The Lost Rainbow Mage: Complete Trilogy Edition, page 24
Then his eyes widened abruptly, and he sat bolt upright. He shook his head and tutted loudly.
I flinched at the sudden change in his demeanor. “Is everything all right?”
“Why are you wearing a white belt?” His voice had a hard edge now, and his eyes were flinty and colder than they had been as he looked at my robes.
“Uhhh… It was in my closet.” I drew out the words, fighting the urge to edge away.
He scowled. “Those are for completely new novices.”
I laughed as I ran my fingers over the sash tied at my waist. “That sounds like it could be an accurate description.”
“No.” He stood, his movements abrupt and jerky, nothing like the man from just a few moments ago. He stalked across the room to a dresser against the opposite wall, and he opened one of the drawers before staring into it like he was trying to make a decision
He opened a second drawer then a third, peering into all of them. Occasionally, he reached in before withdrawing his hand empty.
I glanced around the room, trying not to focus on Kiran or his odd behavior. I’d hoped to learn something here that might help me figure out what this place was or how to leave, but so far, I’d only discovered that I was quite hungry.
My stomach rumbled quietly again, and Kiran turned toward me.
“Yes, I think I have the solution,” he said before producing a belt in deep indigo and gesturing toward me with it. “This is what you should wear. It’s far more accurate.” He smoothed the fabric between his fingers, almost a caress, and something about the movement sent a shudder through me. “What do you think?”
I didn’t know what he was asking. “It’s a nice color.” My shoulders lifted in a shrug. The people here were color-coded, but I didn’t know how anything worked. What difference did it make to me? White or indigo.
It was true, though, the purple was vibrant and deep and reminded me of a perfect night sky, the kind that would be littered with stars. And then I was off in imagining painting the planets and nebulae. All because it was a gorgeous color.
He made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. “It’s more than simply a nice color. This is what you must wear each and every time you are by my side.” He paused, but only for a moment. “And you will be by my side a lot. In fact, this is the belt you should wear all the time. We need to ensure that your status here is signaled to everyone. This color denotes who you are.”
All right. I nearly spoke again, but something crazed in his expression stopped me from doing that. There was a slightly wild look in his eyes, but maybe it was contained for now. I got the feeling I didn’t want to accidentally release it. But what the hell did he mean? What status did he think I had here?
Who even was this guy? Coop danced through my mind, and I bit back a whimper. Where was Coop when I needed him? I needed to figure out what happened to Coop. He’d been shot, and I could have healed him. Maybe I hadn’t ever worked with a bullet before, but I was sure I could have helped. Could I ask Kiran? My intuition said no.
I shifted and my beanbag made a rustling sound as the filling smushed together and apart, and I leaned forward. It was time to start asking some questions, because really, it was past time, but there was a light tap at the door. Going along to get along had its limits.
Kiran huffed and glanced between the door and the belt in his hands. “Come in,” he finally barked.
The door opened to reveal Kathleen bearing a tray laden with food. I spotted more bread, and some round things that looked as though they could be cakes.
My stomach grumbled again at the aroma of fresh baking that suddenly filled the room, but Kiran had no interest in Kathleen or the food.
“Change your belt.” He held it out to me. “This is the one you must wear from now on. Everyone must see.”
The reappearance of Kathleen and the food reminded me of when they’d brought breakfast to my room. But one person was missing.
“Where’s Lucian? He should be here, correct?” I guessed the man in black was Lucian, and Kiran’s reaction should confirm or deny. I glanced around, half-expecting the man who wore the black military-style clothing to detach from a wall like a leech, even though there were no shadows for him to hide in.
“What?” For a moment, confusion flashed through Kiran’s eyes, like I’d said something unexpected. Then he shook his head and waved his hand, the belt flapping as he did. “Put the belt on. Kathleen—” The woman flinched as he cracked out her name. “Put the food down and leave.”
