Ascent

by Bethany Adams

  But today, the pull of water promised to snatch that control away like a flooded river sweeping away a hapless car. Anna longed to walk into the depths of the river and never surface.

  Not to die, though. That was the last thing on her mind. She suspected that no water would kill her, at least not freshwater. Anna hadn’t tried to visit the ocean, but she had tortured herself with a trip to the aquarium after her powers had awakened. Excitement had grown within her as she’d ascended the long escalator to the top of the building containing the ocean exhibits, but although she’d felt a slight tug to the saltwater tanks, it was more mellow contentment thrumming within her rather than wild anticipation.

  But the building with freshwater exhibits? She’d had to take an elevator down and leave the area entirely when she’d neared the larger tanks. Otherwise, she might have jumped in and made a fool of herself. That—that type of environment felt like home.

  “You better hurry it up,” Deanna, her manager, called from a few tables over. “I give it thirty minutes before we have to start seating your section. Y’all don’t get your prep work done, it’s always hell. Cory only has half the sweetener packs replaced.”

  “I’m sorry,” Anna said earnestly, doing her best to concentrate on her work.

  It wasn’t the best job, but Deanna was a decent boss. Reasonable with hours, time off requests, and breaks, which worked well with Anna’s writing. Deanna was also fairer about side tasks than some of the other places where Anna had worked. She’d already be done with the silverware if the river didn’t keep distracting her. Why did the pull seem to be getting stronger?

  Even when she didn’t look, the power of it swished along with her blood and vibrated in her very muscles. Anna had heard that a woman in labor felt the undeniable urge to push, an instinct that was almost impossible to resist. Well, she had a similar drive, if a bit opposite. Instead of emerging, she itched to submerge herself in the quiet, underwater realm.

  It was going to drive her insane.

  If the intensity kept growing, she would have no choice but to talk to Maddy. Considering how little she understood about magic, it would be foolish not to, but she would do her best to maintain her control until Maddy got her needed training. It wouldn’t take long for Maddy to get to a level where her healing magic wasn’t a danger, right? She had to hope.

  Maddy frowned into the mirror she’d propped beside her computer monitor. “He’s not there yet?”

  Her friend Cora, once the owner of The Magic Touch and now married—soulbound, they said there—to Prince Ralan of Moranaia, gave a sheepish grin. “And you were worried about being late. One of the warriors slipped in a patch of ice and broke his wrist, so Lial had to rush to the practice field. He sent word that he would be here in a few minutes. Is that okay?”

  With a silent apology for poor Anthony waiting in the other room, Maddy nodded. “If it’s only a few.”

  “How are things going there?” Cora asked. “Is Jase doing fine? And how is the new girl settling in?”

  Maddy chuckled at the eager questions. For the most part, Cora hadn’t seemed to mind moving to another world with Ralan, but it was obvious that she missed her friends on Earth, too. “The shop is fine, and we even made more than usual last month. Jase took a few days of vacation to go to Gatlinburg with his girlfriend, and Tamara is fitting in perfectly. She’s still hesitant about her magic, but actually understanding what is happening to her solved most of her problems. You’d like her.”

  “I’m sure we’ll meet once I can travel again,” Cora said, rubbing her hand across her barely rounded belly.

  “It’s driving you crazy, isn’t it?” Maddy asked.

  “The baby?” Cora frowned. “No. Even the morning sickness is eased with Lial’s potion.”

  Maddy rolled her eyes. “Of course not the baby. The being bound to Moranaia until the birth part.”

  “Oh.” Cora’s breath rushed out in a soft laugh. “Yeah, that’s a problem. But she will only prosper if she’s immersed in the magic of this world. I wouldn’t risk losing her for anything.”

  “I know.”

  Cora was one of the more unique types of fae that Maddy had met. Instead of drawing magic automatically from her environment, Cora had to bind her power to a location to access it. When she’d bound herself to Moranaia, her child had been linked, also, even unborn. Cora’s and Ralan’s baby would have to remain on Moranaia until she was old enough to learn how to link to other locations, which meant Cora had to stay, too.

