There. Thoughts like that. The exact thing that was driving her insane.
“I’m not an apprentice—I don’t know what I am to him—and we’re not friends, we’re enemies. So we should act like it instead of…instead of…”
“Instead of what?” Isak demanded.
“Whatever this is.”
“This? This is two people just being normal people, Aspen. Not back stabbing or plotting or figuring out ways to one up each other when the other isn’t looking. I don’t know what you expect. You may be a Norm, but you’re far from normal. And we were never enemies, at least not by choice.”
His voice was rising now, matching Aspen’s simultaneous rise of elation and confusion at herself over what he was saying.
“I can already tell this is what you do,” Isak said. “You shove people away. We’re not that different. We’ve been dealt pretty much the same hand, but the way you handle the bad things in life is your choice. Either you can live your life assuming that nobody means anything to you so they can’t get close enough to hurt you, or you can keep trying. Keep trying to connect to those you care about. Yeah, it’ll suck sometimes, but at least it’s something.”
Aspen spun away in disgust, putting her arms on the side of the bridge and looking at the churning dark water below. Isak hadn’t stepped any closer, but she could feel him, his anger, his sadness emanating off him.
He finally let out a sigh and settled in beside her. Their shoulders brushed but Aspen didn’t move away.
“I shouldn’t have yelled. But it’s just…don’t give the people that suck in your life that power, Aspen. Don’t give them the power to drive you away from everyone else. Don’t let the bad people ruin the good ones.”
They lapsed into silence. Aspen mulled over what he’d said, suddenly realizing how exhausted she was. Tired of second guessing everyone’s intentions and thinking they had the worst out for her. Maybe they did, but Isak was right: she couldn’t act like that was everyone.
“I didn’t say it was easy,” Isak said. He grimaced. “I know it wasn’t for me, but it’s worth doing. I promise.”
“Okay. Fine. I’ll try. You happy now?”
She could also feel him smirk. That stupid, frustrating, charming smirk. “I think with you that’s the best I’m going to get right now—”
Music started up behind them. A group of musicians had gotten the nearby crowd moving. A few couples were dancing together, clasping hands in a sort of improvised street waltz.
Aspen and Isak leaned against the bridge to watch. Isak began clapping his hands. He cocked an eyebrow at Aspen when she gave him a look.
“What can I say, I’ve got rhythm in my blood.”
“You’re two beats behind, soul man. Here—no, give me your…stop clapping! It’s like this.”
When he’d stopped laughing, she wrapped her hands around his and moved them for him, timing it so he was on beat. More people had stopped to watch the musicians. Even more had joined in the dancing. Aspen continued keeping Isak on rhythm until inexplicably, he was taking her hands and pulling her toward the dancers.
“What are you—Isak, no…nonono.”
“Aspen, come on.” He looked back at her. “One dance. Will you let me lead?”
“Do you even know what you’re doing?” She protested.
“How hard can it be? I use magic, dancing probably isn’t much harder.”
“Probably?”
“Just one dance, Aspen.”
One dance. And then…and then…and then what, she didn’t know. She had never taken a step beyond, never let anything like this go on long enough to see what was on the other side. It was as if she were still that scared little girl, trapped in that time before her life had ever had the chance to start.
“One dance,” she said.
“Don’t worry, I’ll lead.”
She didn’t let him. Not at first. Their feet kept getting tangled and kicking one another (maybe a few times on purpose). But gradually, oh-so-gradually, Aspen stopped fighting. She let him lead her. She tried not to worry about where they were going until it was just the seamless singularity of their two bodies moving together, as skillful as fighting, as sensuous as long-time lovers.
They joined the small throng that had continued to move to the music. But even they faded away after a bit, leaving just the two of them in their own space.
At some point the music stopped. Aspen was breathing hard. Isak was too, his chest pressing up again hers, his body fiery with heat. The rest of the crowd clapped and broke apart but they stayed where they were. Isak’s eyes searched hers, as secluded in this moment with her as she was with him.
