Stolen Hearts

by Sasha L. Miller

  "Nothing to do for it," Denzil said dismissively. "Once we find Baldric, I need to see about finding him a place here, since going home isn't really an option for him."

  "I can help with that, and he's welcome to stay here for as long as he needs to. He's a quiet guest," Mervyn said, even though he knew Denzil was going to take the offer in the wrong way.

  "Uh-huh," Denzil said, rolling his eyes. "You're just being a good person, with no ulterior motives."

  "Yes, Denzil," Mervyn said dryly. "I plan to sneak him into my room every night. You've uncovered my secret plans. I'll have to kill you now."

  Denzil snorted, shaking his head. "You're not fooling me, and you'd better be nice to Callisto. If you upset him, I'll make your balls rot. Shalla taught me that trick last month."

  "I'll keep it in mind," Mervyn said, making a face. "I should get back to work. I want to get as many modifications done as I can before Malone finds Baldric, just in case."

  "Just in case, what?" Denzil asked suspiciously. "You're not letting Callisto go with you to get him."

  "No, but in case anything happens to me, he'll have as complete a charm as possible," Mervyn said, standing up. "Not that I anticipate anything of that sort happening, but I'd also like it to be a complete replacement for his sake."

  "Right," Denzil said, not sounding very appeased by Mervyn's explanation. "Let me know if you need my help for anything. And tell Evandie to stop bringing me tea and bread and nothing else."

  "Tell her yourself," Mervyn said, dragging his chair back to its proper spot in the room. "She's mad you missed dinner the other night. She set up the dining room for it."

  "Ah," Denzil said, grimacing. "Maybe I'll just leave her be for now, then."

  "Smart," Mervyn said. "Visit Callisto and prove you're not dead."

  "Yes, yes," Denzil muttered. "Go on, stop nagging me."

  "Steal all my fun," Mervyn said lightly, but obligingly headed for the door. He'd stop and visit with Evandie, give her the mission of finding painting supplies for Callisto, then head back to his work rooms to work on more modifications for the heart charm.

  *~*~*

  Callisto sat as still as he could, listening to the soft murmur of Mervyn's voice as he spoke the spell words that would incorporate the latest changes into the charm. Mervyn was kneeling in front of him again, tucked neatly between Callisto's knees, with his arm stretched between them. Mervyn's hand was flat against the charm this time instead of just his fingertips touching it, though Callisto wasn't sure whether that was because it was more comfortable or if it was necessary for the spell casting.

  Mervyn's voice was soothing, especially when he was casting. Calm and sure and strong and Callisto could listen to it all day, which was a stupid thing to think, even if it was better than worrying over when Malone would finally show back up and what news he would bring. Or worrying over Denzil, who seemed determined to pretend that he was perfectly fine despite Baldric's betrayal.

  Mervyn had been chanting for half an hour already, so he should be done soon if these modifications were anything like the last set. According to Mervyn, they were similar in that they monitored triggers to increase and decrease his blood flow, but different in the triggers that they monitored. It also wasn't the last set of modifications, and Callisto should probably be more upset about that.

  Only, he liked it here. He liked Mervyn's library, and he didn't mind Denzil's being around, and he liked Evandie's brisk, no-nonsense way of taking care of things. And there was also Mervyn, and Callisto was pretty sure it was a bad idea to think about all the ways he liked Mervyn when Mervyn was kneeling between his legs.

  Flushing, Callisto bit his lip briefly and tried not to pay too much attention to where Mervyn was. As though compelled by Callisto's thoughts, Mervyn's chanting suddenly slowed and then stopped. The charm modifications fell into place abruptly, like flipping a light switch, and Callisto blinked, aborting his automatic motion to touch the charm.

  "How do you feel?" Mervyn asked, blinking owlishly up at Callisto. He'd forgotten to remove his spectacles, Callisto noted, then flushed because Mervyn had asked a question and Callisto wasn't paying him proper attention.

  "Um, good, it's—" Callisto stumbled the words out then paused, actually taking a second to assess how the charm felt. "It's the same as before, when you had the intermediate charm."

  "Good," Mervyn said, smiling. He absently removed his spectacles, setting them on the nearby table before gingerly climbing to his feet. "Only the more obscure triggers are left now, and you're not really likely to run into any situations where you set them off, so you should be fine until I can work them out."

