He dropped his hand. "How did you?"
"I don't know." Pulling my hand away and shaking it out, I hoped the glowing would stop. Whatever it was, I didn't have any control of it. The light didn't fade.
Joe was smiling now. "That's amazing, Ara. You're like a super hero! You should totally get some tights and go take down bad guys."
"I don't even know what it does," I said.
He slid his coffee cup over to me. "Touch it."
I smiled. As strange as this was, it made me feel better that Joe wasn't running from me in terror. I lifted my index finger and touched the coffee cup. The cup shattered, sending liquid spreading over the counter. I jumped, away from the mess and cupped my hands over my ears. My heart raced. I was a monster. Worried that Joe was going to send me packing right then, I was afraid to look at him.
Slowly, I moved my hands from my ears and turned to him. He was laughing.
"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" he said.
"Really? You're not afraid of me?" I asked.
He raised his brow, the scars on his forehead wrinkled. "Are you going to do it to me?"
I shook my head. "You know I'd never hurt you."
"There you go." He said it as if it were the most simple thing in the world. Like every day your friend shows up and demonstrates potentially deadly magical powers in the middle of the night.
My hand was back to normal. "I'm still not sure what it all means."
Joe walked over to the sink, grabbed a sponge and returned to mop up the mess.
"Let me help," I said.
"I got it. I'm the one who asked you to do it," he said.
"That's true."
He slid the broken pieces of the mug to the edge of the counter and pushed them into the trash can below. "So are you a faerie or whatever it was you were talking about?"
"No, they told me I'm something called a Sayge," I said.
"So we need to find another one and ask some questions. Is there like a school for Sayges?"
"It's not Harry Potter, Joe," I said.
"I'm just saying, you can't be the only one, right?" Joe tossed the sponge back in the sink and got a new mug out. "I mean, if there's another Sayge, maybe they can show you how to use that power."
I wasn't sure why I'd decided to keep Gia's card with me, but somehow, I had known it was important when I wedged it into the waistband of my underwear.
"Turn around," I said.
Joe didn't argue, he turned from me, and I pulled up the red dress to retrieve the card. It was sturdy, made of metal with words etched on it. Dropping the fabric back down around my legs, I set the card on the counter. "I have this."
Joe turned back to me and looked where I was pointing to the card. "What is it?"
"I got it from another Sayge, someone like me. I thought I could find her and maybe get some answers."
I pushed the card across the counter to Joe. "I just can't figure out how to find her."
Taking the card from me, Joe turned it over in his hands, looking at both sides. He looked up at me with a broad smile on his face."You think she'll train you how to leap tall buildings and stuff?"
"You read too many comic books. Give me that." I took the card back from him.
Joe took a sip of his newly poured coffee. "Can I design your super-hero costume?"
I lifted an eyebrow and stared at him. "You're not going to let that go, are you?"
"Never."
Chapter 2
"Ara, Ara, wake up."
I jumped at the sound and threw the blanket off of me. It took a moment for me to register that I was in Joe's apartment and that the voice belonged to that of my host. Sunlight streamed in through the window well, and the room looked smaller than it had the night before.
Pressing my palms into my closed eyes, I rubbed the sleep from them. My whole body ached. Joe and I had stayed up for an hour or two talking after I'd arrived. I'd told him everything, well, except for the details about Brenon. Joe, being the wonderful friend he was, hung on every word without telling me I was crazy. Sometime before dawn, I'd managed to fall asleep. "What time is it?"
"Noon. I'd have let you keep sleeping, but you were talking so much I wasn't sure you were getting any rest." Joe handed me a cup of coffee.
I leaned back against the wall and took the mug from him. "Thanks."
Joe walked away and returned with his drink. He was studying me, waiting for me to speak first. He was probably curious as to why I'd been talking in my sleep. I didn't want to tell him I'd been dreaming about Terra hurting Brenon. I wasn't ready to explain my relationship, whatever it was, with the Ringmaster. I sipped the coffee quietly for a few moments, trying to process the feelings that were rolling through me. Telling myself I had no feelings for Brenon was a lie, what I felt for him was real. I just didn't know if what he felt for me was real.
Joe cleared his throat. "It's good to see you, Ara. Phone calls every few months aren't the same as our old late night coffee talks."
I smiled. Joe and I had grown close during our time at the rehab center. But we lived in different parts of the country, and once we each got to go home, we'd stayed in touch with phone calls. As the years passed, and we got busier, the phone calls had happened less frequently. Though I never felt like any time passed between us when we did talk. "It's been too long. I missed you."
"Me too," Joe said.
The phone rang, and Joe walked over to answer it. "Hello?"
I watched as he listened to the person on the other end.
"I'll get it done next week...yes, thank you....talk to you soon." He hung up.
"I'm keeping you from work, aren't I?" I said. "I don't want you to get in trouble for hanging out with me. You don't have to take care of me."
"Oh, I know that. Trust me. After what you showed me last night, it's clear you can take care of yourself. But I want to be here." He took a sip of coffee. "Told my boss an old friend from rehab was in town and was having some trouble, he gave me the week off."
I closed my eyes for a moment. I didn't like how that sounded. "It makes it sound like I'm on a bender or something."
"Doesn't matter. My boss knows my history, and he's had his share of demons. He gets it." He shrugged. "Besides, what else would I use my vacation days on? Nowhere for me to go."
"You're a good friend, Joe."
He smiled. "You'd do the same for me."
His response made me think. Would I do the same thing for him? Would I welcome him in and take care of him? I shook my head. "No, I wouldn't. If you came to me and told me you'd been part of some group of magical creatures, I'd think you were nuts. I'd find help for you, sure, but I wouldn't believe you like you believed me." I set the cup down. "Wait, do you have someone coming to take me away?"
He spit out his coffee.
"Ew." I wiped it off my face with his blankets.