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"No, there is nothing wrong with Alex." Cat shakes her head and sighs as she looks me straight in the eye. "You're correct when you think that you have no magic …."

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Dragon's Mark

Copyright© 2021 Shauna J. Rousseau
All Rights Reserved.
(Cover image designed by Joyce Melton.)
(Edited by Angela Rasch.)

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Chapter Two
 

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"Who is this we're going to see, Momma?" Sarah is giving Momma J a skeptical look.

"Ummm … Well … She's … ummm … Well, she's the sister of the acquaintance of a friend." Momma J looks unsure.

I grin. "So, you have no idea how this is supposed to go? Aaaaannnnnnnnnd … you have no idea whether this friend's acquaintance's sister is even legitimate?"

"Well, if you want to put it that way …." She shakes her head. "No. But I don't see anyone coming up with any better ideas!"

Sis is still totally freaked out. She hasn't touched me, or anyone else for that matter, since the last zap she gave me yesterday. My back is still radiating warm tendrils from that last contact and, overall, the pain is still a little better than normal. Which has only served to freak her out even more. "Are you sure this is a good idea, Momma? What if they think I'm crazy? It's not like I can control this … or demonstrate it on command!"

Momma J shrugs. "Let's cross that bridge when we get to it. Okay, Sweetie? Now … let's see … here we are." She points at the door of a small brownstone in downtown DC. We traveled here from our home in Alexandria on the Metro, in the sweltering heat of another record-breaking day, and have been going in circles for the past fifteen minutes trying to find the correct address. She leads us up the stone path and rings the doorbell before we can change our minds.

The door opens almost immediately, and a diminutive, twenty-something, pink-haired Asian girl looks at us. "Can I help you? Oh! You must be Josie Bauer. I'm Pinkie! Come in! It's scorching out here!" She scowls at my wheelchair. Not because I think she's bothered by it but is more worried about how to get me over the large stone threshold and through the door before the hundred and twenty-some-odd degree heat outside takes over the house.

Sis just smiles sweetly at her and expertly maneuvers my chair over the obstacle and inside where it's blessedly cool. At least the wind is below sixty miles an hour today and the chance of torrential rain is below forty percent, so overall it's a nice day.

Once we're inside and cooling off, Pinkie offers Momma J and Sis a seat on the sofa next to where she indicates Sis to park me. Pinkie takes a seat in a squeaky orange-velvet swivel chair that totally clashes with her hair and smiles inquisitively. "So, Ms. Bauer, I have to say I was a little surprised to be contacted by my sister to talk to someone about potential magic. Is this more a hypothetical inquiry?" She looks pointedly at Sis. "Or is it more of a concrete inquiry?" She looks at me.

I study her. She's obviously Asian … or more likely … Polynesian. Maybe a Pacific Islander? Anyway, she's doesn't look too much older than me, but she exudes a strange confidence. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like she's older than she appears. I also can't help but wonder if she thinks we're on some sort of quest to find some potential magic that will make me walk again. I almost snort at the thought.

Pinkie gives me a funny look but stays quiet. She's obviously waiting on an answer.

Momma J takes a deep breath and finally answers. "Well … a little of both, I guess. Other than the fact that we know that magic somehow exists, we don't really know anything about it."

Pinkie nods, then looks at Sis. "So, how long has your magic been sparking? I can tell you have it and assume that, like most girls, you started puberty at around age twelve, and that you turned thirteen not long ago? And now you're confused? Does that about sum it up?"

Momma J sucks in a surprised breath and Sis looks like she'd been slapped.

Pinkie supposedly had no idea why we were here. At least nothing concrete. She shakes her head. "Don't look so surprised! The reason you're here is to get answers. You need someone with magical knowledge … with magic to answer your questions. I can sense the magic in you. Mine just appeared out of nowhere when I was thirteen, and about a year after I started puberty, too. It totally freaked me out! I was one of the very first known individuals to be blessed with it. That was about six years ago, and I had no one to ask questions or to get answers from, back then."

Sis is biting her lip. "I … I … I zapped Alex! Twice! I don't how … or why … or even what I did to him!"

Pinkie nods. "I'm very sensitive to magic and can feel it emerging in you. My power is however not in divining what your core strength is, although I do have a suspicion. Anyway, I can tell it's strong in you. You have Native American blood in you, correct?" She glances at Momma J, then back at Sis. "Your genetic mother or father was full-blooded?"

