Sorceress of Faith (27 page)

She
met Jaquar’s eyes.

He
raised his brows and smiled. He patted the volaran again. “We have studied that
and have come to the conclusion that they are pure magic—Power.”

The
volaran felt awfully solid to her. She narrowed her eyes at Jaquar. He
shrugged.

“Very
well. It’s a combination of aerodynamics—” the word barely translated in
Marian’s mind “—and Power.”

“He’s
real, physical.”

“Of
course.”

Marian
shook her head, smiling. Pleasure emanated from the winged horse, wrapping around
both her and Jaquar. The smile faded from Jaquar’s gaze, turning into something
more—affection, tenderness. They held the stare and the late-afternoon air
warmed, almost sparkled, definitely hummed. Added was the resonant note of the
nearby Tower and wildness mixed with Power that was Nightsky.

The
soft mood spun between them—affection, respect, this shared moment that
contented them both.

A
sharp trill of metallic chimes echoed from the open window of Jaquar’s Tower.
His expression turned wry. “I’d say that Bossgond sent you a crystal ball and
he wants to speak with you.”

Bossgond.
Andrew!
The old man had promised to keep track of Andrew for her. She
ran to the door of the Tower, flapped her hands at Jaquar to hurry him up. It
didn’t work. He sauntered to her.

She
gritted her teeth, she wanted to hop up and down. “Bossgond may have news of my
brother, Andrew!”

Jaquar’s
brows winged up. “What?”

“Bossgond
has binoculars focused on Earth—Exotique Terre—and my brother.”

“Those
binocs of his are trans-dimensional?”

“Yes,
yes!” She stepped aside and let him chant the opening spell under his breath.
He strode through the corridor and over to the stairs. She hurried after him.

They
ascended fast and flung open the door at the top. He stopped and she tried to
jostle by him, but the man filled the small doorway. She poked him and he
stepped aside, shaking his head and staring.

She
followed his gaze. Tuck had unwrapped all the packages and had made a nice nest
of her underwear. Marian trapped a groan in her throat, felt her face warm with
embarrassment. It wouldn’t be so bad except the garments were like
her—Exotique.

The
chime came again and she leaped for the small yellow glass ball sitting atop
the folds of her maroon dress. The orb was small enough to fit in her hand. She
curled her fingers over it and said, “Hello? Hello?” When nothing happened, she
shook it, like it was a snow-globe, then stared at it futilely.

Jaquar
plucked it from her hand, held it in his palm and tapped his thumbnail against
the glass. “Bossgond,” he said.

Bossgond’s
face stared out at them, scowling.

“Andrew?”
asked Marian.

The
old man’s frown deepened. “He looks as usual. Salutations, Marian.”

She
let out a relieved breath. “Salutations, Bossgond.” She dipped her head a
little in courtesy.

He
studied her, face smoothing into his usual grumpy wrinkles. “I need—wanted to
ensure that you were well.”

“Very
well. Today I heard something in the wind that said I might find help for
Andrew.”

Bossgond
snorted, looked at Jaquar. “Report on the Scholar Marian,” Bossgond demanded.

Marian’s
face went perfectly blank. An oral evaluation with her present?

“She
is progressing well,” Jaquar said easily. “Level five with Wind, a solid level
one in Water.”

Grunting,
Bossgond said, “Has a problem with Ocean, eh? Wasn’t noticeable in the
ecospheres.”

“No,”
Jaquar agreed.

“Told
you she was best with Lightning, so is naturally weakest with Ocean. Have you
given her any practicums in Lightning?”

Jaquar’s
cheeks tinted red. “No. That will come the easiest, and the best Lightning
Study grounds are at the far end of the island.”

“Very
well. I heard from Chalmon that the maw of the nest is quite active.”

Marian
listened sharply. This wasn’t a topic she knew of or understood.

Jaquar
shrugged. “It has been so the past few days. Hard to extrapolate what is
happening or may occur.”

