Skyborn(13)

She scanned up and down my body. "If you're ever in need of a job, you can dance here." She winked.

"Never gonna happen," Logan's serious voice boomed behind me.                       
       
           



       

I laughed nervously and Eva smiled. "I'm Eva, sweetheart, and I've taken  an oath long ago to protect the skyborn. You can trust me, but only me.  No one else in my club knows what Logan is. They think he's a wolf  because I have given him a wolf's permanent scent. I'm going to do the  same to you. This will allow you to go out in public without fear of  hunters or druids smelling you."

I sighed in relief. "That would have been super helpful two weeks ago."

Eva smiled. "You've had a rough time, I'm sure. Keegan told me you  transformed for the first time after falling off the ledge of the Grand  Canyon?"

I nodded. "I was plummeting for the ground when a burning broke out on  my skin. I  …  didn't even think. I just  …  transformed. It was crazy. I'm  still not sure that I'm one hundred percent sane."

Eva frowned, stepping closer. "Oh, sweetheart, you're sane, but I need  to find out how you have lived your whole life thinking you're human."

I shrugged, and she stepped even closer to me. She took a deep breath in  through her nose and her eyes flared copper. She took a second breath  and her brow furrowed in confusion.

"The black soap should have worked," she muttered.

"What's wrong?" Logan called from behind me.

Eva brought her hand up to her chin. "Nothing that I can't fix for the  spell, but she smells like a supernatural mutt-Druid, dragon, sorcerer.  It might be too soon after coming into contact with heavy druid magic.  Was he powerful?"

Logan shrugged. "I've fought worse."

Eva rolled her eyes and looked at me. "Did Nadine warn you not to fluff his ego?"

I smiled. "She did."

Logan scoffed behind me. "That is completely unfair."

Eva winked at me. "Alright, first I'm going to do the scent-binding spell."

Nerves suddenly clamped down on my belly and sweat broke out on my  palms. I had always been a nervous person, socially or with school  projects. It was like the second the spotlight was on me, I forgot my  name and my palms became wet.

"It doesn't hurt," Logan whispered from right behind me. I could feel  the warmth of his body heat as his scent wrapped around me, causing my  dragon to purr inside of me.

"Is she in heat?" Eva asked Logan, and I nearly choked on my own embarrassment.

Logan cleared his throat and I heard him step back a few feet. "She was.  I put her in a sleep until she got through it. I didn't want to call  and tell you about her for fear the phones would be tapped. I was going  to bring her to you tomorrow morning."

Eva was watching me, and I had no doubt that my cheeks matched my hair  color. "Hmm," was all she said, then she switched gears as if the whole  "in heat" thing didn't exist. "Alright, honey, I need a strand of that  gorgeous hair," she said, reaching out and yanking a piece.

Ow.

She coiled the hair into the mortar and pestle, and the second it hit  the powder, it puffed with a bright green light that flickered purple  for a second.

"Ohh, I love the color of dragon magic," Eva said, smiling.

I returned her smile; it was hard not to like her. She had an open and friendly personality.

"So, are you like  …  a lead Sorceress or something?" I asked stupidly. I  didn't know what they were called, but this woman was clearly the boss.

This time laughter spilled from her throat. "You could say that," she answered coyly.

"Hah!" Logan barked and I looked over to see him casually leafing  through a book like this was just another Friday night. "She is being  modest. Which she never is, by the way."

Eva scoffed and spit her tongue out at him.

"Ninety-nine percent of magic users are watered down with human DNA.  Most don't even know they have magic. They call themselves lucky or  intuitive. They wish for things to happen and sometimes get their way.  But Eva is one of the very few and very rare full-blooded magic  wielders. Her Sorceress powers cannot be matched by many." Logan  informed me.

Whoa, that was comforting and nerve-racking at the same time.

Eva leaned into me. "My ego doesn't need any boosting either. Remember that," she joked.

I smiled. "Will do."

Eva walked over to a jar on the wall and pulled it down. The fluid was a  clear-ish yellow, and as she poured it into the bowl, I tried to  convince myself it wasn't more pee.

"What is that?" I squeaked.

