by T J Kelly
Worse, the last name on the list was from the Viclean clan. They had been followed in Washington, D.C. as well. I would let my uncle know as soon as we got back to the castle. The Vicleans needed to be careful. They were a smaller clan and more vulnerable to attack, the exact kind of target the Taines were looking for.
"Here you are," Peter said as he set the glasses down. "I got the frosted mugs because I know you hate ice melting into your drinks."
"Thanks," I said, leaning over to give him a kiss. He remembered everything about me. Who could ask for a better boyfriend? Better partner? An emotion I had been keeping tightly guarded welled up inside me. My lips parted, but then a small group of apprentices near us erupted into laughter. It was probably for the best. I mean, who wanted to get personal in the middle of a popular restaurant? "Seems like there have been some clandestine meetings here."
Peter's right eyebrow lifted. "Enough so that a waiter would tell the niece of the leader of the Irregulars?"
"Apparently." I took a sip of my cream soda, giving my heart a chance to quit beating so hard. "In fact, I see about a dozen of the Perdo clan wandering around, and the Unguis clan has maybe half as many with them." They had stronger bloodline magic, so it wasn't a surprise to see less of them in attendance.
Alliances and agreements in the magical world were complicated. More so than treaties between countries. Besides other clan affiliations and ties, power balances and sources affected how many were needed to make up the minimum number of magicians to cast spells required for protection or to perform a task. More magicians in a group wasn't always better. The sheer number of people could cause ripples that would ruin their plans. Light or dark, smart magicians kept an eye out on all factors.
"Not to spoil our mood, but there is a pack of Taines around the corner," Peter said. Oberon's family needed little help from outside clans. It was really more of a convenience and show of power to have others sign on to support their business. "Chas's brothers. Well, the oldest two anyway. And a few cousins."
I scowled. Not only did I seriously hate that family, but his cousins were a part of the group who attacked us when I first came to live at Castle Laurus. I had ended up in the infirmary.
"But not Chas," I murmured. He was the youngest son of Oberon and trapped in an unbreakable blood oath contract with his father. Yet he was rarely around when they were performing the shady side of business. His oath included a provision to allow him to choose not to take part if he objected. Chas was spying for my uncle and would have volunteered to be in on any planning session he could.
"No," Peter said, catching my eye. "You know Oberon doesn't trust anyone. Especially somebody like Chas, who has already betrayed him once." His voice held a sour note. There was still bad blood between the two of them. Concern filled me, but I also had hope they would eventually work through it. If I could, anyone could.
Chas was a good person. I had been so angry with him when he made that stupid oath to save me without giving me a choice or a chance to prove myself. But he did it for the best of reasons. Even if I didn't need it. But it was the only way his father Oberon could control Chas, who was kicked out in the first place for standing between Oberon and his intended victims.
"But Chas has collected good intel," I assured him. And myself. Maybe he was still okay.
"Yeah. It wasn't easy. He may need help. If not now, then soon." Regardless of his personal feelings, Peter was always willing to do his job. And they had been as close as brothers. Beneath the surface anger, concern for his former best friend still showed through.
I nibbled my bottom lip as I thought that over. What would happen if they caught Chas? Could he get away despite his blood oath? Only if Oberon released him. Which seemed doubtful. But what if? Then where he would go?
Castle Laurus.
My ex-boyfriend might end up living with us. And since Seth was already there all the time? So awkward.
"How about we worry about that another day?" I suggested. Then gritted my teeth, unable to stop myself from coming to the inevitable conclusion. I knew Chas. He was an underage apprentice when his father kicked him out the first time. They forced him to leave his Promised Clarissa behind. But not this time. If Chas left, she would come with him.
Fun. She could take a room near mine and we could have slumber parties and do each other's nails. I shuddered.
"I hear you," he said, laughing at the look of horror on my face. We must be communicating on a deeper level already for him to get where I was coming from. Not that he didn't know all the sordid details and wouldn't be able to work it out for himself without a special connection.