"Mama was full-blooded Blackfoot. Why?" Sis looks suspicious. It's not like you can't see that she has Native American blood in her.

Pinkie shrugs. "Magic seems to be most strongly manifesting in individuals with ties to the old ways and believers in ancient magic. You likely have ancestors with strong bonds to magic. We'll have to talk to some … friends … to probe your family line." Then she looks at me and blows me away. "And when did your magic emerge?"

I disappointedly shake my head. Just when I was starting to believe her, she shows her true colors. She has no idea what she's talking about! It's all a scam. "Me? You almost had me fooled. If you think I have magic, then you're obviously a sham!"

Momma J is obviously upset with me. "Alex! That's enough! You need to apologize, right this minute!"

I shake my head again. But I know better than to infuriate Momma J. "Look. I'm sorry, but I don't have any magic."

Pinkie gives me a hard look. "There's no need to apologize. I get the skepticism. Magic is too new and there are too few of us with it for non-mages to not be suspicious. Even those of us that do have it are still feeling our way through what it even means to have it. But what I can promise you with absolute certainty is that you do have magic … strong magic. It does seem that something is blocking its full emergence but exploring that further would also require some probing by some … friends. I'm no healer, although, I suspect your sister may be. But you obviously have Asian heritage, and your mother here is obviously of Germanic descent, so you're not blood siblings."

Momma J speaks up. "Alex and Sarah are my adoptive children. I started out fostering them two years ago."

Pinkie nods. "Yes. I can tell that you have strong ancestral bonds to magic, as well, Alex. And the two of you have some other very strong magical bond … something centered in sacrifice and love …." She's quiet for a minute then quickly speaks up. "Okay! I think it's time to take you to someone with more power and experience than I have. You deserve answers that I simply cannot give you. But it's clear that you've passed the initial screening."

 

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I sigh as I quickly roll myself off the pneumatic wheelchair lift and into the back of the windowless cargo van. Pinkie, Momma J, and Sis are already safely out of the torrential rain and seated in swiveling captain's chairs that are bolted to the soaked carpeted floor of the van. We are briefly shrouded in complete blackness as the driver closes the sliding door and I shudder. At least it blocks out the wind and driving rain, but I sigh in relief when the lights flicker on. I don't do well in dark, enclosed spaces. Not ever since … the event.

Pinkie smiles encouragingly. "I'm sorry that we had to pick you up at home like this … and I can't let you know where we're going. It will become clear why when we get there … but there are protocols. It's not far but you know how DC traffic can be … especially in this weather." She shrugs.

I barely get my wheels locked before the van splashes its way out into traffic and quickly accelerates. I hadn't slept again last night. In addition to the usual nightmares, I was plagued with weird dreams of being consumed by magic. They were totally bogus figments of my imagination, however. No matter what Pinkie says, I don't have any magic—so there's no sense dreaming about it. I shake my head and look at Sis.

She seems worried. "Are you really positive that we have magic, Pinkie? And that it might be some sort of 'healing' magic? What does that even mean?"

Pinkie nods, her eyes bright, even in the gloom of the dim incandescent bulbs illuminating the back of the van. "There's no doubt about the presence of your magic, Sarah. The type of magic will reveal itself when someone with more specificity divination than I have can test you. Think of it like a medical screening test for something like bacteria. Those tests have to be very sensitive to pick up on the presence of bacteria, but they usually aren't very specific, meaning they can't discern what kind of bacteria it is that they're picking up on. With me, I can detect very minute levels of magic, but I can't tell what kind of magic—other than whether it's dark or light … or other. Make sense?"

I find myself nodding along with Momma J and Sis. "What you're saying makes sense from a scientific perspective. But I'm sorry, your sensitivity must be off if it's picking up magic in me."

She shakes her head and gives me a knowing smile. "We'll see. There are people where we're headed that have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities to definitively settle that argument, once and for all."

We ride along in silence for several minutes, the van stopping and going with the usual frequency of driving in downtown DC. Pinkie occasionally holds her hand to her ear and seems to be listening to something. It becomes obvious that she has an "earpiece" in and is listening to someone talking to her. She smiles and nods. "We made better time than usual. The rain is actually working in our favor, it seems. We just have to clear the last checkpoint and we'll be ready to meet up with our specialists."