Involuntarily, Aspen found herself leaning in. She found her eyes somehow locking the clean lines of his face; they moved down to his jaw fuzzed with the barest bit of scruff, then up to his hair mussed by sleep and the chaotic travel of the last few days.
Then to his lips.
It was as if his desire for her to trust more had busted open the dam inside, at least enough for this; as if the untrusting part of herself had simply given up and allowed her this one small taste…
Closer…Closer…
A laughing child bumped into Isak’s legs and he jolted. A mother yelled an apology and was off after him before either of them could turn around.
Isak cleared his throat. He turned back to face her. His shoulders were a bit hunched. His cheeks were flushed.
“Why don’t we…take a walk?”
They walked for a couple hours, going nowhere in particular. Each street brought a new sight and delight. Shops with hookahs and music and smoky, restaurant-filled courtyards. Streets that squeezed and loosened like a boa constrictor. They brushed past a dozen different conversations in a dozen different languages. They passed a chocolate shop and the smell forced them to buy some, and they sat outside sharing a bag and just people watched. They didn’t talk much. They didn’t need to.
Eventually, the astrological clock back in the old town rang midnight and they trickled back, lagging a bit with the remaining night’s revelers.
“You know,” Isak said when they were back in Lucien’s house, “believe it or not, I think I prefer this to fighting.”
Aspen laughed. “I still can’t decide. You were almost good company.”
“We barely talked.”
“Exactly.”
“Ouch.” But he was grinning.
They said goodnight. Isak lingered a second longer before they both turned away.
Aspen went towards her room. She paused as she started on the staircase. Lucien was sitting on the steps, the book from earlier clutched in his hand. He stood and brushed his robes back.
“Tana got back hours ago. Where were you?”
“What are you, my dad?”
“Aspen.”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know exactly where I was. And don’t try to give me the ‘you don’t know who he really is’ speech, because I do know.”
Lucien looked over her shoulder, back to the courtyard where Isak had stood just minutes before.
“That’s not what I was going to tell you. You know who he’s associated it, what that man supposedly did to you. Xavier’s the enemy too.”
Aspen threw her hands up. “I have an excuse to hate Xavier, but what’s yours? What is with you Mages? You worked with him once, to fend off Maladias no less! You’re supposed to be these powerful protectors, yet you hate each other more than you hate anyone else!”
“That’s called government. And I don’t mean just him. There’s a reason I didn’t immediately go to the Council with this information.”
That stopped her. She had wondered. “Because…you think one of the Mages is involved in the wards going down.”
“I know one of them is involved. And you would too if you got off your fixation with Hugo. Powerful creatures, magic-rich places…there are few beings who could drain either. We can’t have been the only ones to figure this out, and the Council, for all their
faults, aren’t dumb. That means someone’s deliberately keeping information from them. And the more we keep those suspicions close to the chest, the less chance whoever it is has the chance to do anything. We can’t tell the Mages. But Isak—”
“Is on our side, believe it or not.”
Lucien’s eyes narrowed. “Since when did you start caring which side Isak was on?”
“The same time you started caring about my well-being and stopped seeing me as your means to an end!”
“You were never just that! You had a skill, and I already told you I never meant for you to get this involved.”
“Too late!”
“I promise I will get you out of the contest.”
“And what about Xavier? Who’s going to do something about him?”
“Xavier will be held accountable for his actions against y—”
“No!” Aspen took a step up the stairs. “That’s not good enough! Xavier is going to pay. I swear he will.”
Lucien held her firm gaze. “I wonder what dear Isak would say to that? Have you told him yet? Does he know what you plan to do to his beloved master?”
“Don’t! Don’t you dare try to use him against me now—”
“Why not? Like you said, it’s not like I care about you.”