  "Okay," Callisto accepted, curious about what triggers were left, but Mervyn would have explained them if they were simple.

  "What will you do, then?" Callisto asked as Mervyn swallowed a large gulp of by-now lukewarm tea. "I mean, when all the casting is done?"

  Mervyn shrugged, sitting down heavily in the closest chair and stretching his legs out in front of him. "Write it all up, send it off to an old associate of mine whom I still trust, and then work on another problem."

  "Like what?" Callisto pressed, knowing Mervyn wouldn't take offense to his curiosity. "What sort of thing do you usually work on?"

  "Health magic is what I'm best at," Mervyn said, looking thoughtful. "But I like to dabble in other fields. I'm getting good at communication charms, and I like to play with fire spells, though I'm not very good at them yet. That's what I work on in between clients."

  "Fire spells?" Callisto repeated. "Like… fire starting spells?"

  "Sometimes. Sometimes other applications, like…" Mervyn trailed off, frowning in thought. "Like the warming charm I gave you. The base was a fire charm. Heavily modified, of course. The first few actually caught the test subjects on fire."

  "You caught people on fire?" Callisto said, staring in disbelief at Mervyn. Surely not—Mervyn was more careful than that.

  "Oh, no," Mervyn said cheerfully. "My first test subjects were inanimate. One of Evandie's tea towels, a napkin, and a blanket."

  "Oh, good," Callisto said, smiling sheepishly. "I bet Evandie wasn't happy with you."

  "Oh, she doesn't know. I never tell her when I steal things from upstairs for my experiments. I like to breathe," Mervyn said, grinning, and Callisto laughed, unable to not at the thought of Mervyn filching tea towels and the like out from under Evandie's nose.

  "So what do you do when you're not working on your family's orchard? You like to paint, right?" Mervyn asked, looking genuinely interested. Callisto nodded—he had admitted that before, when Mervyn had translated the book of paintings for him.

  "What do you like to paint?" Mervyn asked curiously, sitting up and tucking his legs under the chair he was sitting in. "I know the Kaplir book was mostly landscapes, but…"

  "I like to paint people," Callisto said, and he usually preferred to not talk about his painting, but it was Mervyn. He was obviously interested, and he hadn't looked down on Callisto's interest in it previously.

  "Portraits? Or—I don't know what they're called. Scenes, I suppose? Where people are doing something," Mervyn said, curious but not flippant like Denzil.

  "Scenes," Callisto said, shrugging. "But portraits aren't bad. I just prefer people it makes it… seem more alive, I guess."

  "I agree," Mervyn said, smiling as he glanced at the large painting above the mantle. It depicted a wintry forest and a frozen pond with a small cabin tucked off to one side, chimney smoking. "Evandie has different tastes, as you may have noticed." Callisto smiled, betting that Mervyn didn't put up a fuss because decorating the house made Evandie happy.

  A knock on the library door interrupted whatever Mervyn had been about to say, and the door opened to admit Evandie, wearing a frilly apron covered in smears of flour. "Yes, Evandie?" Mervyn asked easily, not annoyed by the interruption.

  "Your investigator friend is here," Evandie said stiffly. Callisto wondered if she disapproved of Malone o
r if she was just annoyed at being interrupted from whatever she'd been doing. "He's in the salon."

  "Thank you, Evandie. Can you find Denzil and let him know? He should be hiding in his bedroom." Mervyn stood as he finished speaking, and Callisto hastily followed suit.

  "Ready?" Mervyn asked gently, clasping Callisto's shoulder. Callisto nodded, smiling briefly at the touch. It seemed to reassure Mervyn, at least, as he dropped his hand and led the way to the salon.

  Callisto spent the short walk trying to quell his anxiety, but to no avail. It was stupid, to get so worked up, not knowing what Malone had found—or not found, since he could certainly just be here to say he couldn't find anything and had run out of ideas.

  Malone was just as large and solemn-looking as Callisto remembered. He stood when they entered, nodding in greeting to them both. He looked exhausted, Callisto noted, feeling guilty—surely Malone had other things he had to do as an Investigator aside from looking into finding Baldric. He'd have to find some way to thank Malone, as well as Mervyn. Maybe he could get Denzil to help him with that, since Denzil knew Malone well enough to dislike him.

