Keystone (Crossbreed #1)(17)
Gifts? That was a laugh.
“My Creator didn’t teach me anything.” I pushed off the wall and walked around him. “I can’t flash like a Mage, but I can sense energy. I haven’t tried healing since the time I knocked myself out for two days after pulling in sunlight.”
Niko rocked with laughter and then waved his hand. “Sorry, that was amusing. What about healing with another Mage’s light?”
“I’ve never gotten close enough to a Mage I haven’t killed.”
“Well, that’s reassuring. We’ll test that later. What about rare gifts? We can all heal, sense time, move quickly… but every Mage receives at least one rare gift in their light that not many can do.”
I flattened my back against the wall and reached overhead, gripping a pull-up bar just above me.
Niko tilted his head to the side. “Your energy is shifting colors. What are you hiding?”
“This is worse than getting naked.”
His expression softened. “We’re not here to expose your secrets to the world and make you vulnerable. How would that benefit us? The more we know about each other, the better we can help protect one another and improve our strengths.”
“Is this required?”
“I’m afraid so.”
“Then what’s yours?”
Niko shook his head, strands of black hair floating in front of his face. “You already know one of my gifts, and I don’t want to get sidetracked on conversations about me. Viktor has tasked me to learn what you can offer us.”
He leaned against the wall to my left and remained quiet.
“I can pull energy from a Mage,” I finally said.
“So can we all. That’s called juicing.”
“All the way out.”
He turned on his right shoulder to face me. Niko didn’t stare at me the way other men did. Perhaps I was just as exciting as one of those airport thermal detectors, but it made me self-conscious and I put distance between us.
“You can remove their core light until they’re mortal again?”
“Yep. It’s not always easy to take them down, but once I’ve gained the upper hand, it’s lights out.”
Niko rubbed his smooth chin. “An exceptional gift indeed. In early times, Stealers were hunted—feared because they had the power to remove immortality. It’s a rare gift even among rare gifts. Do you keep their energy?”
“No, God no!” I exclaimed with a shudder. “It stays inside me for maybe a day and then leaks out.”
“Does it make you stronger?”
“I’ve never played around with their gifts. It doesn’t make my energy stronger, but I guess their power stays inside me for a short time.”
“If you can’t flash, are you able to use your energy to attack another Breed?”
“Yes, I can throw energy into other Breeds as a weapon.” I took a seat on a weight bench. “I’m only half Mage, and I suppose mixing two species together diluted things. I guess that ruins the training session you had planned.”
“Hardly,” he said with a crafty smile. “I want to test how well you fight.”
“This shouldn’t take long then. I can’t fight.”
He belted out a laugh and moved toward me. Niko wore all black, except he wasn’t wearing shoes on his feet. “Don’t be so modest. I’m aware of your track record.”
“I carry small weapons and have a few moves I rely on, but I’m not about to embarrass myself when you realize that I don’t fight like a ninja. I have strong legs, so if I get into a tangle, I can hurt a man with these nutcrackers. I lure them into confined spaces, like bathrooms, and my opponents aren’t exactly skilled fighters. I use other means to take them down.”
“Other means?”
I shrugged even though he couldn’t see the gesture. “Usually it’s their stupidity I depend on the most.”
“Are you really half Vampire, or is that just a rumor I’m hearing?”
I jumped when one of the lights above us began to buzz. “It’s true.”
A single brow arched. “So you bite your victims.”
My tone grew defensive. “It works, but I never drink from Vampires; I just stake them up close. They’re horny little bastards, so getting them alone has never been a difficult chore. Their overconfidence is what makes them weak, and most of them respond to a pair of tits and a little lipstick.”
Niko’s expression switched from a fierce warrior to that of a kid who just overheard his first sex story. Maybe I was too déclassé for polite society. I tugged at my drawstring, a little ashamed by how uncouth I’d become over the years.
Niko stretched out his arms. “You might have hidden gifts we have yet to uncover. I’m not convinced that you can’t flash; I just think you must have had an incompetent Creator. We’ll need to test your healing abilities before we begin any sparring. I don’t want to hurt you if you can’t heal. I’m going to run up and talk to Viktor while someone else comes down to test your Vampire skills. Is there anything else you want to tell me regarding your Mage gifts?”
“No, but can you do me a favor?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t bring up my Creator again. That’s not something I want to talk about.”