Authors: Cat Adams
Magic's Design (9 page)
Mila pressed it forward until it nearly touched his cloak. “Please. I know you’re going to try to get Sela back. If this can help, it would make me feel better for you to have it. It won’t do her any good sitting on my dresser upstairs.”
Tal wasn’t even sure he could handle a stone this powerful. Although he was old by Agathian standards, he wasn’t as powerful a mage as many others.
But imagine the good I can do if I can tame it—
But imagine the good I can do if I can tame it—
He nodded and accepted the stone, again feeling the gentle tug as the stone filled its reserves. “A loan then. Not a gift. I promise to return it as soon as Vegre is returned to prison, yes?” Without waiting for a reply, he pushed by Alexy in to the main room. It was too much really, and he was already nervous about being responsible for this important of a stone.
“Hell of a stone, Tal. Really. You’ll do it proud.”
Tal took a deep breath. “Before you tell me what you found let’s sit down for a minute. There’s something you need to hear, and you’re not going to like it one bit.”
M
ila took a deep breath as she walked through the hospital’s main doors. There was something that had always disturbed her about visiting people in a hospital. It wasn’t just the antiseptic smell, or even the faint but lingering scent of bodily functions that bothered her. It was that even the muted colors, sleek architecture, and soft voices couldn’t hide that there was so
much
sickness, so much pain.
ila took a deep breath as she walked through the hospital’s main doors. There was something that had always disturbed her about visiting people in a hospital. It wasn’t just the antiseptic smell, or even the faint but lingering scent of bodily functions that bothered her. It was that even the muted colors, sleek architecture, and soft voices couldn’t hide that there was so
much
sickness, so much pain.
Things she’d always felt were starting to make sense. She’d felt her bunny’s pain, like she’d felt when her sister was sick. Small flashes of memory had been popping back into her head since what happened with Tal in the kitchen. Flowers that covered her hands with glitter, dipping her painted toes in a pond, and feeling very important to be
asked
to. Even though part of her didn’t want to believe, she couldn’t escape the images that came to her mind unbidden. She couldn’t pretend the connection she’d shared with Tal hadn’t happened. Worst of all, she couldn’t forget what she’d wanted him to …
do
to her. Yikes!
asked
to. Even though part of her didn’t want to believe, she couldn’t escape the images that came to her mind unbidden. She couldn’t pretend the connection she’d shared with Tal hadn’t happened. Worst of all, she couldn’t forget what she’d wanted him to …
do
to her. Yikes!
And now, the part of her that was remembering, that
needed
to heal, was becoming overwhelmed. Her head began to pound from the pressure and her bones ached enough that she needed to sit down before she fell down.
needed
to heal, was becoming overwhelmed. Her head began to pound from the pressure and her bones ached enough that she needed to sit down before she fell down.
“You feel it too, yes?” Baba whispered the words softly as Candy went to the registration desk to ask after Suzanne. “The suffering, the silent cries that tear at your soul? They beg for relief. But remember, you cannot help them all or risk replacing them.”
She nodded, feeling slightly out of breath from the press of the dozens … no,
hundreds
of patients who unknowingly grabbed at her, tried to snatch some comfort from her healing energy.
hundreds
of patients who unknowingly grabbed at her, tried to snatch some comfort from her healing energy.
“You’re shaking and quite pale. Are you in distress?” Tal’s voice was warm and concerned.
He was still with them. The trail of his glove had led right here, to this hospital. The knowledge that a dangerous escaped criminal might be hiding among all these helpless people was a sobering one. Taking a deep breath, Mila stiffened her spine. “I’ll be okay. It’s just a little too much all at once.” She turned to smile at him but caught sight of her reflection in the glass of a vending machine before their eyes met. She really was pale. Her skin was almost translucent and her eyes seemed far too bright to be real. She had to blink before she realized it wasn’t just reflection off the lights … her eyes were glowing a pale, unearthly green. He reached out and touched her arm and her heart caught in her throat. His fingertips felt like a flame-filled hearth on a cold winter day. Even through her down jacket and sweater she could feel the deep soaking warmth. A deep longing filled her and she had to fight not to press herself against him to ease the chill she didn’t even know she had.
Candy returned quickly. “The pediatrics unit is in the south wing on this floor.” She turned to Baba, “The receptionist said your friend is in room 208.” She pointed in the direction of the elevators. “Apparently it’s the fourth door down the hall to the right when you get off the elevators.”
Baba gave a curt nod and turned to leave, but stopped at the sight of Candy’s brother hurrying across the lobby toward them.
“Candy, you’re here! And you brought the Penkins with you.”
The relief in his voice was palpable, and it brought Mila up short. She’d known him almost all her life, but she’d never seen him look like this. It was normal for a parent to worry about their child prior to surgery, but the big blond man seemed almost frantic. His clothes were rumpled, his hair mussed, as if he’d been tearing at it with his hands, and his deep blue eyes had dark circles under them. The girl was only here for a tonsillectomy after all—a routine thing.
