The Spellbinder's Mark (Set in the World of the Custodian Novels)

By Alison Pensy

Kat had spent much of her life trying to fit in and be normal. The gift she possessed made her attempt to do so all the more challenging.

Abandoned as a baby, Kat often wondered about the strange scars on her back. She wondered about the kind of person who would do such an atrocious thing to a defenseless infant. But when Kat barely escapes being mutilated for them, she has to consider there may be more to the marks than just horrific abuse.

Scared and on the run, Kat has no other choice than to accept the help of a man she knows she cannot trust. When he pulls her into a world she did not know existed, Kat has to question whether or not she made the right decision.

Set in the same world as the popular Custodian Novels series, this book can be read as a standalone novel or as a compliment to the original series with many of the beloved characters making an appearance.

This book contains mild sexual situations and language. Suitable for 16+

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alison Pensy
• Release date: Mar 30, 2015
• ISBN: 9780982543894

Alison Pensy

Alison Pensy was born and raised in England. She grew up near a medieval city, which is where much of the inspiration for her books comes from. Moving to the States in 2001, she eventually settled near a small town in mid Missouri with her menagerie of animals.Alison also runs her own tax and accounting business and started writing when she became so fed up with the real world, she decided to create her own.

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The Spellbinder's Mark

(Set in the World of the Custodian Novels)

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2015 by Alison Pensy

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

Published by Laxsaro Publishing, Publishing on Smashwords / March 2015

ISBN: 978-0-9825438-9-4

CHAPTER ONE

If Kat rested her chin in the palm of her hand any longer, it was going to be permanently imprinted with her life line.

She looked down at the blank page on the desk, taunting her with its emptiness. What the heck was she going to write for her paper on depreciation? And why did she struggle so hard to understand the basic concepts of, well, anything really? It didn't make any sense; she was smart. She knew in her heart she was smart, what came out on the page would call her a liar though.

Kat's gaze traveled around the tiny dorm room she called home, scanning the walls for inspiration. Who was she kidding? Posters of Linkin Park and One Republic were not going to help her with her accounting degree, which summoned an entirely new thought. What was she doing studying for possibly the most boring career in the history of mankind, anyway, especially when she had the gift she did? Oh, yeah, that's right. Accounting was safe, logical. Yep, that was Kat, safe and boring.

Her life hadn't always been that way, though. No, Kat's life was the reason she was sitting there trying to figure out depreciation and all its multi-colored facets.

As her disgruntled gaze returned to the blank page, it was halted by a knock on her bathroom door.

Kat, you in there? a muffled voice permeated through the wood.

It's open, Kat called.

The door squeaked reminding her she still needed to get the maintenance guy to douse the hinges with some WD-40.

Ella, her dorm neighbor who shared the bathroom that was between both their rooms, poked her head around the half opened aperture. There you are, she stated.

As if Kat would be anywhere else. Did she mention safe, boring? If she wasn't in a lecture you could generally find her in her dorm room.

A group of us are going into town, Ella continued. You want to come?

Kat opened her mouth, about to give her friend the usual response, but Ella beat her to it.

I'm not gonna take no for an answer this time, Kat. Ella balled her hands and rested her fists on her hips to drive the point home. Kat raised a brow.

Come out with us. You stay cooped up in here all the time. It's not healthy. You'll have fun, I promise.

Kat considered her statement and the pleading look in Ella's eyes. Subconsciously, one of her arms crossed itself over her chest, and she rubbed the opposite shoulder. Her muscles were like concrete. A sigh blew out in a puff before Kat even realized she was losing her resolve.

Okay, she said in defeat. But on one condition.

Ella's eyes lit up.

For God's sake, don't try and hook me up with anyone.

A smile played in the corner of her bathroom buddy's lips.

Ella… Kat warned. …promise me.

Ella rolled her sparkling green eyes and huffed out a breath. Okay, I promise. But you're no fun.

Kat barked out a humorless laugh. "And you're just realizing this now?"

