“What about you?” Pahmut asked Myra. “Who loves you the most?”
Myra turned toward Twist, a soft smile on her face, but said nothing. Twist nearly chuckled at her coyness. He raised his hand, looking confidently to the boy.
“That would most certainly be me.”
Myra leaned in to place a swift kiss on Twist's cheek, sending a splashing wave of comfortable and familiar delight through his Sight.
“All right,” Pahmut said, turning his attention to the charm.
Once again, he traced the lines of the symbol with a finger as he muttered in his strange language. When he was done, he looked up to Twist expectantly. Kima handed him the knife, and Twist pressed the point to his fingertip as if it were a well-practiced gesture. After all, this wasn’t the first time his blood had been needed for a spell. Twist shook his head, realizing this, but didn’t comment on it. Instead, he pressed the tiny drop of blood to Myra’s charm in the boy’s outstretched hand, being careful not to touch Pahmut as he did.
Pahmut again closed his hands over Myra’s charm and finished the spell. Twist gave Kima’s knife back to her and sucked gently at his finger until the tiny, barely painful wound closed well enough on its own. Pahmut then examined the charm and nodded.
“That’s good and strong,” he said, handing it back to Myra. “The power of Twist’s charm is bleeding through to this one.”
“Thank you, sweetie,” Myra said, taking the charm back to examine it.
Twist noticed that the blood had run into the engraving marks, but seemed to already be rubbing away on the surface. He frowned, pulling out his pocket watch. He looked at the back of it, noting that the engraving appeared perfectly clean. He’d cleaned it himself, many times, even going so far as to lift minute bits of tarnish and dust from the tiny grooves of the engraving.
“Say…” he began, looking to the boy. He paused when he saw the wide-eyed alarm on Pahmut’s face as he stared at Twist’s watch.
“That’s—” Pahmut said, pointing to the watch. “That’s really it, isn’t it? The watch that the clockmaker made and the witch enchanted. The very thing that’s kept my true master in exile all of this time. It’s such a little thing…”
“Well, yes…” Twist said, watching the boy carefully. “But I wanted to ask, how can this still be enchanted when the blood was all cleaned off years ago?”
“The blood itself isn’t important,” Pahmut replied, seeming to wake from his trance. “Once the spell is cast, it can’t be undone unless the symbol is completely destroyed. You don’t have to worry about the blood washing away. It’s already done its part.”
“Oh, I see,” Twist said, putting his watch back into his pocket. “Thank you for explaining.”
“I’d like to get a chain for this,” Myra mentioned, looking down to the charm that now hung around her neck on its simple string. “This string isn’t very strong. I wouldn’t want to lose it.”
“If you like,” Twist offered, “I could attach it inside your puppet somewhere you wouldn’t notice. Then you would never lose it.”
“Oh, can you?” Myra asked. “That would be very convenient.”
“Certainly. I wouldn’t want people to see that around your neck and think you believed in fairy stories, after all.”
Myra chuckled at his ironic joke and nodded, but she left the charm where it was for now.
“What about Kima?” Jonas asked.
Twist and the others were all surprised to see that he’d approached them silently. The buzzing in Twist’s neck still felt so smooth and cold that he’d not even noticed a change when Jonas had come closer. Jonas looked down toward Pahmut, his naked gaze well clear of the boy’s eyes.
“If you’re handing out enchantments,” Jonas said casually, “she should be protected too, shouldn’t she? The fairies might not be after her, but she’s surrounded by people they are after.”
“Good point,” Pahmut said, nodding. He then paused, looking to his mother worriedly. “But…I’d need the blood of someone who…you know…”
His words fell away as pain grew on his face. Even if she could remember him as a baby and could love him simply for being her son, he clearly feared that his own feelings wouldn’t be strong enough to protect her. Twist could only imagine how inadequate this made him feel, especially after Kima’s love had just proved to be strong enough for him. All the same, he was probably right. He hardly even knew her. He’d spent his whole life thinking he would never even meet her. No matter how he might want to care for her in return, it was just too soon.
“It’s all right,” Kima said softly, rubbing at his back again. To her considerable credit, she appeared only patient and weary but not at all surprised. “I can just be careful of what I say.”
