“Me too?” Chatta asked.
“If you want,” I assured her. “But since we’re out of commission for at least two weeks, do you want to go home? I can take you up.”
“Home,” she said dreamily. “I haven’t seen my parents face to face since we did that diplomatic mission into Chahir. It would be nice to be home again for a while. You don’t mind?”
“Not at all.”
“And we gladly accept your mother’s offer,” Shield said for the team. “However, we want to wait until Xiaolang comes out of surgery before leaving.”
“Are you sure? It’d be more comfortable waiting at home.”
Shad snorted. “You’re just going to wait here anyway, don’t even try to deny it. So we’ll all wait together and leave together once C2 is out of the woods.”
I grinned sheepishly. I couldn’t deny it, and it’d be easier passing time together than alone. “All right then. Anyone got a deck of cards?”
~*~
Three hours and twenty rounds of Black Hand Diamond later, Xiaolang came out of surgery. The same grumpy doctor from before came barging into the room to pass along the news.
“Your friend pulled through just fine. We were able to repair the lung with only some minor scarring. He’ll have some shortness of breath for awhile, so I expect all of you to make sure he takes it easy. The cranial swelling has gone down, but we’ll keep him here for observation the next couple of days to make sure it stays that way. He’ll need potions forced down his throat every couple of hours anyway. If all stays well he’ll be out of my hair in about three days.
“Now get out of here.” He made shooing motions. “You’re wasting needed beds.” And with that he stomped back out the way he came.
“That’s some nice bedside manner he’s got there. Must be real popular with the ladies,” Shad said dryly.
Despite his manner we were grinning at each other like loons. Xiaolang would be fine. We could relax. In fact, Eagle cracked a giant yawn he was so relaxed.
“Well if that’s not a signal to get going I don’t know what is,” Aletha joked. “Everyone, let’s move out.”
We did just that with as much speed as injuries would allow. It startled me to walk outside and see the sun still up. It was barely dinnertime, yet it felt as if days had passed.
The smell of Mom’s beef stew greeted us when we emerged in the backyard. There was a shout and the hoard descended in a babble of voices, hands reaching out to help and lead. Hazard and Eagle were helped into bed by my brothers, Aletha by Mom. Da led Chatta into the living room to rest, laughing the whole way. The little ones took care of stabling Hayate in Night’s usual stall. The dragoo was downright sulky over not being allowed to stay with his owner. The patients had been fed, tended, and were now asleep.
There was suddenly nothing left to do.
I turned and there was my family, all gathered around the old, scarred kitchen table. The informal gathering place. Waiting to find out exactly what had happened. I faced the sea of blonde, saw the worry, the expectancy, opening my mouth to explain. And the emotions of the day crashed down all at once.
Mom made a distressed noise in the back of her throat, beginning to rise from her seat.
“Garth, honey—”
“Stop it, Garth. None of this is your doing,” Shad said as he came down the stairs behind me. He growled at my expression, took hold of my shoulders and shook. “Not. Your. Fault.”
No matter how many times I heard that, it didn’t help. I raised a shaking hand to cover my eyes, wishing I could just skip all of this and take Chatta home, as I promised her. “I know.”
“You say that, but your expression tells another story.” Shad let out an irritated breath. “You sure put the world on your shoulders, don’t you. All right. Say you hadn’t gone into Hain when you did. What would have happened?”
“I would have been there to deal with the Priest-Mage.”
“And then? You couldn’t deal with him and everyone else at the same time.”
I frowned, having not considered that aspect before. “…That’s true.”
“We would still have been injured,” Shad pointed out ruthlessly. “Although granted, maybe not as badly.”
“But Xiaolang…” I whispered.
“Ah, that’s what this is really about, isn’t it? Xiaolang is not Elis, Garth.” Shad gave another shake, eyes and voice intense. He can be a scary individual when he’s not playing the jokester. “I know you love him like a brother, and it’s killing you that you weren’t there to protect him, protect all of us, but you can’t
blame
yourself for this. None of us knew that something like that Priest was even possible! Stop focusing on past events. Focus on what you can do to prevent this from happening again.”
I latched onto this advice like a man clinging to a lifeline in a storm-tossed sea.
