Keystone (Crossbreed #1)(74)
“I don’t think I can even remember what the sun looks like.” I sighed glumly. “The rain and fog are suffocating.”
He rose to his feet. “Stand up.”
When I did, I balled my hands into fists. Niko was the kind of guy who liked the element of surprise—that much I’d learned about him.
His expression relaxed. “If you thought I was going to attack, you should have struck me first instead of bracing for the attack. I’m going to show you how a Mage fights, and then we’ll test what you’re capable of doing with your energy. You said you can’t flash, so perhaps no one has ever shown you how. It’s possible that your gifts are limited because you’re mixed, but that’s what we’ll focus on today.”
“I want to train with you for as long as possible.”
“And Christian?”
I snorted. “All I can say is it’s a good thing I never joined Keystone and had to partner up with him. Christian is a male slut.”
Niko lowered his head to shield his amusement. “Christian seeks comfort in the external.”
“You should have seen where he was seeking it last night. He doesn’t seem to have standards. Are women nothing more to him than a wall socket to stick his plug in? I’m not exactly sitting around waiting for Prince Charming, but you should at least have feelings for someone you share your bed with.”
Niko paced around me. “Perhaps some men lower the bar because they’re afraid to jump. I’m not to discuss personal matters about the team with you, so let’s rumble.”
Eight hours with Niko taught me two things, and one of them was that I had as much strength in my arms as Olive Oyl. He suggested that I climb escape ladders without using my legs to build up strength or find a free gym in the area and work out on their equipment. I was relying too much on cornering people in tight spaces so that I could either drain their energy or their blood.
The second thing I learned was that I could flash like a real Mage.
Sort of.
He demonstrated how to channel energy and use it in a burst of motion, moving from one place to the next with impossible speed. The first time it happened, I fell to my knees and shrieked with excitement, elated that I was capable of escaping and maneuvering like any other Mage.
Flashing used up energy, like draining a battery, and maybe I had a weaker battery than others. But it was still exhilarating to know that I had unfound talents. He also reminded me that sometimes it took years for hidden gifts to surface.
When he left to shower, I guzzled down two bottles of water and rested on a thin mat, staring at one of the light fixtures on the ceiling. I couldn’t imagine a favor more valuable than this except money, and money doesn’t last as long as knowledge.
The door opened, and I listened to the sound of footsteps approaching. I turned my head and stared at Christian’s black boots.
“I followed the smell of pungent sweat and the trail led me to you.”
I dragged my gaze up to his. “I’m not sure I need you anymore.”
His brows arched. “Is that so? Because there’s something I’ve been vexed about.”
I sat up and swept my hair back. “And what’s that?”
Christian squatted in front of me, his arms resting on his knees. “You said that Vampires were easiest to kill, but the number of bodies we have on file doesn’t match up with your impressive claim. And we’ve never traced a Vampire murder to the Shadow.”
“So? You can’t do math.”
Christian stroked his chin, pinching his whiskers between his fingers. “Tell me exactly how you killed the Vampires. You’re a bright little battery using that Mage gift to pluck the light from another Mage, but that doesn’t work on Vampires.”
Was he serious? “I stake them.”
He crunched on a piece of candy he had in his mouth. “You… stake them. You don’t set them aflame or sever their heads by chance, do you?”
“Do I look deranged?”
One eyebrow arched. “You see, I’ve been giving it a lot of thought. I couldn’t imagine you committing such a gruesome and messy act, and we don’t have anything on record of Vampires burned to death in bathrooms. Most killers stick to a pattern, and if you were cutting off heads, you would have done the same with every Mage you met instead of pulling their light.”
“I’m not a killer,” I bit out.
He stood up and waved his hand. “Semantics. It’s become clear to me that you know absolutely nothing about what you are. Your ignorance is your greatest vulnerability—one that others will be quick to exploit.” He paced a few steps and turned. “You see, a Vampire doesn’t die by impalement wood alone.”
“Through the heart he does.” I stood up and anchored my hands on my hips. “If you stop the heart, that’s the end of the line.”
“One would think,” he said, raising his index finger. “Did you know that you can stake a Vampire through the brain and he can still regenerate once it’s removed? Impalement only paralyzes its victim; it doesn’t kill—regardless of where you put it.”
Sheer horror swept over me.
My God, all the Vampires I’d left behind and assumed were dead! That meant they were probably out there looking for me, and I wasn’t exactly difficult to spot.