Jonas's eyes bloomed into a deep, rich, cobalt blue. He knelt down beside the boy and his mother. “Use mine.”
Kima’s face flashed with shock. Myra gasped. Twist could only stare at his friend in bewilderment. Pahmut seemed surprised more by the others’ reactions than Jonas’s words. Jonas gave a sigh, looking at all of them as if they were the ones being ridiculous.
“Listen, Kima,” he began on a thoughtful breath, “I saw your future long before we met. And now that I’m with you, I keep seeing more glimpses. But unlike everyone else I’ve met, I’ve never seen a single dark day in your future. In my visions, you are always happy. I know that your life isn’t constant bliss. It’s been awful for quite a while now. But I’ve never seen anything but the good moments in your future. Whenever I’m worried or upset, thinking about you always gives me hope. Over the years, it’s become a habit. I don’t know if it’s good enough for the spell, but I know that you matter to me.”
Twist listened to Jonas’s remarkably open confession with utter astonishment, Myra’s equal bewilderment melding with his own. Twist had rarely seen Jonas lay his feelings, especially vulnerable ones, bare to anyone. Even if he’d not directly declared the depth of his affection for Kima, he’d implied it clearly and with none of his usual deflection or callous airs. And yet, despite his making such an open display, Jonas’s emotions remained solid and smooth and had turned warm in the buzzing at Twist’s neck. Kima listened to Jonas with a mild look of surprise throughout.
“If you saw my future before we even met,” she asked softly, “then why haven’t you ever said anything about it before?”
Jonas paused before he answered. “Usually, my visions are awful. I don’t like to talk about them. You’re the only exception to that, but I don’t have any idea why. I didn’t want to make things awkward. If I’m honest, I didn’t really know how to tell you. But if you need blood for that spell, mine might be good enough.”
Kima listened to him, now with a calculating eye and a light smile. “So that’s why you’re always so nice to me.”
Jonas nearly looked her directly in the eye. Twist thought he actually might have, for the merest instant, but he saw no evidence of a new vision in Jonas. The warmth in the buzzing at Twist’s neck deepened and grew, filling with a calm that drowned out all of Twist’s confusion. Every single aspect of Jonas’s mood promised that Kima’s assumption was frighteningly narrow. He might have started out feeling favorably toward her thanks to his visions, but it was obvious to Jonas, and now to Twist, that those feelings had taken root and grown deeper and fuller over time. Kima’s expression shifted slightly, suggesting that she sensed this too. Whether or not she enjoyed this prospect, however, was a mystery to Twist.
“Just try using my blood,” Jonas said to Pahmut.
“Sure,” Pahmut said, watching Jonas and his mother with obvious confusion. “Can I have that?” he asked, pointing to the bracelet she wore.
She gave it to him, but her eyes hardly left Jonas for an instant. While Pahmut began to work his magic, Jonas kept his gaze down and safely away from anyone else’s, and his expression remained calm. The buzzing at Twist’s neck, however, whispered with a new anxiety as whatever had given Jonas confidence began to w
ane. This anxiety vanished into a warm purr the instant Kima silently took his hand. Jonas glanced toward her, but now she was looking down, watching her own fingers fit neatly through his.
Pahmut finished tracing the symbol and then held the charm out for Jonas. “I need your blood now,” he said simply.
Jonas took the knife that Kima offered. He did as the others had, pausing for a moment with a deep breath before pressing his own blood to the charm. He handed the knife back to Kima and waited, watching as Pahmut finished his spell. When the magic was done, Pahmut held the bracelet up to the light, examining the charm. He nodded, and handed it to his mother. “Yes. It works.”
Myra gasped in shock while Twist and Kima both looked to Jonas in amazement. A lick of fright shot through the buzzing at Twist’s neck.
“What?” Jonas snapped at them, frowning now. “It’s good that it worked, isn’t it?”
Myra’s face shifted into suspicion. “Who are you, and what have you done with Jonas?”
“What are you on about?” Jonas grumbled back at her.
“Can I just take your hand, please?” Twist asked, holding his hand out to Jonas.
