Chapter 5
Maia called up the last of her energy and teleported herself from the yard in front of the mansion (that she recognized from Rowen's description as Mia's) to her bedroom. ::Do not worry about me Hugh, I have not been captured again, I only wish to be alone for now. Please don't tell them anything,:: she spoke into her friend's mind, ::Especially the magic.:: She collapsed onto her bed, sobbing uncontrollably. How can I ever face Rowen after this? He won't want anything at all to do with me!
::Maia!:: the pale girl, frowned as the boys slowly came to where she stood in the yard, each upset, especially Sage, ::You need help...Sage can heal...please let him help you. I understand that you don't wish them to know about the magic, but please Maia...you need help.:: Humility's mind voice was full of worry for her. She understood how someone could hurt, and she didn't want her friends to go through that.
"Where the Hell have you been?!" Ryo's sapphire eyes flickered with his mixed emotions of worry and anger, "All you did was leave a damn note. Didn't even explain anything, only that you were gonna save Maia..."
::Maia... let me help you,:: she ignored Ryo, concentrating upon her friend's need.
Linked as she was with Hugh, Maia could hear Ryo scold her. ::Ryo, do not be angry with her. She rescued me from Jarrol and that is all that you need to worry about,:: she told him, choosing to help Hugh rather than hide her magical abilities. ::I am home now and safe. I'll be fine by the time my papa gets back from the short business trip he had to take to Tokyo. It is Hugh that you need to worry about. She is the one that Jarrol wants, not I. Do not let him find her.:: She could feel the surprise in his thoughts, but she turned her attention to Hugh again. ::I will heal just fine, Hugh. I need to deal with this on my own for now. I promise that I will seek help when I am ready to. I simply cannot right now, I could not bear for any of you to know what happened there.::
Jana hopped up onto the bed then and laid her head on her mistress's chest, whining softly. She did not like that her pup had been hurt yet again by another man. His scent was all over the girl and it made her angry.
Scratching the dog behind the ears, Maia closed her eyes and let her tears fall silently down her face.
::I can guess,:: the anger in Humility's voice was evident. She had seen the clothes, the blood, the fear. She understood what had happened, but she relented nonetheless, ::Just swear to me, Maia, that you'll get help soon. Just promise me.:: She looked to the boys, who now stood in utter shock at what Ryo had just told them, "Stop staring at me." Her voice was laced with exhaustion. "There's no reason he would want me or would gain from getting me. It's probably just a misunderstanding."
Sai shook his auburn head, "Nay, Humility. It's too risky."
"I say we call upon Kayura. She'll know everything we don't. She can explain." Kento moved closer to his lover, but not too close to let the others realize.
"Forget you all." She threw her pack at Ryo, "I'm going to bed, dammit. Figure out what you're going to do while I'm sleeping. I'm about to fall down." Sage detached himself from the rest and followed her. ::Promise me, Maia. If you only do one thing for me in this life, swear to me you'll get help.::
::I already have promised you, Hugh,:: Maia replied, her mind voice laced with exhaustion, sadness and pain. Within moments she had fallen asleep, too tired to even have nightmares.
- = ^ * ^ = -
Morning came much too soon and Maia slowly made her way into consciousness. She hadn't closed the blinds to her window and the sun was shining in her face, painfully bright. "That hurts," she said, covering her face with her pillow.
The phone rang then. Though it was somewhat muffled by the pillow over her head, the shrill ringing was painful as well. Groping blindly for the phone, she clicked it on and brought it to her ear. "Hello?" she said, her voice a bit strained.
"Maia?" she recognized the voice as Rowen's, "Thank God you're okay!"
If you only knew how not okay I am right now, Maia thought sadly as she forced herself to sound a bit cheerful. "Of course I am. You didn't think that I'd let a kidnapping bring me down, did you?"
"It's nothing to joke about, Maia. Do you mind if I come over? I just want to see you and make sure that you're okay." He sounded so unsure of himself, like he didn't know if she would want to see him or not. It was almost as if he blamed himself for her capture.
I hate to do this to you Rowen, but I don't want you to see me right now. "Believe me, Rowen, I'm not laughing. As far as coming over, I'd rather you didn't. I don't really wish to see anyone right now, let alone someone I'm attracted to, because I'll be very mean. I'll see you tomorrow at school." She hung up the phone before he could reply and forced herself to climb out of bed. I'm sorry for hanging up on you but I can't let you see me like this. You'd know that I went through something awful and I don't want you to figure it out.
