Magus (Advent Mage Cycle) (23 page)

"Why do you think I kept it to myself for so long?" I grumbled.

Night was snickering, not even bothering to hide his amusement. "
She didn't take it well, did she?
"

"I got yelled at," I admitted darkly. It was a miracle he slept through it.

"
It probably wouldn't have been as bad if she hadn't been caught in that Mage battle of yours recently
."

Drats, I hadn't thought of that. That experience probably
was
making things worse.

"What Mage battle?" Shad had his ears perked, nearly bouncing with curiosity.

I let Night tell him the story, as I didn't wish to relive that experience, even in my head. The first time was bad enough. I was more focused on what Shad had said. Chatta was still upset about the oath? I couldn't do much about that, as there were only two ways to be absolved of that oath. Either her father could release me, or I died. That's it.

I sighed ruefully. And here I thought I had been so clever, giving that oath. I didn't regret doing it, by any means, but it sure put me into a sticky situation with my friend.

Shad clapped me on the shoulder, bringing me back into the present. "You do get into the most remarkable trouble, Garth."

"It's a gift," I drawled.

He laughed, eyes sparkling madly. "Well, she'll forgive you. Eventually. In the meantime, do you want to spar with me?"

"Are you up to it?" I asked in concern. He had been entrapped in a crystal a bare week ago.

A wicked grin crossed his face. "I'll prove it to you."

~*~

Twenty minutes later, I dropped to the grass, thanking any god, goddess, demi-god or guardian that came to mind that the day’s sparring was done. Shad wasn’t really more advanced than I was (although he knew more dirty tricks than I did)—the man was just too bloody
fast
! The brief amount of time I sparred against him had told me plainly that he was MUCH better. Considering that he was supposedly "convalescing," that was just humiliating.

“Not bad, Garth,” Shad congratulated me.

“Shad, do me a favor.”

“…what, tote you inside?”

“No.” I cracked open an eye to glare at him. “At least
pretend
to be breathing hard.”

Bright laughter spilled out of his mouth. “Next time, I promise.”

“Thank you. Being whooped by you is bad enough, but you’re not even breathing hard! It’s…ridiculous!”

"So do you agree that I'm better?" he enquired sweetly.

I cracked open an eye to glare at him. "I'll agree that you carry your age well,
old man
."

He tsked me cheerfully. "You shouldn't say that, Garth, because this
old man
ran rings around you."

I wanted to retaliate, I really did…but he was right, and we both knew it.

Shad sighed mournfully. "I suppose I'm going to have to train with Xiaolang to get any real competition."

"I can always fight you as a Mage," I offered with a beatific smile. "
That
should keep you hopping."

He eyed me suspiciously. "I'll pass, thanks."

"Now Shad, don't be like that," I said condescendingly. "I won't hurt you. Much."

"Yes, it's that 'much' that concerns me. I like having all my limbs attached."

"Are you two done beating up on each other for the day?" Chatta was a few feet away, a glass in each hand. My eyes focused on that water, throat aching and parched.

"Is one of those for me?" I asked eagerly.

"It certainly is."

I was up and at her side in two seconds flat, guzzling down ice cool water with relief. Ahhhh. That was
so
good. I handed the glass back to her with a smile. "Thanks."

"You're quite welcome," she responded as she handed the other glass to Shad.

Shad gulped his down just as quickly before handing it back. "Thanks, beautiful."

Chatta didn't even blink at this endearment. "Anytime, Cezza."

A frown gathered on my face as I looked between them. Beautiful? Cezza? Why was she calling him a sweetie? What was going on here? Did something happen while I was out those two days?

"I came to fetch you," Chatta informed me. "Tyvendor wants a word before he returns to Del'Hain."

"He's going back already?" I asked in surprise. I'd barely gotten a good conversation in with him.

"I think he's worried about leaving his two friends with all the work," she admitted. "Anyway, he's in the main hall."

I really wanted to dig into this "beautiful" and "cezza" thing, but now obviously wasn't the time. I made a mental note to investigate later.

