The Defiant Magician

by Sarah Noffke

  Stefan turned and gave Liv a contemptuous glare. “You’ll only slow me down.”

  “Stefan,” Raina scolded from the bench.

  Adler held out his hand, seeming to enjoy this. “Actually, after what we’ve learned today, it appears that you, Warrior Ludwig, would be the one to slow her down. How many demons have you slain this month? Two?”

  “Two and a half,” Stefan corrected.

  Adler raised a discerning eyebrow. “How is there a half?”

  “I severely injured one,” Stefan explained. “I think it will be easy to track it down and finish it off.”

  “Well, good,” Adler said, looking pleased. “I think that Ms. Beaufont’s help will be what you need here. Maybe get you out of your rut.”

  Stefan glared at Liv, doing an excellent job of looking like he hated her very existence. “I work alone.”

  “You work with who we assign you,” Adler stated.

  He probably thought that he’d be getting rid of two nuisances at once, not even realizing he was being played.

  “I don’t particularly want you in my sandbox either,” Liv told the Warrior.

  “Fine, then we’ll hunt demons separately,” Stefan said with a tired sigh, his arms behind his back and his chin lifted.

  “You will do it together,” Adler said with finality.

  Liv grunted with disapproval.

  Stefan lowered his eyes.

  Adler cast his eyes left and right down the bench, checking for agreement. “All in favor?”

  The councilors all consented, Hester showing the least enthusiasm.

  Liv could hardly believe they’d played the Council so well. Maybe she and Stefan Ludwig would make a good team after all.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  “Well, that settles it,” Rory said, deboning a salmon as the kittens mewed at his feet. “You've lost your damn mind.”

  “What do you mean?” Liv asked, checking the dining room when she heard a noise. It was only Junebug crawling into a teacup on the dining room table. Spread across the surface was a floral print tablecloth. On top of it was a polished silver tray that held a teapot, creamer, sugar, and a tray of cookies. “Why does it look like you’re about to have the queen over for afternoon tea?”

  “What?” Rory called from the kitchen. “Oh, that? I always have that sitting out. It’s decoration.”

  Liv lifted the lid off the teapot, steam rising from it. “And you always have freshly brewed tea, too. That’s impressive.”

  “It’s nothing,” Rory said. “I just like to have some tea sometimes.”

  Liv observed that there were two place settings at the table and shook her head. “Are the kittens joining you? If so, you need to set out some extra teacups.”

  Rory shook his head at her when she reentered the kitchen. “The kittens are having salmon. They don’t drink tea.”

  “Right,” Liv said, drawing out the word. “Thanks for clarifying. And you do realize that stores sell these cans of food? Cats love it, and it’s easier than deboning fish.”

  Rory grimaced. “You don’t feed that stuff to Plato, do you?”

  “He likes it,” she argued.

  “He just doesn’t know any better.”

  Liv rolled her eyes. “Plato has been around a lot longer than me, and he knows what he likes. If he wants something different, I suspect he’ll tell me or go get it himself.”

  He shook his head at her, using his shoulder to push the hair out of his eyes. “You still misunderstand so much about lynxes.”

  “It’s hard to learn much from the book about him,” Liv stated. “At first it wasn’t so bad, because every time I opened it, somehow it was on that chapter dealing with lynxes. However, now when I crack open the book, it’s always a different chapter, and I can’t find the one on lynxes.”

  “That’s because the book tries to tell you what you need to know about most,” Rory explained. “At first you didn’t need to know that much, but with your growing responsibilities and challenges, your knowledge base needs to expand.”

  “So what do I misunderstand about lynxes?” Liv asked, thinking back to the wetlands in Florida and firmly believing that if it hadn’t been for Plato’s strange warning, the demon might have taken her out.

  “You’re his human,” Rory said, sliding the bones into the trash and arranging the fish on a decorative plate. “A lynx only attaches itself to one human at a time. The scope of their world becomes his, so even if he can go off to eat the finest foods in Paris or wherever, if that’s too far from you, he won’t risk it. He’ll confine himself to your vicinity and eat the junk you feed him because that’s part of your world.”

