“So.” Marley stuck the papers into a file folder and scribbled Riley’s name on it. “Tell me about how you figured out metal was your source.”
Riley shrugged and wiggled her hands under her legs, pressing them against the rough, nubby fabric of the chair. “I can’t pinpoint it, really. Stuff just seemed to happen, and eventually I realized I could make it happen, and once I figured that out, I realized it was always when I was touching metal.”
“Can you describe how you do it?” Marley wrote on the back of the registration form as Riley tried to express the sensation of making herself more. As she struggled to explain something so unique, Marley’s writing got faster and harder. The pen dug into the paper, and her knuckles turned white. Like she was…mad?
Riley tapered off, but Marley didn’t say anything. “Um…how does it work for other people?”
Marley heaved a big sigh and dropped the pen onto the pad. “It’s different for everyone.”
Riley waited. That was it? That was all she was going to say? She’d been sitting here like a little kid registering for school, fighting the sense of inferiority because Sam insisted these people could help her. And she got different for everyone.
“Is this a bad time or something? You don’t seem very happy about doing this.”
Marley’s mouth fell open with a look of dismay. “Oh, Riley, I’m sorry. It’s not like that at all.” She sighed again and straightened her shoulders. “Every manifestation is similar, but every goddess describes it differently. Everyone accesses the energy in unique ways.” She leaned her arms on the desk and focused on Riley. It was the first time she’d made real eye contact, and the strange paleness of her eyes jolted through Riley. It took a few seconds for her to catch back up to the conversation.
“My sister, Quinn—her power source is the full moon. When it’s up, she says she has a constant awareness of it, like a sense that it’s available, and she can reach out and use it.”
“What’s your source?” Riley asked. Ah, that was the problem. She could see it on Marley’s face. Riley thought she wasn’t going to answer, and when she did, her voice was much softer and less matter-of-fact than it had been seconds before.
“My source is…was…crystals. If I held the little ones—like you can get in a touristy store—I was filled with light. That enabled me to make an impact on the things around me. With bigger, purer crystals, I didn’t need to touch them. I had a connection like a laser beam and could use them to open myself up to the energy.”
A spurt of jealousy went through Riley. She ignored it, because Marley was talking in the past tense. “I have to be touching metal to use it.”
Marley nodded and made another note. “You can probably do more, but you need training.” She blew out a breath and shook her head. “I enjoy tailoring classes and mentorships to a goddess’s abilities, but I wish I could do demonstrations.”
Riley tried to let it go, she really did. But Marley was talking like Riley already knew the story, and she couldn’t contain her curiosity. “You…can’t do it anymore?” Marley looked ashamed, and Riley rushed to correct herself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. That’s prying—”
“No, it’s okay. It’s common knowledge. I assumed Sam had told you.” She tilted her head and frowned a little. “What did Sam tell you?”
“About…you?” When Marley nodded, Riley shook her head. At the diner Sam had talked a little bit about the people she’d meet and how he knew them but not in a lot of detail. “He used to work for your sister, right?”
“Yeah. And me, for a little while, when I first started this program. I don’t run it anymore. I’m just filling in while the new director is on maternity leave.” She pressed her lips together. “I wish he had told you everything.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Riley had really mucked this up. “You’re here to help me understand what I am, right? It’s none of my business what happened to you.”
“Unfortunately, it’s everyone’s business.” She sighed and stood again. “Look, it’s getting late. Do you have a place to stay tonight?”
Riley bit her lip. Where was Sam? He hadn’t said what would happen next. Whether he was going to drop her here and move on, or what. She wanted to stay with him tonight, but A, that was presumptuous, and B, no way was she going to admit it. So she shook her head.
“Come on. You can stay with me. We’ll get takeout and I’ll tell you my sordid tale, and tomorrow we’ll figure out what we can do for you. Okay?”
Riley didn’t even get a chance to hesitate. The door behind her opened, and Sam filled the space, looking deliciously disheveled. He’d carried fresh air into the tiny office with him, as well as an air of distraction. But his tense expression eased into a smile when he saw Riley.
“How’s it going in here?”
“Fine. Everything okay?” She twisted more in her seat to study him. His brow had furrowed again almost immediately, his gaze focusing inward. At her question, it snapped to her and Marley again.
“Yeah. For now.” He angled his chin toward the messenger bag Marley was stuffing. “You done for the day?”
“She’s all registered.” Marley switched off her computer monitor and slung the bag across her body. “She needs training, not that we have many people here right now to do that, and we can dig into the archives and see if we can find out anything about her family. I was just telling her she could stay with me tonight. I’m in the Society apartment.” She raised an eyebrow at Sam. “Where are you staying?”
“Ahhh…” He looked from Riley to Marley and back. “She really needs a protector with her right now.”
Marley smirked. “Okay, you can stay there, too. There’s room.”
“I wasn’t—”
From the hall behind him, an older man’s voice rumbled, “You should. I don’t have anyone in town right now. Told you we were stretched thin.”
Sam stepped back and introduced Riley to John.
He looked very much like she’d imagined. Older, maybe fifty or so, but as fit and tough-looking as he’d probably been twenty years ago. His hair was mostly gray, as was his five-o’clock shadow, and he clapped a proud hand on Sam’s shoulder as he joined the little group.
“I heard Marley say something about training,” he said. “What kind?”
Marley answered. “She needs to test her ability, see what works best to channel energy, do trials to see how it manifests. Determine her skill set.”
“You’ll need a goddess for some of that.” John eyed Riley. “But I can do some preliminaries. Sam tells me you defended yourself pretty well against some attackers.”
Riley nodded and shrugged. “If he says so.”
“We’ll start there tomorrow, then. You’ll cover them tonight, right, Sam?” He slapped Sam on the back and strode away, whistling.
“Looks like I’m it.” Sam raised his eyebrows at Marley.
“Good.” Marley ushered them out of the office. “Chinese for dinner. I’m buying.”
…
An hour later, Riley sat on a fat cushion next to the coffee table in Marley’s living room, twirling lo mien noodles with a set of wooden chopsticks. Sam perched on the very rectangular couch, elbows on his knees, and dished himself sweet and sour chicken out of a cardboard container.
Marley had said on the way over that the little apartment furnished in worn castoffs wasn’t technically hers. It was owned by the Society and used by goddesses in town for short visits. Marley had rented it while she was serving her time, so she still thought of it as hers even though she’d only be using it for a few more weeks. Riley was still trying to decide whether or not Marley had meant “serving time” tongue in cheek.