Tyvendor was indeed waiting in the hall for me. I was barely within hearing distance when he started talking to me. "Magus, I need to leave soon. I've gotten a message from Del'Hain, and my friends there are a little out of their depth with something. They need my help. I'd like to talk to you more, however. Is there any way that you can come to Del'Hain soon?"

"I can't promise that," I refuted with a helpless shrug. "I'm caught up in my own project in Chahir. But I can promise you that I'll speak to Xiaolang about it, and see if we can't find a day, or at least a few hours, for me to pop back over and have that conversation."

He looked faintly relieved at this. "That's all I ask," he assured me.

There were still a lot of questions that I wanted to ask him, as well, so I fervently hoped that I might be able to return to Del'Hain soon.

Chapter Twelve: Possibilities

It was…difficult to be back in Chahir. I'd gone from Q'atal—one of the most loving and beautiful places in this world—to one of the most paranoid, and I was definitely feeling the difference.

I was especially missing the good food and soft beds.

Not to mention a roof over our heads.

Tonight was our second night back in Chahir, and we were outside of Jarrell's territory, which unfortunately meant we were back to hiding. Xiaolang hadn't liked the look of the last town that we had passed—something about the enclosed look of the walls and the hyper-paranoia of the people struck him as wrong—so we were camping out of doors tonight. It was unseasonably cold, even for fall, so we were all huddling in warm cloaks and jackets. Hayate, as usual, was curled around the fire, hogging its heat.

Also as usual, Night and I were curled up together in order to keep each other warm.

It was chilly enough that even Didi, with all his fur, was feeling it. He had snuggled his way in between Night's folded legs, and was snoozing peacefully. I made a mental note on that one. A cold Meuritta is a good Meuritta.

Shad, without any warning, slid his way under the blanket Night and I were sharing, sitting close enough to where he was pressed against my side. "This is much warmer," he sighed happily. "Does the Dragoo usually hog the fire like this?"

"He has no cold tolerance," I groaned. "I keep forgetting to have Chatta attach some sort of untraceable heating charm to a blanket for him."

"I'll remember for you," he volunteered in a drawl.

I grinned, but didn't respond. With Shad here under the blanket, we were getting much warmer. Not precisely warm enough to be comfortable, but pretty close.

"Garth."

Shad sounded somewhat serious, which was disconcerting. He's hardly ever serious. I looked at him, arching an eyebrow in silent question.

"Xiaolang and I have been talking about this. You said that the Mages in Bromany could see Chahir because of a huge scrying pool they have, right?"

"That's what they told Chatta and me," I agreed. Where was he going with this?

"I never understood how magic worked," he said slowly, like he was thinking something through out loud. "I know the limitations, and some of the possibilities, but I never understood the
mechanics
, y'know? But I remember being told once, before the war started, that the Chahiran magicians had a way of seeing the entire country. That way they could keep an eye on everyone, and respond faster if some situation arose."

Theories started spinning madly in my head, and I stiffened as I realized what he was getting at. "You think there are scrying pools in Chahir."

"At least, there
were
," he amended quietly. "I'm not sure if they would have survived the purging that went on after the war was over."

I shook my head quickly, disagreeing with what he was saying. "No, they kept things that could detect magic. I had one used on me about five months ago, in Tobadorage. What you're saying makes sense. It could explain why people are sometimes caught, and why others manage to slip over the border undetected. If you're depending on a person, or even a group of people, to scry an entire country, things are going to slip through the cracks."

"But can the scrying pools even be used by normal people?" he asked. His forehead was furrowed a little as he thought it through. "It takes magic to use, doesn't it?"

"Small, portable scrying pools have to be used by a Witch or Wizard." That part I was sure on. "But a permanent pool? If it was powered by a ley line, it might be possible for it to be used by anyone."

"You don't sound sure of that," he pointed out.

"I'm not," I admitted. "But I have an expert handy. Chatta!"

She had been talking to Hayate, apparently trying to convince him to move a little (I wish her luck on that one) but at my hail, she straightened and looked up. "What?"