Bossgond
grunted again, turned his stare back to Marian. He smiled, and Marian nearly
jumped at the unexpected charm of it.

“The
cook is good, Marian.” Bossgond licked his lips. “Thank you.”

She
returned his smile. “You’re welcome.”

He
seemed hesitant. “I miss you,” he said gruffly.

Touched,
Marian felt tears behind her eyes. “I miss you, too.”

“I’m
working on a Sending to return you to Exotique Terre. We can probably do it in
the time period you require—three more weeks.”

Squinting
into the small orb, Marian could see his desk piled with papers and scrolls and
books. She cleared her throat. “Thank you.”

He
nodded, glanced at her, then Jaquar. “Proceed with her training. When she is
close to Circlet in all areas, bring her back to me.”

Jaquar
raised his eyebrows, but all he said was, “Yes.”

“Good
studies,” Bossgond said, and the crystal ball went dark.

“Marian!
Jaquar,” Tuck said, sitting in his nest of Marian’s underwear.

She
hurried over and picked him up. Holding him up to eye level, she said, “Hello,
Tuck.”

“Hello,
Marian. Hello, Jaquar,” Tuck said. “Marian did well today?”

“Very
well,” Jaquar assured the hamster seriously. “She has great Power and will and
is rapidly learning basic technique in Wind. She just needs the skill of
control.”

Marian
flushed at the memory of tipping and falling in the wind. She hoped she did
better with Lightning.

Tuck
nodded. “I will tell Sinafin.”

Jaquar
continued. “She is not as skilled with Ocean.”

Tuck
waved a paw. “Water is not as important for Marian as fire.”

They
stared at him, then at each other. Though they both had a thirst for knowledge,
Marian sensed Jaquar was as reluctant as she was to question Tuck about
Sinafin. This whole conversation seemed to be straying into prophecy. From the
tension in Jaquar’s muscles, Marian thought he no more wished to learn of the
future or Sinafin’s agenda than she did.

“Nice
garments,” Jaquar said, and Marian realized he was staring at her underwear. He
grinned wickedly. “They look better on Marian, though.”

With
a sniff, Marian set Tuck on her shoulder, scooped up her clothing and held out
her hand for the crystal ball.

Suddenly
she wanted to be alone and as far away as she could from all the strangeness—which
meant holing up in her rooms. “With your permission, Circlet Jaquar, I would
like to retire to my rooms and eat dinner there.” Maybe she could conjure up
food that was close to American cuisine. “I think you have an appointment this
evening.”

All
expression vanished from his face, and Marian stilled in wariness. Cool,
unreadable blue eyes met hers.

“That
I do. I will transfer my lorebooks on medicine to your desk.” He turned and
walked away.

Tuck’s
claws dug into her shoulder.
Danger
, he said.

“How
do you know?”

“Sinafin
said—”

“Am
I safe here in the Tower?”

He
came up close and rubbed against her neck, his soft fur comforting as well as
tickling. “Yes.”

She
nodded decisively. “I’ll be careful.” Walking to the stairs, she started down.
There had been that warning premonition about Jaquar. Thinking about the
man—his sad and steady blue eyes, the lovely dance they’d shared, the fun of
playing with the Wind—created a warmth inside her. The sexual attraction
between them was potent. She also liked him a great deal—and that was a
priority. Never again would she let simple physical attraction lure her into
intimacy with a man as she had with the late, unlamented associate professor
Jack Wilse.

But
Jaquar Dumont was not Jack Wilse. The Sorcerer had a
presence
, probably
from his mastery of Power, that Marian believed Wilse would never have.

Jaquar
definitely made her insides tingle and her toes curl. What harm could it do to
have a good, hot fling here in Lladrana?

She
didn’t know.

She
had no idea what sort of ramifications emotionally, but more importantly,
socially, a sexual affair might entail. The worst was the idea of a bond. They
already had a potent Song between them—stronger even than hers with Bossgond,
and that had included blood.