  Malone and Mervyn both sat down, and Callisto hesitated briefly, wondering what he'd missed, before hastily taking the seat next to Mervyn. Not half a second later, the door to the salon opened and Denzil slouched in, looking rather as if Evandie had woken him from a nap. His hair was shooting in a few different directions, his clothes were rumpled, and he looked decidedly sleepy when he glowered at Malone.

  He wasn't too sleepy to smirk at Callisto, however—probably for his choice of seating—but Callisto just rolled his eyes and settled back more comfortably.

  "Ah, Denzil, there you are," Mervyn said, smiling. "Did Evandie wake you? We can fill you in later if you'd like to finish your nap."

  "Shut up," Denzil muttered, trying unsuccessfully to smooth down his hair. "What did you find, Malone?" Malone's eyebrows rose a fraction and Callisto smothered a smile. Denzil was probably too sleepy to properly remember how much he didn't like Malone.

  "I found where he's hiding," Malone said without preamble. "I wasn't able to get inside, but I did confirm he's living there."

  "Where?" Denzil half-asked, half-snapped, looking much more alert.

  "A warehouse in the Padovan district," Malone said slowly. "It's one of a number in the area, so I was able to look at a nearby warehouse to get a sense of the layout. It should be pretty easy to navigate, provided he hasn't changed the interior much. It's about six blocks from where you were attacked." Malone looked at Callisto as he spoke, and Callisto nodded.

  "What happens now?" Callisto asked quietly, folding his hands together to keep from fidgeting.

  "I don't have enough evidence to arrest him," Malone said slowly, ignoring Denzil's scoff in favor of meeting Callisto's eyes. "I do have enough to check into his warehouse, discreetly."

  "I'm going with you," Mervyn said, and Callisto frowned. That was allowed? "You'll need back-up, especially if he's managed to perform the operation on anyone else."

  "I had hoped you'd say that," Malone said, finally cracking a small smile. "I have the Investigator General's blessing to poke around, but he can't spare anyone else. I also don't have the knowledge to keep a heart alive for as long as it would take to transport it back here."

  "I'm going, too," Denzil said, glaring at Malone as though Malone in particular would object.

  "So am I," Callisto said, more strongly than he felt. But it was his heart, and he couldn't let everyone else go while he sat safe and cozy in Mervyn's house.

  "No," Denzil snapped immediately, glaring at him. "It's too dangerous—"

  "You're going," Callisto said, cutting Denzil off before he could get any further. "I'm not—it isn't fair for me to sit here while you all put yourselves in danger for me."

  "I'm older and more experienced," Denzil said, scowling. Mervyn nickered, earning a fresh glare from Denzil. "Besides, you're still recovering, and that charm isn't perfect."

  "It would certainly do well enough," Mervyn said thoughtfully. "Most of the changes that need to be done now are little tweaks, nothing that would incapacitate. It's also been long enough since we put the charm in place that physically it shouldn't slow you down."

  "Then I'm going," Callisto said, scowling at Denzil. "And if you try to stop me, I'll just follow you or find my own way. Six blocks from where I was attacked won't be too hard to find."

  "You'll have to bind," Denzil said, almost meanly, except that Callisto knew he was only trying to protect him. That blunted Denzil's sharp tone.

  "Okay," Callisto said, even if he wasn't completely sure about being bound. But Denzil did it, and he did trust Mervyn… Callisto glanced at Mervyn, stupidly feeling shy, but Mervyn just smiled reassuringly and nodded.

  "Fine," Denzil said, more sulkily than anything else. He opened his mouth, then glanced at Malone and shut it, slumping in his seat.

  "I can be bound by Malone, if you want," Callisto offered, even though he wasn't really comfortable with the idea. Malone seemed nice, but Callisto knew Mervyn so much better.

  "It won't work as well," Malone spoke up, drawing Callisto's attention. "The bond takes better when the two parties know each other."

  "Oh," Callisto said, frowning. That made some sense, but then why were there so many forced bindings that worked? Unless most wizards knew their fairies beforehand? Probably, Callisto decided, since most fairies didn't advertise what they were, so it would take some getting to know them before a wizard could be sure.

