“Whatever it is,” I said, taking another sip, “it’s excellent. Can I have more?”
“No,” Erik said, motioning to one of the Harlequin with a nod. The Harlequin gently removed the glass from my hand and the pitcher, silently stepping out of the room. “It’s highly effective and incredibly addictive. A little goes a long way. You should be feeling its effects.”
“Feeling much better already,” I said, as the low-grade warmth rushed through my body. I still ached, but now I only felt gently mangled, instead of chewed up, spit out and stomped on.
“Tell me what happened,” Erik said. “Leave nothing out, even the things you feel are incredible.”
“What happened to your eyes?” Jessikah asked, pointing at my face with a look of surprise. “They didn’t look like that before.”
Erik gave Jessikah a glance and shook his head.
“What’s wrong with my eyes?” I said, concerned. “What do you see?”
“They’re glowing…purple,” Jessikah answered. “I’m certain I would have remembered if you had glowing purple eyes.”
“Glowing eyes? Nice.”
“Nice?” Jessikah said, evidently upset. “Normal eyes do not glow purple, or any other color for that matter.”
“I left normal long ago,” I said, keeping my voice calm. I didn’t want her launching from upset into hysterical. “I’ve never claimed to be normal. In fact, I’ve never even met normal. Can you describe what normal looks like?”
“I don’t understand,” she said, shaking her head. “You’re not a mage. How is this happening to you?”
“I’m abnormal?”
“Truest thing you’ve said all day,” Erik said. “Starting with your brain.”
Jessikah opened her mouth to answer and closed it again.
“Surely, you can appreciate how out of the ordinary this is,” Jessikah said, when she found her voice. “These events, his signature, the hellhound, and the fact that he can manipulate energy without being a mage…it’s not proper.”
She was beginning to get on my nerves.
“I’m sure we’ll get to that in a moment,” Erik said, focusing on me again. “Strong, start from the moment we left the room.”
I explained what had happened with the totem, the pendant, the agony, and Kali.
Erik looked at me and narrowed his eyes.
“It tracks,” he said. “Your signature is slowly aligning. Whatever she did to you seems to have set you right in the scariest way possible. I still can’t entirely tell what’s going on. If you were a mage I’d say you shifted, but…”
“I’m not a mage,” I finished, glancing at the disturbed Jessikah. “I know.”
“No, you’re not,” he said. “Whatever she did, untangled the mess with your bonds.” He narrowed his eyes again. “There are three clear lines of resonance, overlapped and intertwined with some new thread of energy—a separate bond…Incredible. How do you feel?”
“Like one of Peaches’ chew toys,” I said, assessing the damage to my body. I was sore everywhere, but functional. “I feel like I went a few rounds with an angry troll and lost.”
“Is there another kind of troll?”
“That…is a valid point,” I said, remembering my date. “Trolls are not known for their cheerful dispositions.”
“Are we supposed to believe that the actual goddess, Kali, paid him a visit?” Jessikah asked, incredulously. “Why would a goddess visit you and leave you alive? Especially a goddess like Kali?”
Erik and I turned to look at her.
I could understand her reluctance and surprise. It’s not that she disbelieved in the existence of gods; she was a mage, after all. It was, however, becoming clear that her worldview was shaped by those she perceived as superior—those who wielded energy—and everyone else.
Also, Kali did have a reputation for being cranky on a homicidal level unsurpassed by most. Jessikah’s skepticism made sense, even though her tone irked me.
In her mind, I fell into the unworthy everyone else category.
“What do you think happened here?” Erik asked. “As an Orchid agent, how do you explain his energy signature? You’re trained to observe and assess. Execute your powers of observation and extrapolate why Kali would visit Strong.”
“I…I really don’t know,” Jessikah answered. “His situation refutes all my training. Technically, he should be dead even before encountering a goddess, if that even happened.”
“Trust me, it did,” I said with a slight groan. “Her visit was no dream.”
“His energy signature displayed high levels of activity and complete inactivity simultaneously. In addition, he’s bound to a spawn of hell, and works cases with a dark mage. All improbable occurrences, yet factual.”
“Monty is not dark…yet,” I corrected. “He’s on the verge.”
“Semantics,” Jessikah said, waving my words away. “He used blood magic. It’s only a matter of time. The power is a slippery slope few can resist.”
“He will resist it.”
“Correct on the facts regarding Strong,” Erik said. “Let’s leave opinion out of Tristan’s situation. The fact is that he is in the midst of a schism. He hasn’t gone dark yet. Strong is correct in his response. What is your assessment?”
“Honestly? It seems safer to place Tristan under restraint.”
“Safer?” I asked. “For who?”
“For whom,” she corrected. “For him and for the general populace. Do you know the power of a dark mage? It’s staggering. The entire city is in danger once he goes dark.”
“Monty is not going dark.”
“You can’t guarantee that,” she said, her voice low. “Not unless…”
“If he does, I’ll make sure he can’t hurt anyone, starting with himself.”
“He’ll kill you,” Jessikah said. “You don’t know the potential power you’re facing. Are you insane?” She looked at Erik. “Tell him how dangerous this is.”
“She doesn’t know,” I said under my breath to Erik. “She assumes I’m just weird, some kind of mutant…probably like Wolverine.”
“Strong…don’t,” Erik warned. “This is serious. She doesn’t know about your curse?”
“We never got around to discussing it?”
“Curse? What curse?” Jessikah asked, glancing in my direction. “Should I be taking precautionary measures? How are you cursed?”
“You are incredible,” Erik reprimanded me. “How could you not tell her?”
“We didn’t meet under the best of circumstances,” I shot back. “She’s Black Orchid, and they are currently trying to kill