She did as she had been bidden, almost curtseying in our direction after she’d placed the tray on a nearby table. Then she scurried out. Shit. I hated how these women were treated and dismissed.
Nevertheless, I’d been right about the baked goods, but there was also fruit and what looked like cheese. If breakfast had been any indication, the food here was very good, and I couldn’t wait to sample some more.
But I was still curious about the second man, the one who hadn’t wanted to leave Kiran’s side earlier, the one who’d almost appeared to give the orders and instructions that Kiran listened to.
I took the belt from Kiran and slipped the white one loose before tying the indigo one in place. Maybe I shouldn’t have been agreeable about the belt, but I still wanted information from the dude. Not only information, but I wanted more freedom, and I wanted to figure out how to free the people here, too. I had to traverse a fine line.
He nodded approvingly and the excited light from before returned to his eyes before nodding at the tray of food. “Please help yourself to food and drink.”
As I perused the small variety of foods on offer, selecting a cake, then two, and some of the fruit, I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Will Lucian be joining us?” I prompted again, still curious about the whereabouts of the stern man.
The corner of Kiran’s mouth quirked, telegraphing his flash of irritation as it tightened his expression for a moment. Lucian pissed him off, and the realization pleased me.
“The Commune is a busy place. Lucian has duties elsewhere. But his whereabouts aren’t for you to worry about. We have more important things to discuss. Things that don’t involve Lucian and his lack of… finesse.” His tone was final, like there was nothing more to say on the subject of Lucian, but my mind continued to work.
‘The Commune’ was akin to the ‘the Facility,’ and Lucian hadn’t seemed like the kind of guy who would just relax and step away from Kiran. Not when it came to me. That didn’t make sense with the way they were acting in my bedroom when I first arrived and they introduced themselves.
I returned to my beanbag and set my plate on the floor beside me as I checked my belt was fastened tightly.
Without warning, Kiran leaned forward and took my hands in his. I froze and barely caught the grimace before it hit my face. His skin was smooth and warm, but I still had to resist the urge to tug away. His grip was surprisingly solid.
As I watched him, his gaze became earnest and imploring. “There’s no easy way for me to break this news,” he said, “so I’m just going to go ahead and say it.”
My throat dried. He had news? What news? Cultish news? Weird, submissive woman, second-class-citizen news? Panic zipped through me. No matter what he thought was going to happen, I wasn’t about to do whatever this dirty old man had in mind.
I’d never met this man before in my life or even heard of him. There was no news he could possibly have for me. Creeping fear turned me cold as I longed for Coop again, the feeling something deep-seated that I couldn’t control.
When Kiran opened his mouth to speak, I almost shook my head. I didn’t want to hear whatever he had to say. But he tightened his grip again, and I couldn’t draw away.
“I’m your father.” The words weren’t rushed, and each of them slammed hard into my chest. “I’ve been searching for you for years.” He broke off and shook his head. “Your mother must have hidden you really well.”
Every whirling thought in my head ground to a halt, and my eyes bulged. The fuck. What the hell had he just said? My mouth opened and closed and opened again. Not what I’d assumed. That wasn’t—Hell. I scowled at the stranger. My father?
My chest hollowed, and a cold space exploded inside me. What was this man—this stranger—even saying? He thought he was my father?
“T-t-hat makes no sense,” I stammered.
He nodded, but his eyes remained sad. “It makes perfect sense. She must have hidden you because I had no idea where you were until word reached me that you’d been taken hostage and were being held in a government facility.” He released me.
So I pulled my hands straight into my lap, tangling my fingers together so he couldn’t take hold of them again. If he tried, I would scream and bite. I was sitting in a room with a madman, but he anticipated my reaction to his declaration.
“You won’t remember me. You couldn’t.” This time, his head drooped, and his eyes glistened as he spoke. “She took you from me very quickly.”
My thoughts pinballed in my head but stayed trapped inside me, the word father screaming through my thoughts.