I don't know why, but I'm suddenly nervous. We're going through a checkpoint? And what does she mean by "last" checkpoint? That implies multiple checkpoints. I don't ask Pinkie about it, however, since she's obviously listening to the voices in her ear again.

The van comes to a full stop, and she gets up and moves towards the door. "We're here." Someone opens the door from the outside and I see that we're in a parking garage … a dry parking garage … with no wind to buffet us around. Pinkie steps out and beckons for us to follow.

Sis and Momma J step out and the driver maneuvers the lift into place for me to also exit. There's still no indication of where we are. There are several parked black SUVs with limo-tinted windows and an elevator in sight. Nothing else.

The elevator doors open and four guys in dark suits step out. They're clearly security types of some sort. They almost look like Secret Service—or at least what I picture someone in the Secret Service would look like. They walk over our way but stop out of ear range where Pinkie quietly confers with them for a few minutes. When she's done, she turns back to us. "Okay. We're cleared to go in."

Without a word, one of the suits comes over and takes control of my chair, pushing me into the elevator. Pinkie follows the other three suits and leads Sis and Momma J into the elevator. It turns out to be a freight-sized elevator and easily accommodates all of us.

The door closes and one of the suits uses a key card to activate the panel. He pushes a button, and we go down two floors. The doors open up to a long, well-lit tunnel. Two of the suits lead the way, followed by Pinkie and Sis. One of the suits continues to push me but keeps me next to Momma J and behind Sis. The fourth suit brings up the rear. We follow the tunnel, and it takes several minutes to come to another elevator, which we promptly enter.

After a quick trip up, we exit the elevator in a hallway with a view of the White House … and the Rose Garden separating it us from it. Momma J gasps. "We're in the West Wing?"

Pinkie nods. "As you might surmise, magic has become a matter of national security. Dark magic is a clear and present danger to the country. My job is to screen identified mages for dark magic and their potential. Those that are cleared of any dark taint and have a certain level of potential are brought here for further evaluation." She looks at Sis and me. "Both of you qualify."

"Bull shit!" It comes out of my mouth before I can stop it. I turn bright red and feel Momma J's eyes on me. "Sorry! But I told you that I don't have any magic!"

Pinkie shrugs. "We're about to find out. Come with me, please. Josie, as their legal guardian, you're allowed in with them … for now."

She opens the door to a room and sweeps her arm toward the interior to indicate that we should enter. My suit pushes me in ahead of the others and I'm shocked at the mundaneness of the conference room. I roll my eyes at my own stupidity—I'm not sure what I expected. A conference room with four "normal"-looking people wasn't it, however. Well … "conference room" isn't quite right, either. Lounge? Library? There are couches and comfortable looking chairs around coffee tables, along with a lot of bookshelves full of colorful books.

Pinkie follows Sis and Momma J in, and my suit exits as she closes the door. "Okay, Josie, Sarah, and Alex, please meet Cat, Ginger, Rob, and Vick." She points at each of us as she says our names. "Josie, why don't you take a seat over there and Cat can start with Sarah?"

Momma J nods and sits demurely in a comfy-looking gold crushed-velvet loveseat.

Sis looks terrified as Cat, a very tall and elegant ebony-skinned beauty with perfect teeth beckons her over. "Hi Sarah, there's no need to be scared. I'm just going to give you a quick preliminary scan to decide where to go next with your evaluation. I promise it won't hurt."

I have to bite my tongue to keep from cracking a joke about "Cat scans."

Sis is obviously not in a joking mood and simply nods before walking over to the couch where Cat is sitting.

Cat gestures for her to sit beside her and gently places her hands on Sis' face once she has settled in. She gets a look of utter concentration on her face and nods resolutely after a few seconds. "Okay, Sarah. Would you please tell me a little about your magical experiences, so far?"

Sis sort of deflates and looks miserable. "Ummm … Well, I sort of … zapped Alex when I was rubbing his back the other day. Then I did it again when I was braiding his hair the next day. I have no idea how or why … or even what I did to him. Nothing like that has ever happened before that."

Cat nods and looks over at me. "Alex, can you describe what happened from your vantage point?"

I shrug. "Well, it's pretty much what she said. She zapped me twice. It was kind of like a really strong static electric shock that she gave me. It did make the area sort of glow and radiate warmth where the metal mass is embedded in my back."

She pauses and thinks about that. "When you say 'glow', do you mean with light or with heat … or both?"