It had only been two weeks since the start of semester. She'd worked hard to win her scholarship to the well-respected university in mid-America. The campus buildings, although much newer, had a sense of old English architecture about them. She found herself imagining she could be in Oxford or Cambridge; somewhere she'd always longed to visit. The green areas were lined with mature trees and edged with a plethora of different plants that were labelled with their Latin and English names. The town itself was a bustling hive of activity with no shortage of places for students to go and unwind.

Yes, Kat was a long way from home, well, the last place she called home, anyway. She learned a long time ago, it was best if people knew as little about her as possible. They just wouldn't understand…or worse… they might tie her down and jab her with needles. Unfortunately, her beautiful blonde neighbor had made it her mission to befriend the new, weird girl on the block, just as someone may take in a lost puppy.

The more Kat tried to stay inconspicuous and invisible, the harder Ella tried to pull Kat into her clique. It wasn't that she didn't like Ella's friends; they were nice. Apart from her jerk of a boyfriend, Kat had nothing against them, in general. It's just that whenever anyone got close enough to notice there was something odd about her, it was time to move on before they found out the truth, something she guarded, quite literally, with her life. This time around, she really didn't want to move. She liked this place, and she wanted to finish her degree, however long it took.

Kat drew in a calming breath. Okay, give me ten minutes to change and throw some makeup on.

Yes, Ella whispered, adding a little fist pump for good measure. As if succeeding in her mission to get Kat out on the town had won her a bet...maybe it had. Ella turned and left the way she came.

Kat pushed herself up from the chair and wandered over to her pint-sized chest of drawers. She hesitated a moment, scanning the items there. There wasn't much, a hair brush, a pot with a couple of makeup brushes, a tub of powder foundation, some mascara, and a silver brooch. Kat traced her fingers over the intricate design that formed a pattern that Kat could only describe as Celtic. Although not worth anything, it was her most precious possession. She was told that the brooch was pinned to the blanket she was wrapped in when she'd been found. She imagined it must have belonged to her mother. Was her mother Scottish, perhaps? Could that be where Kat was born? Kat had cherished the piece all her life. She rarely wore it, as the clasp was now loose and she was terrified she might lose it, and ergo the only connection she had to her mother.

A faint smile traced her lips as she picked up the piece and let it sit in her hand. She often imagined her mother holding her and wondered what would possess a woman to give up her baby? Kat's semblance of a smile fell. She drew in a breath, replaced the brooch on her dresser and brought her face up to the mirror. It was covered with a t-shirt that she'd tried to make look haphazard, as if it had fallen there by accident. Students were scruffy by nature. Kat was going for the approach that she had tossed it over her shoulder when she'd taken it off and that's where it landed. Ella never questioned it and no one else had ventured into her dorm room yet. Kat stared at the covered mirror for a long moment. She hated this bit, but sometimes, she had no option, not if she wanted to look at least halfway decent before facing the public.

The voice had been in her head for years now, but it only spoke when she looked in a mirror. It started the day her eyes changed color and it said only one thing...I will find you.

She had just turned thirteen when she heard it the first time, and she'd brushed it off as being her over active imagination. But, since then, every time she looked in the mirror, it would repeat the same line. After Kat had gotten over being terrified by the smooth, rich, male voice, her mind went into overdrive. Who could it be? Why did they want to find her? Six years later and no more enlightened, it was just plain unnerving.

Consequently, she had learned to do a lot of her personal grooming without the help of a mirror. Hence why she rarely wore makeup, and her thick, dark hair was usually a disheveled mess piled on top of her head. Those two facets alone could make her stick out as the weird girl on the block. Having eyes the color of a full-bodied merlot didn't help either. What did help? Contacts, that's what. Yes, contacts were her best friend; they held her deepest, darkest secret.

Luckily, when her eyes had turned, the set of foster parents she had at the time, put it down to Pink Eye. When it never 'cleared up', they just told her she was very unlucky. The State had provided her with contacts for a few years so she could at least go to school. Bullying was not fun, and being called Dracula or Frankenstein's monster on a daily basis was beyond what any kid should have to endure. As soon as Kat got her contacts, the teasing settled down, but the kids still knew what lay beneath them. It's a good job no one knew what had come along with it. They would have locked her up for sure, or, like she told herself, jabbed her with needles.

