“It's okay,” I told Gianna softly.
She looked at me, her eyes those of a frightened deer. “We’ll go out back,” I said. “Nobody will be able to see you.
“And our bodies will go unnoticed for a while,” Gianna said, her voice dark.
Diane looked around me to look at her, something amused in her face. “You’ve got quite the sense of humor,” she said. “I'll almost regret killing you.”
“Not enough to stop,” I said. I knew the answer to that.
She smiled. “Indeed.” She glanced towards the front door. “Let's go.” All it took was a crook of her finger, and the magic in the metal was driving us forward. It clasped my hands behind my back, the bracelet making one hand hold the other one. My neck felt a little bit too tight, as if it was a warning.
Thankfully, the clouds were thick in the sky, the rain still not having left. I kept my eyes down, let myself get drenched. I didn’t want to give her any indication of what I knew how to do. It would've been easy for her to shove us back inside, because there was no way in hell I was going to bring a lightning strike down on the pet shop. As it was, I was sort of uncertain about doing it so close.
That was, provided I could actually do it when I wanted to. As with many other things in life, that was something I had never seemed to manage unless it was an accident. That was my luck.
But I felt a familiar spark dance across my skin, and the light breeze around my throat. I didn't turn my head, but I could feel the wind whistle around my throat. I almost sighed in relief. My wind was back.
It really needed a name. “Please,” I said, giving Diane what she wanted. I would beg, if that was what she wanted. She looked satisfied, so obviously I was right.
“It's not going to change anything,” she said. “Down on your knees.”
I kept Gianna just behind me, and sank down to one knee. I left my hands clasped behind my back, and looked up at Diane, meeting her eyes. Then I yelled as loudly as I could.
Okay, I didn't really know if you needed like a Samte yell, but it seemed like the right thing to do.
Nothing happened.
Diane stared. “That's why you're not an apprentice.”
Except then a bolt of lightning flew down from the sky and lit her up. She shrieked and collapsed.
I stood there, heat scorching up and down my arms. Even Gianna looked burned. She was breathing too fast. I hadn't even thought about the impact of being so close to lightning on her. I could handle it, because I was a weather witch. I should've thought about Gianna.
“Stay down,” I told her sharply, heading over to Diane.
Her eyes were closed, but I could see the faintest movement of her chest. She was still alive.
“Go get me some rope,” I told Gianna. Gianna immediately scurried back into the pet shop, and then promptly appeared with some dog leashes. They would work. I bound Diane’s hands, and her legs. I didn’t do it really hard, so she didn’t really have anything to complain about.
Speaking of. “Come here,” I told Gianna. I make sure her choker and bracelet were off before I took mine off. Those I gently tossed on top of Diane, pleased to see that she didn't stir. I wasn’t going to say that I was entirely pissed about the events of the night, but I wasn't going to say I was happy with how it turned out, either.
“I don't want to repeat this evening, ever again,” Gianna muttered.
Suddenly I heard shouting. I grabbed Gianna by the shoulder and pulled her close. To my surprise, Gianna wrapped her arms around me, burying her face in my stomach. Well, okay, boobs. I liked to pretend that she was short, but eventually Gianna would outgrow me.
“Who's there?” I shouted, nerves running through me.
“Police!” Riley's voice came.
I relaxed, and I felt Gianna's grip on me lessen.
“It's your girlfriend,” Gianna whispered.
I shot her the equivalent of a death glare, but she grinned. “She’s not my girlfriend,” I hissed at her.
She winked, and then giggled. “Sure,” she teased. “That's what you say now.”
I looked at her, then watched as Riley appeared around the corner. “How did you find us?”
“I found this,” Riley said, pulling one of Gianna's globes out of her pocket. “It wouldn't leave me alone.” It was one of the globes that Gianna had made with Avery at the glassmaker’s shop, the smoky ones. The little glass globe flew out of her hand, blinking bright and circling around her head. Occasionally, where it touched the skin, it turned red and blistered. “It kept hitting me, burning my arms, until I actually listened to it. It led us here.”
I looked at the orbs, rather appreciative for what they could do. I mean, it wasn't exactly what I'd expected, but it was worth it.
The adrenaline of everything that had happened hit me, and I nodded toward Diane on the floor. “I may have hurt her with lightning.”
“But you didn't light her on fire,” Riley said.
“I'm learning,” I said with a grin.
She rolled her eyes, but there was fondness there. “Let's get you guys to the hospital.”
I looked at her, alarmed.
“The magic doctor,” she amended. She looked at Gianna, and at me. “I don't think Gianna really wants to explain lightning burns to a human doctor.”
I bit back a laugh. “I wouldn’t want to either.”
“Oh,” she said after a second. “Your family was looking for you.”
I winced. “Don't tell the crazy loons,” I muttered. “They’ll hunt me down.”
“Too late.” She sighed. “Now get in my cruiser so I can take you there.”
Gianna listened, and with enough grumbling, I followed. Still, I couldn't hide a grin. It was half relief, half terror. We’d survived. We’d come out the other side.
Chapter Thirty-One
“What are you thinking about this time?” Marguerite asked, exasperated.