  “Are you still doing okay with Eri?” Maddy grinned at her friend’s pained expression. “Oh, come on. That bad? I thought you liked being a stepmother.”

  Cora sighed. “I do love being her mother, but there are days… Although she has been a lot more cautious about handing out prophecies, it happens more often than I’d like.”

  “I’m still not sure I believe that one little girl could be so frightening,” Maddy said, not bothering to hide her laugh.

  “Oh, just wait. If you come here, you’ll…” Cora’s voice trailed off as she glanced to the side. “Lial is here. We can chat later.”

  Just like that, Cora stepped aside, and the healer’s face filled the mirror’s frame. Maddy’s levity vanished, her nerves returning in full force. She’d only met him once before, and that experience had been intimidating enough. He wielded his magic with a confidence and mastery she would never possess. She would eat the damn communication mirror if he had nearly killed someone while trying to help them.

  No matter how daunting it was to talk to him, though, she couldn’t compromise on what she had to say, at least not much.

  “Forgive my tardiness, Maddy,” Lial said, inclining his head. “As you will learn, a healer’s time is never quite their own. Breaks are easier to heal immediately, so the task couldn’t wait.”

  “I hope the warrior is well.”

  His eyebrows lifted. “Did you think I would leave them otherwise? But yes, they are well.”

  Maddy groaned to herself. Only she could accidentally insult someone in a bad attempt to procrastinate. “Sorry, I—”

  “It is no matter,” Lial interrupted. “I assume you scheduled this meeting so that we can arrange your move to Moranaia for training?”

  “Sort of.” She twisted her fingers together in her lap where he couldn’t see. “But maybe not exactly.”

  His expression hardened. “Clarify.”

  “I can’t just move there.” Her fingers began to hurt from the force of her grip, but it allowed her to keep her voice level—and hopefully confident. “But I do want to find a way to train with you if you are willing.”

  Up went his eyebrows once more. “You do realize how many centuries it takes to master this gift, don’t you? I’m not certain how you expect to train properly from afar.”

  “I do know that I have to come there.” Maddy sucked in a breath. This was it. Her chance to make her argument with the only person who had ever agreed to help her. If he couldn’t accept her terms… She pulled in another deep breath for good measure. “But I don’t want to live there.”

  His expression didn’t soften. “Perhaps you should make the proposal you so clearly have in mind.”

  “I can’t leave my girlfriend for who knows how long, especially not with her fae blood waking up. I won’t leave her, in fact.” Maddy lowered her shoulders and straightened her spine. “But I could travel to Moranaia for two or three days a week if Vek and Dria are willing to ensure that Anna is okay while I’m away. I’m worried about her.”

  A hint of concern entered Lial’s gaze. “Do you think she might do herself harm?”

  Maddy shook her head. “I don’t think she’s suicidal, but I can tell she’s really struggling with being near the huge river that flows by our town.”

  “Is she willing to travel to Moranaia?” Lial asked. “With the new gate between our worlds, there should be little risk to her.”

  “She has a job. If she disappears, she’ll be fired, and if
she quits, we won’t be able to pay the bills.” At his blank look, she almost laughed. “Basic necessities are not supplied here, and she can’t exactly ask for a few days off to go to another world every week. My dad would help with money, but Anna won’t accept it until we’re married.”

  It took him a moment to process her words, his frown turning thoughtful as she waited in worried silence. Finally, he nodded. “I believe I understand. But has she considered that she might seek training here, even if her bloodline isn’t Moranaian? Selia might be able to help.”

  “I’ll mention that,” Maddy answered. “But I also have the shop. I’m not going to dump the entire responsibility on my business partner after agreeing to go into business with him.”

  Another silence descended, and Lial pinched his lower lip, his gaze averted as he thought. Maddy glanced down at her hands, untangling her fingers when she saw how white they’d grown. Little prickles of pain danced along her skin as feeling returned, but she did her best to ignore it as she returned her attention to the healer.