"Well, I couldn't see it." I shrug. "So, I couldn't speak to whether it emanated light. But it felt a lot like the metal heated up in my back … it was eerily like when it was the original event … but it didn't hurt. I don't know … does that make any sense?"

Her left eyebrow goes up. "It does. Completely. That was a great description. Fortunately, having read your file, I know about your accident, so it makes total sense. How does it feel now?"

She's read my file? What file? I shake my head and concentrate on my back for a second. "It feels … I don't know … a little better. I normally have chronic pain above the mass … I can't feel anything below it. But that pain is somehow … better. Not gone. Not good. But … less." I throw up my hands in frustration. "It's hard to explain!"

She shakes her head. "You did fine! I obviously can't relate, but I think I get it. Do you mind if Ginger gives you a quick examination? She's a healer and this has nothing to do with your magical evaluation, but it might help us with Sarah's."

I shrug. "Uhhhh … sure?"

Ginger, like Pinkie seems to be named after her hair color. Although, I assume "Pinkie" is a nickname. Ginger is a fair-skinned, freckled beauty who has laugh lines around her mouth and worry lines around her eyes. She nods and comes over to kneel in front of me. "Don't worry, Hon. This won't hurt. I'm just going to lay my hands on your back. Can you lean forward just enough to give my hands room to get in there?"

I nod and lean forward a few inches.

She places her hands on the small of my back and is quiet for a few minutes.

It feels kind of weird … I feel a slight tingle. Nothing like the zaps I got from Sis. I focus on her face. Her eyes are closed in concentration, but my eyes are still drawn to her long eyelashes and the bluish-green makeup on her eyelids. I had noticed they were green before she shut them. I also notice her flowery perfume, since she is leaning in really close to me.

She finally leans back and takes her hands off me. She has something between a frown and a sad look on her face. "I'm so sorry, Hon. I can feel the damage and the pain. I'm a fairly strong healer, but this is beyond my ability to repair, given the extent of the injury and its age. If I had been there closer to the event … maybe …. Anyway, I can feel that something has been at work on the injury. I suspect your sister's 'zap' is the explanation of that 'something.'" She winks.

Cat nods. "Sarah, would you mind trying to recreate the effect? Let's see if we can observe whether they are healing abilities in action. Don't worry, you won't harm Alex, I promise." She looks at me. "That promise goes to you, too, Alex. We won't let any harm come to you from this evaluation."

I nod nonchalantly and Sarah looks unsure. I smile encouragingly at her and wink. "Come braid my hair, Sis!"

She rolls her eyes and sighs but comes over and hesitantly starts braiding my hair. She just finishes up and touches my shoulders with her hands when I feel a strong zap … much stronger than the ones before. I gasp as my back heats up.

Sis tries to pull her hands back, but Ginger quickly steps in and holds them in place on my shoulders.

I feel the zap turn into a … flow. The best I can describe it is like when I once accidentally touched a live electric wire and felt the hot tingle that flowed through my body. This is very similar. The flow seems to be going straight to my injury and I can feel the metal in my back getting hot. It's actually starting to hurt a little … in my legs. I gasp in surprise and Sarah violently jerks her hands away. The flow and the pain in my legs stops but the heat remains in my back.

"You promised I wouldn't hurt him!" Sis has tears flowing from her haunted eyes.

I shake my head. "You didn't hurt me, Sis. Really! But … How? I could feel minor pain in my legs! I haven't felt anything in my legs since … waking up after … the event!"

Ginger looks at Cat and nods. Cat seems to know whatever that means, and Ginger looks very seriously at Sis. "I didn't let you hurt Alex, Sarah. I was monitoring your flow while I was holding your hands and ensuring you had good contact with him. You will ultimately learn to inject your healing magic into a patient without contact, but that is more advanced magic. I can confirm a couple of things, however. One, you do have strong healing magic, which is rare and part of why we wanted to evaluate you here. And two, you have a very strong magical connection with your brother. That's something for Rob, however, to further delve into."

Sis doesn't look placated and is now giving Ginger a scathing look.

I process what she just said. So, Cat is the "specificity divination" expert that Pinkie had referred to earlier. Ginger is a healer. Rob must be some sort of … psychic? Someone that can sense bonds, or connections, or something. That leaves Vick and I wonder what his "strength" is. I also think about Ginger's statement that there's a magical bond between Sis and me. That could explain some things, but I'll hold off on drinking that Kool-Aid for a bit longer. I look at my legs and remember the short-lived pain that I had felt. There could be something to it, I guess.