Steeling herself, Kat brought her hand up to the t-shirt, and, with tentative fingers outstretched, pulled on the fabric. Fake blue eyes, almost hinting on purple, stared back at her, hiding their true color and talent beneath the tiny discs of plastic. For a moment, she didn't move, just waited. Then there it was...I will find you.

She closed her eyes for a split second as tingles skittered up her neck like they always did when she heard his voice. It conjured images of smooth, creamy chocolate. Why? She had no idea, that's just how her brain worked. Kat let out her held breath as she reached for a pot of powder foundation.

Who are you? she said to her reflection.

Kat wasn't sure why she thought he would answer her this time, he never had in the past, but she always asked, just in case. She got to work with the foundation and a brush. True to her word, she was changed and had a splash of makeup on in ten.

***

Oh my goodness, it's packed in here tonight! Ella shouted as they pushed through the double glass and brass doors of Henley's bar. The music pumped so loud Kat could feel the vibration through her shoes. There they are! Ella waved to a group of people over at the bar with one hand and grabbed Kat by the arm with the other. At that point, Kat decided Ella was definitely studying for the wrong career. She would make a perfect captain for an icebreaker ship. Kat shuffled behind her friend as she pushed her way through the crowd like a ship breaking through the ice in the Arctic. Ella wasn't even that big, but people did the sensible thing and got out of her way. Kat cast a few apologetic glances at people as she was dragged past them.

As soon as they reached her group of friends, Ella's hulk of a boyfriend claimed his property, draping his arm around her shoulders. Ella let go of Kat and turned to wrap her arms around his waist.

Hey, Babe, he said before leaning over to kiss her.

Rubbing a hand over her neck, Kat averted her gaze. Intimacy made her uncomfortable; that, and the only kiss she'd ever had left a black mark on her memory.

Whadup, Kat? Hulk said. Never been kissed before?

Heat crept over her cheeks. This was exactly the reason she didn't come out.

Shut up, Steve, Ella said, elbowing Hulk in the side. Just ignore him, Kat. He's only joking.

Who says I'm joking?

Ella thumped her boyfriend on the arm. "If you want to get any for the rest of the year, I suggest you be nice. Apologize."

Steve put his hands up. Okay, okay. Sorry, Kat.

He shot her a wink. Kat shot him an acid smile in return.

Does that mean I still get some? Steve asked Ella as he swooped in for another kiss.

Naughty boy. Ella giggled into his mouth.

Urgh, gross. Kat rolled her eyes and looked away. Actually, she had been kissed before...once. The involuntary shudder snaked its way down her back. It wasn't her fault the dorkiest boy in the school had been foolish enough to take on a bet to kiss the creepiest girl in an effort to gain favor with the 'cool' kids. Kat hadn't asked to be kissed. Truth was, what happened shocked her as much as it did him. All she could remember was being shoved up against a tree one second and having her lips covered with slobber the next. All she did was put her hands on his chest to push him away. It was just a gentle shove, but it sent him flying across the football field. Luckily, he was too embarrassed to tell anyone his bruised ribs came from little old her, or the freak factor would surely have escalated up a few notches.

Kat looked down at her hands. It hadn't ever happened since, but, then again, she'd never had the cause to be that mad either.

Hey, Kat, Hulk said, breaking free from Ella's lips. You're single, right?

Kat breathed in deep. Here we go, she thought. The question was redundant; she could see no point in him asking it when Ella had obviously told him what her relationship status was. She shot Ella a look of betrayal and braced herself.

Yeah…and?

Hulk pointed across the room to where three guys were standing in a group chatting with each other, beers in hand. You see that guy over there with the green shirt on? He's single, too.

Kat cast a glance in the direction he was pointing. Yowza, seriously, that guy was single? Then reality set in. Yeah, she knew where this was going and she was having no part of it. Kat hitched a nonchalant shoulder and turned back to the hulk.

That's nice for him. Now, if you'd excuse me, I need to get a drink. She pushed her way to the bar through the sea of bodies.

I told you she wouldn't go for it. Kat heard Ella say to her boyfriend as she passed.

What is she, like, frigid or something? he asked.