“You’re right. Sorry, you’re right.” I drew in a deep, cleansing breath, and lowered my hand.
“Garth?” Da stood up from the table to walk toward me. “Son, just
what happened
?”
I couldn’t tell all of it, of course, but between Shad and I we managed to get the full tale out. My family listened patiently until the very end. I was relieved that by the end of it, no one was hurling accusations at my head.
Hayden was the one that asked the question everyone was thinking. “But how is that possible? Garth, you said that Mages had to be born.”
“That was no Mage,” I assured him grimly. “I don’t know how he did what he did, but that wasn’t a true Mage. He wouldn’t have burned himself using that much power if he was. I need to go back to where that fight was and take a good look around, see if I can’t figure out what he did.”
“I’m going with you,” Shad insisted firmly. “For one thing, you don’t know exactly where we were.”
I could probably figure that out, but I wasn’t turning down the company right now. I didn’t want to be alone where my doubts and worries could prey on me. “Fine. Let me take Chatta home first.”
Shad nodded. “I’ll tell Guin what we’re planning to do while you’re gone. How long do you think that will take?”
“That depends,” I responded with a wince.
“On what?” he asked in confusion.
“On whether her father is home or not.”
Chapter Twelve: Dangerous Magic
Chatta was more than ready to leave by this point. She had taken the time to clean up a little while she waited on me, and now looked less ragged and more presentable. Night was still not back yet from talking to Guin—I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.
“Ready to go?” I asked her, holding out both arms.
“Ready,” she responded with a smile. “You don’t need to carry me there, though.”
“It’s not a problem,” I assured her as I lifted her into my arms. “After all, you’re not heavy.”
She arched a sardonic eyebrow at this. “Garth, I’m only about two inches shorter than you. And we’re about the same size. What do you mean, I’m not heavy? Are you used to lugging your own body weight around?”
“And more.” I shook my head in exasperation. That look on her face clearly said she wasn’t sure if I was bragging or speaking honest truth. “Chatta, think about this. I was a blacksmith’s assistant most of my childhood.”
She frowned slightly, considering this. “That would develop muscle, wouldn’t it?”
“Oh yes.” I was grateful for that muscle, too. Sparring with Shad or Xiaolang required all of the strength I could muster. Not to mention that physical strength often helped when I was doing huge magical projects—in regards to stamina, if nothing else.
She put her arms comfortably around my neck as I walked out into the backyard before dropping down to the earth path. “Is it safe to talk to you?”
“This trip it is,” I assured her. “I’m not going very fast and I’m pretty familiar with northern Hain.”
“Oh, good.” She then proceeded to pepper me with a ton of questions about how the Priests could possibly tap into the earth’s power as they did. We discussed the fine points of magical theory and possibilities back and forth, but I’m not sure how accurate some of our assumptions were. Neither of us knew that much of how blood magic worked.
I was so caught up with our conversation that I nearly missed her house completely. I had to backtrack a little. Fortunately, Chatta couldn’t tell one part of the earth from another…I wasn’t going to mention taking the wrong turn to her, either.
We came up in front of a house…no, scratch that. It was definitely a mansion. I’ve always known that Chatta was a wealthy aristocrat, but it was only moments like these that really hammered that point in. I had surfaced in a manicured courtyard, complete with a water fountain with a decorative statue in it. The house seemed to loom in front of me, although if the setting sun hadn’t cast most of it in shadow, it no doubt wouldn’t have made that initial impression. The few edges that still caught sunlight were set to sparkling, highlighting the light grey granite stone. All around were the meticulously kept shrubberies, small trees and intricate flower beds that only the truly wealthy could afford to upkeep. The whole place spoke of wealth and power.
I didn’t have time to gawk at the house, as we were barely standing there for more than a moment when the front door opened and a petite woman with dark hair rushed out. I didn’t need the expensive blue dress made of rich velvet or the obvious family resemblance to know that this was Chatta’s mother. The first words out of her mouth were, “Chatta, I didn’t expect you this soon!”
Chatta just grinned. “I told you he’s quick, Mom. Garth, this is my mother, L-Noilita Delheart. Mom, this is Magus Rhebengarthen.”
