I gripped the door handle until my fingers cramped. “You’ve taken control of every aspect of my life. You’ve hijacked my crew and you’re setting me up to have a whopping target on my back. You can call my actions whatever you want, but if you don’t lighten up a little, I’m going to show you that I’m far from a child.”
He wanted to see magic? I felt it churning in me now, as if his had riled it beyond tolerance. If he didn’t stop pushing, I’d let it loose and see what it would do.
“That’s one thing I can’t seem to forget,” he said.
He must’ve felt the wild feel of my magic, too, but he didn’t look scared. He looked like he had the other night by the lake. His magic shifted, felt like it was weaving with mine. It felt…erotic. I’d heard that word before but hadn’t known what it meant until now, this instant, with this man. I felt like someone who couldn’t swim who’d just jumped into twenty feet of water.
I didn’t know what was happening, but he needed to pull it back or I was leaving, and I didn’t care what that meant. “You want me to control mine, get yours in check.”
He blinked and I knew I’d surprised him, or maybe he hadn’t realized how aggressive his magic had gotten. Either way, it pulled back, and I could breathe a little easier for the moment.
“Sorry. Our magic seems to be interacting strangely. I wasn’t expecting that,” he said, and seemed more surprised than me by it.
Had he not known? So much for ironclad control.
I nodded, not wanting to be a total dick after he apologized. After all, the way he’d gritted it out between his teeth, I had a feeling it wasn’t something that came naturally. If he felt discouraged, he might not rise to another apology for a decade, and gods knew he would need more than that with the way he acted.
He straightened, which at least relaxed the muscles in his forearms a bit.
“Come here.”
“What?” I took a step back. Then I took a few steps to the side, as if I couldn’t stand still and that first step had had nothing to do with being afraid to get close to him.
“Come look at the map,” he said, pointing down at the table. “You wanted something to do?” he reminded me in a voice that implied I was acting a few cards short of a full deck.
I went from panicked to disappointed, which was bizarre, since I didn’t want him to touch me. Not that I’d thought he was going to or anything. Hadn’t even been thinking about it. Hadn’t I just backed away from the door to stop physical contact?
I couldn’t think straight anymore, and it had to be the lingering effects of his magic. It had to be. I wasn’t this ridiculous.
I walked to the farthest end of the rectangular table and concentrated on the sheet lying upon it, and not him staring at me. There was plenty to take in. It was huge, with scribbles everywhere and rough-looking circles.
“What is this?” I reached out but froze before I touched it.
“Go ahead,” he said.
I didn’t look at him as my fingers grazed the smooth surface, gliding over the slightly dented texture where the marks were.
“This is a map of where we are and where we are going.” He pointed to one spot. “This is where we are now.” He came around the longer side of the table, closer to my side, and pointed at another spot. “This is Bedlam.”
“Is that point”—I moved my finger closer—“to this point far?” I’d heard it was two days by chugger and two weeks on foot, but I’d always avoided going too far in that direction.
“Without a chugger, it’s a couple of weeks. We need to stay out of sight, so we can’t take any of the roads.” His finger ran the length of the lines that ran in between the two misshapen forms.
There were tree shapes to the left and the Frozen Sea to the right.
“So you want to go through here?” I tapped my finger on the trees, hoping he’d tell me I was wrong, because it was the heart of the Ruined Forest. During the War of 810, strange magic had been released there.
“Yes. Through there.” He lifted his gaze to mine, his eyes intent.
I understood the look. The trip to Bedlam was going to be nearly as bad as the place itself.
It was the most warning I was going to get, and even that was surprising, since it was go or die. He could’ve told me a three-headed giant snake was in those forests—and it might be—and I would still be going because it was the only way he’d help me. And as much as I’d like to kid myself, I was pretty sure he was my best bet to renegotiate with the Debt Collector.
“You’re sure we can’t take the road?” I asked. Just because I’d resigned myself to the danger didn’t mean I was excited about getting eaten whole by a three-headed snake.
“They can’t see us coming. What I want, they’ll guard with their lives.”
“Of course it is,” I said, rolling my eyes.
The evil bastard laughed.
“Are you ever going to let me know what I’m risking my life for?”
“I’ll do better. I’ll show you after I have it.”
Chapter 15
I was lying on my back on my pelt while Ruck walked circles around me. “Why don’t you move to my room?”
It was the fifth time he’d asked this morning. This was his follow-up after he’d shown up with breakfast, trying to lure me to the dark side. I had a feeling that he thought if I moved to his room, there was no way I’d want to leave.
“Because that’s your room.” I liked my room. I didn’t know why everyone else thought it was bad. Still couldn’t believe they’d used it as a holding cell. “I like my room and I don’t criticize yours.”
He stopped in the dead center of the room and then raised his arms, as if to say, Don’t you see this place? “Mine is nice. This is cold, dark, and damp. Only a lizard would like this room.”
“Don’t you have a job assignment to get to?” I asked, knowing he’d gotten shifts on the tower. Fetch was on the construction detail. Marra and Sinsy were together on hunting detail, which had put my mind at ease, since it would be a bit before people understood Marra’s way of communicating.
“Not for another hour.”
An hour? I could have another hour of this?
Burn stepped into the open doorway. “Practice?” I’d been waiting for him to show, and wished he’d come a half-hour earlier. I’d thought I was going to practice with Ryker today until one of the messengers, the kids who ran through the place, came and told me Burn would be by sometime later.
Thank magic he was finally here. I got to my feet, trying to act like I wasn’t anxious to cut off this conversation. I waved to Ruck. “See you later.”
Burn walked a few feet outside my room and then looked around the place. “Maybe there,” he said, staring at a gap in between some of the buildings, one I thought might be used as a school.
“Here? This close? We usually go farther out. You sure we should do it right here?” I asked.
“Why not?” Burn was already walking off toward the new practice place, passing a small herd of kids.
He paused for a second, and I heard him say hello to an attractive brunette that stepped out of the school building. He gave her a toothy smile before walking not even ten feet away.
That had to be Julia. Great, I was going to fail in an epic way with an audience so he could impress his crush. Never thought I’d long for Ryker kicking my ass into the dirt. “Where’s Ryker, anyway?”
“Ryker has something to do. I’m the next up on the magic meter.”
Burn searched the ground for a stick and then walked closer to the buildings again. I’d waited in my spot, somehow knowing he’d come back.
There were a few people stopping and coming closer, along with his would-be girlfriend and her small entourage.
He dragged the stick in a circle around him and chanted. All eyes were transfixed on him.
I saw a couple people mouth the word “magic” as if in awe. I’d heard that most dulls reacted like this, but I’d never witnessed it. The awe was palpable, and it wasn’t as if they could even see the ward he was building. Plus, didn’t they know it was carriers who ruined the world with their wars? They should hate us. Not be in awe.
They wouldn’t be in awe after they saw me fall on my ass. And they’d all see it the way the crowd was gathering. They were creeping closer and closer, peeking through the gaps in the buildings.