With that many agents inside, we might as well. In fact, we likely wouldn’t even get a choice on this, as the minions were hardly going to sit around idle while we were in there. I shrugged, as this didn’t bother me. If I had a choice between standing around looking pretty or fighting, I choose fighting. “So, pack three days’ worth of supplies.”
“Pack one spare outfit and weapons,” Maksohm corrected. “We have something we use in situations like this that will carry all of our supplies with us.”
Chi blinked at him. “We’ll use the Mules?”
The what, now?
“Think of them as magically powered carts,” Yez explained to a confused Rena and me. “They’re tethered to obey anyone in a group but to specifically follow one person. They don’t need to have anyone direct it, just someone to tell it to go or stop. They’re usually good for five days before someone has to do a renewing spell on them.”
“In other words,” Rena said thoughtfully, “the perfect means of transport for us. Who will you tether it to?”
“We usually do it with the main shield bearer, as he doesn’t have anything else to do but focus on keeping his team shielded. They follow whoever they’re ordered to like a very large, obedient dog.” A flash of mischief crossed Yez’s face. “As long as Maksohm doesn’t forget that it’s following him like last time.”
Maksohm gave him a pained look.
Chi leaned in to whisper loudly, “We were going through a mountain pass, he went to answer a call of nature, forgot about the Mule, and it ended up stuck between two trees. Took almost four hours to get it free again.”
“Absolutely nothing about that mission went right,” Maksohm grumbled to no one in particular. Clearing his throat pointedly, he smoothed his face back out. “Yez, if you and Vee will get the Mule packed? Commandeer whatever help you need.”
Both of them nodded easily.
“Nora, Chi, help me spread the word to the teams to assemble. Rena, Bannen, I want you to go take a look at the barrier. Find the weakest spots for me and analyze if putting an agent there will help stabilize it or if it’s a lost cause. Also, if there’s any shard within sight of you, feel free to destroy it. I think that last part goes without saying,” he said with a quick grin.
Rena snorted, amused. “It does. But yes, we’ll go take a look.”
We dispersed, each going about our assigned tasks, with Rena only ducking into her room long enough to pass Vee her box of medicine. I waited until we were out on the street, well away from any potential eavesdroppers, before cluing Rena in. “Chi woke me up at some bird’s hour this morning, all excited about us getting together and badgering me for seduction tips.”
Rena laughed outright. “Like he needs them.”
“Well, he’s going on four years in an unrequited love—”
She choked on air and stared at me with bug eyes. “Has it seriously been four years?!”
“—it really has, and I managed to win you, so he thinks I know something he doesn’t. I might have mentioned that you intended to sound Vee out a little regarding him.”
Nodding, she assured me, “That’s fine. I haven’t had a chance to do that yet, obviously, but when I do, I’ll pass it along. But seriously, four years? Haven’t they been partners for that long?”
“Thereabouts? I think it’s more like six.”
Blinking, she ducked in closer to me, mostly to avoid pedestrians coming toward us, then stayed, letting her hand find its way into mine. I liked the naturalness of it, the easy way she reached out to me, without needing to ask first. “Don’t tell me it’s one of those cases where he fell in love with her at first sight?”
“Maybe he just has a type. A tall-as-a-mountain type?”
She gave me that look that said she knew I wasn’t being serious. “Vee’s observant. I’m surprised that she hasn’t picked up on it by this point.”
“So am I, actually.” Neither of us mentioned that maybe she had, and out of kindness didn’t say anything. We both wanted it to work out between them, after all, so we didn’t want to consider that possibility.
Rena went right up to the top of the mountain slope, staring at the barrier with narrowed eyes, analyzing and calculating. My eyes weren’t as good as hers, never would be, but I could still boast decent eyesight. I stared around too, trying to see if any shards had popped up close enough to the barrier that Rena could neutralize them from here. She liked eliminating with extreme prejudice. Made her day.
