“I’d appreciate it if you stopped roughing them up before I get to them.” I said dryly as they dropped the accused at my feet.
The two security guards shrugged, the action contrasting the nervous twitching in their fingers. One wrong move and they’d stun anything that spooked them.
No one liked coming here.
My sister would say that the ‘vibe was off.’ Or she would’ve anyway. If they hasn’t locked her away as collateral.
“Just, hurry up and do your thing.” One of the beefcakes whined, a pained expression clouding his face.
“What am I looking for?”
“He’s being accused of murdering his family. House set ablaze. No one got out.”
I looked with renewed interest at the young man at my feet. There was an obvious boot print on a cheekbone, he’d curled into himself as though I would continue the torture.
“That sounds like a clean case. Why need me?”
“Because he has an alibi and a pretty face, so a jury would believe him.” He spat on the floor to his left, “If he’s useful we wanna know.”
Useful. So, they thought he was like me.
“Okay. Give me a day with him. I’ll return him. This isn’t going to be a quick job.”
If I could give the kid time perhaps I’d sleep better at night.
The guards grunted, turning towards the door. Security cards flickered and the door opened, leaving me alone with my new… friend.
I bobbed down to the tangle of limbs at my feet. The way he nursed his elbow I could tell they’d beaten him soundly.
Arseholes.
Frowning, I gently ran a finger down his arm. My runes flared to life under my sleeves, transferring energy to his joints.
He looked up, slowly uncurling himself. Like a butterfly unfurling his wings, the boy elegantly moved into a sitting position. Seeing those silver eyes and angled panes of his face I changed my imagery.
Bird.
His eyes narrowed under his fringe, fighting through the exhaustion clearly clinging to him. He looked like a ruffled bird woken from his nap.
Amused, I watched him settle himself before introducing myself.
“I am Myra Hand. You are here because the government has deemed you both a dangerous person, and a person of interest. I have no interest in guilty or innocent – just the truth. I possess many skills of use to our esteemed government. One of which is the ability to read one person’s mind a day.”
His nostrils flared, refusing to meet my eyes. It allowed me to map out his face, the way his mousy brown hair flopped over his eyes. I had a sense he wore sunglasses a lot.
But he was beautiful in a wraith kind of way. Long limbs, curled, long fingers. He was about my age judging by his chest and shoulder width.
He seemed in no hurry to stand. So, I moved to sit cross-legged in front of him. The change seemed to startle him.
“Why –” he coughed, wiping his mouth on a torn jacket sleeve, “aren’t you scared of me? Most people when they see these eyes,” he pointed with a disgusted air, “they want nothing to do with me.”
“Oh,” I smiled, “You aren’t the scariest, or the most damaged thing in here. You are perhaps the most beautiful, though.”
He snorted. I grinned.
He looked up at me, raising an eyebrow.
At the eye contact an electric current traveled between us, popping my glasses. I took them off in interest, brushing the glass off my shoulder.
The boy grew very still. I could almost feel his heartbeat hammer through the floor.
“You’re… like me.” He breathed. I knew what he was looking at. What my shaded eyeglasses hid to minimize the fear in the security team.
Silver eyes.
“Perhaps,” I shrugged, “We can find out, though. It could be a mutation. They happen time to time.”
He stared at me, truly at me. The blood carved runes burned under my clothes. Curiosity itched at me, unrelentingly wanting to know. I turned from brushing off the last of the glass on my clothes to look back.
And I knew. We both knew we were the same. Something shivered inside of me. It glided over me like a gentle wind against my skin. The walls of the facility melted away until it was just us. I saw fire erupt both inside and outside of him. I heard screaming and wailing so loud I winced.
“What is your name?” I whispered, caught between dreaming and waking.
“Jorden.” He murmured, trapped by me as I him.
“Well, Jorden.” I said, impulsively reaching over and sliding a hand over his ankle. The rune on my hand burned and he flinched. “We have a lot to catch up on.”
Surprised, I looked down to see my healing rune had etched itself onto his flesh. He looked up at me, frowning but flexing his feet, and then a leg. Jorden traced the rune on his skin, watching it spark against his fingers.
“What am I? What are we?” He asked, eyes fixed on the healing rune.
I rolled my shoulders, climbing to my feet. He looked up at the movement, silver eyes alight with interest.
I held out a hand, taking out my keycard from a lab coat pocket with the other, “we are Magi. And I have a day to try and keep you.”
ns 15.158.61.8da2
