Chapter 3

Marlin was wrong. Lunch seemed to fly by and she found she didn't want it to. She enjoyed Jason company. She was breaking one of her main rules: Don't make friends. Brain was the only friend she allowed herself and that was because she had known him all her life and she needed someone to manage her job offers. She shouldn't like Jason. Hell, she had to steal from him!

That thought reminded her of why she was eating expensive food with him. She smiled. “My lord, you are forgetting part of my conditions for this outing.”

“Call me Jason, please.” His smile was genuine. It made her feel like a complete a*s and the luckiest women in the world at the same time. “Why are you so interested in my pendent?”

“It is a beautiful piece,” she started. She found that she didn't want to really lie to him, so she gave him half-truths instead. “Studying old and beautiful things in my work. I've a curiosity that could make any tabby cat jealous.”

Jason smirked. “Doesn't surprise me in the least.”

He pushed his dessert plate to the side. He pulled out the pendent and hesitated for a moment. Marlin saw he wanted her to be able to look closely at it, but she saw he also didn't want to take the necklace off. She quickly got up and moved her chair right next to him. She settled back in her chair and held out her hand. Jason smiled and put the silver piece in her hand.

She absentmindedly talked as she studied the pendent. “The moon is made of a wonderful combination of mithral and silver. The emerald and black onyx are pure and true. It could have been made this morning.”

She closed her eyes and surrounded the pendent with her power. All cats had some special talent that humans normally called magic. Marlin could “read” everything about an object and she had a way with making herself invisible. Marlin gasped as her mind was drawn into the long and powerful history of the pendant.

“So old,” she whispered, her eyes unfocused and blind to the restaurant, “so very old. I can't.. I can't..” She shivered and shook. Her mind was being drawn too deeply into the pendant. She knew many with her power had lost their minds and souls trying to read objects that were very old or very powerful. She started to hyperventilate, fighting the pendant's power with all her might.

“Marlin!” Jason tried to remove the pendant from her grasp, but it seemed glued to the skin of her hands. He saw her shake and heard her struggle to breath. He covered the pendant with his right hand and commanded, “Release her!”

Marlin dropped the pendant as if it was made of acid. She reached blindly for something to hold onto. Jason caught her hands and held her as close as their chairs would allow. She shook uncontrollably and could not catch her breath. He snapped his fingers and Michal was instantly at his side.

“What is wrong, Lord Jason?” the host asked, his voice and face concerned. “Is Lady Marlin alright?”

“She needs somewhere more secluded to recover,” Jason replied as he carefully gathered the shivering woman in his arms. She clung to him and hid her face against his neck. He knew she was trying to come back from the times and places his pendant had dragged her to.

“The private parlor. It has couches and chairs and is, well, private. This way.” Michal led Jason to a small door not far from his table.

The room was small. Three of the walls were lined with couches that seemed to one large sofa and there was a chair on either side of the door. The couches and chairs were a pretty brown color that looked soft as deer hid. A coffee table took up the middle of the room, but left enough space between it and the couches for people to move easily. The walls, ceiling, and table were dark brown wood and the carpeted floor was a soft brown like the large sofa.

“Bring a pitcher of water and two cups,” Jason ordered over his shoulder. The door closed behind him and he sat down on the right side of the room. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms and back.

“Shh, pretty kitty, its okay,” he cooed in her ear. “You are here, with me, on a couch. Feel how soft the couch is, Marlin.” He took one of her hands and rubbed her palm against the soft material. “Come back, Marlin. Marlin.”

“I'm here.” Marlin's voice was soft, but strong. She took deep breathes to calm herself further. Her shaking stilled and she leaned limply against his chest. “I just can't move.”

“I'm so sorry,” he apologized as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. He forced himself to remember that she had almost lost her mind. He was having trouble focusing on that. She was so soft and she smelled good enough to eat. He forced his body to stay relaxed. “I should have told you it is a very old pendant.”

“I would have tried anyway.” She snuggled closer, her eyes drifted closed. “I wasn't prepared for that. Thanks for the help, but I could have gotten free of it. I would have fainted, though, so I'm glad you commanded it to release me.”

“You could have escaped it's grasp?” Jason asked, baffled.

“I examined the Moon and Sun Rods a few months ago with my power. They are far older and more powerful than your pendant.” She took a deep breath and let his scent fill her lungs. “I was surprised and my guard was already down. You smell really good, did you know that?”

“You examined the Rods?” he asked, surprised. “No appeaser has ever been able to us their power to examine the Rods.”

“Well, I did do nothing but sleep for a week afterward,but I managed.” Her breathing slowed. She pulled her cell phone out of a small pocket in her dress. “Call my friend Brain. He's the only actually person on my cell's contact list. Near the top. He'll take me home.”

“I'll take you home,” he said quickly. “Just tell me where-”

Marlin was asleep.

Jason took the cell and flipped it open. Pulling up the contact list, which was disturbingly short for a woman as beautiful and charming as the one in his arms, he choose one marked 'Brain' and hit the call button.

An impatient voice answered, “Marlin, I should skin you. How many times have I told you to not call me at work?”

“I'm not Marlin,” Jason said quickly. “You are Brain, yes?”

There was a long pause and Jason heard someone faintly ordering people to leave. “Yes, I'm Brain Hayes. Is Marlin alright?”

“Yes, but she needs to be taken home.”

“I'll be right there. Where are you?”

Jason told Brain and closed the phone. As he was slipping the phone back in the dress pocket Michal entered with a silver tea tray leaden with a crystal water pitch and two matching glasses. The host set the tray on the table and asked, “Is Lady Marlin okay?”

“Yes. Her friend Brain is coming to take her home.”

“I'll go wait for him at the door.” Michal hurried out.

Jason waited with Marlin fast asleep in his lap.