“Come on, come on. Please work,” I mutter as the vehicle rocks and sways, sending me bouncing against the walls.
I hug my legs to my chest, breathing loudly, waiting for either the ground to collapse or for the patrol to yank open the compartment door. Neither of those things happen, though. Instead, the vehicle suddenly grows still.
Does that mean it worked? Did the guys get the shield down and transport us away from Shimmerland?
I almost reach over and push open the compartment door to see, but exhaustion suddenly overtakes me and my eyelids lower shut.
Chapter 15
The softest surface presses against my cheek. My entire body is so relaxed. I feel so comfortable, so content, so at peace. I feel better than I have for a long, long time. Someone is stroking my cheek, the movement almost sending me back to dreamland. Then reality slaps me across the face.
Someone is stroking my cheek!
My eyes pop open, and I suck in a sharp inhale as I sit up. It takes several blinks to process the scene around me. The deep purple walls, a black hardwood floor, and a dome ceiling painted with glittering silver and violet stars. I’m in the bedroom East created for me. And not only that, I’m in the bed. A bed I just slept in.
“Oh, my worlds, I actually slept in a bed,” I mumble as I rub the sleepiness from my eyes. “Gods, I feel so good.”
“Thank gods you’re awake. We were getting worried about you.”
I startle, whirling around, and find Asher sitting in a chair beside the bed. He still has on the same outfit as he did earlier, but his hair is a mess, strands sticking up everywhere, and dark circles reside under his eyes.
“Hey,” he greets me with a nervous smile, his eyes drinking me in. “How are you feeling?”
“Good, I guess.” I sweep my hair out of my eyes then lift my hand to my cheek. My skin is warmer than usual. “Were you touching my face while I was asleep?”
“Maybe.” He assesses me closely. “Would it bother you if I was?”
“Yes.” I’m not even sure if I’m lying or not; my brain is such a confused mess. “Wait. How did I get here, in this bed? The last thing I remember is being in the chamber and the ground cracking apart, and then I fell asleep. Which seems sort of odd, I guess. I mean, I’ve never fallen asleep on a job before.”
“You weren’t really working for us.” Asher’s gaze never wavers from me, as if he’s searching for something. “But the reason you fell asleep probably has to do with the fact that you used your power for what I’m guessing is the first time. Unless you were lying to us about not knowing what you are. My guess is you’re just as clueless as us.”
I start to nod when his words really hit me. “Wait. I used magic?” I shake my head. “No, I don’t have magical abilities. That stuff I did—the glowing and the ground cracking—that was from the magic you guys put in me.”
Asher cautiously shakes his head as he shifts from the chair to the edge of the bed. “The magic we put in you was simply to confuse the patrol’s radar. There’s no way you could actually have used it. It was your magic that broke the ground and apparently caused some glowing. Although, I didn’t know about that until you just said it.” He starts to reach for me, but then he pulls away, swallowing hard.
The move spikes fear through my veins.
Is he afraid of me now? Do I care?
I do. I don’t even know why.
“Are you afraid of me?” I whisper. “Because of what I am?”
“We still don’t know what you are,” he clarifies. With a shaky inhale, he scoots closer to me. “And no, I’m not afraid of you. East and Arrow aren’t either.” He trails his fingers down my cheek, my jawline, the arch of my neck. “We do need to find out what you are, though.”
“But with …” I sigh, leaning away as he presses his fingers to my throbbing pulse. Despite how much my body seems to enjoy him touching me, I need some space, need to keep a clear head, need to remember why I’ve always avoided getting close to anyone. Need to remember he’s a genie.
Although, the latter doesn’t seem as important anymore. Sure, Asher can annoy the shit out of me, but I’m not certain I hate him as much as I did when we first met. Okay, maybe I don’t even hate him at all. Not even a little.
Like. Yes, that’s what this is. I like Asher like I like Jason. Like I like Easton and Arrow. That’s not a big deal. Like is fine. Love is what’s dangerous.
Asher’s brows furrow. “What’s wrong?”
I waver, wanting to keep my question to myself. But I’ve never been good at keeping my trap shut.