We walked up one side, following a narrow path that had been carved in by many, many feet walking this exact area. I couldn’t see what she did, but even to my eyes, the barrier looked thinner than it had. The first day of our arrival, it’d had this blue-green tone to it, like a part of it had been carved from the ocean floor, and now it appeared more sky blue. Also—and color me paranoid, I was fine with that—it almost seemed like I could smell that strange decayed scent that I associated with Toh’sellor’s minions. It couldn’t be mistaken for anything else, as nothing remotely smelled like that. The scent tickled my nose and made the breakfast in my stomach roil in a queasy turn. That didn’t bode well. “How bad is it?”
“Parts of it are in more danger than others,” she finally answered, eyes moving to a point farther along the path. “This area especially needs help. It won’t last past tonight. Maksohm didn’t mention which agents he was putting on barrier duty.”
It wasn’t a question but I answered it anyway. “No, he didn’t. Should we find him?”
“Let me walk the other way, make sure that I can give him a full report. I can’t imagine that one side is stronger than the other by a wide margin. Well, maybe, this area is ridiculously close to that shard that popped up in town.” She tapped a thoughtful fingertip to her lips. “Maybe that was it? But let’s walk the other way, I want to take a look while we’re up here. No sense making the trip twice when we don’t have to.”
Considering it was a rather steep climb, I was in favor of that.
We went the other direction and Rena studied it even longer, letting out thoughtful hums that could mean anything between ‘this displeases me’ or ‘good job, nameless agent in charge of this section.’ It was a fine distinction.
Nodding decisively, she turned to me and waved a hand, gesturing toward the general direction of the hotel. “There’s two spots that need help, but not as bad as that first one. I think we’ll be alright for at least a few days.”
I didn’t ask her if she was sure about defeating Toh’sellor, as she’d gotten that question too many times already. I knew what her answer was. Instead I slung an arm around her shoulders, companionable and comforting. “It’s not like we’ll be in there more than two days anyway. You’re a genius, it won’t take you long to figure out how to poof him.”
“Poof? Really?” Rena settled under my arm, wrapping her own around my waist, looking more than a little thankful at this vote of confidence. “This is one of the worst evils we’ve experienced and the word you use to defeat it is poof?”
I gave her wide eyes and an innocent blink. “Despoil?”
“Eww.” Rena smacked me on the shoulder. “Eww, no, that sounds like some illicit relationship.”
“Clobber?”
“What am I, a cave woman?”
“Skunk?” It grew ridiculously hard to keep a straight face.
Rena wrinkled her nose, aggravated, but I could see the laughter in her eyes. “Yes, skunk is so much better than clobber. What are you, twelve?”
“Drub?”
She snorted a laugh. “That sounds like a school yard fight!”
We cheerfully bickered all the way down the hill.
I stepped into the room and looked about with more than a little confusion. This was the eve of battle, correct? I stood in the same room with the agents I’d be fighting alongside tomorrow? If I didn’t recognize so many faces I would have sworn I’d entered some illicit party instead.
A party in full swing.
I didn’t see a lo
t of alcohol, or any drunks, but food seemed to be everywhere. Mostly of the finger variety. A band played rather well in one corner and more than a few danced, sometimes in couples, but I saw at least one train of men that had hooked arms and merrily danced their way in beelines round and round in the room.
The heat struck me as I took a few tentative steps inside; not surprising, as this many people crammed into the same place would generate heat very quickly. I glanced at Bannen, unsure how to take this, to find him smiling at everyone in general. “This reminds me of that phrase.”
“Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die?” Bannen responded, bouncing a little onto his toes.
“That’s the one.” I studied the partying crowd dubiously. “That’s not what they’re doing, is it?”
“From what Yez told me, partying the eve before a hard mission is a MISD tradition. Keeps people from falling prey to an attack of nerves and wears them out enough they all sleep soundly.”
I thought about that for a moment. “You know, as strategy goes, it’s a sound one.”
