Burned by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #1)(59)

“Perhaps, but we both know this situation has been weighing on her mind since before she got here, and her knowledge and connections could be useful,” Fenris insisted. “I will be with her the whole time, so it is not as if she’ll be without protection.”

The Chief Mage pondered this for a long moment before he finally spoke, looking at me. “Give me your hands.”

My pulse spiked. “Why?”

He didn’t answer, just held his hands out, palms up, in a gesture that was becoming familiar. Sighing, I placed my hands in his, wondering what kind of magical diagnostic he was going to run on me this time.

A bolt of energy lanced through me, and I gasped as a current of magic passed through us, like an electrical circuit being completed. Iannis’s eyes glowed as he looked down at me, and I imagined that I was glowing too – the amount of magical energy emanating from my center was so great I could probably power an entire grid block.

Eventually the magical surge died off, but the circle within my chest seemed to burn a little brighter. “Did… did you just increase my power level?” I asked, my voice more breathless than I would have liked.

“I did.” He held my gaze for a long moment, then seemed to remember himself and dropped my hands. “You’re ready, and I want you to be able to defend yourself with your magic if need be.” He hesitated. “Come back safely.”

For once, I actually smiled at him. “Don’t worry,” I said as I followed Fenris out the door. “I’ll make sure to come back in one piece. Someone needs to be around to keep you on your toes.”

As I closed the door behind me, I could swear I caught a glimpse of a smile on his lips.



“I am not getting on that thing.”

I stared in amazement as Fenris folded his arms across his broad chest and tucked his chin in. There was no other word for it – the man was pouting.

“Yes, you are,” I said calmly, offering him my spare helmet for the third time. “It’ll be faster if we take the steambike.”

His boxy jaw tightened as he glared at my steambike, his yellow eyes scouring every surface of the gleaming black and steel frame as if hoping to find some grave flaw. “Those things are dangerous,” he snapped. “I don’t have any problem taking a few extra minutes between destinations if it means my life.”

I rolled my eyes. “Quit being such a baby.” I shoved my spare helmet into his chest, and he grabbed it instinctively before it fell to the ground. “I’m an excellent rider, so you’ll be fine. If it makes you feel better I’ll make like I’m a little old lady, okay?”

“You’re not a little old lady,” he muttered, but he put on the helmet, which did a lot to cover his scowl. Shaking my head, I put my own helmet on and straddled the bike. I waited until he was in position behind me before I started it up and peeled off into the street.

“Fenris,” I snapped mentally as Fenris’s arms tightened with bruising force around my waist. “You’re crushing my ribs here!”

“You said you were going to drive like an old granny!” Fenris whined as I careened around a corner where a stately villa perched. A female mage in long, pink robes snatched her toddler up from the dirt at the sight of me, her beautiful face pinched in a disapproving scowl. I grinned at her through my visor even though I doubted she could see, and waved at the little girl.

“Clearly you and I have different ideas about what old-granny-driving is like,” I retorted, more to be petty than anything else. But I slowed down a little now that we were approaching traffic and unwieldy steamcars began to clog up the streets.

Ten minutes later, we pulled up outside the Enforcer’s Guild building in Rowanville. I parked the bike outside the tall, stained grey building with its cracked windows, and waited for Fenris to regain his footing before we went inside.

“I’m taking a cab home,” he snapped as we walked through the thick steel double doors. His tanned complexion had gone a little pale. “That was horrific.”

I slapped him on the back. “Aww, c’mon,” I said cheerfully. “You’ll get used to it.” Truthfully, though, I found his reaction a bit strange – we shifters, as a species, don’t fear much, and even though we don’t all ride steambikes, it isn’t because we’re afraid of them. I wasn’t sure what his deal was.

The Enforcer trainees who’d been stuck on front desk duty glanced up as we entered, their eyes widening as they caught sight of me. I ignored their gaping stares, and led Fenris past them and into the waiting room. Our footsteps rang against the cracked tile as we traversed the wide space, past visitors sitting on ratty couches drinking cups of bad coffee and munching on stale sandwiches. Most of these people were here to see an Enforcer about a case regarding a loved one – others, like the tattooed, emaciated human slouched in an armchair, were here to be questioned.

“We’re going to see the Main Crew?” Fenris asked as I strode up to the bank of elevators and punched the call button.

I nodded. “I’m hoping Nila and Brin will be there, at least.” I wanted to knock them around a bit for not working harder on solving Roanas’s murder, and I also wanted to find out what they’d done with my weapons.

We took the rickety elevator up to the third floor, where the Main Crew’s offices were – and by offices, I meant a huge open space with drab grey walls and carpet scattered with cheap plywood desks and chairs that would turn your ass to stone if you sat in them too long.