Gregor walked into the main room, all the patrons in the place now paying keen attention to what was going down. I wanted to kill Hawk for pulling a stunt like this. Just the implication of what he was suggesting would tarnish Gregor’s reputation for a decade.
I was standing my ground in between them when Hawk reached down and grabbed me by the waist. I grabbed his arms, letting him get a feel of my magic and what I was going to do if he didn’t unhand me. Instead of feeling anything, he picked me up and deposited me back down beside Oscar. I scurried back to the front, not quite a buffer anymore.
“What’s going on?” Gregor asked. The tension in the room was palpable as everyone waited to see if there was a traitor in our midst. Which there wasn’t, and I couldn’t wait until Gregor proved it.
“Oscar picked up a trace of your magic at the newest crack in the wall. The one we repaired that’s already failing.”
“It’s failing?” I asked Hawk, torn between outrage for Gregor and fear for what was going to happen to Xest.
Hawk nodded. “Found it this morning.”
I suddenly felt like I was a hundred pounds heavier. I needed to go look, but I couldn’t yet, not until I made sure Hawk didn’t kill Gregor.
I would stand up to Hawk in a way no one else seemed willing to do. I couldn’t just run out of here right now.
“It might be breaking, but your info is wrong. Gregor walked up that way with me the other day. He started us a fire. That’s probably what you picked up on. He’s not working with them.” At least a thread of reasoning, even if it was weak. They hadn’t made something up out of thin air.
Hawk’s gaze was on me, as if he were furious I was interfering and sad for me all at once. It wasn’t a combination I was used to seeing on him. On the average day, he was just pissed off at me for various reasons.
He turned to Gregor. “Are you going to admit it or have her defend your lies? Are you going to tell her you sabotaged the repair? At least be man enough to stand up for yourself.”
I edged farther in between them. It would be safer that way when Gregor told Hawk to go to hell. Hawk was being an ass, but there was no need for bloodshed. Ultimately we were all on the same side, even if some people seemed to keep forgetting that.
I stood there, ready, but Gregor wasn’t talking. Why wasn’t he talking? Gregor was never short on words.
I turned around, and Gregor’s gaze met mine. It veered off almost as fast, as if he couldn’t quite look me in the eye.
I turned to Hawk, who never had a problem meeting my gaze, as if he could offer some clarification on what was happening. Was Hawk right? Had Gregor betrayed him, me, everyone who was fighting to keep that evil from contaminating all of Xest? And when had I started relying on Hawk’s word for it? The last one was easy. As soon as Gregor couldn’t look at me.
Hawk gave a single shake of his head, confirming what my gut and Gregor’s silence was already saying.
I had a mile-long list of questions, the first being the most important. Why wasn’t Gregor at least trying to defend himself? There had to be some reason.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” Zark asked, beating me to it.
It was a good thing, because my words didn’t seem to want to form. They’d been smothered by shock and the startling feeling of betrayal.
Only silence filled the room.
I turned back to Gregor, slowly, almost afraid to see his face and the guilt that was going to be written there as my mind ran back over all the things that should’ve been obvious to me. The signs had been there. The questions. He’d always been so quick with them, squirreling away little tidbits. I’d pushed unease away, over and over again, and now it was flooding up around me, drowning me.
Gregor wasn’t my friend. He was another liar.
“Speak, dammit. Are you working with them? Are you with them?” his father asked. Zark, unfortunately, was still looking for more clarification.
As surely as my heart was bruised and bleeding, Zark’s was bleeding out. The weight of Gregor’s betrayal seemed to be bringing this formerly hard man to his knees.
I wanted to wrap my arms around Zark and say it would be okay, but it wouldn’t be. His son was on the other side, and this wasn’t like a political fight in Rest. This was for all the marbles. If the other side won this war, Xest wouldn’t be recognizable.
“Yes. I’m working with them. I’m sorry if you can’t understand the beauty of what’s growing there, but you’re trying to kill something that’s a miracle,” Gregor said, his voice rising as he spoke.
The door to Zark’s opened and Raydam stepped inside, followed by Belinda and others I recognized from their sneers on the street.
The rest of the patrons in Zark, who’d only been watching on before, also stood. It was a packed house, and not in a good way. This was the first time today I’d actually wondered if our fearsome trio would be fierce enough. I could handle some bruises, but this might turn out to be something way worse.
Gregor paused for only a few seconds before he said, “I’m sorry,” and moved to stand with his people.
Zark looked at the newcomers and then back to Gregor. He leaned a hand on the bar, his shoulders dropping, as he watched his son join the other side.
“You should leave. You’re not welcome here,” Hawk said, when Zark didn’t seem to have the strength.
Without a last look back, they left.
The room exhaled. Zark deflated as some of the patrons went over, trying to console him.
Hawk walked out, and I followed, simply because I wanted to get away from the crowd. I’d thought I’d shed most of my softness, but another bit of fluff had been torn from me today.
I stopped, watching as the group walked away. Gregor turned, taking a few steps back toward me, even as Hawk stood not far from my back.
“Tippi, can I talk to you?” he asked.
“Did you sabotage my repair?” I asked, needing to hear him say it.