But that was simple madness. Sure, Mom had been single, but we hadn’t lived life on the run or been hidden from public view. I’d never had a father. Never. I’d never asked. She’d never told. She had been my everything until she died. Eventually, I found Sweetwater and my frozen heart thawed once more. But this? No. I refused to believe it.
Unaware of my thoughts, Kiran continued speaking. “As soon as I knew you’d been taken, I had to get you back and make you safe. Secure you.” He smiled now, his lips easing into the familiar wide grin. The one that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I’ve rescued you to bring you to your rightful place at my side.”
seven
Dammit. No. He wanted me to run his damn cult with him.
Holy hell, I was sitting in a room with a nutcase. Not for the first time, I longed for my little house, my stable job, and my creativity. The ability to police myself and decide my own fate, too. I lifted my chin. I’d get back to that; I would, no matter what nonsense this hippie dude spouted.
I’d traveled to Florida to start a new life. And shit, I was on my third new life since I’d made that decision. The first one had started in Sweetwater—my choice. The second two times were definitely not my choice.
I hadn’t wanted to stay at the government facility, and now I had no desire to stay here, even though it was arguably a step up from the Facility. I didn’t know much of anything about either place, but at least I wasn’t kept in the actual dark here.
Alice scurried through my mind. At least I wasn’t kept in the dark in a cage. Were others? Maybe those unfortunate enough to be assigned white or red belts?
Kiran watched me as I stood and wandered away from him, meandering between the large crystals, pausing briefly in a way I hoped he didn’t see as I basked in the light and power emanating from them.
Since I’d become acclimatized to the room, the energy rippled through me without making me dizzy or sending an ache through me. In fact, I had to hold myself back from calling it into me. I wanted to fill myself with it, grow drunk on it.
The largest crystal summoned me, and I turned to face it as though it were alive. It hummed my name. I frowned, uncertain I’d heard what I believed I had. Crystals didn’t speak. Yet the vibrations in the room seemed to sing Meira.
“Go to it,” Kiran urged. Then he lowered his voice until it turned soothing. Hypnotic perhaps… tempting. “Go on… Go to it. You know you want to.”
He wasn’t wrong. I wanted to stand by the crystal, soaking in the energy from it, embracing whoever I became before it. Let the power fill me. Consume me. I would have burned bright, beautiful, exuding the brightest white from that power.
“You can do it, Meira.” Kiran spoke again, using that same tone. “You have all the control in this room. The power is yours to take. If you are capable. If you even want it.” The last words were a challenge.
But I didn’t look at him. I only had eyes for the crystal as power thrummed through the intricate crystal lattice within it. No, I only watched the crystal, and it felt a little like it watched me. What promises it made. It held so much for me, and I stepped toward it. A small step but without faltering.
“Yesss,” Kiran hissed, drawing out the final soft sound at the end of the affirmation.
I still didn’t turn to look at him or the twisted intent on his face. This moment was for me and the crystal and the rainbows of color visible inside it. All of those colors. There just for me. There for me to take, mold, morph, and send as I willed.
It compelled me forward, almost as though I could feel its welcome. It wanted me as much as I wanted it.
“Don’t stop, Meira. You know what you want, and you know what you can have.” Excitement entered Kiran’s urging now, but his voice was little more than an annoyance that I chose to ignore.
I halted next to the crystal. Energy pulsed from it, and light poured from it in distinct waves I could make out in the air, reminding me of heat rolling off of pavement in the distance. It seemed to know me, and I reached toward it, my movements confident as I touched the craggy tip. Power leaped into me, burst through me, and I gasped.
Shit. My whole body trembled, barely able to hold on to the energy pulsing within me.
Shuffling sounded behind me, and Kiran’s chuckle was closer than his encouraging words had been earlier. “That’s it, Meira, That’s it. Look what you can do. Feel what you can do.”
The power and light flowing from the crystal warmed me, and the energy felt like strength. I was alert and able. Capable. Alive.
