Page 11 of Destined to Fight

“If it’s all right with ye, I’d like to explain what I can, and then ye can ask any questions that ye may have. Fabian can help me fill in anything I miss.”

Kelly nodded and hugged her knees to her chest.

“Right then. I’ll start with yer part and how ye came to us, and then we can go into the history of the Arcane. The Star Plaza is the North American regional headquarters for the Arcane government, the Council. There are special protections on the tower to make it appear normal to humans, and they keep all people, even Arcane, from seeing us come and go. That building is only known to those who need to know about it, and it is under the highest level of protection possible. The fact that ye were able to see it and notice its differences, not to mention see us entering and leaving, means that yer not only Arcane, yer extremely powerful. No one has ever seen the Star Plaza in its true form, nor have they seen us around it unless they were allowed to by the Council. I saw ye there the first night ye came, and every night since when we’ve happened to be there at the same time. The power ye felt roll over ye when I looked at ye was my way of testing things out to see how much ye ken, and the sparks in yer fingers are yer response to the power in the building.”

He paused for a moment, looking at her as if to make sure she was okay. She just nodded slightly because she was pretty sure she couldn’t speak at the moment.

“That spark ye feel in your fingers means yer a mage. In human terms, ye might be close to a wizard. Ye have the power to create and wield magic, or ye will after ye go through yer bonding. Mages are born mortal and dinnae come to their powers until they are bonded, usually sometime in their forties or fifties, when the Council deems them ready. Through bonding, become immortal. The males of yer race are called Warlocks. Each mage or warlock is bonded to a single element—earth, air, fire, or water—and some have special gifts such as necromancy or timekeeping. If ye decide to study to become a bonded mage, I can pair ye with a mentor to guide ye through yer studies and bonding. Yer a bit behind the curve, but ye should still consider it because there is something special about yer power. I am offering to provide ye with a place to live as ye study, and I will cover any expenses for yer training.”

When her eyes went wide, he clarified, “I dinnae expect an answer from ye now. I’ll give ye a few days to decide. Now, moving on to other Arcane, I’m just going to give ye a brief rundown. If ye want to ken more about fae, Fabian can tell ye at another time. Other races of Arcane are vampires, shifters, gods, and demons. There are also Witches, but they are mortal and aren’t really Arcane. They just use some of the spells created by mages, and their talents are passed down through family. Shifters are very rare–most Arcane never meet one–and the gods haven’t shown themselves in ages. Mages, warlocks, fae, and vampires are the most common of us. Demons walk among us, but they mostly meddle in small matters, and ye would never ken of their presence unless they wanted ye to.”

He paused to check on her again, and Kelly just nodded. Looking for something to do, she reached for her tea and took a sip to break the awkwardness of the moment. She was at a complete loss for words.

“Some details on vampires, since most of the human ideas of our kind are a bit off: we’re immortal, and we dinnae typically prey on humans. Most of us drink blood from banks now, and it’s rare for any of my kind to kill a human. When our eyes turn black, ye best look away, as we’re likely using mind-control on ye. Some of us have special abilities, like mages do. All of us are extremely strong and have heightened senses. There is more, but I feel like that’s enough for now.”

Kade paused again, and Kelly brought her hands to her face, rubbing it as if that would clear away the fog in her mind—only to stop suddenly when her hand met the massive bump on her forehead. She’d forgotten about that. Vampires, mages, warlocks, fae, demons, gods…it was all too much. Just as she felt she was about to lose it, something bumped up against her leg, followed by a meow. Like it was second nature, she reached down to pet the little one, and he butted his head against her, begging for more attention. She smiled.

“Clyde tends to help in difficult moments.”

Kade reached out to pet the cat too, and she couldn’t help but watch him. How was it that a vampire would have affection for a cat? None of it made any sense to her. As if he felt her watching, his eyes moved up from the animal and met hers. His were filled with questions and the slightest hint of tenderness.

After quite some time in uncomfortable silence, Kelly found her voice. “While I can accept most of this, in time, I don’t understand how I am some special, powerful mage. My parents are normal. My family is normal. I am normal!”

Fabian spoke then. “I can tell you that fate, and maybe even the gods, had a hand, but I will have to do more research to give you a solid answer. My… talent, if you would like to call it that, is to feel certain things and their effect in the past or future. It is very difficult to explain, but I can tell you that you were meant to find us, and you are important to the future of the Arcane. Should you choose to accept your heritage, you will change our world in ways you cannot begin to understand right now.”

She laughed at that. “Thanks, Fabian, no pressure. I really don’t see myself as the change the world type, though, you know what I mean?

“I do, but as you have seen in the past twelve hours, a lot can change, even in a day.”

There was no arguing that point, but it really didn’t give her much to go on.

“When you say it will take some time for you to find out more about my being a mage, how long do you think it will be?” she asked Fabian.

“To find the entire truth of the matter, likely a few months.”

“Forgive me for being a smart-ass, Kade. I know you asked me not to be this way, but I just want to get this all straight. Fabian has offered me his protection, but from what I can tell by the sun, I have about thirty-six hours left of that. You have given me a few days to decide the path of my future, yet I won’t really know if my protection or my future as an Arcane is even relevant for a few months because it’s going to take a long time to figure out who I am and why I never knew about it. Did I miss anything? Please tell me I missed something.”

Kade placed his hand gently on her knee. “I’m sorry. I ken it’s not much time for ye to evaluate things, but I can’y stay in the US much longer, so if ye are to leave with me, ye’d need to go with me in a few days. Fabian’s forty-eight-hour offer of guardianship is customary, and he can explain that another time; I think the two of ye have quite a lot to discuss, in fact.”

“Now I’m leaving with you? You didn’t mention that your offer included migrating to a different country. Fuck, man. Enough is enough. Please just take me back to my car so I can go on my way and make my decision. How do I contact you to let you know when I’ve decided?”

Kelly could barely control her emotions. This was all just too much. Kade seemed to think it was cut and dried, but she had built a life here, no matter how measly it seemed. Her dad was in Dallas too, and she couldn’t just leave him. Not to mention she wasn’t the type to take a free ride from anyone, if that was truly what Kade was offering; there had to be some strings attached somewhere.

Kade hesitated, it seemed like he wanted to add something, but instead, he only answered her questions. “Fabian will go with ye, to fulfill his promise of Guardianship. Ye may call me to let me know what ye decide. I’ll give ye my number.”

“I don’t have a phone.”

He did a double take but caught himself before saying anything offensive. “Right, well, ye can let Fabian know of yer answer. Fabian, I will pay ye for an additional thirty-six hours of Guardianship so that Kelly may have her time to fully contemplate her decision and still reach me with her answer.”

Fabian didn’t even flinch. “Very well, sir.”

Kelly just shook her head and stood up. “Kade, thank you for your hospitality. It’s going to take me some time to consider everything.” She turned toward Fabian and asked, “I assume you’re coming with me then?”

“Where you go, I go.” He stood with a smile and went to the dining room area to grab a coat.

“A trench coat? Even in December, Dallas isn’t cold enough for that.”

“Keeps me from having to use my power to hide the blades from humans.”

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