“Why, so you can work out what’s wrong with me?” Jonas muttered unhappily.
“Well, yes.”
“I just explained why my blood should work,” Jonas said, sounded wounded now. “What have I done that’s so bloody strange?”
“You’re never this honest,” Myra answered. “I never knew what you thought about me, until Storm told me the truth. And then you tried to strike him for it, as if he’d told a secret.”
Kima looked to Jonas in alarm.
“He wasn’t even your real son!” Jonas said swiftly, his voice higher than it should be in his rush to explain himself. “Storm was a bastard, and I don’t mind saying it.” He turned to Pahmut, who was watching in bewilderment. “You’re already a vast improvement, by the way.”
Pahmut’s face paled in shock at this declaration, but Kima fell into a smirk, begrudgingly agreeing with Jonas despite his harsh tone.
“You’re still acting very unlike yourself,” Myra mentioned to Jonas.
Twist thought he could see his friend give up the fight and begin to see what they meant. Jonas gave a sigh and shook his head. “It’s amazing what one thought can do to a man.”
“What thought?” Kima asked before any of the others could. “What did you see in my future, anyway?”
Twist nearly held his breath in anticipation, just as curious as Kima about the vision that had so drastically affected Jonas—the one he’d seen not an hour ago.
“Nothing,” Jonas muttered swiftly, alarm clear on his face. “Don’t worry about it. It’ll be a good day,” he amended, forcing a smile.
Kima clearly didn’t buy it. “Why can’t you tell me?” she pressed, her tone gentle. She took his hand again as if hardly noticing that she had done so.
Jonas shook his head, looking down and away. “I just can’t, Kima. Not yet. I have to get my own head around it first.”
Myra looked to Twist with scandalous glee, likely following the same implications that Twist heard loud and clear in Jonas’s hastily chosen words.
“Then my future has something to do with you?” Kima asked, her tone almost taunting now.
Fright appeared on Jonas’s face as he froze, only now seeing the trap he’d laid for himself. Myra’s face washed over with delighted amazement. Twist instinctively tried to come up with a way to divert the conversation. The fun of taunting Jonas, and Twist’s own curiosity, could wait. Jonas had stumbled far away from solid ground and now needed help. Before Twist could come up with anything, however, Kima chuckled.
She looked at Jonas as if he were a charming child and then reached up to put a hand on his shoulder. Jonas seemed to turn to stone, his expression still frozen in alarm and his form as still as a statue, while the buzzing at Twist’s neck stung with confusion, fear, and frantic thoughts. Without a word, Kima leaned in closer and placed a kiss on Jonas’s cheek. A deep, soothing, warm relief flooded out of the buzzing at Twist’s neck, making him feel light-headed for an instant, and the fear vanished from Jonas’s face.
“Your life is very complicated, isn’t it?” Kima asked him sympathetically. “Fine,” she declared. “But tell me someday, all right? It’s my future, after all. Even if it’s all good things, I’d still like to know what to expect.”
Jonas seemed struck again, but this time in a pleasant fog of relief and gratitude. He nodded silently, obviously offering his best. Kima put her bracelet back onto her wrist, appearing ready to put the whole matter to rest for the moment, but Myra was pouting.
“Oh, don’t let him off so easy!” Myra protested to Kima. “I want to know what you saw,” she said to Jonas.
“Too bloody bad,” Jonas snapped back at her, frowning.
Myra crossed her arms and huffed at him.
“So,” Jonas said, looking to Twist, “are we really just going to sit here until Aden comes back?”
“Unless you’d like to be any more inexplicable,” Myra grumbled.
Twist patted at her arm, giving her a level look. Myra glanced at him sourly but seemed to accept his unspoken advice to leave Jonas alone for now. Beyond her, Twist saw Jonas relax again.
“No, I think I’m done for today,” Jonas said flatly to Myra.
Kima chuckled again and gave his shoulder a supportive pat.
Not long after the charms had been enchanted, and everyone inside the tower—Myra thankfully included—had quietly agreed to change the subject and pretend nothing had happened between Jonas and Kima, they heard voices come from the doorway to the street. Tasha and Niko had rejoined the others once Niko had finished telling her all that had happened after her disappearance. Aden stepped through the door alone, leaving the guards stationed outside. Twist and the others rose to their feet, standing in a line together, facing Aden.
