Quiet murmurs reached me from where I stood a few meters away. I couldn’t hear actual words, but their sharp and jagged tones told me they didn’t like the direction of this conversation.
“Could I ask who is claiming to own these people?” Justin’s smooth tones had gained sharp, intimidating edges.
“The automatons are owned by a group of investors, they are merely seeking to find out where their machines have vanished. It could be considered theft.” The magistrate grinned, more a baring of teeth by a wild dog, than a more welcoming expression.
“Your investor friends should take better care of their workers. I’m certain even animals have better conditions and such treatment of them would see them in jail.”
“But animals have feelings. These are merely machines,” he argued.
The first step in justifying inhumanity was to deny the being status of the abused.
An odd tingling started at my fingertips, traveled up my arm and settled in my chest. I lifted my hands. Nothing appeared different. Wiggling my fingers sent sparks flying into the air. Startled, I jerked my head back. A quick glance around proved no one’s attention was directed my way.
“I’ll hold Marcus,” Thorne whispered to me, staring at my hands.
Someone had been watching.
“Thanks.” I handed him over. I would never forgive myself if my sparking fingers set a baby on fire.
What was happening to me now? Had my magic begun to manifest in new ways? I backed up a few steps. If those people came through, I didn’t want them to see my fingers sparking or whatever the fuck they were doing.
“Are you all right? “A brunette mechanical came to stand beside me. Her hands were metal and made clacking sounds when she moved them about.
She touched my arm and before I could jerk away, a spark jumped from my arm and sank into her hand. Wide-eyed, I watched as a wave of glowing blue magic encased her hands. Seconds later, the blue faded and her fingers appeared unmarred… human. She held up her hands and wiggled the digits silently. Tear dripped from her eyes and her shoulder shook. Before I could stop her, she wrapped me in her arms in a crushing hug. “Thank you, thank you,” she whispered.
Turning human had apparently not changed her inhuman strength. I gasped as my bones creaked in her crushing embrace.
“You might want to let him go, Mina, before you break him,” a new voice spoke.
“Oh, sorry.” Mina released me.
I sucked in air and rotated my left shoulder where she had gripped too tightly for comfort. The mechanical woman behind Mina’s shoulder offered a wide grin. A gruesome expression when half of her face was a mishmash of mechanical parts.
“I’m Corabelle. Can you change me too?” Corabelle had long dull dark hair that hadn’t seen a wash in more days than I cared to consider. Her eyes held the desperate hunger of a person finding hope for the first time. Her shabby dress had enough holes that pieces of metal poked through the fabric. The mechanical-minded side of me wanted to examine how different they all were. Fortunately, the scraps of compassionate humanity I had yet to lose urged me to help them rather than take them apart. I didn’t want to be another Torren, even without Cruller threatening to tear me apart.
“I can try.” Uncertain of how my magic would react again, I placed a hand on Corabelle’s bare wrist.
Instead of a spark, a large flare of light encompassed us both. I blinked several times to clear the spots from my vision. A gasp escaped me when I saw Corabelle’s new look. She still had dirty hair and hope in her eyes, but the glimpses of mechanics were replaced by smooth flesh. I blushed and released her hand.
“I don’t know if this will last or not,” I confessed. Better not have them expect miracles I couldn’t deliver. It might be permanent or might not. None of my magic had ever reverted, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility of it happening. I had to believe that having them change back to their ancestor’s original forms would help the transformation remain.
“It will,” Corabelle said. “I can feel it.”
“Um. Good then.” Who was I to contradict her? It could be her own form of magic that tells her everything will be fine. In my experience, even woman’s intuition was its own kind of magic.
While Justin chatted at the door, stalling for eternity, I moved through the crowd touching the mechanicals one at a time. They crowded around me pushing at all sides. I gasped for air, unable to handle the mob. Oss came to the rescue. My plans and ideas of different runes was thrown out the window. These people just needed my touch. If I was the type to have a messiah complex, now would be the time.
“Back off. The next person to shove their way forward is going to be sent to the end of the line,” Oss growled.
I offered him a grateful smile. People crowding around me never led to positive encounters. Now that they were in a rough line, I went to them one by one. Halfway through, I lost my energy. Exhaustion drained my body and I swayed where I stood.
A warm arm wrapped around me. “Easy, love, I’ve got you. I think it’s time you rested.”
Sounds of protest echoed down the line.
“Quiet. I won’t have you killing him with your demands. He’s using his own energy to save you after already rescuing you. You should be happy he’s willing to do this, not complain that he can’t help everyone in one day. He only has so much power.” Justin’s speech ended in a low growl.
I patted his chest, trying to both soothe and thank him for his intervention.