She made her way to the bathroom where she turned on the water as hot as she could bear. While the tub was filling up, she undressed and looked herself over in the mirror. There were bruises all over her body and there was a big bump on the back of her head from where Void had hit her when he captured her. An ugly bruise marred her smooth cheek, right along the cheekbone and she winced as she pressed her fingers to it gingerly. Even if she did use illusion to hide the marks that Jarrol had left on her skin, they would still hurt. Turning away from her reflection, she stepped into the bathtub and eased herself slowly into the hot water, hoping to soak away the memories of Jarrol's body pressed against hers.
Humility looked at Rowen expectantly as he hung up the phone. "Well?"
He frowned, "She hung up on me. Told me that she'd rather I didn't come over to see her."
"Go over there anyways, she needs to have someone around her," she replied, "Tell her I made you." She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. "Go!"
Rowen looked at her nervously as she handed him the keys to the Jeep. "Are you sure? What if she gets pissed at me?"
"I'll yell at her. Go and take care of her."
Maia sat up slowly when she heard the knock on the door. She wanted to use her Gift to find out who was there, but it still hurt too much. Instead, she pulled herself off of her bed and made her way slowly towards the door, taking care to cast an illusion over her bruises. What she found on the other side almost made her close it immediately. Rowen stood on the doorstep looking very unsure of himself and very concerned at the same time.
"Uh, hi Maia," he said after he realized that the door wasn't going to get slammed in his face, "Look, I know you said not to come over, but I had to." He nearly turned around until he noticed her nod slightly.
"You want to come inside?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She stepped aside to let him come in. Silently, she closed the door behind him, and led the way to her bedroom. "I'm afraid I don't have much to offer you in the entertainment department, I've been working on a song that came to me this morning," she told him as she took her place on her bed, gesturing for him to take a seat in the chair in front of her desk.
"I didn't come over here for entertainment," Rowen replied, amazed at the way she had changed from the confident, vibrant girl he had danced with last night to the quiet, almost child-like girl of today. She seemed so defeated and lost.
Jana padded softly into the room, stopping for a moment to inspect Rowen before jumping up onto the bed to bump her head gently against her mistress's cheek. A small sound escaped Maia's lips as Jana had accidentally hit the bruise on her cheekbone. Rowen was beside her in an instant. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
"It's nothing, I." she started then stopped as her eyes began to fill with tears. I will not cry, she told herself, even as she leaned toward him the tears spilling over. Her illusion shattered along with her control, leaving Rowen free to see the cuts and bruises that were visible on her face and bare arms and legs.
"My God," Rowen swore softly, cradling her gently in her arms as she began to sob uncontrollably. "Oh Maia, I'm so sorry," he whispered as he stroked her hair. He found the large knot at the base of her skull and his hand stilled. I will kill that bastard for this, he swore silently.
They sat there for nearly an hour before Maia's sobbing began to ease. Her breath came in short gasps as she leaned against Rowen's chest, regaining her composure. "I.I'm sorry," she whispered softly, pulling away slightly to wipe her eyes, "I didn't mean for you to find out how I looked and I didn't mean to lose control like that."
"Maia, it's not your fault," he assured her in a soft tone. "And as far as how you look," he gave her half a smile, "Well, I'm not going to say you are looking just fine. I will tell you this, though. You don't have to hide from me."
"I'm not saying I do. I just don't like it when people see me this way," she replied.
"You sound like you've been in this kind of shape before," Rowen said, looking closely at her face.
"Yeah, once," she admitted, not meeting his eyes, "Not quite as black and blue, but still hurting the same way." She glanced up quickly, hoping she hadn't let anything slip by that small admission. The quick flare of anger in Rowen's sapphire eyes told her he figured it out. Damn, she thought to herself, I didn't want anyone knowing about that here.especially not him. "Don't say anything, Rowen," she said, her eyes and voice pleading, "I don't need to go through what I did at my old school all over again."
He looked surprised, "Why would I say anything? Whether you meant to or not, you confided in me, I don't betray people's confidences." For the look she gave him in response to his promise, Rowen would have done and promised anything for her.
Maia leaned back against her headboard, pulling up her knees and resting her chin on them. She gave Rowen a searching look, "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Rowen opened his mouth to reply then closed it abruptly. He thought about it for a bit, aware that Maia was waiting patiently for him to answer. "Because I like you, Maia," he replied, not meeting her eyes, "And I don't mean just as a friend. I'm drawn to you in a way that I've never been before." He blushed, "Girls have never really shown an interest in me anyways." He dared to meet her eyes afraid to find pity or even amusement. What he saw was a look that he sometimes saw in Hugh's eyes, that of sadness and very little self-worth.