As I had my arms full—literally—I couldn’t bow. I settled for inclining my head instead. “Lady Delheart, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ha! Finally the Hainian greeting felt natural on my tongue.
She blinked, coming to a halt and giving me an intrigued study from head to toe. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you, Magus. Forgive me, but you’re not…quite what I was expecting…”
I gave Chatta an accusing look. “Just what did you tell her?”
“It wasn’t me!” she protested. “It’s Da’s fault.”
“Both of you are at fault,” L-Noilita corrected in amusement. “Forgive my manners, Magus, you’ve quite startled me. Come inside, I’m sure your arms are tired.”
Chatta arched a challenging eyebrow at me. “Are they tired?”
I met her look for look. “Not yet.”
“Show-off.” Her lips twitched with a suppressed smile.
L-Noilita watched this exchange with growing curiosity. “Why do I feel like this has already been discussed?”
“It has been,” her daughter confided with a wink at me. “He claims I’m not heavy.”
“You’re not,” I assured her. “Blacksmith’s anvils, work tables, raw iron—now
those
are heavy.”
“Ah, that’s right!” L-Noilita nodded in understanding. “Chatta mentioned you are a blacksmith’s son. Yes, I suppose you are accustomed to heavy lifting. Well, regardless, please enter.” Her hand beckoned me toward the house.
I followed silently through a grand foyer of smooth marble floors and expensive paintings into an even grander parlor that seemed to be filled with delicate furniture and priceless knickknacks. The ceiling soared a good twenty feet above my head, with an elaborate mosaic of musicians painted on the ceiling. Two very large chandeliers threw out so much light that most of the room had a sharp, brilliant glow to it. Even the smell of the room didn’t sit right with me—homes always carried a certain scent with it, usually of food cooking or traces of hobbies that people were working on. This place had the same flat smell as a museum. The whole place made me a little nervous. How did people relax in such an environment like this?
It was with extreme care that I set Chatta down in one of the brocade chairs. With the spindly wood frame, the furniture did not look sturdy enough to actually support a person’s weight.
“Chatta told me of what happened,” L-Noilita said as she waved me into a chair. “The whole thing is simply incomprehensible. How did anyone borrow such power?” Since this woman was most definitely a Witch, she would understand the technicalities involved.
“I don’t know,” I admitted as I sat next to Chatta. I cocked an ear for the groan of wood, but the chair remained sturdy under my weight. Maybe it was tougher than it looked. “Shad and I—forgive me, do you know of Captain Riicshaden?”
“I do,” she responded comfortably. “Chatta has told me stories on all of you. Do go on.”
What stories? No, wait; I don’t want the answer to that. “Shad and I are planning to go to Chahir immediately. I want to look at that area and see what I can discover. If that Priest really was borrowing the earth’s power—and he had to be to manipulate stone and earth to the extent he did—then the earth should bear some record of that.”
“A sound approach, I think.” She nodded in satisfaction. “My husband is out of the house at the moment, Magus. I had hoped you would arrive this evening, when he was home.”
I was both grateful I’d missed him and sorry I had. It just meant I would have to talk to him later, which wasn’t something any sane man would look forward to.
Chatta patted my hand consolingly. “Garth, you have nothing to worry about. I mean, you weren’t even
there
when it all happened. The oath you gave doesn’t apply in this case.”
My temples were beginning to throb. I rubbed at one, futilely, as it did nothing to ease the headache. “I hope he sees it that way. Regardless, I’ll talk to him when I come again. Chatta, it’s up to you—do you want me to come back up after Shad and I are through in Chahir?”
“It’d be nice for you to visit, certainly,” she encouraged. “And I want to know what you discover. But don’t exhaust yourself running about like this.”
“I won’t,” I promised. Or at least, I’d try not to. Life had a habit of throwing the unexpected at my head. “I should leave now. I promised Shad it would be a quick trip.”
“But I wanted to have a proper visit with you!” L-Noilita protested, pleading look cast in my direction. “Can’t you stay a few minutes longer, at least?”
“I’m afraid that I can’t,” I answered with a smile to soften the refusal. “But when I come again, which should be tomorrow at some point, I’ll stay longer.”