“Tim, what’s wrong? Is she all right?”
He shook his head, his expression growing frustrated. “I don’t know. They say it’s fine. I suppose I should believe them. They’re the doctors. But it
feels
wrong, like something’s
sucking
at her; and nobody believes me. They just keep passing it off as parental hysterics.” He turned to Baba. “Can you do an egg-rolling on her? Please? My wife thinks I’m crazy, but I don’t care. I know it works. I remember how much good you did in the neighborhood. I might not have the healing gift you and Mila do, but I could always sense things. And there’s something wrong with my baby.”
feels
wrong, like something’s
sucking
at her; and nobody believes me. They just keep passing it off as parental hysterics.” He turned to Baba. “Can you do an egg-rolling on her? Please? My wife thinks I’m crazy, but I don’t care. I know it works. I remember how much good you did in the neighborhood. I might not have the healing gift you and Mila do, but I could always sense things. And there’s something wrong with my baby.”
Baba’s expression grew grave. “I believe you.” She patted his arm with her hand. “But I am old, and not as strong as I once was. Mila has come into her power. She is stronger than I and will do the rolling for your daughter.” She opened the carpetbag to pull out a yellow styrofoam box of eggs. Flipping it open, she removed two, sliding one in each of the two pockets of her cape. Then, closing the lid she pressed the box into Mila’s hand.
“You can do this, child. I know it. Just concentrate hard to remember what I taught.” She turned to Candy. “You will know where I am if you need me.”
At that she turned and bustled off, leaving Mila feeling confused and more than a little nervous. Tim was looking at her with such desperate expectation that it was honestly frightening. What if she failed? What if what she did didn’t help the child, but actually made things worse? What if she drained herself too far and couldn’t stop? She abruptly remembered
that
part of the past far too clearly—the danger of dying.
that
part of the past far too clearly—the danger of dying.
“Please, Mila.” Candy whispered the plea, and when Mila turned to face her friend she saw tears brimming in those beautiful blue eyes.
Candy didn’t say another word, and she didn’t need to. She had no children of her own, and doted on her ten-year-old niece.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Mila tried to project a level of confidence that couldn’t be further from her true feelings. “Of course.” She gave Candy an encouraging smile. “No problem.”
Candy’s return look carried such a weight of trust and hope that Mila was afraid she’d be crushed beneath it. But she had no choice. Not really. She was Parask, and as Baba had said, the Parask did not refuse to heal just because the way was difficult.
“Thank you so much. This means more to me than you know.” Tim reached over to give Mila’s shoulders a squeeze before hurriedly leading the women down the hall to the south wing. It wasn’t until they were nearly there that she realized that sometime during the conversation in the lobby Talos had disappeared. And while she knew he had his own business to attend to, she was surprised at how keenly she felt his absence.
T
al regretted having to leave without so much as a word to his companions, but at least he had his eyes on one of the true criminals, so that was something. Mila had good instincts, among her other …
attributes
which, even now, he was struggling not to concentrate too much on. Those glowing eyes, so filled with magic that he wanted to wrap himself inside. And she didn’t
remember
their kind? It made him nearly sick to his stomach that someone would do that to her.
al regretted having to leave without so much as a word to his companions, but at least he had his eyes on one of the true criminals, so that was something. Mila had good instincts, among her other …
attributes
which, even now, he was struggling not to concentrate too much on. Those glowing eyes, so filled with magic that he wanted to wrap himself inside. And she didn’t
remember
their kind? It made him nearly sick to his stomach that someone would do that to her.
No, better to return to the task at hand. Mila’s gaze had kept moving toward a particular man in the lobby, as if she noticed something odd about him. The action had drawn Tal’s attention to the man despite magical concealments. It was the witcher, the one who’d kicked Alexy, and he was searching the hospital for something … or
someone
.
someone
.
While the others were distracted, Tal pulled on the power of the stone Mila had given him to create his own magical cloaking and followed the Guilder out a side door of the building and into a darkened corner near the parking garage where a second man was waiting. It was dark enough that he didn’t have to worry about been seen, so he allowed the cloaking spell to slip off his skin. The familiar lightheaded sensation followed as the frayed edges fluttered into the breeze. Casting, for him, was much like attaching small lead weights to his clothing. At first you hardly noticed them. But the further you traveled, the quicker you tired. It wasn’t difficult, but the concentration required to maintain distance and speed was taxing.
“Did you get them? He’s grown tired of waiting.” Tal’s attention was drawn to the nearby conversation. Edging closer until his back was pressed against the cool concrete, while the smell of auto exhaust stole his breath, he listened intently to the whispers from the shadowy figures.
A small rustle was followed by a trembling tenor. “No. She hasn’t called me yet, Cardon. I don’t know what the problem is. All I’m getting is her voice mail.”
The resulting growl from the witcher, Cardon, made the first man flinch. “I told you before, Bowers—don’t
ever
call me by my name. Names have power where I come from.”
ever
call me by my name. Names have power where I come from.”
