“Niko,” I called out. “Come here for a minute.”
Niko slid out of the seat and stopped at the edge of the couch.
“Take a step to your right and sit down,” I said. “We need you.”
When the toe of his shoe met the end of the bench, he pivoted around and took a seat between us.
Carol looked a little confused and uncomfortable with his presence.
“It’s a little cold in here, Niko. Do you think you could turn up the heat?”
Niko inclined his head. “As you wish.”
Within seconds, heat was wafting off him. So much so that it actually lifted the ends of his fine hair as if a draft had blown up from the floor.
Carol’s eyes rounded, and she extended her hands to feel the warmth. “Wow! That’s so awesome.”
“Every Mage has at least one unique gift. Niko’s a Thermal. That means he can not only regulate his body temperature but he’s also our portable heater.” I stood up, the heat a little intense for my liking. “Niko, why don’t you two get to know each other? Carol has some questions about Breed, and I’d rather not traumatize her with my stories.”
I branched away, deciding that Niko would be able to give her better advice on her future decision than I could. We probably had no business interfering, but it didn’t sound like anyone had really counseled these kids. How could they possibly make an informed decision without any real understanding of our world?
I opened the door to the outside room between the cars. Christian was standing on the left by the side exit, gazing out the window. I stood across from him, acclimating to the much colder air. “Having fun?”
He pointed out the window. “Can you see the wolves?”
I leaned against the glass and squinted. “I can’t see anything.”
“They’re on the run.”
I drew in a sharp intake of breath. “After us?”
Christian shook his head and leaned his shoulder against the door. “Poachers are after them.”
“Poachers? What do they want, their pelts?”
“No. To reduce the Shifter population.”
“Isn’t that against the law?”
“In the wild there are no laws.”
The door to the connecting train opened. Claude and Blue walked through, not paying us any attention as they entered our car.
Once we were alone again, I snuggled against Christian and gazed into the darkness. I had a sinking feeling come over me. These were just innocent children.Humanchildren.
“You shouldn’t care about them,” he said judgmentally.
“What makes you think I do?”
“I heard you talking to the wee lass.”
“You shouldn’t eavesdrop.”
He lifted my chin with one finger. “Never get close to your work, Raven. It only makes it harder if something happens. Your emotions become a distraction and put everyone in danger.”
“Is that what happened with the last woman you guarded?”
A crooked smile appeared on his lips. “She made me realize it was time to retire. Letting your clients in can destroy you. Think of them as cargo.”