  “For someone who seems to loathe Plato, you just said a lot of things to the contrary,” Liv stated.

  “I never said there weren’t some redeeming qualities to lynxes,” Rory reasoned. “It’s only that you must ask yourself why he’s attached himself to you. At their core, lynxes are self-serving. They hide the truth and guard secrets.”

  Liv couldn’t argue with any of that. These had been her concerns about Plato, but she wasn’t getting rid of him, no matter what. For whatever reason, her instinct told her to trust him the same way she had with John when they’d met, and now Rory. And maybe even Stefan. If everyone were as pure and perfect as little Sophia then choosing to trust them wouldn’t be so hard, but as people grew up, things weren’t so black and white. Liv hoped she and Sophia always had a relationship where the trust was blind and the bond unwavering. It was the easiest part of her life. She never doubted her loyalty to the little girl, or to Clark either, really. Familia Est Sempiternum.

  “Back to the matter at hand,” Rory said, setting the plate of fish on the floor, the kittens tripping over themselves to get to it. They lined up around the plate, gobbling up the food. “You can’t work with someone who has been bitten by a demon. Actually, the Council should know about it. Stefan is a danger to himself as well as others.”

  Liv shook her head. “I’m not going to rat on him, and he’s aware of the dangers. So am I, and he needs my help.”

  “Liv, I get that you want to be the hero here—”

  “But I don’t,” Liv cut in. “I’d be happy working in the repair shop for the rest of my life, but that’s not an option for me anymore. John is moving on, and my family needs me. And for that matter, Stefan needs me. If you got bitten by a demon, I wouldn’t stop until I had tracked down that beast and helped you create the antidote. That’s not acting as a hero, that’s being a friend.”

  Rory washed his hands, drying them on a pressed kitchen towel. “Yes, but Stefan isn’t your friend.”

  “No, he’s not, but he doesn’t have anyone else he can rely on. And isn’t that how we, the disadvantaged loners of the world, haphazardly make friends? We fall into need, and someone helps us? That’s how you and I came to be whatever we are.” Liv motioned between them.

  “You’re a thorn in my side,” Rory said.

  “Yes, I like that better than friend too,” Liv said with a wink. “But my point remains. If I hadn’t had my magic unlocked and was about to destroy WeHo with it, I wouldn’t have asked for your help, and we wouldn’t be here now.”

  Rory glared down at the kitchen floor and scowled. “And there wouldn’t be mud tracked all over my floors. Were you raised in a barn?”

  “A hidden magical house, actually,” Liv said, swiping her fingers to the left and making the dirt disappear. “Sorry, the mud in the wetlands is awful to try to get out of the grooves in my boots.” She pointed at her boots, removing them and stationing them outside the front door. “And then there’s John. I never would have met him if I hadn’t been lost and alone and looking for work. He took me in and gave me a job, and now? Well, he’s the best.”

  Rory’s face softened. “Yes, John is a good man. I’m sorry to see him go.”

  Liv found it hard to swallow. “My point is, we have to rely on each other, and Stefan needs me. I’m not sure I can help him find Sabato
re, but I’ve got to try. I think you’d do the same thing in my position.”

  Rory rolled his shoulders, looking at the cuckoo clock on the wall. “It’s time for you to go.”

  “What?” Liv asked, surprised by his abruptness. “But I just got here, and we were supposed to discuss the elf. Did he take anything? Search your place? What wards have you put up to ensure he doesn’t get back in here?”

  “That’s why you have to go,” Rory stated. “I have someone coming over who might be able to help with what I’m working on.”

  Liv ducked her head into the dining room to look at the tea service. “Oh, is this… Are you having a lady friend over?”

  Rory didn’t look at all pleased with her. He was glaring at the back door, its window shade tightly closed. “I’m working on something, and need you to leave.”

  “Oh, that thing in the backyard you didn’t want me to see?” Liv asked. “I didn’t sneak a peek, by the way. I’m good like that.”

  “I know you didn’t,” Rory said. “You still have all your fingers.”

  Liv held her hands to her chest protectively. “Damn, you’re a warped and strange giant.”

  “I’m much nicer than most,” he assured her.

