Keystone (Crossbreed #1)(73)
“Come sit with me,” he said, his posture straight, his face serene. “And remove your shoes.”
After tossing my sneakers next to my bag and peeling off my socks, I crossed the room and sat down in front of him. I noticed a small hole in my charcoal leggings and wondered if it was possible for me to own an article of clothing that wasn’t stained or ripped.
He smiled. “You chose not to sit like me.”
“How did you know?” I glanced at my right leg extended out and the left tucked beneath me.
“I pay attention. There is no right or wrong in your actions; they only tell me things.”
“You should have seen my actions last night. A Mage was hitting on me until he got a good look at my fangs.”
Niko frowned. “His loss if he couldn’t see how beautiful your light is. You’re different than most, you know. I’m not sure if that’s because you’re a halfy or—”
“A halfy?” I leaned back on my left hand. “Did you just make that up?”
“Crossbreed sounds like an experiment.”
“How do you like Mampire? Or maybe a Vage?” I said with a snicker. “Crossbreed isn’t offensive; it’s what I am.”
He positioned his hands so that one was cupping the other, and I wondered if I’d interrupted his meditation. “Tell me why you embrace your Mage side more than the Vampire.”
I reached over my shoulder and scratched my back. “Um… I don’t know.”
“Yes you do.”
I waited for a beat before answering. “There’s not much to tell. My Vampire maker didn’t take me under his wing.”
There was more to the story than that. My maker deceived me—made me believe that I was special and he wanted a friend he could talk to as easily as he could with me. But he abandoned me when I needed him the most. I’d never talked about it with anyone, and I wasn’t sure when I’d be ready to. I had given up everything—the only life I’d known—and in the end, it was for nothing. Discarded, I ended up in the wrong hands, and that was the second half of my tragic tale.
“You feel betrayed,” he said. “Sorry, it’s in your color.”
“No offense, Niko, but I really don’t want this to become a therapy session. I’m taking advantage of an opportunity to improve my skills. Fighting, Mage gifts—all of it. I’ve never had anyone teach me the way they’re supposed to, so there’s a lot I don’t know.”
“Such as healing from sunlight. But that I can’t teach you without the sun.”
I grinned. “If you can’t see, why do you need sunlight to explain how the process works? Walk me through it as if we were sitting on the beach.”
“I’d rather do this together because if you inadvertently draw too much, I’ll be there to help. If you try it alone, I cannot guarantee your safety.”
I wrung my hands, crestfallen. If he didn’t at least explain the process, I might never find out how it’s done. “I’ve only got seven days. I don’t have time to wait for the weather to clear up.”
Niko inclined his head and then held out his hand, palm facing up. I placed my hand over his, watching apprehensively.
“Sunlight holds more power than anything you can imagine,” he began. “You can draw healing light from a Mage, and it requires concentration to filter it from regular light. But usually what happens is another Mage will be the one to offer it, so there is nothing you need to do on your part. See?”
I glanced down at the luminescent tendrils of blue light threading between our fingertips. A small taste of healing light entered my body, mending my cut lip.
Niko withdrew his hand. “If you had any superficial wounds, then that would be enough to heal them. It is preferable to draw healing light from the sun because it’s not addictive the way Mage light is. But you should never pull sunlight.” Niko worried his bottom lip, his eyes searching. “It’s already touching your fingertips, crawling against your skin, wanting inside. You have control when the exchange begins, but you need to filter it, creating a channel so narrow that only the smallest drop can get in. Have you ever put a strong magnet against a refrigerator?”
“Yes.”
“It snaps right to it. That’s what happens when you let the light in. It’s quick, powerful, and unstoppable. But you can slow down magnets if you know what’s coming—brace yourself, tense your muscles, concentrate, and draw back when you feel the connection happening.”
It was beginning to make sense. “So what you’re saying is to pretend like sunshine is water in a faucet and the handle is out of control—something I have to fight against to make sure only a drop gets out.”
“You got it. You’ll know the moment the channel is open; it’ll rush through you like nothing you’ve felt before. Too much will knock you out for days. Many young Learners fear the sun after their first failed attempt. Those who do it improperly can actually kill themselves.”
I put on my science hat. “But the sun is everywhere. Even when it’s hidden behind a cloud, light is all around us. Why do we have to wait for a sunny day?”
“Because it’s indirect, filtered light. It is true the energy is still there, but it’s not what a Mage requires. I can only explain what I know. We have no windows in here, so you’ll have to tell me if there’s a day of sunshine for us to practice with.”