Aspen had balled her fist. She was seriously considering—Mage or not—about sinking one into Lucien’s gut when his magic pushed her against the side of the stairwell as he swept past.
“Enough of this. We’re heading back.”
What She Found
The moment Lucien had settled the house back in New York, Aspen went for Hugo.
Screw if she wasn’t right. Screw if this was just a petty vendetta on her part and she was heading to a dead end. They needed to do something, and she was going to start.
She at least waited until Lucien had given Caretaker orders to keep an eye on Isak before storming off to his study and slamming the door.
Aspen gave Isak a curt goodbye—no point in bringing him into this if it would just make Lucien angrier at him—then headed toward the other side of the house where there was hopefully a slightly less conspicuous way of getting out.
Aspen stared up at the wall on the other side of the house. There was not one, but two more courtyards back here. It was as if the house kept growing every time she looked away.
But it still looked like Lucien had beat her to the defenses. Isak’s previous break in and random people popping in unannounced must have affected his perception of safety because the tops of the wall were shimmering. Aspen couldn’t tell if the magic was keeping people out, or her in. Probably both.
She kicked a rock. He’d probably charmed the entire wall, leaving nothing to chance.
“I know a way around.”
Tana had followed her.
“Tana! I was just…”
“I know.” Tana smiled shyly. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Lucien. You think it’s that djinn, don’t you? Lucien mentioned it a couple times. He doesn’t think so, but…I trust him, but you know the streets a little better. Maybe you’re right.”
“I just want to make sure.”
Tana motioned her over. “I know a way. But we’ll have to be quick. Lucien won’t be in his study long.”
She led Aspen through the maze of fusuma-paneled rooms toward a collection of open spaces in the back of the house. Here, she pulled aside a panel and entered a darkened room. This was the first one Aspen had seen that wasn’t complete. The floor hadn’t been installed yet, and there was a gigantic hole in the ground near the back, rocks stacked beside it.
“Caretaker’s almost done with this, but I’ve been using it whenever I need to get out for a bit. Caretaker doesn’t mind…too much.”
Aspen peered into the hole. It was pitch black. It was impossible to tell how far down it went. “Where’s it go?”
“To the other side. It won’t take long. If you still want to go, that is.”
Tana tapped her fingers together. Aspen thought it over. Tana was right, Lucien wouldn’t stay in his study forever, and as much as she wanted to pretend she didn’t care about upsetting him, she didn’t want him finding out she’d snuck out. Isak, too, would be wondering where she’d gone. He’d be heading back to Xavier soon, most likely, and she wanted to say…well, something before that happened.
“Let’s do it,” Aspen said.
Despite being one of the shorter people she knew, Aspen still had to stay hunched over to avoid bashing her head against the low tunnel of damp rock. Tana scurried ahead, light on her feet, pointing out overhangs for Aspen to duck under. Being part Vamp, Aspen assumed she had some ability to see in low light.
“Where are we?” Aspen said after a couple minutes.
“Part of the caverns,” Tana said. She tugged on Aspen’s sleeve to keep her from running face first in a wall. “There are caverns that run for miles beneath NYC. This is just a small part.”
“I’ve never heard of them,” Aspen said.
“Not a lot of people have. The Jade Palace has access to the main part of the caverns, but they don’t let just anybody in. The old dragon-kin families have access too, but you’d have a better chance at digging into the main caverns from here than asking them for permission.”
Another few minutes and Tana was leading them up again. The air turned from cool to warmer and then they were pushing aside a slate of wood and coming up inside a dilapidated building.
“We should still be in Ember’s Landing,” Tana said, carefully replacing the wood over the hole they’d crawled up from.
Aspen peeked outside the building, taking stock of their surroundings. “We are. I know this street. Hugo’s is close by. Tana, you should—”
“I’m sticking with you,” Tana said. “You don’t know how this guy’s going to react when you see him.”