“Right? And I know that the last of the new agents came in this morning, so this way we can meet everyone we’re going to fight alongside. There’s worse ways to handle it.” He took a deliberate step to the side, so he could eye the buffet table stretched along the far wall. “I’m just glad to see no one has snuck any alcohol in. Hangovers tomorrow morning would be an astoundingly bad idea.”
“No kidding.” The band finished its song and changed to something familiar, a popular tune that crossed into different countries freely, one with a three-beat base pattern that leant itself very well to dancing. I beamed up at Bannen, already edging for the part of the room seemingly designated as the dance floor. “Dance?”
“Dance first, eat later?” he responded, amused, already taking my hand.
Pouting, I shook my head playfully. “Noooo. Dance, eat, dance, eat. Repeat as necessary.”
“You got into the swing of things quickly,” he approved, eyes crinkling up in that half-moon smile I loved.
We reached the dance floor and I felt a thrill go through me. We so rarely got to dance with each other, which was a retched shame. I’d missed the opportunity to dance most of my teenage years as I didn’t have the lung capacity or the balance for it. Bannen had taught me, and at first I’d only gone along with the lessons because it was a way to hold him, and be held, and no one would question my intentions. Then I’d gotten good enough to learn some of the more complicated moves, and I found a joy in it that I hadn’t expected.
Now, of course, I didn’t have to pretend anything.
Bannen swung me into position, hand at my waist, the other in a loose hold in my free hand. I put my free hand at his shoulder and we moved in perfect synchronization, the basic steps first. Then the music hit its first swell and he snapped me out in a quick twirl before pulling me tightly back in, dipping so that my back arched and my hair splayed freely beneath me.
I had pants on, unfortunately, the skirt of my shirt not long enough to flare out and really take advantage of all the spins he did with me, but I enjoyed it all regardless. Chi caught sight of us at some point and wolf whistled, making us laugh hard enough I almost missed a step.
That song ended with a flare and we clapped before the band started up again, this time with a slightly slower beat for couples that needed a breather. We danced to that one too, then another, and another, until my stomach rumbled petulantly.
“Food?” he asked me knowingly.
Surely he couldn’t hear the rumbling over the band and all of the conversations going on in here. I could barely hear myself think in this din. In fact, I was more reading his lips than actually hearing what he said. “Yes.”
We grabbed plates, went down the line of the buffet table, gathering up anything that struck our fancy. Before I even left the table, Yez caught Bannen’s attention and waved him over, and Vee snuck one arm out and snagged me by the shoulders, dragging me in the exact opposite direction. Neither of us minded.
I loved Bannen more than air but sometimes we really did need a break from each other. This wasn’t exactly one of those times, but he’d be glued to my side for the next two or three days, so better we give each other space now than get on each other’s nerves later.
Following Vee’s silent pressure around my shoulders, I only paused long enough to snag some of the punch, eyeballing it doubtfully as I walked. No one had spiked it, right? A quick analysis showed it only contained a mix of different fruit juices and soda to give it a little kick. Relieved, I stepped out onto the porch and found that three other women already sat outside a small table, their own plates half-devoured.
With a blink, I realized I had the perfect setup for a little girls’ talk. My eyes cut over to Vee for a moment. Could I somehow get her to confess what she really thought of Chi? Hopeful, I took the last vacant chair and smiled at everyone. “Nora.”
“Rena,” she greeted, waving a hand to the two women next to her. “This is Lauren,” blond, forty, and fit under that MISD uniform, “and her familiar, Rikki.”
Rikki looked to be a ferret, happily chewing through a plate of fruit of some sort I didn’t recognize. He looked up, chittered at me, then went back to his dinner.
I gave them both a polite nod and smile. “Hello.”
“And this is Sherri,” another MISD agent although she had the patch of a Healer on her left shoulder, a darkly exotic woman with black skin and tight, wiry hair, “and her familiar, Jimbo.”
Jimbo the jaguar lay sprawled under the table, lifting one eyelid long enough to get my measure before going right back to his nap, tail flicking in a small, contented way.