"I'm still hungry," I said, shocked I hadn't lost my appetite. Gaining control over my emotions had other benefits. Like being able to eat at a premiere restaurant despite the drama around me. On the other hand, the Taines were there. "Then again, maybe I should hold off. I mean, what if Adler and Barrett Taine come on over and say hey?" Nobody liked to fight when they were stuffed with food. Even fancy, five-star rated food. Especially me.
"Man, they ruin everything," Peter said.
I laughed. "You took the words right out of my mouth. Whatever. We're in public. It's not all-out war yet. Let's get something." My stomach growled, emphasizing my point.
Peter and I reviewed the menu. We both got a savory pie. They made it with oxtail and caramelized onions with a creamy brown sauce and a few root vegetables and herbs that weren't usually used together but made a weird sort of sense. Then covered it all with puff pastry. Oh, yeah.
As we placed our order, Peter eyed Kazumi. He had to be curious about our conversation.
"Interesting," he murmured once Kazumi left. "I'm glad you spoke with him. The Sasaki family is on our list of subcontractors."
I memorized as many names of agents and vendors as possible, but the list - if there had been a single list - was massive. I still didn't know all our allies. "I didn't know that. I mean, I know their reputation as excellent servers and caterers and stuff like that."
"Yeah, they are the best. But they also function as a subset of the Irregulars."
Peter still teased me about calling my uncle a spy, but Armageddon was as much that as he was anything else. We had official organizations like the Irregulars and the Reeves that helped enforce the laws, but most regions also had their own versions. My uncle worked with most of them whenever he could. Acting as staff that most people ignored would allow the Sasakis access to all sorts of information.
"Ah." I revised my earlier thoughts. It was entirely possible Kazumi approached me because he had a better understanding of my involvement with the Irregulars than I realized. While I was glad he contacted me, and that I took his information, I still felt surprised. With a sigh, I made a mental note to use a memory charm to help me memorize all of our allies and assets and vendors and contractors and informants. The knowledge would change how I interacted with others.
"You okay?" Peter asked. We stayed in the bar area, so he leaned into the Air around us and shifted two tall stools for us to sit on while we ate.
"Yeah. I'm just thinking about all the stuff I still need to learn. There's so much I don't know and I don't want a lack of information to endanger us."
"Impossible. You've got this. Even without foreknowledge, you still totally kick butt."
A chuckle escaped my lips. "Thanks. You're pretty great yourself. I'm glad you're my partner." I wanted to say more than that, again, but our salads arrived.
"Same." Peter glanced around, then choked on his drink.
I whipped my head around to check for danger. Somebody was headed our way, but it wasn't the Taines or any of the lesser enemy clans.
It was Kamini.
◆◆◆
If I could freeze time, I would have. That way I could check my hair, and touch up my lip gloss. And check my teeth for something green since I had already eaten a part of my salad. But no. Instead, I had to say hi to Peter's ex without knowing how I looked. I sent a wild, unformulated th
ought to my guardians, wishing they would warn me about things besides impending death and destruction. Would it really hurt to nudge me towards my pocket-mirror before gorgeous women walked up to cast me in the shade?
"Kamini, how nice to see you," I gushed a little too hard.
She gave me a gracious half-smile as Peter slipped off the barstool to give her the standard air kisses by her cheeks. Their relationship never progressed very far, but they still had been friends and worked together. Her family ran all the safe houses, so we were bound to come across each other. May as well keep that connection as pleasant as possible.
I shoved aside the rest of my swirling thoughts.
"You here with friends?" Peter asked. He was being polite, but I desperately wanted to know. I mean, if she was alone, she might ask to sit with us.