"You don't want to be involved with me, Rowen," she said softly, "You don't deserve someone that's been used and discarded."
Rowen reached out and gently pulled her closer to him, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Maia," he said, in a soft tone, "You forget that I know what you have been through. If my interest in you had changed because of that, I wouldn't have told you that I like you. Why don't you let me decide what I do and do not deserve?" When she opened her mouth to disagree, he stopped her with a tender kiss.
Maia sat with her eyes closed for a moment, still feeling the touch of his lips on hers. "I guess," she said, not meeting his eyes, "That you would know better than I."
"Good," he said, smiling down at her, "It's settled." "Now, on another subject, or rather, related to the subject we just discussed.the bruises. I couldn't see them when you answered the door, then they just appeared."
"Oh, that. I figure that by now, Ryo has told you about hearing my voice in his mind," she replied. At his nod, she continued, "I'm Gifted. I practice magic, and I don't mean the little tricks and illusions you see on TV, though I can do a lot of those, too. I can do real, physical magic. Summoning fire, moving the earth, things like that. Those aren't my strongest points, though. My mind magic is. Shields especially." She climbed off of the bed, stretched, and began to pace the room. "I put one on Hugh that should protect her for a while. It makes her physically invisible to anyone that is seeking her out to do harm. They can't sense her magically either."
"That means that Ben won't be able to find her either, right?" Rowen asked.
Maia stopped in her pacing and looked at him in surprise, "I didn't even think of that. Yes, it does." She frowned, "Payne and Void won't be able to find her here. However, Jarroll will be able to find her if he comes to the Mortal Realm himself. When he captured me, he." She stopped and drew in a slow breath, "He didn't know I was Gifted, but he could sense a touch of my power. I keep shields over myself that make me appear normal to those with magical abilities. He found them and.ripped through them. He knows everything about me, and that includes how to get past my shields." She laughed bitterly, "Without ripping through them, I mean."
She paused again and glanced at Rowen. He was listening quietly, but she could see anger burning in his eyes. "He draws his power from pain and suffering. I provided him a night's entertainment thanks to his discovery of my Gifts." she said softly. She had to stop to steady herself again. "That's why he hungers for Hugh, though," she told him, her voice stronger, "She has so much pain inside her. It draws him like a moth to a flame." She stopped pacing and turned to face him, "As for the bruises. It was an illusion. I did it because I didn't want anyone to see me like I am right now. Unfortunately, they don't cover the tenderness, as you saw when Jana bumped into me. Normally I can control the illusions, no matter what state I'm in. But Jarrol used me badly. It hurts to use my magic, even something as simple as an illusion. When I lost control, my hold on the illusion slipped, too. Otherwise, you never would have known they were there."
"Sage can heal the bruises," Rowen said, still going over this new information in his mind.
Maia shook her head, "No, I'll let them heal on my own. I made the choice to put myself in Hugh's place, I'll suffer the consequences of it."
Rowen's lips tightened but he nodded in understanding. "So where is your father?" he asked.
"In Tokyo. He won't be back until the end of next weekend," she replied, "That'll be long enough for me to heal. I've got a very slight self- healing Gift, I heal quickly."
"Are you saying that you'll be staying here by yourself for the next week?" he asked, not hiding the concern in his voice.
"Aye, why do you ask?"
"Because you escaped from Jarrol's. He's going to be having his little lackeys looking for you. You shouldn't be here alone when they do," he replied.
"One of the first things I did when we moved in was to protect this house from prying eyes," Maia replied, "The magic is old, much older even than Jarrol himself. It's stronger than Jarrol as well, he won't find me here."
"So you won't come and stay at the mansion until your father gets back?" he asked.
She paused before answering. "I suppose I could put up the same wards there. It would be nice to have company rather than being here by myself all week," she said, partially to herself.
An hour later, Maia had her bags packed and loaded into the back of her jeep. "I don't know how I let you talk me into this, Rowen," she said, motioning for Jana to jump in.
"I'm just too irresistible for you to say no," he replied with a wink. "I'll see you at the mansion," he added, kissing her softly on the cheek before climbing into Mia's. The two of them pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Jewel Lake.