  Relief washed away the ache when he met her eyes again and smiled. “Very well, young Maddy. We’ll try it your way for a while. It might take a great deal longer, but we’ll do our best.”

  “Thank you,” Maddy said, hoping her voice didn’t quiver.

  “We’ll make the travel arrangements through Dria since you’ll pass through the outpost’s portal,” Lial said. “If it is convenient for all involved, I’ll have you come for a short initial visit tomorrow afternoon so that you might learn the area. We will do a couple of lessons, but for the most part, we will determine the pace and timing during that first visit.”

  Maddy let out a deep breath. “Sounds good.”

  And just like that, it was settled. She would get her training without giving up her world.

  Chapter 3

  “Don’t you have an outpost to run?” Fen grumbled as his phone rang. Again. He was about ready to chunk the damned thing through Vek’s floor-to-ceiling window. “Look, you use the chat bubble icon to text and the telephone icon to call. Ugh, I knew this would be a mistake.”

  Fen’s first error had been taking Vek and Dria with him to the phone store. After that, he should have let them return to the cave instead of offering lessons on how to use their devices. But no—he’d chosen mistake number two and tried to help. He could have been enjoying his afternoon rather than being tormented in the middle of his uncle’s living room. At least Dria was a quick study.

  The ringing stopped after Vek tapped his phone screen. Then he touched something else, frowned, and held out the phone. “The bubble didn’t bring up the right thing.”

  Fen peered at the screen and groaned. “That…that was the internet button. It pulls up the browser, remember?”

  “Ah, the mysterious internet,” Vek drawled. “How will I ever learn its secrets?”

  “You probably won’t at this rate.” Fen rubbed the heel of his palm against his temple. Getting through the phone store had been…an experience. “This is the third time you’ve accidentally called me.”

  “Is it?”

  Wait. Was that a gleam of humor in his uncle’s eyes? Fuck me. The bastard was trolling him. “You’re doing it on purpose.”

  For the first time Fen could recall, Vek laughed—truly, fully laughed. From her spot on the couch, Dria glanced up from her own phone and grinned. “It took you long enough to figure it out. I was about to take pity on you.”

  Still chuckling, Vek turned his phone back around and deftly tapped at the screen. “Really, Fen. Adapt quickly or die quickly. How do you think I’ve lived this long?”

  “Stubbornness and assholery?” Fen quipped.

  “That, too.” Vek shoved his phone in his pocket just as Fen’s phone let out a chirp. “Dria, love, are you ready to head back? I know you didn’t want to be gone this long.”

  Dria stood, slipping her own device into the pocket of the jeans she’d donned for their outing. “Probably a good idea.”

  As they gathered their things, Fen checked his phone’s notifications. A text from Vek: What was it you said earlier? Owned?

  Gods above and below. He’d created a monster.

  “Ah, don’t mope, Fen,” his uncle said.

  Another notification rang out before he could answer the taunt, and his heart gave a leap when Maddy’s name flashed across the screen. Fen smacked the button so fast his finger stung. She hadn’t texted him for twelve hours. Approximately.

  I need to get with you. And Vek and Dria. Traveling to M from their place sometimes and have to figure out logistics. You guys free later tonight?

  Fen read the text three times before he processed anything beyond “I need to get with you.” Did the M stand for Moranaia? What did she mean by “sometimes?” Damn, he hoped she wasn’t staying on Moranaia long term. The word “read” next to her text taunted him as he tried to formulate something resembling an answer.

  “What’s wrong?” Vek asked.

  “Nothing,” Fen answered quickly. “Maddy wants to know if we’re free tonight. I think she might need to travel through the portal, but she left it vague.”

  Dria nodded. “Makes sense. Didn’t Lial tell her to come to him for training?”

  A fact Fen had tried not to think about. “Yeah.”

  “I can make a gate from her shop to the outpost if she’ll tell us a good time,” Dria said.