"Yes, it's girl's night," she said. It was so weird because while she didn't glance my way when she said it, I still felt like maybe she was dissing me. Like, she had a bunch of friends and they had fun but I wasn't invited. Even worse, the fact I had so few female friends suddenly became clear. I didn't have anyone I was all that close to except servants and employees while I was growing up. I changed schools too often. And now that I was at the castle, there wasn't much time to socialize. And besides my aunt, there weren't any full agents that were female.
And why was that? I mean, there were just as many powerful female magicians as males.
Disturbed by the direction of my thoughts, I shifted my focus back to the person standing before me. Who knew Kamini could upset me on so many more levels than me being jealous of the attention Peter paid her back when I was in denial about my feelings? I had kept him at a distance and almost lost my chance. That wasn't her fault.
Ugh.
"It was nice of you to stop by," I said. I felt so odd, like I was on stage and didn't know my lines. "You know, I'm planning a party in a few weeks. Kind of a housewarming, in a way. Would you like to come?"
Whoa. Where on earth did that come from? Did I want her there? She was so beautiful, and smart, and sweet. I looked like a grubby little oaf standing next to her. But whatever. I could make an effort now that I wasn't dealing with trying to connect to my magic, or about to lose Rector Enterprises, or a kidnapped uncle, or out-of-control emotions that threatened the safety of everyone around me. Sure, the world as we knew it might end. But still. I should try.
Oh, man. What if she said no?
"I would love to," she responded, her melodious voice all happy and kind. "I've always wanted to tour Rector House. My parents have been there many times, but I've never had the chance." Kamini handed me her card. I slipped it into my pocket with a shaky hand. I had no idea why I felt so off, but at least I hadn't been humiliated.
"Cool." My eyes darted to Peter. If there was ever a time I needed him to know instinctively what to do, this was it.
"I'll see you there," Peter said, all smooth and normal sounding. "You'll love it. Rector House is my favorite place to view the bay."
I didn't know that. But it really was gorgeous, both the ocean vista and the lush gardens surrounding the manor. It wasn't a wonder that it appealed to his artistic senses.
Kamini said her goodbyes and headed back to join her friends. I sipped my drink and then finished my salad in silence, trying not to overthink the interaction or anything else. Fortunately, that's when the pies arrived.
"Wow, those smell incredible," I blurted just to have something to say.
"Right?"
We ate without speaking for a while, but then I returned to normal. With a grin, I took my last bite. "Guess what I arranged to do next? Instead of only looking, we're going back to the museum for a private viewing. You get to put your hands all over everything."
"Sounds good to me." Humor sparkled in his eyes, but also anticipation. And something more, something just for me.
I loved when he looked at me that way.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I Swallow the Dark
"Fifteen seconds," Peter continued, verbalizing the countdown. "Fourteen... thirteen..."
A crack sounded against my shield. I kept my focus on the task at hand, draining the Dark from the small object in front of me. "You got it?" I ground out between clenched teeth. Armageddon had set the curse, amped up even higher than the one we had come across in the mayor's office months before. It was better to practice on something too strong than too weak.
"Damn it," Peter groaned. "I think it's the triangulation spell from the Anderssons. I wish they'd stop using that, nobody else can do it."
"But it's stronger. Better practice." I tensed my stomach, trying not to throw up. There was so much darkness it made my head spin and bile rise in my throat from the sickly sweet corrupted honey of the spell my uncle had cast.
Peter didn't respond. I didn't blame him - I could hear him engaging Harris and Seth in combat. I kept up the countdown on my own and finished siphoning the Dark by the time I hit one.
"Duck!" Peter shouted. I complied, hurtling my body onto the carpet. We were in a mock office, mimicking the one the mayor had in his downtown headquarters. Except even in the practice area under the dome, the decor had better taste.
Sliding to my left, I slipped my hand into the drawer and pulled out the cursed object. When we had been on our mission, there were documents inside. For practice, my uncle had instead cursed a lacrosse ball. I popped it into my vest pocket, zipping it away carefully to secure it.