I was hyper-aware, too. I turned slightly, so I could see him in my periphery.
Kiran stood behind me, his breathing rapid and harsh, even as he seemed to be trying to calm it. He drew at the air, in long-rasping inhales.
“That’s it.” His voice was hoarse now, as if speaking was a struggle, and his hand grasped my elbow. His eyes glowed. “Yes,” he creaked.
Gritting my teeth, I bit down to keep from crying out as another wave of rainbow magic surged through me.
He hissed then groaned. “Oh, my God, Meira. It’s better than I dared imagine. Can you feel it?” His hold on me tightened, and he pressed closer against my back. “Draw more, Meira. Draw more. Fill me.”
At his words, the energy from the crystal changed, became darker, twistier, and it turned cold. Cold. Dark. Like the doctor… from before… the Facility. No!
I gasped. “I-I-I…” But I couldn’t complete my thought. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like the light power this way. “No!”
I yanked my hand off the crystal, slammed it to my side, and staggered backward as the power holding me upright disappeared in an instant. I sagged and bumped against Kiran’s chest as he steadied me.
“Why did you stop?” He sounded genuinely curious. “It was incredible, child.” Hadn’t he noticed the quality of the power, the shadows creeping into the light?
“The… The connection changed.” I avoided his gaze and shoved my hair over my shoulder, the remaining static cracking beneath my fingertips. “It turned…” Turned what? Shadow? Evil? Dark? Had it been me? Or had it been Kiran? I didn’t know, so I didn’t know how to explain it to him.
“Oh.” Disappointment rang clearly in his one word, and his feet made the slightest of sounds as he moved away from me.
But I was glad he was gone. Something about him being right there, pulling on the energy through me felt… wrong. His touch hadn’t been benign just then. He’d been taking something he didn’t deserve, twisting it somehow, although I couldn’t explain how I knew. But I did know, and I didn’t like it. That path led to another Adrian.
The memory of Adrian made me think of Coop and Locke, and the others at the Facility. What had become of them? What had happened there while I had been unconscious? Were those people imprisoned somewhere here? When would I be free enough to ask?
I studied the crystal again, but the waves of light were gone now, and nothing pulsed. It was simply a crystal once more—not even waiting for me. There was nothing expectant about it anymore.
After peering deeper inside the crystal and noting the rainbows within, I smoothed my fingers over the surface and turned around, refocusing my attention on Kiran.
He watched me from the beanbag he’d sat on again. His eyes burned in an eerie light, and his mouth twisted upward in a sly smile. When nothing happened, his joy slipped an inch.
“Come and join me.” Once more, he patted the beanbag next to him as he expressed his invitation. “You might have a hunger to satisfy or a thirst, perhaps?” His eyes gleamed glassy.
I reached inward, searching for either the need to eat or drink, but they didn’t exist right now. Power still thrummed through me.
I strolled to the beanbag and plopped down. Hesitating only a moment, I reached for one of the small cakes anyway. I didn’t want Kiran to know everything I’d felt. At the moment, concealing things from him was the best defense I had since I didn’t know him, and I really didn’t want to share.
Kiran’s idea of rescue was another abduction, after all. He’d stolen me away from my life as much as Dr. Anderson and those at the Facility had done. He hadn’t asked my opinion, only decided he knew what was best and then forced it onto me.
My upper lip wanted to curl, and a part of me wanted to rail at him. He shouldn’t have taken me away without permission. I wanted to escape, not be rescued into another prison.
But he watched me as I ate each small bite. As I chewed and swallowed, chewed and swallowed, I remained determined to push the cake I wasn’t hungry for down my throat. I took small sips of my drink.
Then, when his scrutiny became too much, I brushed the crumbs off my hands and back onto a napkin. “So… You think you’re my father?” Even the word father tasted alien in my mouth, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted his answer to be. “Interesting way to go about meeting me.” I crossed my arms. “Why did my mother hide me from you?”