Rob, a mousy-looking, short, brown-headed guy in an ill-fitting suit, speaks up for the first time. "I'll look into the connection after Cat is finished with her evaluation of both mages. It sounds like they could have bonded somehow. Maybe the accident."

I sigh. They don't get it! I'm not a "mage." I don't have any magic! It's cool that Sis does, though. Even if she's currently a little freaked out about it … and maybe a lot pissed.

Cat nods and comes over to stand by Ginger, who steps out of the way. "Okay, Alex. Do you mind if I probe you—magically, of course!" She winks.

"Go ahead." I shrug and mutter, "You're wasting your time, though." I suddenly blush as I think I finally get why she winked. I guess she must like to physically probe, too. I've heard that girls are getting into doing that to guys, now.

"Humor me." She smiles and places her hands on my face. She spends several minutes with them there and seems to intensely concentrate, which just confirms my suspicion that there's nothing to find. She can look all she wants! Finally, she pulls her hands away and has a … shocked expression on her face. No, not shocked … more concerned, maybe? "Well, Alex. You're certainly an enigma!"

Momma J looks concerned now, too. "Why? Is there something wrong with Alex? What did you find?"

I want to blurt out that she didn't find anything! There's nothing to find!

"No, there is nothing wrong with Alex." Cat shakes her head and sighs as she looks me straight in the eye. "You're correct when you think that you have no magic …."

I want to shout, "See!" I simply give her a satisfied and an "I told you so" look. I hold back on sticking out my tongue at her.

She just rolls her eyes and pats my knee. "There is no reason for you to know that you do. You have very strong magic, Alex. It's just still latent." She looks at Ginger and then back at me. "We don't understand everything about where magic comes from … or why it manifests in some individuals and not in others. Overall, it's still very rare even to have magic of any kind. There are fewer than ten thousand known mages in the U.S., and most of them manifested well before we started registering them."

Registered? That sounds ominous.

Ginger nods. "What we do know—through anecdotal evidence and other corroboration—is that for those that do manifest magic, it typically happens approximately one year after onset of puberty. We can typically sense any latent magic after puberty has started and before it manifests. We normally can't sense anything before puberty starts."

Cat sighs. "We shouldn't be able to sense anything in you, Alex. You haven't started puberty. There should be no signs of magic in you for us to detect. But here we are. This leads me to believe it has something to do with your bond to your sister. Or … maybe you're just an exception to the rules we don't understand yet. Your magic is certainly exceptionally strong, so it could have other exceptions, too." She pauses a beat. "But it is also exceedingly rare. All of that is why Pinkie wanted to bring you here—for us to confirm her initial scan."

I blink. I have no idea what to say to any of that.

Momma J looks intrigued. "Do you mean if Alex starts taking hormones to force puberty that his magic will manifest? And what kind is it, if it's so rare?"

Ginger shakes her head. "The short answer to your first question is that I have no idea. We've never encountered this situation before. My suspicion, though, is that artificially inducing puberty will not trigger whatever is necessary for the magic to manifest. That's just an educated guess, however."

Cat steps in. "As for your second question …. Alex's core strength is war magic. That's fairly uncommon, but not actually rare. Vick has war magic."

I look at Vick, a burly sort of guy with a full beard and an overall aura that somehow reminds me of a Viking. I wonder what having war magic means, but I assume his presence is for security purposes. He winks at me.

"The part that's rare is the source of Alex's magic." Cat pauses and looks around the room. "I know you don't have any background in magical theory. It's not like we have a famous school of magic in a hidden castle, or anything like that to teach this stuff." She giggles. "Anyway, there are two mainstream sources of magic. There is dark magic, which is powered by ill intent and well … evil … for lack of a better way to explain it. Then there is light magic, which is powered by benevolent intent … and good. There is however one other very rare source of magic. We call it red magic. It is why even your initial evaluation is here at the White House. As you can imagine, we wouldn't normally do first-level evaluations on-site here. Normally there would have been a much more thorough vetting before you would have been brought here for a final evaluation and placement, but in your unique case there was a specific request for you to be brought straight here."

Pinkie has her hand on her forehead, not her ear, and seems to be listening to something. "He's on his way …."