Indeed they did, and Tal couldn’t help but smile. There couldn’t be many men in the witch guild with such a name. Five years ago, it would have been short work to bespell the man at a distance, without knowing a thing about him, to make him reveal all he knew. But such techniques were very magic-intensive, and were now only used in the most dire cases. Still, there were enough lesser spells that could be cast with a name that the same purpose could be achieved. Cardon … it didn’t sound like a given name, but he knew most of the surnames of the older witch families, and didn’t recognize it.
I’ll have Alexy check it out when we meet back up at the house.
I’ll have Alexy check it out when we meet back up at the house.
Whether she liked it or no, Mila’s house would be their temporary base until they could make other arrangements. There were layers of protective spells already in place. Too, he wanted to keep an eye on the Penkin women—and not just because the younger was so distractingly pretty.
By now Alexy should have contacted several guildercent friends in the city to try to find another place for them to lay low when it was time to move on. They needed time to figure out what was happening below. He’d been right—Alexy hadn’t liked the news from Kris at all. But after he’d finished a vigorous, and rather creative round of swearing, he’d calmed down and helped to plan their next move. They’d agreed there must be a reason
why
Sela had chosen to live with Mila Penkin, yet not ever discuss Agathia or her role in the O.P.A.
why
Sela had chosen to live with Mila Penkin, yet not ever discuss Agathia or her role in the O.P.A.
Bower’s voice snapped him out of his musings. “I’m sorry, Car … I mean,
sir
. She was supposed to get them at a lunch meeting and call me, but something must have happened. Tell Vegre I’ll keep trying, no matter how long it takes. Where can I reach you after you leave here?”
sir
. She was supposed to get them at a lunch meeting and call me, but something must have happened. Tell Vegre I’ll keep trying, no matter how long it takes. Where can I reach you after you leave here?”
Cardon let out a muffled noise that could have been a swear, a curse, or just a note of frustration. “There’s no way to reach me once I leave. Even satellite signals can’t get through to Vril.”
Tal fought the impulse to laugh out loud. Short of returning to the foot of the prison, Vril was the one spot in all of Agathia where Vegre couldn’t hide from him. Tal had both family and friends in Vril. Someone would have noticed Vegre and the others. It was a tight-knit community where strangers didn’t often tread.
If only there was some way to go there myself … talk to people directly.
News traveled slowly to the region, set deep under the mountain range the topsiders called the Appalachians. Unfortunately, neither he nor Alexy had enough local currency to hire transit that far. Unless perhaps the women—
If only there was some way to go there myself … talk to people directly.
News traveled slowly to the region, set deep under the mountain range the topsiders called the Appalachians. Unfortunately, neither he nor Alexy had enough local currency to hire transit that far. Unless perhaps the women—
“We’ll find you. Just get the package, locate the source, and stay put until we come for you.”
“Oh … um, about that.” Bowers’s voice raised a few notes and he edged away from Cardon. “See, after the old guy dumped his stock and killed himself rather than sell to me, I decided to be more cautious.”
Cardon froze and raised one hand. It didn’t seem to frighten Bowers, but Tal tensed and struggled not to leap out to stop the possible murder. “You’re making me nervous, Bowers. Tell me everything now, or I’ll have my master ask you instead.”
Bowers raised his hands and waved them quickly. “No, no. It’s not a bad thing. It’s just that I hired a third party to do the buying this time. It’s her job—she acts as a middleman when a buyer doesn’t want his name known. So, I don’t know the name of the crafter who’s actually
making
the eggs. You hadn’t said that locating the artist was
required
.” The tone of his voice made it clear that he didn’t relish that part of the job, and was trying to find some way around what was being required of him—which made Tal suspicious about what would happen to the artists he
located
.
making
the eggs. You hadn’t said that locating the artist was
required
.” The tone of his voice made it clear that he didn’t relish that part of the job, and was trying to find some way around what was being required of him—which made Tal suspicious about what would happen to the artists he
located
.
Cardon lowered his hand and instead grabbed the front of Bowers’s shirt, pulling him close. “Listen to me. The instructions were very clear and didn’t include
third parties.
You find psyanky crafters in the city, you buy their stock of eggs, deliver them to me with the location of the crafter, and dispose of them in a way that doesn’t make the authorities ask questions. Nothing more.” He shoved him away so hard that Bowers hit the building wall with a thud and then slid down to the ground, groaning. “Now, you get your ass back to work. You find this so-called
third party,
make her tell you the name of the crafter, and do the job you’re being paid for. Otherwise, your services will no longer be required. You know what happens then.”
third parties.
You find psyanky crafters in the city, you buy their stock of eggs, deliver them to me with the location of the crafter, and dispose of them in a way that doesn’t make the authorities ask questions. Nothing more.” He shoved him away so hard that Bowers hit the building wall with a thud and then slid down to the ground, groaning. “Now, you get your ass back to work. You find this so-called
third party,
make her tell you the name of the crafter, and do the job you’re being paid for. Otherwise, your services will no longer be required. You know what happens then.”
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