Keystone (Crossbreed #1)(41)
“You have really tall shoes,” I said, staring at her chunky boots.
Gem stood up and hopped to the ground, hands on her hips. “A girl my size needs all the boost she can get.”
“What’s your Mage gift?”
She kicked an acorn, and it tumbled across the concrete and disappeared into the grass. “I’m a Blocker.”
“Blocker…”
Her brows rose. “You really don’t know much, do you? I don’t mean that in a bad way, but most Creators teach their Learners the basics. It’s a rare gift, and it just means I can block other gifts, kind of like I have a big ol’ force field around me or something. A Mentalist can’t read my mind, a Charmer can’t seduce me—it’s a form of protection.”
I wondered if I could pull core light from her. Did she know all her limitations? In any case, that was a useful gift for a Mage to have.
She snapped her fingers a few times, light sparking between her fingertips as she looked around. “We better go inside. I feel a storm coming. I’ll race you!”
“Only if you run regular speed.”
Gem took off, her duster flapping in the wind behind her. I couldn’t help myself; I raced behind her, and although she might have used a little flashing to keep my pace, I still beat her by an inch.
“I don’t see what’s wrong with the clothes I have,” I complained, holding up a black shirt.
Gem replaced it with a red one. “There’s nothing wrong with your clothes; you just don’t have enough of them. Viktor pays us good money, so treat yourself. Ooh, this one’s pretty.”
“I don’t do pretty.”
“Look at the sheen on it. You have to get a few nice things in case he sends us to a party or something.”
“It doesn’t sound like he’s going to be sending me anywhere in the near future, let alone a party.” I looked around at row after row in the consignment shop and realized if I didn’t start filling my basket, we were going to be here until the next ice age. “Fine. I’ll get the shirt, but I draw the line at sequins.”
Gem added the blouse to the basket and veered off toward the handbags. When she held up one that had a purple butterfly in rhinestones, I knew I probably wouldn’t see her for another thirty minutes.
“Enjoying yourself?” Niko asked.
“I guess. I’ve decided to let Gem pick out my clothes so when Viktor decides to give me the boot, I can just leave them with her. My bag won’t fit all this.”
A woman across from me flashed her eyes up at Niko for the second time, as if she were mentally chanting for him to make eye contact with her. I hooked my arm in his and led him away.
“Do you always wear black?” I asked him.
Even Christian had color in his wardrobe, and I only knew that because I’d peeked in his drawers before leaving his room that morning and spied a few beige shirts and other muted colors. I’d been curious what Vampires kept in their rooms, and it was his fault for having left me alone in there.
“It makes it easier to dress myself,” he said matter-of-factly, resting his hand against a nude mannequin. “I don’t have to worry about looking like a fool in public.”
“No, you don’t,” I said, pulling his grip away from the mannequin’s boob. “Let’s go outside. I’ll buy you an ice cream cone.”
“What about Gem?”
I glanced back, spotting her in front of a mirror with three scarves around her neck. “She can finish shopping for me. I gave her most of my money.”
As we headed toward the front, the brunette with the cropped hair gave Niko a regretful glance before she continued shopping for tube tops on clearance.
Niko kept his gaze downcast. Unless you were speaking directly to him, it wasn’t easy to tell that he was blind. He got around quite well, didn’t use a cane or guide dog, and had a confident air about him.
Before we stepped outside, he pulled his black hood over his head so that it obscured his eyes.
No one paid any attention. For one, it was gloomy weather. Aside from that, we were on the Breed side of town. People dressed all kinds of ways in this area, especially with so many immortals who held fast to their historical attire. That might explain why Cognito has always been known as an eccentric city and, because of its reputation, wound up attracting humans who were artists and free spirits. I’d heard many immortals in the bars talking about the good old days when Cognito was inhabited only by Breed, and human settlers lived on the outskirts of town or in isolated pockets. Immortals had been claiming and purchasing real estate over the past few centuries, and that made it easier to sell businesses and houses exclusively to supernaturals. In time, the human population grew and so did their form of law and government, and Breed had to relinquish some of the property so they wouldn’t get noticed. Sometimes humans wandered into our shops and cafes, but most of the clubs and restaurants embraced the reservation system to keep them out.
Viktor had given me cash in addition to the credit card, so I paid the street vendor a few bills and handed Niko a vanilla cone with a hard chocolate shell.
He licked it and then jerked his head back. “What kind of ice cream is this?”
I laughed and walked toward the corner of the building near the alley. “Bite into it and you’ll see.”