CHAPTER FOUR:
THE REVELATION
The
next day, Sterling returned, this time with a proposition.
"I know what you can do, Maya," he said, his voice low. "I've been searching for someone with your abilities for a very long time."
Maya tensed. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Don't bother denying it. The chimera told me everything."
"Told you?"
Sterling smiled coldly. "You think you're the only one with gifts? I can communicate with your creations. Control them, even."
Maya felt a chill spread through her body. "That's not possible."
"You're not the only keeper of ancient knowledge, my dear. My family has been collecting occult artifacts and practices for generations. When I heard rumors about a tattoo artist in Portland whose work seemed to come alive..." He shrugged. "I had to see for myself."
He leaned closer. "I'm prepared to offer you five million dollars for exclusive rights to your services. You'll tattoo only my designs, using my special inks, on subjects of my choosing."
"And if I refuse?"
Sterling's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Then I'll expose you. And when the government discovers what you can do, how long do you think it will be before they lock you in a lab somewhere? Or worse, replicate your gift for military applications?"
Maya felt trapped. Her creations were her family now. The thought of them being used as weapons made her sick.
"I need time to think," she said finally.
"You have until tomorrow night," Sterling replied, sliding a business card across the counter. "Don't disappoint me, Maya."
That night, Maya gathered her inked companions - the raven, the phoenix, the butterfly, and others - and told them everything.
"I need your help," she pleaded. "I can't let him use you like this."
The phoenix's voice resonated in her mind. *"We are bound to you, creator. But beware - the man has old magic. He has corrupted the chimera with a binding spell."*
"How do we stop him?"
"The original creator has power over all. Remember the source of your gift."*
Maya thought back to her conversations with the old ink supplier in Chinatown. He had told her the pigments contained elements that responded to creative energy, amplifying intention.
An idea began to form.