  "It's fine," Denzil finally said, not looking at Malone. "But you do exactly what we say, okay? Don't try to do anything to Baldric, either. It's better if he goes to jail."

  "Do anything?" Callisto repeated, baffled for a moment before it clicked. "I'm not going for revenge, Denzil."

  Denzil shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "I would be."

  "You're not to hurt him either, Denzil," Mervyn said, sounding amused. He rested a hand briefly on Callisto's shoulder, and Callisto relaxed a little. At least Mervyn didn't seem upset by having to bind him instead of Denzil.

  "I wasn't planning on it," Denzil said, scowling at Mervyn. "And stop—" Denzil waved ambiguously at them.

  "Stop what?" Mervyn asked, sounding as confused as Callisto felt.

  "I don't know," Denzil muttered, slumping in his seat sulkily. "When are we doing this thing, anyway?"

  "As soon as you're ready," Malone said, running a hand over the stubble on his chin. "I was discreet in my earlier inquiries, but the sooner we go, the less chance he'll have to make another run for it."

  "We can go in a few hours," Mervyn said firmly. "I have some charms already made that would be useful, and we should probably rest and eat before we go."

  "Good idea," Malone said thoughtfully. "That will also give us some time to let the bonding settle."

  "Great," Denzil muttered under his breath, and Callisto smothered a smile. Denzil just sounded so cranky, it was hilarious and much easier to focus on than that he would be bonding with Mervyn shortly.

  "We'll leave you to it, then," Mervyn said, standing and earning yet another sour look from Denzil. "I'll have Evandie bring you something to eat, and if you want to rest, Malone, you can use my room. I won't be using it."

  Malone nodded, and Denzil looked briefly as if he were going to say something, but in the end he just scowled as Mervyn led the way from the room. Callisto followed, wishing he knew more about bonding and that Denzil wasn't so annoyed over the whole thing, but it really didn't make any difference in the end. Denzil would calm down, and Callisto would find out how bonding was done and what it was like shortly.

  Mervyn paused in the hallway outside the salon, shutting the door firmly behind him. He turned back towards Callisto, but didn't start walking again. "You don't have to come if you don't want to," Mervyn said slowly. "I understand why you think you should, but we can do this without you, and none of us would look down on you or care if you wanted to stay here."

 
; "I do want to go," Callisto said, flushing a little because it was stupidly harder to be stubborn and somewhat rude to Mervyn. "For the reasons I gave and because…" Callisto hesitated, before continuing more quietly. "Because you and Denzil might not think worse of me for bowing out, but I would think worse of myself. I have to do this; there hasn't been anything else I could do so far."

  "Okay," Mervyn said, smiling. "I won't badger you like Denzil, but if you change your mind, all you have to do is say."

  "I won't," Callisto said simply.

  "I think the library would be the easiest—" Mervyn began, cutting off and turning towards the salon when the door opened behind them. Denzil looked surprised to see them there, but the expression quickly faded.

  "You, go away," Denzil said shortly, gesturing to Mervyn. He stepped out into the hallway and shut the door to the salon loudly.

  "You're not going to try and talk him out of it some more?" Mervyn asked, making no move to leave.

  "No," Denzil said, rolling his eyes. "I thought he might want to know more about being bound, since he's never done it before. Is that all right with you?"

  "All right," Mervyn said, smiling and making no apology. "I'll wait in the library."

  "Okay," Callisto said, fidgeting nervously as Mervyn walked away. Denzil grabbed his arm, half-guiding, half-dragging Callisto over to the staircase that led to the second floor. Callisto obediently sat on the stairs when Denzil gestured, keeping quiet as Denzil paced restlessly in front of him.

  Part Nine

  "Are you sure you're up for this? Physically?" Denzil asked after a moment, pausing in his pacing to peer critically at Callisto.

  "What did you want to tell me?" Callisto asked, refusing to dignify that question with an answer.

  "You've never been bound before," Denzil said, frowning. "Mervyn's pretty gentle about it, as far as that goes, but you have to… accept it, sort of. It's easier if you do, though he can force it if you can't figure it out."