Unbound by Adriane Ceallaigh Page B

letting the person in control of the ring use them. It makes them into weapons.”
    The nudge in the back of her mind hit her harder. A fine sweat broke out across her body. She needed to figure out what happened to her every time she, or someone else, mentioned the Mage Hunters.
    “So, what you’re saying is that they took people who could manage their power responsibly and enslaved them, then gave that formidable power to people who would use it without respect for the power they wielded?”
    He nodded.
    “So why didn’t the Mages just stand up and kick a little ass?”
    Not answering the question, he held up a box. “This contains the collar. If you see one, run.” He set the collar back into its protected box. “The box shields it from stray magic.”
    Sighing, he walked across the room. “There’s a man by the name of Connor, a brilliant man, born a half blooded Mage on his mother’s side. The full bloods treated him with scorn. The academies wouldn’t let him attend; no one knows for sure what happened next. Unable to take the ridicule, he vanished. People thought they’d seen the last of him, so what he did between then and inventing the collar is still a mystery.
    “He caused an uprising. People fled into the Drifts, some to the world beyond the Gates, bringing pain and destruction in their wake. People who hadn’t believed in magic had it forced on them and made the whole mess worse, as far as I’m concerned.
    “There was widespread panic until eventually Connor came out with his invention. People decided that they would cage what they didn’t understand and Connor ‘flew under the radar,’ as they say, having so little Mage-blood that he was considered a human with gifts. Much like you probably grew up believing about yourself. My suspicion is that the people Connor made the deal with are out for blood.”
    Lost in thought, Kayla decided that grappling with Gannon was preferable to spending the day chatting. She threw a left hook, catching him off guard. They sparred until they were both out of breath.
    “You’re pretty good with hand-to-hand. Where’d you study?” he asked when they stopped.
    “Oh, here and there,” she said coyly, not wanting to give away the masters who had taught her forbidden arts.
    He set his staff aside and wiped the sweat from his brow with one of the towels hanging from a rack. “Now that we’ve warmed up, why don’t we get serious and practice some magic?”Standing next to her, he pointed towards a distant practice post held firmly in the ground. “Close your eyes and visualize the post. I want you to see it engulfed in flames.”
    “Ok,” she said doubtfully. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and focused on the post, seeing it in all its detail. Her brow furling in concentration, she saw smoke begin to swirl around the post. Then she imagined it engulfed in a true blue flame, heat rippling in waves. She whispered, “Fire.” At Gannon’s gasp, she opened her eyes.
    “Put it out before you burn the place down!” he shouted and ran to get a bucket of water.
    “How do I put it out?”
    “The same way you started it. All magic starts and ends the same.”
    Faster this time, she saw the flames extinguish as she imagined water flowing over the fire. When she opened her eyes a second time, she saw that the fire was out. She looked at Gannon in shock.
    “How? What was that? How did I do that? Did you douse it?”
    “No, I hadn’t filled the pail before it went out. I think we’ve had enough for the moment. I need a shower and some time to think about your training. After we’ve gotten cleaned up, we need to do some recon on the building that you were supposed to deliver the package to. Maybe we should locate Keaton and have a few words with him.”
    “Sounds good,” she said with relief, glad that the training was over for now, still uncomfortable with her new powers. Happy to find them already back at the apartment, she remarked, “You're