She’d
have to beware of becoming emotionally involved with Jaquar. She couldn’t
afford to have sex with him—not if it would bind her to Lladrana.

17

T
hough Marian had
gone to her rooms to feel less alien, the rooms were, of course, as different
from her own apartment in Boulder as everything else on Lladrana was different
from her other life. She sat at the intricately carved desk, which repeated the
pattern of Jaquar’s golden circlet, and brooded. By the time she’d reached the
apprentice suite a few minutes earlier, books and scrolls had already
materialized on her desk.

Tuck
had clamored to explore, so she’d put him down and heard scrambling and peeps
in the background as he took stock of her quarters.

She’d
spent most of her time in practical lessons and hadn’t read much the past few
days—a unique situation for her. Usually she consumed books, both fiction and
nonfiction. After eyeing the books, she knew when she opened one that it would
be in unfamiliar script. She
had
bonded with Bossgond, who certainly
knew how to read, and Alexa who probably knew how to read in both English and
Lladranan, so Marian
should
be able to read, too.

She
propped her head on her elbows and rubbed her temples. A slight
whoosh
came to her ears, and the Tower’s atmosphere changed subtly. Jaquar was gone.

Tension
drained from her, and only then did she realize that she’d been waiting for him
to leave. Now she was totally alone for the first time since she’d arrived on
Lladrana, and it felt…good. Not at all scary.

A
s he flew on Nightsky
to Chalmon’s island, Jaquar considered Marian. Since the dance the night
before, she had seldom left his thoughts.

Jaquar
shouldn’t want to bond with Marian. She wasn’t staying in Lladrana, and the
heartache wasn’t worth the passion. He lied to himself. With Marian, he felt so
alive, so complemented by another person, that he knew the sex would be better
than he’d ever had.

But
he wanted more. He wanted what his parents had had.

Bossgond
had called to check up on him, and that fired Jaquar’s blood. As if Bossgond
thought he’d hurt her…continue with his original plan. It had been tempting,
until he kissed her. Then Sending her to the Dark’s maw had become impossible.

Even
now, unemotional logic said that her connection with the weapon-knot made her
perfect for the task of destroying the nest. All she had to do was pull a
thread…and kill herself.

Perhaps
that was not true. No one knew how Powerful the knot was, whether it would
destroy the nest, whether it would kill if she used it. But he wouldn’t mention
this to Chalmon and Venetria.

No
one knew whether the nest would be wounded, how much, if Marian was Sent there.
So logic bolstered his emotional decision. He wanted vengeance, but not at the
expense of an injured Marian. His goals had changed. He would not use Marian as
a weapon against the Dark. He’d convince Chalmon and Venetria not to act on
their own. Now he must concentrate on teaching Marian, and
her
best
weapon would be Lightning.

M
arian still
hadn’t opened a book when Tuck cheeped excitedly, “What’s this, what’s this,
what’s
this?
” A scrabbling noise. “
Food!
”

Marian
tilted her head. She didn’t recall having any food in her rooms. There was a
crash from the bedroom. It sounded…Earthlike. Dread speared her, she shoved
back the chair and ran into the bedroom, yelling “Light!” Fire crackled to life
in the fireplace. Crystal globes flared brightly.

Tuck
put his paws over his eyes, squeaking indignantly. “Hurts!”

Humming,
Marian lowered the light, then saw the destruction. Her stomach cramped.

Tuck
sat in the midst of the remains of her PDA. She stared at it, horrified. Tiny
electronic parts, as esoteric to her as any magic she’d learned, were scattered
in bits around the hamster. Anger flashed through her. She’d considered the PDA
her very own tangible link with her homeland. It had been the symbol of the
control she had over her life, the knowledge she’d mastered—control that was
currently missing in the chaos of adapting to a whole new world. She stared at
the hamster, who sat back on his haunches and groomed his whiskers with tiny
claws. Obviously he had the digits and Power to open the computer.