Natural Mage (Magical Mayhem #2)(41)

“Oh.” It shifted in its seat and stretched out its legs. “Oh.” It bent one leg, then the other. “Forgive, master. Forgive.” It stood up stiffly, as though it’d been sitting on that bench for days. “I must’ve dozed off within such a lovely area. Forgive me.”

The creature stomped through the row of flowers separating itself from Emery, who narrowed his eyes. Goblins, as a whole, did not cherish flowers, meadows, and soft breezes. They’d prefer dark, dank little caverns filled with unsuspecting humans carrying valuable trinkets ripe for the stealing.

Clearly this goblin assumed Emery knew very little about the creatures of the Realm. Something that got many a Realm creature killed.

At the end of a newly created dirt trail, the creature stopped and looked up at Emery.

“You are the Rogue Natural, are you not?” it asked.

Emery started slowly weaving an attack spell he knew worked particularly well on goblins and the like. “Who’s asking?”

It nodded, as though that was answer enough. “I’ve been posted here to stop the Rogue Natural from using this crossing. My great master believes this crossing is too near New Orleans. A crossing at this point will likely have devastating consequences, since mages are continually setting up spells on the other side. The Rogue Natural should, therefore, choose a crossing in another part of the country. One of the coasts would be ideal—the busier the better. Should the Rogue Natural agree to follow these precautions, intended to keep the Rogue Natural and the creature Penny safe, the Rogue Natural may call my great master from whatever location it uses to enter the Brink, and my great master will send its jet to collect the Rogue Natural.”

Emery shifted, putting a little more space between himself and the goblin. The spell he’d spun unraveled because of the time lapse, and Emery started it again, intending to be ready at a moment’s notice in case this was a trap.

Though he doubted the Guild would use a goblin to carry out their bidding. They wouldn’t want to be connected with such a vile, mischievous little creature, but he had a notion of someone who wouldn’t particularly mind…

“Your master is Durant, then?” Emery asked.

The goblin hissed. “One does not use names in places where little ears are known to hide just out of sight.”

“You used my nickname.”

“You are not my great master.”

“Fabulous.” Emery glanced at the fuzzy line separating the worlds. He’d known it would be dicey entering so close to New Orleans if the Guild was already set up there, but without a car, proper ID, or any of the other items required to purchase travel in the Brink, he hadn’t had much choice. Until now, he’d been hoping in and out of the Realm.

He ran his fingers through his hair. The logic checked out on what the creature was saying. If he did land somewhere else, Darius would definitely collect him. The vampire liked to keep tabs on all of his assets, and after asking him for a favor, Emery was definitely in his pocket.

If only that was the least of his problems.

“Fine.” Emery stepped away. “Get word to your master that I will oblige.”

“Of course, master.”

Emery barely kept from swearing as he headed back to the fast-track magical path. The Mages’ Guild had attacked him, the last black mist vision had implied they’d also attacked Penny—or were toying with the idea—and now they were covering the crossings. They were already organized and their plans were well underway. Time was winding down, and he’d just increased his travel time by days. And that was if Darius was quick to send a jet.

If Penny was in danger and on her own, days could make the difference between her freedom and magical enslavement.





20





Reagan stopped near the archway leading into the kitchen, dressed in a new set of leathers. She pointed at me. “Don’t go anywhere.”

I wasn’t sure where she thought I would go. I didn’t have a car, was mostly afraid of the extremely rough neighborhood in which she lived, and was utterly exhausted from the intensive spell work and physical training (a.k.a. getting beaten up) we’d just finished.

It had been this way for the last three days. We made spells, discussed the feelings of the spells, talked about when it would be best to use the spells, and then engaged in physical combat, after which I limped to the couch and collapsed in exhaustion.

Oh yeah, and there were daily, or sometimes twice-daily, calls from Callie, who kept checking in to make sure I was still alive. That was what she said, anyway. Since each call devolved into a rant about my being stripped from her house without any notice, I had a feeling she was just venting.

Regardless of her anger, she never asked for me to come back. Instead, she asked to be passed on to Reagan to get a rundown of what we’d done that day. She was monitoring me from afar.

I could read the writing on the wall: she agreed with the others. No matter how much she blustered and blew about it, she thought I was better off with Reagan. Whether that was because of the training, my safety, or the giant mess that had unfolded at Darius’s house, I couldn’t say, but she was worried about the magical climate to trust the vampire’s decree.

For better or worse, I was stuck with Reagan.

And actually, despite the pounding I got every day, it was working out surprisingly well. She never told me something was right or wrong. She didn’t even point out how someone else might have done it.