just that… w-we’re already here.”

“I’m only teasing.” I let him pull me to my feet, then I turned my gaze up to my handsome packmate. “Do you think I’ll have to leave the pack?”

“Over my dead body.” He inched closer. “I’ll be mighty pissed if that happens, and I’ll fight Tak on it. You were protecting yourself. But you need to talk to this Mage and figure out if he wants compensation for the loss of his Learner. I have my doubts about that.”

“Why?”

“His Learner said you stole something.” Bear led me to the door by the hand, his tone gentle but firm. “We can’t deal with Argento until we find out how you two know each other and what his motive is.”

I clutched Bear’s arm and hugged it as if it were a life preserver. “I don’t know what I’d do without you. It feels good to talk about this without being afraid of what you’ll say.”

Bear stopped and gently lifted my chin until our eyes met. “You don’t ever have to be afraid of me.”

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