I was supposed to push the Dark back into the curse, but I was having a hard time keeping it intact. On our mission, Peter had counterbalanced the Dark with his Light. But at the moment, he was fighting for our lives. Or at least, a good approximation.
"Oh, man," I moaned. My stomach gave a few dry heaves. As always, I had avoided eating before our session. Who wanted to throw up in the middle of a fight? It would leave me momentarily helpless and vulnerable to attack. "I can't hold on." The darkness inside of me surged, surrounding the Dark my uncle had used for his curse, and consumed it.
Holy. Crap.
I didn't fall because I was still on the ground but man, my uncle's power packed a punch. To my relief, the Light half of my magic expanded and reset me back to my near-even balance. More proof that embracing my heritage as per my father's instructions was the right thing to do. Except now I had a problem.
"Is it back?" Peter shouted as he dove over the battered office furniture to avoid a Smash-force. He rolled behind a couple of filing cabinets, dragging his hand in the dust and plaster raining down from the disintegrating walls. Outside of the room, the ground rumbled in response to his quick spell from the mark he made, a small explosion of Light and Earth, creating a cage that looked a lot like a cave. Or a mound.
Muffled shouts came from inside. First the Anderssons sounded angry, but then they started laughing with admiration. It was a pretty neat trap. I sensed the pulse of boosted power from where I stood inside the fake office. They wouldn't be able to cast a spell outside the small confines of the mound, and no transferring out.
"Uh, no. Actually, I messed up that part," I admitted. Peter hopped up from his crouched position and leaned over to help me to my feet. Even though I had regained my equilibrium, my legs still felt shaky and bloated. "I couldn't hold on without your help so I kind of... ate the Dark."
Peter choked. He searched my face, ran his hands down my arms and back to check for wounds, then gripped my shoulders. "That sounds revolting."
"You have no idea," I agreed. "Uncle Ged has some freaky good magic, but it tastes terrible."
Stifling his laughter, Peter pushed some of his extra Light into me, helping buoy my mood. "Do you want to summon help?" he asked. We were allowed to, just like we could send an alarm while in the field. But I wasn't going to. We could do anything as long as we were together.
"The only thing we need to do is put the same Dark back, right? Then we can leave and transport Seth and Harris to the dungeons before they run out of air."
"Yeah, but you s
carfed it down," Peter replied, a tinge of humor still in his voice. "You can't put that back. Or can you?"
"No, it's totally consumed. But what if we don't really need to use the same Dark? I mean, I can only tell the difference by the trace. What if we use the spell for making a fake trace?"
"So instead of leaving a trail, we'd infuse a chunk of Dark with a clone of Ged's trace and then leave that?"
"Yeah. I mean, nobody could tell when James and Richard did it at practice. So if we do it right, he might not be able to tell, either."
The whole point of our practice session was to work out a way to siphon Dark from curses and then put it back without the enemy knowing. But we also had to do it without backup. When we were at the mayor's office, Harris and Seth watched our backs while we worked, the two of us vulnerable to attack. It would be a much more useful method if Peter and I could pull it off on our own.
"Okay. But do you know what trace to use because he's family, or would you be able to do it with anyone?"
A totally legitimate question. We needed to know how it would play out in a real-world scenario. I closed my eyes and leaned within, adjusting the Recall spell to search my magic rather than my brain and included a time factor of a few minutes.
There it was. The Dark before it was integrated into my power. I could pull the trace off of that no matter who had set that spell. Because Peter was right. I knew Armageddon's trace. He was family. And I would always recognize my family. I had only known my cousins for a few weeks and I already could spot their trace in a mass of thousands. All my worries and mixed feelings about them were gone, leaving me open to get to know them better.
But with the Recall spell, I could find the trace regardless of my personal connections. "I can do it with anybody. There's a tiny ribbon of opalescent white in my uncle's trace I never really noticed before, actually. Good to know."