Maia called up the last of her energy and teleported herself from the yard in front of the mansion (that she recognized from Rowen's description as Mia's) to her bedroom. ::Do not worry about me Hugh, I have not been captured again, I only wish to be alone for now. Please don't tell them anything,:: she spoke into her friend's mind, ::Especially the magic.:: She collapsed onto her bed, sobbing uncontrollably. How can I ever face Rowen after this? He won't want anything at all to do with me!
::Maia!:: the pale girl, frowned as the boys slowly came to where she stood in the yard, each upset, especially Sage, ::You need help...Sage can heal...please let him help you. I understand that you don't wish them to know about the magic, but please Maia...you need help.:: Humility's mind voice was full of worry for her. She understood how someone could hurt, and she didn't want her friends to go through that.
"Where the Hell have you been?!" Ryo's sapphire eyes flickered with his mixed emotions of worry and anger, "All you did was leave a damn note. Didn't even explain anything, only that you were gonna save Maia..."
::Maia... let me help you,:: she ignored Ryo, concentrating upon her friend's need.
Linked as she was with Hugh, Maia could hear Ryo scold her. ::Ryo, do not be angry with her. She rescued me from Jarrol and that is all that you need to worry about,:: she told him, choosing to help Hugh rather than hide her magical abilities. ::I am home now and safe. I'll be fine by the time my papa gets back from the short business trip he had to take to Tokyo. It is Hugh that you need to worry about. She is the one that Jarrol wants, not I. Do not let him find her.:: She could feel the surprise in his thoughts, but she turned her attention to Hugh again. ::I will heal just fine, Hugh. I need to deal with this on my own for now. I promise that I will seek help when I am ready to. I simply cannot right now, I could not bear for any of you to know what happened there.::
Jana hopped up onto the bed then and laid her head on her mistress's chest, whining softly. She did not like that her pup had been hurt yet again by another man. His scent was all over the girl and it made her angry.
Scratching the dog behind the ears, Maia closed her eyes and let her tears fall silently down her face.
::I can guess,:: the anger in Humility's voice was evident. She had seen the clothes, the blood, the fear. She understood what had happened, but she relented nonetheless, ::Just swear to me, Maia, that you'll get help soon. Just promise me.:: She looked to the boys, who now stood in utter shock at what Ryo had just told them, "Stop staring at me." Her voice was laced with exhaustion. "There's no reason he would want me or would gain from getting me. It's probably just a misunderstanding."
Sai shook his auburn head, "Nay, Humility. It's too risky."
"I say we call upon Kayura. She'll know everything we don't. She can explain." Kento moved closer to his lover, but not too close to let the others realize.
"Forget you all." She threw her pack at Ryo, "I'm going to bed, dammit. Figure out what you're going to do while I'm sleeping. I'm about to fall down." Sage detached himself from the rest and followed her. ::Promise me, Maia. If you only do one thing for me in this life, swear to me you'll get help.::
::I already have promised you, Hugh,:: Maia replied, her mind voice laced with exhaustion, sadness and pain. Within moments she had fallen asleep, too tired to even have nightmares.
- = ^ * ^ = -
Morning came much too soon and Maia slowly made her way into consciousness. She hadn't closed the blinds to her window and the sun was shining in her face, painfully bright. "That hurts," she said, covering her face with her pillow.
The phone rang then. Though it was somewhat muffled by the pillow over her head, the shrill ringing was painful as well. Groping blindly for the phone, she clicked it on and brought it to her ear. "Hello?" she said, her voice a bit strained.
"Maia?" she recognized the voice as Rowen's, "Thank God you're okay!"
If you only knew how not okay I am right now, Maia thought sadly as she forced herself to sound a bit cheerful. "Of course I am. You didn't think that I'd let a kidnapping bring me down, did you?"
"It's nothing to joke about, Maia. Do you mind if I come over? I just want to see you and make sure that you're okay." He sounded so unsure of himself, like he didn't know if she would want to see him or not. It was almost as if he blamed himself for her capture.
I hate to do this to you Rowen, but I don't want you to see me right now. "Believe me, Rowen, I'm not laughing. As far as coming over, I'd rather you didn't. I don't really wish to see anyone right now, let alone someone I'm attracted to, because I'll be very mean. I'll see you tomorrow at school." She hung up the phone before he could reply and forced herself to climb out of bed. I'm sorry for hanging up on you but I can't let you see me like this. You'd know that I went through something awful and I don't want you to figure it out.