Aspen pulled out her knife, tucking it flush with the sleeve of her jacket. She took a deep, steadying breath. “I have a pretty good idea. Just…stay behind me.”
They broke from cover, keeping as much out of sight as they could as they wended through back streets and alleyways. They bypassed the market before coming out at Hugo’s courtyard, tucked away from the main street.
Aspen slowed when she saw Hugo’s house. A feeling of dread curled inside her. Her primal senses were on alert, even as she scanned the quiet storefront and couldn’t see anything amiss. There was a stillness to the place; a wrongness that had nothing to do with her anxiety at potentially running into Hugo again.
“Tana, stay here.”
“Aspen, I won—”
“Stay. Here.”
Tana crossed her arms in a pout, but stayed in the shadows while Aspen stole across the courtyard and pressed her back beneath one of Hugo’s windows. Nothing so far. No shouts of alarm or pounding footsteps. The place was eerily silent.
Aspen slunk around the side of the house and jimmied one of the back doors open. With one more deep breath, she slipped inside, knife ready. This was as far as her plan had gone in her head. She assumed she would go apprehend Hugo, but hadn’t thought exactly what that meant. Now that she was here, armed only with her knife, inside his house, full of thieves, armed miscreants, and one powerful, one very pissed djinn, this was starting to look like a very, very bad idea.
She moved forward anyway.
The first few rooms were empty. Most were full of hammocks or bunks, caked with the smell of BO and strewn with trash. The kitchen was piled with dirty dishes, the refrigerator door ajar. An even more unpleasant odor wafted from inside; food gone bad after a few days. Aspen curled her nose. Didn’t Hugo keep any order inside his own house?
The rest of the rooms in the back were uninhabited. It looked like someone lived here, but where were all the kids she’d seen the first time she’d come by?
Aspen jumped as a crash came from the front room. She crept forward until she could peer around the corner.
“Tana!”
Tana stood in front of a bathroom, gaping
at something inside, her mouth moving silently. Aspen rushed forward, grasping her arm and trying to pull her back outside. “I thought I told you to wait! Something’s not right here—”
“Aspen,” Tana pointed, “who’s he?”
Aspen turned.
In the darkened room Tana stood in front of, huddled beneath the sink, was Snitch. Snot ran freely down his face. Froth foamed at the corner of his mouth as he babbled incessantly, eyes flickering toward every shadow.
Aspen forgot about Tana. She crouched beside Snitch, just out of reach in case he decided to suddenly turn aggressive. She’d never liked the guy, but seeing him like this made her feel sorry for him, at least.
“Snitch? What happened here?” she whispered in her most consoling voice.
Snitch didn’t look at her. He continued sucking in heaving breaths. His feet slipped on the slick tile as they tried pushing him further back into the safety of the shadows.
“Snitch,” Aspen tried, more forcefully this time. “I need to know what happened. Please. Where’s Hugo? Did he do this? Where can I find him?”
“They’re dead,” Snitch said in a strangely calm voice. His twitching momentarily ceased. “They’re all dead. Every one of them. He killed them.”
“Why would he do that?”
“He killed them. All of them.”
Snitch raised a shaking finger and pointed. Double checking that this wasn’t any sort of distraction, Aspen turned to follow it. The stairs.
Ah… “Is Hugo—”
“No more!” Snitch sniveled. “No more, please! I just want to stop seeing them!”
Aspen reluctantly stood. There was nothing more she could do for him. Maybe once they figured out what had happened here they could find a way to get some help. But until then…
Nodding to Tana, she approached the stairs and headed up, keeping her feet light so they wouldn’t creak, knife held out in front, leaving Snitch’s blubbering behind. It was clear Hugo had snapped. Maybe she’d been right about him, and all the magic he’d collected had made him go on a rampage against his own thieves. That would explain the emptiness. Perhaps they’d all fled, leaving poor Snitch behind—
Mage's Apprentice (Mages of New York Book 1) Page 22