She turned and made her way back over to me, swirling the bowl as she  walked. Green sparks were shooting off of it. "Best not to ask those  questions dear," she answered.                       
       
           



       

Oh shit. It was totally pee. She leaned over and pulled a big jar of  honey out. It was one of those bear squeeze ones from the market.

"That's a special ingredient?" I mused aloud.

Eva squeezed a heaping spoonful in and stirred it with a spoon. "Makes it palatable, dear."

Oh hell no. I was NOT drinking that.

"Bottoms up. This won't change who you are one bit, but it will fool  most of the magical idiots that roam this earth." She handed me the  bowl.

Ugh. I could see crap floating in it, and my hair! I couldn't drink  this! I was ninety-eight percent sure that she'd poured wolf pee into  it.

I was about to object when, "I've done it," Logan called from behind me,  as if that would make me feel better. Well, a little I guess. But  standing in a velvet purple bikini about to drink hair, pee, and God  knows what else, made it hard to control my gag reflex.

"The faster you drink it, the faster I can find out who kept your dragon hidden for twenty years," Eva mused.

My eyes widened. She could find that out? Okay, screw it. Without  over-thinking it, I opened my mouth and threw the potion down the hatch.  Besides, if this was some paranoid delusion, maybe this much repulsion  would wake me up.

Oh gag! The bitter, lukewarm fluid hit my tongue and I gagged, but took  the contents down in one gulp. I coughed, about to throw it up, when Eva  shoved a water bottle in my face. Grabbing it, I chugged half the  bottle until the taste finally lessened.

I'd just drank my own hair. The thought was more psychologically  disturbing than I thought it would be. A warm soothing wave worked down  my body from head to toe, leaving a slight tingle in its wake.

Finally, a popping noise emitted right behind me, or in me. I couldn't tell. And Eva clapped her hands. "Perfect!"

I lifted up one arm and took a whiff, scrunching my face in disgust. "I smell mildly of dog."

Logan gave a strangled laugh. "Don't tell Keegan or Nadine that."

Eva gave me a little smile. "It will wear off. It's just extra strong  for the next twenty-four hours until the spell settles. Now, as far as  the supernatural community is concerned, you and Logan are immortal wolf  shifters in Keegan's pack. You're low-ranking, you stay out of trouble,  and you never shift."

"Right." It made sense now why Keegan was the one to get me in the door  with the bouncer and Logan had stuck to the rear of the line. This  entire time he had disguised himself as Keegan's submissive packmate?  Must have been hard with such a dominating personality.

"What if our pack is attacked or a fight breaks out? I'm just supposed  to stay human?" Because I'm pretty sure my dragon would be all over  that.

Logan strode across the room to stand before me. "Yes. You throw a  punch, break a bottle over someone's head, but you never shift. Only if  your life depends on it, and a druid is about to kill you, do you reveal  what you are."

Great. Something Eva had said before was gnawing at me. "Can you really  tell how I was human for so long?" Because this entire situation was  beyond messed up and I wanted to know as much information as I could.

Eva stepped closer, a serious look crossing her face. "Now that we don't  need to worry about your scent, I can touch you. But I want you to be  forewarned that when I do, I will know many facets of your most personal  moments. The highest highs and lowest lows. Your soul will reveal  itself to me, but I require your permission first."

"Jesus." I had to fight the urge to step back a little. My highest  highs? Were there any? I guess when I got into college. Lowest lows-take  your pick. But I was dying to know how I could be human my entire life  and then one day, just  …  transform.

I swallowed hard. "You have my permission." I extended my left hand. It  was my dominant hand and I assumed she was going to read my palm or  something. Instead she pushed my hand down lightly and placed a hand on  each shoulder. Her eyes flared a burnt orange, hypnotizing me with their  glow as she leaned forward and placed her forehead on mine. For a wild  second, I thought she might kiss me, but the moment her head touched  mine, a buzzing started to vibrate deep within my body. I'd been  electrocuted once; it was mild but I never forgot it. This was similar  to that but at only ten percent. It was tolerable, but weird. Mildly  uncomfortable. I wanted to pull away, and my dragon didn't like it  either. She slithered around inside of me, assessing this feeling as a  threat.