She made her way to the bathroom where she turned on the water as hot as she could bear. While the tub was filling up, she undressed and looked herself over in the mirror. There were bruises all over her body and there was a big bump on the back of her head from where Void had hit her when he captured her. An ugly bruise marred her smooth cheek, right along the cheekbone and she winced as she pressed her fingers to it gingerly. Even if she did use illusion to hide the marks that Jarrol had left on her skin, they would still hurt. Turning away from her reflection, she stepped into the bathtub and eased herself slowly into the hot water, hoping to soak away the memories of Jarrol's body pressed against hers.
Humility looked at Rowen expectantly as he hung up the phone. "Well?"
He frowned, "She hung up on me. Told me that she'd rather I didn't come over to see her."
"Go over there anyways, she needs to have someone around her," she replied, "Tell her I made you." She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the door. "Go!"
Rowen looked at her nervously as she handed him the keys to the Jeep. "Are you sure? What if she gets pissed at me?"
"I'll yell at her. Go and take care of her."
Maia sat up slowly when she heard the knock on the door. She wanted to use her Gift to find out who was there, but it still hurt too much. Instead, she pulled herself off of her bed and made her way slowly towards the door, taking care to cast an illusion over her bruises. What she found on the other side almost made her close it immediately. Rowen stood on the doorstep looking very unsure of himself and very concerned at the same time.
"Uh, hi Maia," he said after he realized that the door wasn't going to get slammed in his face, "Look, I know you said not to come over, but I had to." He nearly turned around until he noticed her nod slightly.
"You want to come inside?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She stepped aside to let him come in. Silently, she closed the door behind him, and led the way to her bedroom. "I'm afraid I don't have much to offer you in the entertainment department, I've been working on a song that came to me this morning," she told him as she took her place on her bed, gesturing for him to take a seat in the chair in front of her desk.
"I didn't come over here for entertainment," Rowen replied, amazed at the way she had changed from the confident, vibrant girl he had danced with last night to the quiet, almost child-like girl of today. She seemed so defeated and lost.
Jana padded softly into the room, stopping for a moment to inspect Rowen before jumping up onto the bed to bump her head gently against her mistress's cheek. A small sound escaped Maia's lips as Jana had accidentally hit the bruise on her cheekbone. Rowen was beside her in an instant. "What's wrong?" he asked, his voice full of concern.
"It's nothing, I." she started then stopped as her eyes began to fill with tears. I will not cry, she told herself, even as she leaned toward him the tears spilling over. Her illusion shattered along with her control, leaving Rowen free to see the cuts and bruises that were visible on her face and bare arms and legs.
"My God," Rowen swore softly, cradling her gently in her arms as she began to sob uncontrollably. "Oh Maia, I'm so sorry," he whispered as he stroked her hair. He found the large knot at the base of her skull and his hand stilled. I will kill that bastard for this, he swore silently.
They sat there for nearly an hour before Maia's sobbing began to ease. Her breath came in short gasps as she leaned against Rowen's chest, regaining her composure. "I.I'm sorry," she whispered softly, pulling away slightly to wipe her eyes, "I didn't mean for you to find out how I looked and I didn't mean to lose control like that."
"Maia, it's not your fault," he assured her in a soft tone. "And as far as how you look," he gave her half a smile, "Well, I'm not going to say you are looking just fine. I will tell you this, though. You don't have to hide from me."
"I'm not saying I do. I just don't like it when people see me this way," she replied.
"You sound like you've been in this kind of shape before," Rowen said, looking closely at her face.
"Yeah, once," she admitted, not meeting his eyes, "Not quite as black and blue, but still hurting the same way." She glanced up quickly, hoping she hadn't let anything slip by that small admission. The quick flare of anger in Rowen's sapphire eyes told her he figured it out. Damn, she thought to herself, I didn't want anyone knowing about that here.especially not him. "Don't say anything, Rowen," she said, her eyes and voice pleading, "I don't need to go through what I did at my old school all over again."
He looked surprised, "Why would I say anything? Whether you meant to or not, you confided in me, I don't betray people's confidences." For the look she gave him in response to his promise, Rowen would have done and promised anything for her.
Maia leaned back against her headboard, pulling up her knees and resting her chin on them. She gave Rowen a searching look, "Why are you being so nice to me?"
