Blaze of Secrets (Asylums for Magical Threats 1)

In the side margin there was a note in the same handwriting as the title page, and it said: And they’ll have to deal with me.

That comment fit with what she knew of Neena’s personality, but it wasn’t the least bit helpful in revealing more about DEFEND.

Kiarra flipped a few pages and stopped when she came to one filled with scribbles in the margins. She read the handwritten part first:

A shifter will be needed to set things in motion. Coercion may be necessary.

Unsure of what a shifter was, Kiarra frowned and looked at the title printed at the top of the page: Latent Roles and Uses.

Latent what? Maybe if she read from page one, all of this would start to make more sense. Kiarra flipped back to the beginning, determined to find out how DEFEND functioned and figure out why Neena expected her to skirt the rules.

Chapter Eleven

Hours later, when the sun began to set, Kiarra decided to tuck away her books and find something to eat. Neena’s handwritten comments were giving her a headache; the woman had no lack of confidence, to the point of being haughty.

The book mostly detailed the hierarchy, departments, and restrictions on outside communication. DEFEND seemed like a good organization on paper, but then most Feiru probably thought the AMT compounds sounded good too. In other words, she wasn’t ready to make a decision just yet.

Her stomach growled and Kiarra took that as her cue to hurry up. She wanted to tuck the books away safely in her room before using the kitchen. She barely remembered how to fry an egg, but all that mattered to her was the fact that she could eat when she wanted, without following a timetable.

After stashing the books in her room, Kiarra paused at the top of the stairs and looked down the dark hallway toward Garrett’s room, wondering how he was doing. She didn’t want to wake him up and maybe cause another fit, but seeing to his care was the only thing she seemed capable of doing with any skill; it was the only thing she didn’t have to rely on Jaxton to teach her.

Besides, Kiarra could always hum Garrett back to sleep if she woke him up.

Counting the doors, she arrived at the one that was Garrett’s and put her ear to the door, but there was only silence. She turned the knob, grateful to find it unlocked, and gently pushed the door inward. She let out a silent breath when the door opened without a sound, and Kiarra slipped inside.

The curtains were drawn, the material so thick it cloaked the room in darkness except for the glow of a nightlight near the bed. Her eyes grew accustomed to the dark as she scanned the room. Apart from the bed and a few wooden chairs, the room was empty, devoid of any color or signs of life. If Jaxton was planning on using this room permanently for Garrett’s recovery, he’d have to make the decor more homey. Bare walls and sparse furniture would only remind Garrett of his time inside the AMT.

Garrett stirred and Kiarra began humming a section of Holst’s “Jupiter.” The mound of man and blankets on the bed calmed, and that was Kiarra’s cue to sneak back out. She’d have words with Jaxton tomorrow about decorating the room and ask if she could help more with Garrett. Ideas floated around inside her head, and she wanted the chance to try them out.

As she turned toward the door, a movement in the corner caught her eye. She peered carefully, but saw only shadows. The light must be playing tricks on her. But she took another step and this time a dense, dark cloud started to rise out of the shadows. She blinked, but the thick, dark mist kept expanding toward her. While she might’ve just triggered a security defense system, Kiarra wasn’t taking any chances. Looking around, she grabbed one of the chairs and lifted it up just as a woman holding a dagger appeared out of the dark cloud.

The woman lunged at Kiarra, but she smashed the chair as hard as she could at the woman and yelled, “Help!” Garrett started screaming on the bed behind her, but Kiarra kept her eyes on the mysterious woman and watched as she smacked aside the chair, the dagger still in her hand.

She grabbed the other chair in the room, trying to think of what else she could do. Her self-defense lessons hadn’t included how to disarm an attacker.

The woman feinted right then came around Kiarra’s left side. Just as the woman’s dagger came down, a bluish-white blur smashed through the window. Kiarra threw up her arms to protect her face from the flying shards of glass.

The lights came on and Kiarra blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness. Jaxton was standing in the doorway, his gun pointed at the ground. Marco and Darius were right behind him.

She looked to where Jaxton’s gun was pointing and saw two women on the floor, one straddled on top of the other. The top woman had her gun trained on the captured woman’s head.

The gun-wielding woman smashed her prisoner’s head against the floor, rendering her unconscious. She adjusted her aim and pointed her gun toward Jaxton before she said, “Don’t bother with the elemental ambush. It won’t work on me.”

Jaxton’s gun arm didn’t waver. “Who are you?”

The woman turned her head a second, meeting Kiarra’s gaze, but before Jaxton or his men could respond, her head whipped back around.

Something about the woman’s dark hair, dark eyes, and long face were familiar to Kiarra.

Jaxton stepped to the side to allow Darius to pass, but the woman added a second gun to her free hand.

Kiarra blinked at the speed. She hadn’t even seen the woman’s hand move.

“Nice way to thank me for saving your ass, limey.”

“I don’t usually thank people who point guns at me.”

The woman shrugged. “These guns are preventing you from doing something stupid.” She motioned her head in Kiarra’s direction. “Besides, Kiarra can vouch for me.”