  “Fine, I’ll get out of your curly afro,” Liv said as the doorbell rang. It was a low, chiming noise that went on for a while. She swung around to gauge Rory. “Do you want me to portal out of here?”

  He shook his head. “You can’t.” He looked at the back door and then the front, apparently trying to decide what to do with her. Resigning he trotted toward the front door. “Fine, follow me, but don’t say anything dumb. Actually, don’t say anything at all.”

  Liv nodded, pretending to zip her mouth shut. “Im-mana-preden-I-cat-halk.”

  “Don’t do that,” Rory warned.

  When Rory opened the door, another giant stood on the porch, wearing a dress full of greens and blues. On the woman’s head was a large hat adorned with flowers and fake birds. She leaned under the archway to the door, stepping through and hugging Rory.

  “Well, look at you,” the woman said, her voice much more shrill than Liv would have expected given her size. “You’re every bit as handsome as you were the last time I saw you, my dear little boy.”

  “Little boy,” Liv muttered to herself.

  The woman looked at Liv, releasing Rory. “And who do we have here? A friend of sorts? Is this why you called me over?” The woman looked at Rory and Liv, anticipation on her face. “Have you decided to settle down? Not with a magician. Oh, please, no.”

  Rory’s face blossomed into an awful shade of red. “Oh, no. Liv? No.” He shook his head. “No. That’s not why I asked you over. It’s not like that. Liv is no one.”

  “I’m flattered,” Liv said dryly.

  The woman studied her. “Well, she’s a bit puny, I agree. And her features are not at all handsome, but I’m sure there are other redeeming qualities to her.”

  “I can hear you,” Liv said loudly.

  The woman who shared Rory’s large nose and green eyes elbowed him in the side. “On the plus side, she has excellent hearing. That’s always good. We should never take these things for granted. Your father lost his hearing working in the mines with the gnomes. I swear, I would shout his name until I was blue in the face and he wouldn’t hear me.” She placed her pinky to her chin, considering this notion as if something new had occurred to her. “Come to think of it, he always came home when supper was ready, so maybe it was selective hearing loss.”

  Liv pushed out her cheeks, feeling exceptionally uncomfortable. “Well, I’d better be off. Sorry to interrupt your tea party.”

  The woman waved a gloved hand at Liv. She looked fit for a Sunday church service. “Don’t be ridiculous. Please join us.”

  “She can’t,” Rory said at once.

  “Oh, Rory, stop being that way and introduce your friend to your mummy.” The woman extended her large hand to Liv. “I’m Rory’s mum. You can call me—”

  “Bermuda,” Liv interrupted.

  The woman blushed. “I see you’ve heard of me, and I was going to say ‘Mrs. Laurens.’ We’re a bit new for first names, wouldn’t you say?”

  Liv wrung the woman’s hand, feeling like she was…well, shaking hands with a giant. “Yes, of course. My apologies, Mrs. Laurens. I’m simply surprised to meet you. Rory didn’t tell me you were stopping by.”

  “Stopping by?” Bermuda asked Rory. “You requested I drop everything to get here. Said it was supremely important. I used my transport stone to get here, which will be causing tremors all over the city, I suspect.”

  “Yes, thanks, Mum,” Rory said. “It is important, and we have much work to do. I’ll explain everything.”

  Bermuda clapped her hands together, a smile springing to her face. “Well, it looks like all those years of finishing school served you well. You set out tea for me.”

  “Finishing school?” Liv mouthed behind Bermuda’s back as she admired the dining room table.

  Rory shook his head at her, discouraging her from saying any more.

  “Well, let’s not let it get cold,” Bermuda said. “Please sit, children, and then you can tell me everything that’s been going on, Rory, and about your new friend. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

  “Liv,” she answered. “Liv Beaufont.”

  Bermuda raised an eyebrow as Rory covered his face with his hands. “And there we have it. My son has made friends with not just a magician, but a royal.”

  “I’m a Warrior, actually,” Liv supplied, which made Rory groan again.

  Bermuda nodded curtly. “A Warrior. How very charming, Rory. Just wait until your family hears about this.” The tone in her voice made it seem like it would not be welcome news.