Rowen opened his mouth to reply then closed it abruptly. He thought about it for a bit, aware that Maia was waiting patiently for him to answer. "Because I like you, Maia," he replied, not meeting her eyes, "And I don't mean just as a friend. I'm drawn to you in a way that I've never been before." He blushed, "Girls have never really shown an interest in me anyways." He dared to meet her eyes afraid to find pity or even amusement. What he saw was a look that he sometimes saw in Hugh's eyes, that of sadness and very little self-worth.
"You don't want to be involved with me, Rowen," she said softly, "You don't deserve someone that's been used and discarded."
Rowen reached out and gently pulled her closer to him, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Maia," he said, in a soft tone, "You forget that I know what you have been through. If my interest in you had changed because of that, I wouldn't have told you that I like you. Why don't you let me decide what I do and do not deserve?" When she opened her mouth to disagree, he stopped her with a tender kiss.
Maia sat with her eyes closed for a moment, still feeling the touch of his lips on hers. "I guess," she said, not meeting his eyes, "That you would know better than I."
"Good," he said, smiling down at her, "It's settled." "Now, on another subject, or rather, related to the subject we just discussed.the bruises. I couldn't see them when you answered the door, then they just appeared."
"Oh, that. I figure that by now, Ryo has told you about hearing my voice in his mind," she replied. At his nod, she continued, "I'm Gifted. I practice magic, and I don't mean the little tricks and illusions you see on TV, though I can do a lot of those, too. I can do real, physical magic. Summoning fire, moving the earth, things like that. Those aren't my strongest points, though. My mind magic is. Shields especially." She climbed off of the bed, stretched, and began to pace the room. "I put one on Hugh that should protect her for a while. It makes her physically invisible to anyone that is seeking her out to do harm. They can't sense her magically either."
"That means that Ben won't be able to find her either, right?" Rowen asked.
Maia stopped in her pacing and looked at him in surprise, "I didn't even think of that. Yes, it does." She frowned, "Payne and Void won't be able to find her here. However, Jarroll will be able to find her if he comes to the Mortal Realm himself. When he captured me, he." She stopped and drew in a slow breath, "He didn't know I was Gifted, but he could sense a touch of my power. I keep shields over myself that make me appear normal to those with magical abilities. He found them and.ripped through them. He knows everything about me, and that includes how to get past my shields." She laughed bitterly, "Without ripping through them, I mean."
She paused again and glanced at Rowen. He was listening quietly, but she could see anger burning in his eyes. "He draws his power from pain and suffering. I provided him a night's entertainment thanks to his discovery of my Gifts." she said softly. She had to stop to steady herself again. "That's why he hungers for Hugh, though," she told him, her voice stronger, "She has so much pain inside her. It draws him like a moth to a flame." She stopped pacing and turned to face him, "As for the bruises. It was an illusion. I did it because I didn't want anyone to see me like I am right now. Unfortunately, they don't cover the tenderness, as you saw when Jana bumped into me. Normally I can control the illusions, no matter what state I'm in. But Jarrol used me badly. It hurts to use my magic, even something as simple as an illusion. When I lost control, my hold on the illusion slipped, too. Otherwise, you never would have known they were there."
"Sage can heal the bruises," Rowen said, still going over this new information in his mind.
Maia shook her head, "No, I'll let them heal on my own. I made the choice to put myself in Hugh's place, I'll suffer the consequences of it."
Rowen's lips tightened but he nodded in understanding. "So where is your father?" he asked.
"In Tokyo. He won't be back until the end of next weekend," she replied, "That'll be long enough for me to heal. I've got a very slight self- healing Gift, I heal quickly."
"Are you saying that you'll be staying here by yourself for the next week?" he asked, not hiding the concern in his voice.
"Aye, why do you ask?"
"Because you escaped from Jarrol's. He's going to be having his little lackeys looking for you. You shouldn't be here alone when they do," he replied.
"One of the first things I did when we moved in was to protect this house from prying eyes," Maia replied, "The magic is old, much older even than Jarrol himself. It's stronger than Jarrol as well, he won't find me here."
"So you won't come and stay at the mansion until your father gets back?" he asked.
She paused before answering. "I suppose I could put up the same wards there. It would be nice to have company rather than being here by myself all week," she said, partially to herself.
An hour later, Maia had her bags packed and loaded into the back of her jeep. "I don't know how I let you talk me into this, Rowen," she said, motioning for Jana to jump in.
"I'm just too irresistible for you to say no," he replied with a wink. "I'll see you at the mansion," he added, kissing her softly on the cheek before climbing into Mia's. The two of them pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Jewel Lake.