Palms up, he lifted his hands slightly. “Yes, but it’s—”
“Then no. I don’t want to talk to you now. Maybe not ever.”
I turned from him and began walking in the other direction.
“Tippi,” Gregor called.
“You’re lucky you’re still breathing. Now walk away,” Hawk said, getting into his normal controlling mode and stopping Gregor from following me. This time, there would be no fight about it.
31
“You’re going to have to ask Hawk,” Oscar said, and then slid a shot in front of me. He typically wouldn’t be caught dead in Zab’s favorite bar, but these were special circumstances, and it was the only place Hawk wouldn’t be.
“He’s right. Just bring it up to him. You don’t have the numbers, and now you’re down another with Gregor,” Zab said, tapping the pad with his pencil. He took his shot and slid that one in front of me too. “It’ll make the prospect more bearable.”
“I see the way he looks at you. He’ll definitely do it for you,” Bibbi said, keeping most of the melancholy out of her tone. She looked at her drink, and then the others that were just placed in front of me.
“I don’t need another,” I said. I threw back one of the shots, and then took a second as it lit my throat on fire. I should’ve remembered Oscar saying something called lava was his favorite drink.
I looked at the three people sitting there, all egging me on. “You really think he’ll do it?”
“He’ll do it. He’s not going to bring it up, but he’ll do it,” Zab said.
“Not that I blame him, really,” Oscar added. “I mean, you sing ‘You Don’t Own Me’ anytime he’s around, like it’s your theme song.”
I shook my head right before I tossed the second shot back. Zab’s shot was much better and an easier recovery. “The monkeys like that song. I can’t help it if I sing now and then.”
“And why do the monkeys play it?” Oscar asked, laughing.
It was becoming well known that they had some strange inclination to add
theme songs to every part of my life. They also seemed to have a gift of knowing the right tune for the moment—usually. I wouldn’t fault them for it.
“Whatever. Hawk’s as guilty as I am because he acts like he owns me. A reminder isn’t out of hand.”
“You need another?” Oscar asked, starting to raise his hand to signal the bartender.
“No. I need to be coherent tonight.” I got up from the table before I was incapable of it, and they all assumed I was going to find Hawk. There was something else I had to do first. “See you guys tomorrow.”
I knelt beside the repair that was cracking, running my hand over it. Black chunks fell out at the softest touch, dusting my hand and dropping to the ground. It was the first time I’d seen the damage to the repair. I hadn’t checked the other spots yet, but I was sure they were the same.
It was seeping out of the break—trying to wrap its evil around me, trying to tell me how much it despised me.
“You’re not going to win,” I whispered, in case it was listening.
A branch crunched, and I swung around, knowing it wasn’t Hawk. He’d never be so clunky as to announce his arrival that way.
Gregor walked toward me and then slowed his steps as I stared back. I might not have known what to say, but what I felt must have shown. His eyes jerked down for a moment. I gave him my back, focusing my attention on the failing repair and hoping he’d leave if I ignored him.
“I wasn’t using you,” he said.
My reply was silence.
“I care about you. I still care about you. Tippi, won’t you please talk to me?”
He was whining, after the lies and telling me he wanted to help repair the wall. As much as I wanted to ignore his presence, it was just too much to stay silent through.
“You want to make this right? Tell me what you did to the repair.” Whatever it was, he hadn’t done it alone. He was too weak. He’d had help, and I could easily guess who from. How many lies had there been between us? Had any part of our relationship been real?
When I didn’t get an answer, I turned away from him again.
Then he was there, standing in front of me, making himself unavoidable.
I tried anyway, walking a good ten feet away. He followed me, dogging my steps. My fists curled as his offer to help continued to haunt me. I’d kissed this man.
“Stop following me. There’s nothing to talk about. All you want is information to use against me anyway.”
“I wasn’t just using you. I still want to be with you.”
He wasn’t just using me. How nice to know.
“I don’t want to be with you, so you should leave. Now.”
“Tippi, please hear me out. That’s all I’m asking.”
He wouldn’t stop following me, no matter how many times I glared or how fast I walked. The easiest way to be done with this situation was to go through it, which meant hearing him out. I’d let him get it all off his chest, and then tell him it didn’t matter, because it didn’t. Our friendship had been a lie from start to finish.
I spun and threw my hands up. “Fine. Go ahead and tell me, then. Get it off your chest, and after you’re done, if I don’t want to hear anymore, you leave. That’s the deal.”
He nodded quickly. “I wasn’t trying to date you because they told me to. I wanted to date you because I liked you.”
It just kept getting worse.
“So they asked you to date me?”
“If I hadn’t liked you, I would’ve said no. What does it matter if they suggested it?”
Of course it mattered, and not for a second would he have contemplated saying no to them, even if he hadn’t liked me. But the more I asked and interrupted, the longer this would carry on. My patience could barely handle it already. I remained silent, my chest heaving with the struggle to remain calm.
“I thought as we got close, I could make you see what a beautiful thing is growing here. You’d come to understand how wrong you are. I know it because I believe in you.”