I winced. Even I could tell I was distracted, my magic jumping out from underneath my skin. “I'm sorry,” I said. “Sam's exam is tomorrow.”
The look Marguerite gave me was as exasperated as her voice. “You think I don't know that?”
Wisely, I kept my mouth shut. Gianna was at school today so we were getting this lesson and practice in. Or, were attempting to. It wasn't going very well.
“Your magic with Diane wasn't bad,” Marguerite said stiffly.
That was pretty much a compliment.
“Thanks.”
“This isn't something you technically learn until after your apprentice exam,” Marguerite said, glancing around. “I won't have you make the disc, but we’re going to talk about storing magic in them.”
I tried not to let the glee show on my face. Finally, we were learning something awesome. Although, to be fair, we’d learned a lot of cool things. This just was extra cool.
“Do you have that wind with you?” she asked, tilting her head.
My cheeks turned red. “Probably,” I said.
Marguerite handed out a small clear disc with one edge etched open. “It's hollow,” she said. “I would like you to ask your wind to go in the disc, just temporarily. I want you to see what happens.”
I closed my eyes, ignoring the outside. It was easier to locate one specific wind among the winds that way. “There,” I said, putting a hook in it. “Arya,” I decided. Might as well start with a name, and that was a good name.
“Who are you talking to?” Marguerite asked, something amused in her voice.
“Nobody,” I said, opening an eye and staring at her.
“Without using your words,” Marguerite said sharply.
I opened both my eyes, scowling at her. “That's not fair.”
She gave me the look that reminded me that she didn't really care.
I bit back a huff and turned back to the disc that Marguerite had placed my palm.
Arya spun back to me. Something was panicky in her breeze. I looked in my magic, looked around. There were other winds fle
eing from the direction that she’d come from. What was wrong?
“Ignore it,” Marguerite said.
I looked at her, not exactly sure I wanted to listen, but knowing I didn't really like the alternative.
“Okay,” I said slowly.
She rolled her eyes at me. I turned to the disc, looking at it. I could feel Arya swimming around my shoulders, tickling my hair, poking into my ear out of curiosity. She – because I thought she was a she – was a curious little thing. I held the disc out, focusing as much of my energy as I could and steering her towards the disc. She seemed a little reluctant, and feeling cheesy, I decided to project some calming vibes. They seemed to warm her up, because the breeze kissed my cheek before she was curling into the disc.
The formerly white disc turned bright blue, and Marguerite carefully put a finger over the edge.
“In the future, you'll likely seal something in there,” Marguerite said. “For now, we’ll let the wind out.”
When Marguerite removed her finger, Arya came pouring out of the disc, almost huffy.
“It's okay,” I told her, trying to keep a smile off my face.
Marguerite was watching me again. Then she looked over my shoulder, and sighed. “You're taking forever. Just get over here.”
I turned, not able to see who she was talking to. There was nobody there.
And then there was. Zane appeared, looking exasperated.
“You are very creative,” Marguerite said flatly. “I suggest that you try harder next time.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Yet, it worked.”
“No it didn't,” Marguerite said dismissively. “As if I'm scared of you.”
I looked between the two of them, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.
“So, once you get to the point you’re a proper apprentice, you'll be able to keep these bangles, and use them to store and harness magic.” Marguerite took the disc from my hand.
“Are you listening to me?” Zane asked, his voice irritated. There was something to his face that set my stomach on edge. It reminded me a lot of Sage.
“No,” Marguerite said pleasantly. She showed me some of her discs. “Red is fire, blue is wind and water, lightning is yellow.”
“Can you mix them together?” I asked, although I did move slightly so that I could see Zane out of the corner of my eye.
She nodded her head. “It's high level magic,” she said. “Fusion magic.”
Yeah, that definitely sounded out of my area of expertise for now. I could barely handle the basics.
“Are you paying attention to me?” Zane moved closer.
Marguerite sighed, and then shifted one of her bangles so I could see the large blue discs on top. “Eventually you'll be able to release the power with a simple tap of your finger,” she said, putting her finger on the disc. “These will react to my fingerprints. Yours eventually will do the same.”
I stared at her, surprised. I mean, it was genius. Absolutely insane, but genius.
I could feel the wind blowing out of the disc, and I could feel as it wandered over to Zane, wrapping him up in a nice bow.
He snapped his finger, and it disappeared. “I'm stronger than that,” he snarled. That was when I noticed the sludge pouring out of his hands. Was I ever going to get away from dark magic?
Tendrils were starting to sneak away from his hands, heading my direction. It was like something bleak had fallen over the world, like no one would be happy ever again. It made you want to run and hide.
Marguerite sighed, shifted bangles. This time she tapped a green one, and this time the magic that flowed out was crackling lightning, surrounding him.
“You're interrupting my lesson,” Marguerite said curtly. “You could at least have the manners to wait until I was done.”
I so wished Gianna was here. She would've found that hilarious.
To be fair, I was finding it hilarious. Absolutely terrifying, but funny, too.