“Hello,” I repeated. “You’re both going in with us tomorrow?”
“We are,” Lauren answered, pushing the last bit of cake around on her plate. “I’m not sure whether I’m glad to be in the force or not. I understand that fourteen of us had to go into support, to keep Toh’sellor firmly in. He’s that close to breaking the barrier? I haven’t had a chance to get up and really look at the situation.”
“He’s ridiculously close,” Vee growled. “But let’s not talk about it tonight. We have much more fun things to talk about. Did either of you know that Rena’s familiar is human?”
And here we go.
I half-expected some dangerous and uncomfortable questions to come from the two mages, but Vee’s explanation carefully gave them the truth without divulging details I didn’t want known. I ate through my plate, lingering over a few favorites, and listened as she explained everything for me.
“Wait, wait,” Sherri interrupted, fingers twitching in the air as if wishing for something to take notes with. “I have to ask this, from a Healer’s perspective—what can you see? Can you see illness, for example?”
“Some,” I hedged. “Theoretically poisons, for instance, I could do something about. Um, injuries, if something is lodged inside? I can destroy those. In terms of healing, I can’t do much more than that.”
“That alone is amazing.” Sherri pursed her lips thoughtfully. “After all of this, I’d dearly love to talk to you, see if we can somehow apply your principles to modern healing as we understand it.”
That sounded like a terribly interesting research project and I had this unholy urge to grin. I tamped it down, not wanting to scare her, as it would likely turn out demented. “Of course. We’ll do so. I’m very interested as well. There could be applications I’m missing because I’m not familiar enough with medicine to think of it.”
Sherri pointed a finger at me, wagging it in warning. “Don’t think I won’t drag you off. I mean it.”
“Magus,” Lauren gave me an odd look, brows furrowed slightly in bemusement, “I find it interesting that Vee is explaining this and not you.”
“Terrible with explanations,” I answered frankly, not at all bothered by this. “Vee knows this and is friend enough to do it for me.”
Vee grinned down at me, suspiciously close to patting
me on the head. “You do alright when you force yourself to. But the real reason I dragged you out here is to demand answers. You and Bannen.”
“Ahh, now the ulterior motive shines through.” I lifted my glass, taking a sip of the punch to buy me a second to think. How to answer this so that I can segue into asking my own questions? “It’s the funniest thing, actually. After I finally dragged him into a confession—”
“Wait, wait, confession?” Nora cut in. “You have to start before that!”
Right. Short method would not work. Biting back my impatience, I went to the beginning, when I first summoned Bannen, winding the tale up and through to present day, although only the highlights. Doing so felt strangely nostalgic, as if I were talking with my girlfriends in Corcoran, which in turn made me miss all of them. Maybe when this was over, I’d visit.
Sherri let out an approving, low whistle when I finished. “You need to write this story down. Publish it. You’d make a mint.”
“Wouldn’t she?” Nora agreed. “A sweet, magical romance. Literally.”
I was not as sure about that, but accepted the praise in the spirit it was meant. “The funniest thing is, we were mutually in love with each other, and didn’t even realize it. If I hadn’t pushed, if one of us hadn’t the courage to take that final step forward, we would have been forever stuck as just friends. How sad is that?”
“It happens more often than one would think.” Nora gave Vee a pointed look. “Isn’t that right, Vee?”
I mentally jumped up and down and cheered. Thank you, Nora! That was a beautiful opening.
Unfortunately, Vee didn’t seem inclined to take it. She just gave the woman a weary look, one filled with threadbare amusement, as if this was a very old argument. “As you’ve said.”
“He’s in love with you,” Nora insisted.
“He’s really, really not.”
“He’s really, truly, head over heels, stupid in love with you. Unfortunately, the stupid part is winning.”
“Nooorrraaa,” Vee complained.
“Wait, wait,” Lauren held up both hands in a staying motion. “I feel like I’m coming in on Act Three. Who’s in love with who?”
The Void Mage (The Familiar and Mage Book 2) Page 28