Her back tensed for a split second. Why did she agree to this again? At least depreciation didn't insult her, although her accounting professor may well do so when he sees the fruits of her labor. She sighed and leaned against the bar, money showing in her hand to catch the eye of one of the frantically busy bar staff.

What'll it be? Sexy bar guy asked a few minutes later, flashing a brilliant smile.

It was infectious, Kat smiled back. Just an orange juice, please.

Coming right up.

Kat rubbed her neck, cast her gaze around the bar, and then she caught it...her reflection in the mirror behind the bottles of liquor.

Found you!

Shit. What?!

CHAPTER TWO

Kat spun around, panic grabbing at her throat like a cornered rat.

Hey, watch it! a man to her left grouched, his beer sloshing about in his glass.

Sorry, she mouthed over the music. He turned back to his friend and carried on with their conversation.

Her startled gaze darted about the room, resting on every person present. No one was looking at her; no one was paying her the slightest bit of attention. Did she just imagine it? No, it was clear as day in her head. Her eyes started to water with the strain she was putting them under. She reached up to rub them just as someone pushed past to get to the bar.

S'cuse me, he slurred as he bumped her elbow.

Kat's contact popped from her eye like it was getting the Heimlich maneuver. Oh, that was so not good. Her instant reaction was to look to the floor, but that was hopeless. She couldn't even see the floor for all the feet. If it had fallen down there, she had a cat's chance in hell of finding it. It was probably already crushed. Kat drew in a long breath and brought her gaze up. Well, that was the end of her night out. She'd have to excuse herself, feign a headache and leave. She was just about to turn to Ella when Lady Luck handed her a bone. Her contact was stuck on the shirt of the guy in front of her. His back was to her so she reached up to pluck her contact from his shirt, he'd never even know. As Kat focused on her contact, she could feel her eye contract.

Uh-oh, here we go, she thought.

His shirt disappeared first, revealing his skin. It was healthy, tanned; nothing to report there. Then her eyes scanned deeper. His muscles were fine, but he'd recently had shoulder surgery, she could see the repair. Surgeon did a good job, she mused. Then she saw his lungs. Oh, dear...smoker. Her lips curled at the black tar smothering what should be healthy pink tissue. Kat choked down the nausea. Would she ever get used to seeing inside people? She doubted it. Thankfully, her contacts prevented her gift from working when she had them in, another reason she didn't take them out very often. If her eye color wasn't creepy enough to begin with, being able to see that someone was about to die of a heart attack was downright gut wrenching.

With the contact safely stowed in her hand, Kat headed towards the restroom so she could put it back in. The space opened up a bit as she got further away from the bar, so she kept her head down and walked with determination towards the back of the room. That was, until, she walked headlong into something warm and hard. Oh, God, seriously...now? Did she mention clumsy in her long list of attributes? Strong hands wrapped around her upper arms to steady her, stopping her in her tracks.

Her hand covered her eye without her having to think.

I'm so sorry, she said as she started to look up. I lost my contact...

It was 'Yowza, he's single' from across the room. Double seriously?

Jewel-toned green eyes, framed by a strong brow smiled down at her. Shaggy brown hair fell just below his ears and neatly trimmed, supposed-to-be-there stubble highlighted lips that were full and…very kissable. What the heck was she doing noticing his lips? They did look good though.

Kat, stop it! her subconscious, whom Kat had lovingly named Doris, warned. Kat told her to go away. She didn't listen. She never did.

No worries, no harm done, Yowza said. Are you okay? he continued, looking at the hand covering her eye. Did you hurt yourself?

They were so close she could feel his breath on her face, smell the hint of beer on his breath.

No, just had a contact fall out. Luckily, I didn't lose it. I was just off to the ladies room to put it back in.

Yowza nodded in acknowledgment but didn't say anything. His hands were still wrapped around her upper arms, his eyes locked on hers, well, one of them anyway.

Hunter, my man! I see you've already met the lovely Kat, Hulk boomed, coming up behind her.

Kat's shoulders sagged; she pulled out of Hunter's grip and took a step back, wrapping her free arm across her midriff.

Hulk stepped around her and draped an arm over Hunter's shoulder. And here I thought... he said waving his bottle of beer in front of him and pointing a finger at her, "...you