On a Razor's Edge (Darkness #3)(23)

“True…”

“So kill them. There’s your distraction. I’ll take care of the other mage. Get your source to ferret out the girl. Do you know this secret,” Trek used his fingers like rabbit ears, “location?”

“Yes. The source is in place.”

Trek hopped off the chair. “Good. Plan it. I’ll get an army of Dulcha at the ready. I’ll need some sacrifices, obviously.”

“Of course.”

Andris left the room strangely hopeful. Trek was a dippy youth, but put a target in front of him, and he busted his ass to claim it. They’d have this girl within the month.

Now, to plan that distraction.

*****

“So… just drape it on?” I asked uncertainly, eyeing the five men and women sitting patiently around the room, allowing themselves to be my guinea pigs. These people had courage in droves—they’d seen some failed spells and still volunteered to help.

We were in the cabin I used as my home base, the middle bunker—as Tim called it—within the cluster of cabins in this remote location. I’d met every one of the shape changers over the last week, a bunch of serious-eyed, combat-ready fighters that went about their duties to secure the location while still making it feel like a home in the woods.

I was in my usual strange situation with them as I had been with everyone else my whole life. Pretty much, regardless of the group of people I found myself with, I was the oddball. At least I was used to it.

Toa stood off to my right, staring. Nothing new there. Jonas, the leader in not trusting the Mata for any reason, at any time, sat near the door. He rarely let me out of his sight. Pretty much if I wasn’t on the toilet, he was in the same room. And that was only because I threw a tantrum when he tried to linger in the bathroom. Charles was off scouting, making sure Tim was doing a thorough job—Jonas had sent him. And here I was, trying to figure out this magic stuff.

I sighed a lot these days.

“This is not a new spell,” Toa said quietly. The man was under the impression I had bionic hearing.

“Yes, but this is the first time I’m trying to do it. Last time it just happened.”

“Do it,” Jonas barked.

“Oh, yeah, being an impatient a-hole is the right way to help,” I muttered.

“We trust you,” a slight girl with large, luminous brown eyes said. She, like the other four around her, changed into wolves. They apparently worked together like a wolf pack in the wild, and had been largely assigned to guard me.

Tim didn’t trust Stefan’s people any more than Jonas trusted the Mata. The partnership wouldn’t be formed quickly, despite Dominicous’s hope.

I called the elements, struggling and working to get and keep control of the tide that threatened to overwhelm me constantly. I shot past the red power level, flew past the orange and gold, slowed down at the white, and landed in black. Toa said I shouldn’t practice in anything but the black from now on. That to learn, I had to grow accustomed to my correct magic level. I had to admit, it did make things easier in the spell department.

“Everyone get comfortable,” Toa said softly.

Weaving the spell, I let loose and coated the room like a blanket. As the spell sank in, the tiny movements everyone but Toa made ceased. I’d frozen everyone in place.

“I was trying for a light one—you know, so you could still move instead of being totally frozen…” All eyes stared at me, patient. Except for Jonas, who was mad as usual. No mouths moved.

“Right. You guys can’t talk. Umm. Okay. I’ll try the disintegrate thing.” Alarm slowly crept into a few peepers. Like me, they also hoped I didn’t blow them up...

I analyzed the spell as movement caught my eye. Like a person walking at full speed toward a freshly cleaned sliding glass door, I knew what would happen a second before it did. Tim’s features went splat against the clear air-wall of my spell, his limbs hitting a second later. He bounced back, the look of supreme confusion on his face as he stared at nothing in the doorway.

His gaze hit mine as I started to giggle. “It’s a thickening spell. Air’s solid in here.”

“Then why can you move?” He glanced around, smirking when his gaze caught the side of Jonas’s motionless face.

“I have no idea, Tim. But as soon as Toa can talk, I’m sure he’ll lecture me on that.”

“Mhmm,” Toa answered.

I gave Tim a see? look.

Tim glanced at Jonas again and let a small smile quirk the lips. He looked back at me. “Can I talk to you for a moment?” Tim motioned me out of the room.

Tim was trying to irritate Jonas, which I could definitely get behind. I glanced around the patient faces. “I should probably try to get them out of this.”

“It’ll only take a moment.”

“Mmm mmm,” Jonas hummed, trying to prevent my leaving with a wordless growl.

Jonas still wasn’t my favorite person, what with trying to get me killed and all. And being that no one else liked him, either, I figured they’d be okay with hanging out for a minute while I pissed him off. “Sure.”

Outside the room, Tim leaned against the wall, surveying me. “I wanted to check in with you. Make sure you had everything you needed.”

I bobbed my head. “I do, thanks! Everyone is being really nice and helpful.”