  Fen sent Dria’s offer to Maddy and waited a moment, but his answer remained at “delivered” instead of “read.” Maybe the shop had gotten busy. “Guess we will see.”

  Dria shrugged. “You could go ahead and come with us. You don’t have to sit around alone at Vek’s house all the time, you know. You are always welcome at the outpost.”

  Fen shifted uneasily. She had told him that, and he could tell she meant it. But as things had settled down over the last couple of weeks, he’d felt increasingly out of place there. He’d been cured of his illness, no one was in danger, and he’d helped reinforce the cave’s protective shields to the best of his abilities. He’d started avoiding his room at the outpost more and more in favor of Vek’s place.

  Truth be told, Fen felt a little adrift, but no one else could decide his future for him.

  “I don’t have any plans right now,” Fen said. And he didn’t. What was there for him to do besides play video games and fight off memories of his past misdeeds? He had to be close to becoming the brooding world champion. “I suppose I could go ahead and work on the cell signal spell while we wait on Maddy. It would be nice for all of our phones to work throughout the cave system, although I’m not sure if I can make the signal carry to some of the more remote spots like the bathing chamber.”

  The remaining humor faded from Vek’s face as he studied Fen. Was his discontent that obvious? But Vek only nodded. “I can help if Dria’s busy.”

  Perfect. Because suddenly, the last thing Fen wanted was to be alone.

  Maddy paused in front of the door separating the storage and office area from the so-called break room. Connecting with the shields, she scanned the interior to see if Anthony still waited. Yep. His calm, steady energy signature pulsed near the table area. Seemed he was in a better emotional state than she was, at least if his energy was to be believed. She was a trembling mess of nerves after talking to Lial.

  She ran her palms along her pants, took a few steadying breaths, and pushed into the room. Anthony popped up from his seat like a nobleman in a Regency novel—or a Southern boy with a traditional mama. As Maddy approached, he pulled out a chair for her and waited until she’d sat before he resumed his own seat. Yeah, she’d bet money on the traditional mama.

  “Thanks,” Maddy said. “I’m sorry about the wait.”

  “It’s fine. I have another thirty minutes before I have to head to work.”

  “Third shift?” she asked, trying not to check the time on her phone. It had to be nearing four o’clock, so unless he worked retail, he had to have a night job.

  He smiled.
“Nah, I’m a nurse practitioner at one of the clinics that’s open late. My coworker has to leave early, so I’m covering the last few hours for her.”

  “Nurse practitioner?” Maddy blinked. He looked young enough to be a freshman in college, not a professional. “Shouldn’t you be wearing a lab coat or something?”

  “I don’t put that on until I get there,” he answered. “We don’t usually wear those on the street.”

  “Right.” Maddy chuckled softly at herself. “Of course.”

  The entire situation felt surreal. She’d just made arrangements to learn how to use her healing abilities without killing anyone, and this man already worked as a healer using mundane means. At least she assumed so. Surely, no one had been foolish enough to recommend her to help with healing magic?

  “Do you have a gift for that kind of magic?” she asked. “Because if you’re here for advice on healing, I’m the wrong girl.”

  Anthony lifted a brow. “You mean using energy to heal? No, I don’t do that. I have a bit of empathy, but that’s it. I’m actually here on behalf of my coven. Nothing to do with my job.”

  “Your coven?” Maddy tapped her fingers restlessly against the table. There were more flavors of pagan in the south than a lot of people realized, but the fae she knew avoided them. Of all the humans, they were the most likely to sense real energy, even before Earth’s magic had been restored. “Why would a fae man be in a human coven? Don’t you fear discovery?”

  “I might worry if we were a mostly human coven. A huge number of us are half-bloods, and considering what’s happening when we try to do circles now, I’d say the rest are also part fae. I guess that’s what drew us together in the first place.”

  Fae pagans. A little unusual, but it wasn’t the strangest thing she’d ever heard. “So what I can I do for you?”