The Unwitting Thief

SAMANTHA

Itzal wasn't helping her for free. In return he wanted her loyalty when she learned to control her powers, and until then he wanted information.

He had told her that his Master was more powerful than all of these stupid men of politics put together, and that, when the time came, the Kingdom would be reunited as one again under his rule.

So now she didn't want to be normal. Not anymore. Now, with Itzal's training and her provision of information, she was going to leave this place for a new life of power and control, where no one would ever lay a finger on her again unless she let them.

A knock on the door distracted her and for a brief moment she lost her grip on the spirit. He flew towards her, his sudden release surprising him almost as much as her. She managed to throw up her arm and bring it down hard again, dismissing him before he touched her. When she looked around and found herself alone again, she smiled.

She didn't know how long he would be gone. She still needed to practice that one.

Dismissing a spirit felt as if she were pushing someone underwater, and the stronger they were, the more they struggled. The deeper she pushed them, the longer it took for them to come back.

The knocking came again, and Samantha rose from her seat, brushed down her skirts, and moved over to open the door, one hand pushing out her hip in a provocative manner, ready to greet her next customer.

When she opened the door, the fake smile on her lips grew into a real one, "Itzal!"

She stepped back ushering him in, closing the door swiftly behind him.

"You just missed it! I had that old spirit wrapped up like a present. I lost my grip on him when you knocked but I managed to push him back down, and I did it so fast, you should have seen the look on his face!" She was like a child, bouncing on the tips of her toes and clapping her hands.

Itzal stood silent, his eyebrows, or more like Aaron's, raised in surprise.

He turned away from her and moved, with smooth steps, his arms swinging at his sides. It was strange, how comfortable he made himself as he leaned against her bed post, arms crossing one over the other, the tip of one foot crossing the other and balancing on it's point. Strangest of all was the left side of his mouth had pulled up into a crooked grin.

That wasn't his smile. She knew his smile.

"Itzal?"

The face in front of her started to change, but that didn't bother Samantha. She had seen him change before. What startled her was the woman underneath, tossing a glowing stone up into the air and catching it with a snatch before putting it down between her breasts.

"Well, well, well... Who would have thought it? A little necromancer right here under my nose and I didn't even smell it! How'd you manage to stay off my radar so long sweetie? Eh?"

Samantha backed up slowly. Something was wrong. She had never seen this devilishly beautiful woman before, and as much as she had no idea how many people Itzal could change into, she was fairly certain this wasn't him.

As her hand touched the door knob, the woman laughed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Samantha hesitated, "Why not?"

"Because running away is definitely not your best option, plus you wouldn't get as far as the staircase."

"Who are you? What do you want?" The words came out an octave too high, and she could her her own shaking nerve in the crackle of her voice. She wanted to be brave, but what little control she had gained in life was reserved for the dead.

"I'm a messenger, here to tell you that you're Shapeshifting friend has been... how should I put this... retired."

Samantha's hand flew to her mouth, barely stifling a cry of despair. "What have you done to him?"

"I would worry more about yourself at the moment dearie." The woman glided across the room and moved behind Samantha, lifting a lock of her hair and inhaling her scent as she moved. "Although, with a talent like yours, there's no reason this can't go very well for you."

Samantha tried to swallow her fear, to accept the new hell she could be about to enter into after such a short reprieve. "I'm listening."

The woman clapped her hands together making Samantha jump. "That's the spirt!"

She moved around again and sat at Samantha's dressing table, leaning back on the old wood and throwing one leg over the other.

"It's simple really, you have three options." She raised her long slim index finger, tipped with a wicked sharp nail. "One, I take away this ability of yours away and you go back to whoring for the rest of your life." The middle finger followed. "Two, I arrange for a batch of Xeelmash to be delivered here to douse out that beautiful sight of yours, and we watch your debt climb up to the heavens." As she raised the third and final finger, the left side of her mouth quirked up in that crooked smile that had given her away before, "Three, you work for Martin and continue your training with me."

Samantha stared at her.

So, Martin was behind all of this. First he took her brother and now her teacher. She didn't have much in the world, but it seemed Martin was determined to have it all.

Just a few weeks ago, she would have jumped at the idea of being 'cured' of her sight. But not now. Now she had bigger plans, and this changed nothing.

"Before I answer, tell me one thing."

The woman dropped her hand, cocked her head to one side and nodded.

"Is Itzal alive?"

The smile returned with vigour. "Like him do you? Have you seen his real face? His real body? I assure you he's not worth it."

Samantha was more interested right now in where Itzal could lead her. She would never find his master on her own, but it would do her no benefit to share that with this woman. "It doesn't matter to me what his face is like, he was kind to me, is he alive?"

"Yes, for now."

Samantha nodded. "Keep him that way, and you can tell Martin I'm all his." For now.

The woman stood up and moved over, hand extended, "Sounds like a fair bargain to me. I'm Leyla, you're new and improved teacher."

Samantha took the woman's hand and tried to smile.

"Come now dearie, we can't be having you staying here." She looked around the room, a look of disgust plain on her face. "Pack up your things, you're moving on up to the big house."