  “Well, look at the time,” Liv said, glancing at her wrist although she wasn’t wearing a watch. “I better get going. I’ve got gnomes to slay and demons to arrest. I mean, demons to slay and…never mind.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Bermuda said, pulling out a chair. “I’m sure if my son is tolerating your company, it’s for a good reason. Or…” She looked at Rory suddenly, grief covering her face. “You haven’t caught that evil virus you had when you were a baby that affects your cognitive functioning again, have you?”

  Liv cupped her hand to her ear. “What? Oh, I think I hear my cat calling me. I better go.”

  Bermuda giggled. “Everyone knows that cats can’t call you. Now, a lynx? They could call you from a fair distance, but only someone mentally unstable would keep a lynx around.”

  Liv nodded, half-enjoying the panic streaming across Rory’s face. “Right, and who would do that?”

  “No friend of my son’s,” Bermuda said with a giggle, pulling off her gloves. “Now, take a seat. I want to learn all about you. I’m sure you’re not as despicable and self-serving as my notions lead me to believe.”

  Liv stalled, not sure what to say for a moment. “I would, but I have bowling practice.”

  Rory closed his eyes tightly.

  Bermuda paused in the middle of reaching for a cookie. “Bowling practice? You mean that sport with the balls and slippery shoes?”

  “That’s the one,” Liv said, looking down at her bare feet. “And I’m late. Although I’d love to stay and watch Rory age ten years, I’d better be off. It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Laurens.”

  “Well, I’m not sure I’d exaggerate so much about our first meeting, but okay. Nice isn’t the word I’d use,” she said, waving to her with a pleasant smile. Then the giantess saw something over Liv’s shoulder and her smile faded. She pointed. Looked back at Rory. Did a double-take at the fireplace. “Rory, is that…”

  He gulped. Nodded. “Yes. That’s the reason I asked you to come here.”

  Bermuda nearly pushed Liv over, striding by her and over to the fireplace, where Turbinger hung above the mantel. With an agility Liv wouldn’t have guessed she possessed, she picked up the sword and swung it lightly, appreciating the
weapon in her hands. When she looked up at Rory, her eyes were brimming with tears. “My dear son, how did you get this?”

  Rory let out a breath, his chest rising and falling greatly with the act. He pointed at Liv. “The runt. She recovered the sword for me. For us.”

  Bermuda’s eyes widened in shock and then narrowed with a strange appreciation. “You got back my father’s sword, did you?”

  “Well, I was… I met a brownie…and yeah, it was me.”

  Bermuda acted as if she hadn’t heard Liv stuttering as she swung the sword again; not much, but enough to test the balance. “It has been a long time. I didn’t think I’d hold this sword again in my lifetime. I didn’t even think my son would hold it one day. It’s been a long, long time.” Holding the sword still, Bermuda bowed slightly to Liv. “I appreciate any danger you faced to return this to us. I do not know the extent of your relationship with my son, but I’m more hopeful than before that he’s not squandering his time with useless aristocrats.”

  “Thank you?” Liv said, drawing out the word, uncertainty laced into the two words.

  “You’re very welcome.” With a deep sigh, Bermuda returned the sword to its place above the mantel and clapped her hands, turning back around to face them. “Well, we have much to discuss and celebrate. Shall we sit down for tea?”

  The look on Rory’s face screamed no.

  Liv coughed. “I’d love to, but like I said, I’ve got to get to bowling practice. Those pins aren’t going to knock themselves over.”

  The annoyance was heavy on Rory’s face when she backed toward the front door.

  “Well, if you must,” Bermuda said, not looking sad to see her leave. “But again, thank you for returning that which belongs to the giants. I appreciate the gesture, even if it was probably your own who stole it from the giants in the first place.”

  “Right. I sort of don’t know what to say to the blatant prejudice, so I’ll just bid you both farewell,” Liv said, realizing that her shoes were parked outside the door.

  “Yes, yes, farewell to you,” Bermuda said, striding over to the table, not at all concerned about wishing Liv goodbye. “Please say hello to the treacherous magicians you share the House of Seven with. They won’t remember me or mine, but we think of them often when confined by their rules.”