“It’s just that, with all the problems I’m causing you guys, why are you even bothering to find out what I am?” I hug my legs to my chest and rest my chin on my knees. “Wouldn’t it be easier to just find a different—real—human to be your thief?”
Asher cocks a brow. “You don’t want to be in the bargain anymore?”
I shake my head. “No, I want Jason to stay alive and I want to stay alive, too … It’s just that I don’t see how I can help you if I have the Worlds Patrol after me.”
“The Worlds Patrol isn’t going to find you anytime soon—we made sure of that. And you could still help us, depending on what you are.”
“But what if I can’t? What if I’m useless?” Will he cancel the bargain and strike Jason and me dead?
He drags his teeth along his bottom lip, a smirk playing at his lips. “Well, even if you can’t, you’re still not completely useless to us.”
The wicked gleam in his eyes should make me want to keep my lips zipped, but again, I stress, I’m not very good at that.
“Why?”
His smile breaks through. “Because we could always use a fun little toy to play with while we’re traveling for the tour and collecting those objects.”
Glad to see we’re back to that. Honestly, I’m kind of relieved. The serious demeanor he had when I woke up was sort of throwing me off balance.
“Good to know you’re still a mean, old genie.” I bat my eyelashes innocently at him.
He leans toward me, his eyes a thunderstorm of smoke. “And it’s good to know you’re still a smartass.” Then he picks me up and flings me over his shoulder as he strides out of the room.
“Hey, I thought we already talked about you not carrying me,” I whine. “Put me down.”
“And I thought I already made it pretty clear I’ll carry you if I want to.” He storms down the hallway, taking long, determined strides.
I growl in frustration. “Where are you even taking me?”
“To the living room.”
“Then, is it really necessary for you to carry me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“Oh, for the love of gods, you’re so annoying.”
“So are you.” He sets me down on the sofa then steps back, crossing his arms. “I think deep down, though, you like it.”
I roll my eyes, but he only grins.
“You know what? You’re—” I squeak as a pair of arms loop around me from behind.
I relax a smidgeon—and let me stress the smidgeon part—when East’s faerie scent touches my nostrils.
“I’m so glad you’re all right.” He leans over my shoulder to kiss my cheek then hops over the back of the sofa, landing on the cushion beside me, sitting so close he’s practically sitting on my lap.
I start to scoot away, but he slides his wing behind me and holds me in place. I give up, which might be a first for me, but I’m tired, okay?
“You were worried I wasn’t going to be okay?” I raise my brows at East.
“We weren’t sure. You were pretty out of it when we found you. And to make the ground break like that … it had to have taken a lot of power.” He stares at me in awe. “How did you do it, sweetheart?”
“I hit the ground with my palm. The first time was by accident, but when I realized what I could do, I thought it could be a good distraction.” I shrug, pretendi
ng to be all calm on the outside when really, uneasiness stirs inside my chest.
I have power. I’m not human. I cracked the ground apart with my hand. The Worlds Patrol is after me. And just a few days ago, I thought I was only a human.
How am I supposed to deal with this?
“You’ll learn to accept it. It’ll just take some time.” Asher takes a seat on the other side of me. Like Easton, he’s sitting way too close.
I grimace. “Did I say my thoughts aloud again?”
Asher grins. “You have a habit of doing that.”
“Apparently.” I sigh heavily, sinking back into the sofa. “So, what am I supposed to do now until we find out what I am? And where are we even?”
“On my old planet.” Arrow wanders out from the hallway with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He offers me a shy smile before lowering himself onto the edge of the coffee table across from me, his knees pressing against mine.
Trapped. That’s the first word that comes to mind when I take in the situation. With Arrow in front of me, and Asher and East at my sides, it feels like I should be flipping out. Instead, I feel strangely content, as if maybe their issues with invading my personal space have finally started to not bother me so much.
“We’re on Steel?” I ask, shock ringing in my tone. “Like, right now?”
“Yes. Or, well, hovering above it.” Arrow nods at the hologram.