“Well,” Aden began, looking around at them. “This is a nice pickle, isn’t it?”
None of them responded; everyone waited to see how he would begin. Aden took a breath, looking over each of them in turn.
“Four of you have openly attacked either me or my men,” he began, his voice smooth but firm. “Under the laws of the Rooks, I would be well within my rights to imprison you, at the very least, in response to your crimes.”
Twist’s heart sank. He’d hoped Aden’s spite wouldn’t reach so far, especially after he and the others had rescued so many Rooks. No one spoke up; they simply waited to see what, precisely, he intended to threaten them with.
“However,” Aden went on, “I once found myself on the wrong side of Rook laws. I should have been thrown in jail for a number of years at the very least, but instead, the Rook who captured me offered me salvation instead of punishment. Considering the fact that, although you did attack us, you refrained from causing any true harm, I would like to offer you—Nikola, Kima, Jonas, and Twist—the same deal that I was given. Join the Rooks, become my agents, and I will forget your crimes. The rest of you I consider innocent, as you were all victims of the fae, and can therefore do as you like.”
Jonas and Niko both scowled at Aden in disgust, while Kima only appeared concerned. Twist frowned, his stomach turning at the idea. Becoming Rooks would mean that they’d all be forced to do whatever Aden wished. They would no longer be free to travel as they liked or needed. Would Twist and Jonas always be ordered to the same missions together? Or would they be frequently split apart? Would Myra be able to remain with Twist every time he was sent away? And what of Pahmut and Kima? She would need to remain with her son for quite a lot of time to even begin to repair their broken relationship.
More than all of that, the idea of working for a man who Twist now understood to be little better than a Cypher lord when he was crossed felt simply wrong. He knew already, without even having to look at Jonas, that he was seconds away from throwing Aden’s offer back in his face with a string of ugly sentiments attached. Standing beside him
, Myra looked to Twist worriedly, clearly no more happy with this idea than he was.
Tasha stepped forward, her posture elegantly poised and her face bearing a genteel smile. “Might I offer a suggestion?” she asked Aden.
“Let me guess,” Aden replied, his voice thick with sarcasm already. “You’d like to suggest I simply forget the whole thing and give them all medals instead.”
Tasha smiled knowingly, not losing an ounce of grace. “You cannot threaten any of them, because they have saved seven of your Rooks. Right now those seven are telling everyone they meet how brave and helpful everyone in this room is. They are praising you only because they don’t know that you tried to stop their rescue and offered Twist, Jonas, Kima, and Niko nothing but obstacles. If these four had been any less determined, no one would have been saved. Pahmut wouldn’t have risked the anger of his masters without assurance that he could escape. And without the opened doorway, we would never have left that world at all. Threaten these four now, and you will disillusion your Rooks, only weakening your own power. You simply can’t threaten them.”
While Aden’s face turned a shade sour, Jonas put on a grin. “Tasha, you’re amazing,” Jonas said, his voice filled with adoration.
Tasha’s smile grew for an instant, but she didn’t look to him. Instead, she kept her eyes on Aden, waiting for him to come up with a response.
“So,” he said finally, “you suggest that I should swallow the insult they have given me, simply because it all worked out in the end?”
“I suggest,” Tasha answered, “that you should put your personal feelings aside and recognize that you are still harming yourself. You cannot hope to best Twist or Jonas in any fight. They have always beaten you. They always will. So far, nothing in this world has managed to stop them doing anything—not Cyphers, nor djinn, dragons, or fairies. You have no hope at all.”
Twist felt a surge of pride, realizing that she was right. He could hardly believe the luck they had so far enjoyed.
“Niko is far too clever to let you trap him either,” Tasha went on calmly. “Lose his friendship, and all of his genius will vanish from your reach. And Kima? She is not your enemy and never has been. She is simply a mother. She only fought you today because you got between her and her child, trying to stop her from reaching him. I think it’s safe to assume that the laws of nature outweigh the arbitrary laws of men.”
Depth Page 24
