A Big Deal

Rowen sent a text to Brooke the moment class ended, letting her know that she was going to have a meeting with the headmaster after school. She did not want to leave her guardian waiting outside, wondering where she was.

Nazeri was waiting for Rowen when she stepped out of the classroom.

"You still want to do this?"

Nazeri nodded her head, "The more I think about it the more I know it's what I have to do."

Rowen could not imagine a life where making a deal for power with someone you barely knew was a better option than being weak. Family should accept you no matter what.

"It'll be ok, I'll be with you every step of the way."

They walked to the elevator and made their way to the top floor. When they walked onto the fiftieth floor Rowen waved at Hyacinth.

"I need to see the headmaster."

"Is he expecting you?"

Rowen grinned, "Nope, but he will want to see us."

Rowen walked toward his office while Hyacinth kept pressing the button that let Kelos know he had visitors.

Like the last time she was there Rowen opened the door without knocking first. Kelos Devae was seated behind the desk and eyed her curiously. His suit today was the inverse of when she had first met him; dark blue jacket, light blue tie and white shirt. If the pattern stuck he would be wearing light blue pants.

"You're a day early, Ms. Nieves. I would also prefer it if you knocked first."

"Oh, sorry about that."

The way that she waved it off said that she did not actually care and would not change.

"I need a witness for a deal. I figured it would keep things above board and if you were the witness it would make Austin less upset with me."

Rowen sat down and relaxed. Nazeri was slower to come in and muttered an apology when she sat down. Nazeri kept chewing on her lower lip, her hands fidgeted on her lap. Nasi remained standing behind Rowen.

"Am I to assume that the deal is between you and Ms. Collins?"

"That would be correct."

Rowen could see how nervous Nazeri was and hoped that she would stay committed to the deal.

The headmaster made eye contact with Nazeri.

"What kind of deal are you wanting to make and are you certain you want to do this?"

Nazeri looked down at her hands and let out a sigh before she looked back up at Kelos.

"I don't think I've ever been more certain about anything before. I'm the weakest in my family, too weak to be bloodline. My parents are holding out hope that I'll become stronger by the time I graduate but I know it'll never happen.

"I have done nothing but push myself to become stronger the last five years with no results. We all hit our peak at some point, I just hit mine sooner than most. I'm willing to give up everything if it means I can become stronger."

Kelos wanted to tell her that it was ok to not be the strongest, but he knew better. When it came to the bloodlines power was everything. Nazeri's own family would disown her if she was considered too weak. To them it would weaken the bloodline if she kept the family name and had children.

"Very well. Let's hear the full terms of the deal."

Kelos looked at Rowen and nodded in her direction.

Rowen stood and moved to stand beside Nazeri.

"I offer you power, enough power to become one of the strongest Mages. In return you will work for me until such time as we both agree it is no longer necessary."

Rowen held out her hand to Nazeri who in turn reached up as they clasped forearms.

"I agree."

Nazeri let out a gasp and bent over in pain. Rowen wrapped an arm around her and tried to ease the pain, but there was nothing she could do.

~What's wrong?~

Rowen turned to the only one she knew who would have the answers; Gabriel.

~In order to become stronger her body has to change. She was not made to hold any more power than what she currently holds.

~There is nothing enjoyable about this, but once it's over she will be stronger. Her body will be able to hold much more power.~

Rowen could feel Gabriel's powers reach out and scan Nazeri's body.

~Because of how powerful we are and the words you used in the deal, the child will gain enough power to one day stand beside you in a fight.~

Rowen was surprised, though excited. She had wanted to give Nazeri the power to make her own choices, to find her own strength. It looked like she had succeeded.

~Will our powers always affect how a deal works?~

~Yes. That's why you should always consider carefully the words you say.~

It was several minutes before Nazeri was able to sit up. There was still some lingering pain, but it was manageable.

"Thank you."

The headmaster was ready with a glass of water when she was capable of drinking.

"How are you feeling?"

"Better, sir. I wasn't expecting it to be that rough."

Kelos returned to his seat. Rowen had moved her seat and was sitting next to Nazeri, frequently checking on the girl.

Kelos found himself unable to scold Rowen over the pain that Nazeri had experienced. Not when she had stayed with Nazeri the whole time. He had the feeling that neither of them had expected it to turn out this way. Kelos had enough experience with deals to know how messy they could get.

"If you're not feeling up to it in the morning you can skip your classes, Ms. Collins. If you decide to do that just let Hyacinth know and we will make certain you are excused."

"Thank you, sir. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"I need to go, Brooke has been waiting for a while." Rowen looked at Nazeri a moment before turning her attention to Kelos, "Would it be ok if Nazeri comes home with me for a few hours?"

He nodded, "So long as she is back by ten and it's what she wants."

"I think I would like that."

Nazeri smiled and looked at Rowen. Even after enduring so much pain she held no animosity toward Rowen. If anything she seemed more enamored.

"Great, I'll let her know and we'll get out of your hair."

Rowen pulled out her phone and sent a text to Brooke. They said their goodbyes and left the headmasters office.

After the door was shut and silence once again filled the office Kelos leaned back in his seat and looked off to the side. A moment later the figure of Austin came into view.

"I was always jealous of how you had seemed to know about everything when we were children. I now understand how you were able to pull that off."

Kelos laughed and Austin joined him, sitting down in the seat that Rowen had recently vacated. The cousin's had been discussing Rowen's disastrous first day when she had barged into the room.

If Hyacinth had not alerted them in time Austin would have been caught red handed checking in on her.

"How is it her second day here she has already gotten someone to make a deal with her? I still say it was a bad idea to give her free rein to make deals."

"Were we watching two different things? Rowen showed a lot of maturity in the way she handled that. Nazeri Collins was desperate enough that she would have taken a deal with anyone.

"It's better that she made it with Rowen, someone who cares about what happens to her, than some random demon who doesn't care. We both know how that story ends."

Austin sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You can try and control her all you want, Blake, but the truth is that she is no longer just a human. The little bit I've interacted with her, Rowen is more demon than human. You don't know her well enough to say that who she was before everything happened is who she should be now."

"You didn't see her room, Kelos. She's just a kid. It's not right that a demon is taking over her."

Kelos leaned forward, his eyes firmly locked onto Austin, "It doesn't matter what her room used to look like if the trauma has caused her to outgrow such things. Blake, she's not Sasha. Yes, she thinks more like a demon than a human, but that does not mean that it's taking over her. Even if it was, it would be within the parameters of the deal that they made together.

"All we can do is support her the best we can and try to keep the damage to a minimum. Throughout history whenever a Sync has appeared things changed, for better or worse. Forcing her to see the world the way you do could cause the very thing you're trying to avoid, Blake."

Austin's eyes narrowed and he sat up a little straighter, "Would you not call me that, damn it. She was the only one who called me that, no one else gets to say it."

Kelos stood, "Go home, get some rest and really think about whether what you're doing is for Rowen's good or for your own."

Austin stood and stormed off, though he was thoughtful enough to not slam the door as he left. Kelos could only watch him leave and wonder if his cousin was headed down a path of destruction.