“You'll be able to manipulate a lot of things with these elements,” Marguerite said. “For example, currents.” She paused to look at Zane, a smile on her face. She flicked a finger at him, and I saw a bit of the lightning zap him, making him flinch.
“You could do that on a bigger or smaller scale,” Marguerite said pleasantly.
Zane was glaring at her now, his hands flickering as if he was trying to fight magic off.
“That's not going to work,” Marguerite said pleasantly. “Any magical energy is being zapped.”
“No,” he said. “I'm going to get you.”
Marguerite turned to face him fully, apparently giving up on the pretense of our lesson. “I look forward to the day that you finally learn how to do that,” she said flatly. “I do, however, think it's very far in the future.”
I really wished I was recording this.
“Who are you?” Marguerite asked, her eyes narrowing.
Excellent. Marguerite wasn't entirely unfailable.
“You know who I am,” he said.
She studied him, and then sighed. “You appeared ten years ago,” she said. She seemed to be putting the pieces together. She turned to me. “Sage was raised by her mother,” she said. “Her father was banished twenty or thirty years ago for the use of dark magic.” She lifted an eyebrow and looked at Zane. “Until enough time had passed that he could reinvent himself, change his identity, and reappear in the village.”
“So you're saying he's Sage’s father?” Inwardly I groaned. “Am I ever getting away from the family?”
Marguerite looked thoughtful for a moment, and I wanted to roll my eyes at her. “Well, the mom's dead,” she said. Then she paused. “But then again, you have Gianna, so not really.”
“How helpful,” I muttered.
Marguerite smirked.
“You can't prove any of this,” Zane said. His silver hair was flying around, little bits of lightning sparking bits of it and turning it white. The black magic was surrounding him now, starting to negate some of Marguerite’s guard. Was he going to be able to escape?
“If you think I can't prove it, you're dumber than I thought you were.”
Zane glared at her.
Marguerite sighed. “I'm going to have to end our lesson early,” she said. Her voice was pleasant, in the way that I never really wanted her voice to be. If I was Zane, and if I could do so, I would be running away. Because that voice – that voice didn't bode anything good. That was her ‘I'm going to kick your ass and you don’t know it’ voice.
“If you would like to see the show, you can come.” Marguerite pointed a finger at Zane, and flicked her finger. Obediently the wind started going towards him, and then started dragging him after Marguerite.
Arya settled back around my neck, feeling cool, almost like water.
We headed down the mountain, towards the main square. Towards the police station. Marguerite apparently was quite fine with a long walk, so I didn't complain, even though my feet hurt.
I did, however, borrow a wind or two to help cool them off a bit.
“Riley, I have a present,” Marguerite said, opening the door to the police station.
I rubbed my forehead. Marguerite and her theatrics. They were going to be the death of me.
“What?” Riley sighed and popped her head out of the office. “I did not want to do more paperwork today.”
“I'm sorry to make you do your job,” Marguerite said, clearly not sorry at all.
I bit back a grin. Maybe we were related.
She sighed. “What am I arresting him for?”
“Nothing,” Zane snarled.
Marguerite snapped her fingers, and I could see the breeze that flowed in front of Riley.
“Yes, I was one who introduced Sage to black magic,” came Zane's voice.
I looked at Marguerite, my mouth dropping open slightly. It was like she'd recorded it, and was playing it back. Had she kept it on the wind the entire time? I was going to have to ask. At some point. When I was more scary.
Riley looked like she’d been hit over the head with exasperation. “Of course he did.”
With a sigh she came out of the office, holding handcuffs that glowed light blue in her hands. “You're under arrest,” she told Zane, her voice tired.
“You're listening to her?” Zane sounded outraged. “She's old, she doesn't know what she's talking about.”
Riley winced. “Neither do you, if you called her old.”
I bit back a grin. I could almost feel the energy Marguerite made crackle in the air.
Riley took Zane inside, and we followed, to give our statements. Riley really didn’t look impressed with the whole stalking-but-not-really. She was even less impressed when Marguerite passed out in the waiting room. That certainly had gotten everyone’s attention.
By the time I was ready to head back to the main house, I was exhausted, stifling a yawn. I still had to go get Gianna, and we had to make sure her work was done. Then Sam's exam was tomorrow. Oh, and I was escorting Marguerite home to ensure she didn’t fall over again.
“You named that wind of yours, didn't you?” Marguerite asked, turning to look at me.
I could feel Arya giggle against my neck, curl up against my ear. “Yeah,” I admitted. “This breeze seems to hang around a lot.”
“Tell me about it,” Marguerite asked, her voice deceptively soft.
I filled her in briefly, the way it came with me, and hung out around me. “Do you have one?”
Marguerite looked at me, and shook her head. “No,” she said. “No other weather witch I have met has described the same thing you have.”
Alarm filled me. “Does that mean I'm not a weather witch?”
She looked at me, smiled faintly. “I think the better question is whether or not you’re a full witch.”
I stared at her. “What does that mean?”
Marguerite looked mysterious, and then turned and headed back towards the house.
“Please tell me?” I asked, catching up with her.
“Go get your child,” Marguerite said with a wave of dismissal.
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