"Come here, we have a question."

It only took her about three strides to reach us, and as her eyes took in our arrangement, they narrowed speculatively. "You guys look cozy."

"Come join us," I invited.

She didn't even pause to think about that one. I barely had the blanket up before she was burrowing under it. As typical for Chatta, she decided that I was a comfortable pillow, and without any hesitation she snuggled in next to me. I didn't mind her head on my shoulder, but the icy hands on my chest were definitely a problem. I hissed at the touch. "Chatta, your hands are freezing!" I complained.

She had the absolute gall to giggle. "Sorry." Her hands didn't deviate an inch, but they were definitely warming. I sighed, and let her use me as her personal heater.

Resigned, I wrapped an arm around her waist, watching her with one eye as she squirmed around, getting completely comfortable.

Shad tapped a finger against my arm to get my attention. As soon as he had it, he inclined his head toward the woman so comfortably situated in the crook of my arm and then gave me an elaborate look.

I realized that by Chahiran standards, we looked very intimate, but my relationship with Chatta had always been like this. Still, I didn't want him to leap to any conclusions and muttered lowly in Chahirese, "
Not what you think.
"

"
You read minds now?"
he muttered back, amused.

"Will you two stop talking in whispers?" Chatta requested in irritation. "I can't understand what you're saying. Now, what was your question?"

Shad repeated his theory about the scrying pools. I half expected for Chatta to shoot the idea down, but she didn't. "That's actually plausible," she concurred slowly, staring absently at the fire and snoozing Dragoo. "Anyone can use a permanent pool, if they know how. And it would certainly explain quite a bit. Like why all of the people that made it over came from large cities."

My ears perked at that. "All the Chahiran magicians that made it across are from cities? I didn't realize that."

"I hadn't noticed it either," she admitted. "It was Xiaolang that pointed it out to me. He thought it an odd coincidence at the time. But if this theory about the scrying pools is true…"

"…then it isn't a coincidence," I finished for her thoughtfully. "And if that is true, then using magic in this country isn't always dangerous."

"If you knew that no one was looking in your direction," she corrected.

"Oh, I know," I assured her hastily. "I'm just saying that we might have some leeway, especially in cities."

"The enemy has a blind spot," Shad agreed, backing me up. "That's always a handy thing to know."

"If only there was some way to prove it…" she trailed off.

"Until we do this is only conjecture." I thought we were right, though. It made too much sense.

When I woke up the next morning, my right arm was
killing
me. It was all pins and needles. I stifled a groan, opening my eyes and looking around for the cause of this agony…

…only to stop short, when I realized the reason.

Um…how did this happen?

I was still half-reclining against Night's side, as I had been last night. Shad was gone, but Chatta was still curled up against me, her head pillowed on my shoulder. I cast my mind back on last night, but the last thing I remembered was talking to her and Shad. I must have fallen asleep at some point.

From this angle, I couldn't see much of her face, just the crown of her head and the tip of her nose. Judging from the deep, even breathing, she was still asleep. That was very much a good thing. I wasn't sure how to react just now. Huddling under the same blanket to get warm was one thing, but sleeping in my arms all night?
That
was something else entirely. I felt like I had crossed a line, even if it was completely innocent and we hadn't done anything.

Lifting my head completely, I looked around the camp. Nearly everyone else was up, aside from Hazard. I wasn't surprised by this. Hazard was never really awake early in the morning. I was uncomfortable to note that everyone was shooting these amused glances in my—our—direction; looks that said "That's so
sweet
."

Busted buckets.

I didn't even bother trying to deny anything at this point. It would only have made the situation worse.

I carefully untangled myself from Chatta, slipping free. The cold morning air was unpleasant, but it definitely helped me to wake up. Chatta grumbled when I moved, shifting so that she was closer to Night. Her eyes never opened.

As soon as I was free, Shad appeared from thin air. Without saying a word, he grabbed me by the arm and promptly dragged me away from camp.