I turn around and my jaw about smacks my knees at the sight of a giant orb made of gadgets, steel, and liquid bronzed rotating amongst the seemingly endless stars outside.
“It’s pretty,” I whisper honestly.
“Pretty things can be dangerous,” Asher says, slipping an arm behind me. “Don’t let the flashy gadgets of Steel give you the false illusion that you’re safe, because you’re not.”
“You say that like I’m going there.” I cast a glance at the three of them. “Wait. Am I?”
They trade a wary look at each other, then Asher fixes his gaze on me while twisting a strand of my hair around his finger.
“After what happened in Shimmerland, we decided that it might be best if we stick together until we can figure out if the patrol is going to continue chasing us or put a bounty on us.”
“What if they do?” I question. “Won’t that ruin you guys’ mission to take down Asher’s father and those other corrupt paranormals you’re going after? And what about Shimmerland? We were supposed to get that rock thingy while we were there.”
“If the patrol comes after us, we’ll just have to be more careful.” East traces circles on my shoulder with the tip of his wing. “We’ll worry about that, though, after we find out if they are. For now, we need to get the steel books so we can find out what you are and what you can do. Then we’ll loop back to Shimmerland when we’re ready. While we’re here, the patrol will have a harder time tracking us down because the cyborgs make their radars a bit wonky.”
“And,” Asher adds, “after seeing you in action, we decided you might be useful if we need to sneak into any small spaces to get the steel books.”
“You’ll be safe with us.” Arrow’s bronzed lips tilt upward into a reassuring smile. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”
Be safe from whom, though? The cyborgs on that planet, or the three of them? Because all this touching and flirting, I’m starting to feel … Well, I’m not sure, but different comes to mine.
“I’ll go, but on one condition.” I give myself a mental high-five for not sounding breathless.
Asher cocks a brow. “Which is?”
“Stop with all the touching.” Even though my body gripes in protest, I slant forward away from him and Easton. That only puts me closer to Arrow. But he seems like the safest bet right now, appearing more nervous about the touching than I am.
Asher and East exchange an amused look while Arrow heaves a tired sigh.
“Fine, that’s doable.” The smirk on East’s face doesn’t match his words.
I soon find out why when Asher adds, “For now. But I have a feeling you’re going to change your mind about it.”
Then the three of them rise to their feet.
“Okay, who’s ready to steal some steel books?” East asks, rubbing his hands together as his gaze lands on me.
The question makes me feel more in my element. Stealing. Thievery. I’m good with that sort of stuff. It’s all this emotional, touching, confusion that I can’t figure out how to deal with. Stealing will offer me a good distraction from that. Plus, with my newfound powers, I might even be a better thief than I was before.
See? A silver lining to this whole being a freak of nature thing.
Pushing to my feet, I crack my knuckles. “All right, let’s do this.” I throw them a sassy smile.
Asher studies me with his brows creased. “You know what? I have a feeling you might be our salvation or our downfall. I can’t figure out which.” Then he strides toward the door, leaving me to wonder what he meant.
Leaving me to wonder a lot of things.
Instead of wondering about the answers, I focus on what I’m about to do, because that’s much easier.
After Asher pushes a few buttons and the vehicle descends into the planet, Easton takes my hand and guides me to the door.
“Are you ready for this?” he asks me as we reach the door.
I nod with confidence. “Yep.”
Sure, I’ve never been to Steel before, and I’ve heard rumors of how dangerous it is, but if there’s one thing I’m certain of in these worlds, it’s that I never fail when it comes to stealing. Except for maybe when I tried to steal Asher’s lamp. But I’m starting to wonder if that wasn’t necessarily me failing. After all, Jason got to live and I found out I’m not human. Who knows what would’ve happened if I’d been alone when I made that discovery? I’m not sure what I would’ve done. I guess that means that, technically, I’m grateful I got stuck on a world jumper vehicle with a genie, a faerie, and a cyborg.
That thought’s a little unsettling, but oh well, I guess there’s no turning back now.
Yep, there’s definitely no turning back now, I think to myself as I follow the guys off the vehicle and into the unknown.
Jessica Sorensen, Chasing Magic
(Series: # )
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