If I had a gun right now, I might’ve put myself out of my misery. He believed in me? The lost, wayward one who didn’t see the error of her ways? How had I been so foolish? Actually, I knew that answer. He’d talked a good game. He’d told me everything I wanted to hear. Add to that, Hawk kept warning me off, and damned if I didn’t like to spite him.
“Gregor, you have zero idea what you’re talking about. You’ll always want to let that thing out, and I’ll never stop fighting it because it’s disgusting and evil.” And then I added, in the same condescending tone he’d used, “I really wish I could’ve helped you see the error of your ways, but I guess it’s not meant to be.”
He nodded. “Then I guess that’s it,” he said, sounding as angry as I was now.
“Yes. That’s it.”
“I’m sorry it has to end this way.”
“So am I.”
Gregor had said all the right things, acted the right way, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. He might believe that he’d been truly interested in me, but he’d been more intrigued by being the man who would turn me, make me into the person he thought I should be.
Could I truly fault him when, in essence, I’d done the same? I’d never wanted him. I’d only toyed with the idea when I thought he was the man I should want. We’d both been trying to fit square pegs into round holes. With nothing left to say, I turned away from him, ready to walk away from whatever shred of truth we’d had.
But there wouldn’t be any walking away, not today. While I’d been so preoccupied letting him have his say, they’d been laying a trap for me. Now it was too late.
I could already feel the pull of magic before I spotted them. Raydam appeared first, then Belinda, then four other nameless faces I’d seen sneering at me. They came from each side, all with their palms up, and I could feel the magical fence forming around me.
I’d have said anything not to have to dredge through the black hole of emotions that might have been at the heart of the problem.
I was here, all by myself and doomed to fail, just the way Gregor knew I would, because I’d so stupidly confided in him that I was lousy at protecting myself. So what had they done? The same thing I would’ve—waited until I was alone.
I looked back at Gregor.
“How could you?”
“We’re both doing what we think is right. If you’re not here, this wall will eventually fail. There was no choice but to use you.”
“You would say that, wouldn’t you?” I let out a little huff of breath. Why was it that weak people always blamed their victims? I’d walked away from him too soon. I should’ve punched him in the face first.
Gregor’s cheeks turned red. “I told them I could turn you to our side. I protected you. Why do you think no one touched you? Because of me. I’m the strong one. But you just won’t stop. No matter how horrible he is. He stole your home, he kicked you out of Xest, and you still helped him.”
“You’re wrong. I’m not doing this for him. I’m doing this for me, because whatever lies beyond my wall? It’s evil. And that you can’t feel it?” I shook my head.
“They were right. You can’t be saved.”
I was surrounded, but they’d been smart. They’d only brought enough people to ensure a win. If half of Xest disappeared, that might tip people off that something was up.
I turned to Belinda. If this was going down, I wasn’t holding anything back. I was laying it all out there before I died.
“You’ve been waiting a long time to get me, haven’t you? Just couldn’t stand that he didn’t want you. That he’d rather keep me around and didn’t give a shit about how you felt. You were nothing to him.”
She lunged at me, but Raydam grabbed her arm. “No. We do this together. She’ll get the end she deserves.”
They circled. And then I realized Gregor was inside the circle with me, but he was looking at his companions as if he weren’t supposed to be there.
“What are you doing?” he asked. He tried
to approach Raydam but got stopped short by whatever magic had formed.
“We need an anchor,” Raydam said.
“What are you talking about? Not me. I helped you. I’m one of you.” Gregor pounded on the invisible barricade.
“If you truly believe in this cause, you’d be willing to give your life for it. You took the vow.”
“Raydam, don’t do this to me, please,” Gregor said, getting to his knees.
No one responded as they began chanting. A molten red haze began to form around us, slowly growing brighter and hotter. They were going to cook us alive.
“They’re going to kill us,” Gregor said, looking at me stunned. “Can you do something?”
“Oh, yeah, sure. Now we’re a team? I guess when it was just me it wasn’t such a problem.” Sarcasm probably wasn’t the best use of my energy right now, but sometimes it felt unavoidable.
Still, he was right. We were going to die. When I’d been in a similar situation with Zab, my instincts had taken over. I looked to Gregor, who was definitely going to die with me, and there was no bubbling magic building within, ready to take on the bad guys. I was as flat as I’d accused Hawk of being.
None of the charms and lower-level stuff I’d been practicing with Zab was going to work. None of my newfound skills from Bautere were going to get us out of this magic roaster they were constructing.
Gregor was circling, frenzied and useless.
“Give me something to work with. Tell me you need to live or something,” I said, scrambling for some tingle of magic to take over me.
“I do. I want to live. I have to live. I’m too young,” he said, falling on his knees in front of me now.
It did nothing, not even a hiccup.
“Give me something not you related.”
“The wall. They think once they kill you, the wall will be destroyed with you and free it. Isn’t that how you supposedly built it in the first place?”
Bingo. A wave of magic surged through me instantly. I raised my hands, shooting it toward their wall. A blast as loud as a bomb filled the air, and then a buzzing muted all the noise. A blinding light filled the sky, and I was knocked off my feet by my own magic.
The Nowhere Witch (Tales of Xest Book 2) Page 19