Necessary Sacrifices

by R. L. King

  “I appreciate that,” Verity said. “Things have been happening pretty fast lately—I think it might be a good idea to slow down a little. But I am really impressed by what you’re doing here.”

  “I’m so glad to hear that,” Canby said.

  For a while afterward, they all discussed more neutral topics as they finished their meals and partook of more of the exquisite red wine, which the servers kept topped off for all the diners. By the time they’d finished off a light trifle and were sipping cups of strong after-dinner coffee, Stone was feeling pleasantly warm and content.

  He glanced with fondness at Verity, who had moved past the “warm and content” stage and firmly into the “comfortably tipsy” one, but she’d been smart enough to stop before she had more than she could handle. The only indication he had that she might have overindulged a bit was that she’d grown more talkative, cheerfully chatting with some of the other women about magic, life in England versus in the United States, and how much she’d enjoyed visiting Tolliver’s. She looked happy, and the women had clearly accepted her.

  Stone leaned back in his seat and shifted to magical sight, watching the interplay of auras as the women continued their conversation. All of them seemed calm, at peace, and enthusiastic about what they were doing, and Verity, for her part, seemed to be getting along well with the others. Perhaps it would be a good thing for her to spend some time here. Not only would she learn things he couldn’t teach her, but it would probably be good for her to make some solid contacts among a group of influential and powerful female practitioners. The more mages she met, the more perspectives she had access to, the easier it would be when she finally had to decide what she wanted to do with her life and her magic. He would miss her—and so would Jason—if she ultimately decided to remain with this group, but that didn’t matter. She had her own life to live, and the last thing he wanted to do was limit her opportunities by keeping her too close to him. Besides, with the portals so conveniently located, it wouldn’t be as if they couldn’t all travel back and forth whenever they liked.

  He glanced over and noticed Anna Canby watching him, an odd, contemplative look on her face. Once again he was struck with the same sense of familiarity, convinced he had met her before. “Ms. Canby…”

  “Yes?”

  “Forgive me, but ever since we met the night before Desmond’s funeral, I’ve been convinced I know you from somewhere, even though I can’t remember where I might have met you.” He smiled ruefully. “I know that sounds like some kind of frightful pickup line, but believe me, it isn’t. It’s just been…troubling me.”

  She chuckled. “Don’t worry, Dr. Stone. I would never accuse you of such a thing.” Her brow furrowed. “But…no, I can’t imagine where we might have met. I’ve heard of you by reputation, of course, and it’s possible we might have crossed paths sometime in our younger years…but I’m afraid I can’t be of any more help.”

  “It’s quite all right. I shouldn’t even have mentioned it.” He nodded at Verity, who was still chatting away with a group of the women. “She seems to be getting on quite nicely with your lot.”

  “I thought she might. I could tell from the moment I met her that she’s a strong and intelligent young woman, and with you as her master, I’ve no doubt that her magical skills are impressive.” She leaned in a little closer. “I need to discuss it with the others, of course, but given the impression she’s making, I have no doubt of their opinions: I would like to formally offer her the opportunity to come here and study with us for a month, starting whenever she likes. I believe that it should be enough time for her to decide whether she might want to affiliate herself with our little group following the completion of her apprenticeship.”

  “Indeed,” Stone murmured, glancing at Verity again. She didn’t appear to have noticed the two of them talking. “Well, naturally that will be up to her.”

  “Naturally. But as her master, it’s also up to you. As I mentioned, we want no hint of impropriety. That’s why I’m bringing the offer up to you first—so you’ll have time to think about it. Perhaps you might find time to discuss it with her before you leave…but if not, that’s quite all right.” She smiled. “We’ve been around a very long time, Dr. Stone, and there’s no rush. Once you’ve discussed it, if you both decide it’s a good idea, then we’ll formally make the offer to Verity. Is that acceptable?”

  “Absolutely,” Stone said. “Let me give it just a bit more thought, and then I’ll talk to her. I’m not sure we’ll have an answer by the time we leave, but it shouldn’t be long after.”

  “Excellent. That should work out fine. Thank you, Dr. Stone.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Canby. I haven’t seen Verity this enthusiastic about her studies in quite some time.”

  The party broke up soon after that, as some of the women began getting up and saying their good-nights. The servers entered and unobtrusively began gathering the plates, using levitation magic to make their jobs easier. Finally, only Stone, Canby, and Verity remained behind.

  “You’ll be heading back to California tomorrow?” Canby asked as she ushered them out of the dining room and back downstairs.

  “Yes. At least I will. Verity’s welcome to stay longer if you—and she—wish, but I’ve got to get back to my teaching. I’ve already been away enough over the past couple of months.”

  “No, I’ll go too,” Verity said. “But I can come back, right?” she asked Canby.

  “Of course. Any time you like. You know how to contact us. You and Dr. Stone take all the time you need to discuss things, and let us know your plans.”

  “Thank you for everything, Ms. Canby.” Stone shrugged into his overcoat and held Verity’s for her. “We’ll see you in the morning.”

  As the door closed behind them and they started off down the path, Stone glanced back over his shoulder. A figure stood at one of the windows. At first he thought it was Canby, but then recognized the tall, stooped figure of Nessa Lennox. She’d pushed the heavy drapes aside and was watching them.

  When Stone turned, their eyes locked for a moment. Then she gave a small, enigmatic smile as her gaze traveled up and down his body in an unhurried, proprietary way that was almost unseemly in its frank scrutiny. Then she nodded once and withdrew, the curtains falling back into place.

  Stone shivered a little and resumed his pace, catching up with Verity.

  “Something wrong?” she asked.

  “No—no, nothing.”

  They walked in silence for a while, feet crunching softly on the gravel as they headed back toward their house. The twinkling lights delineating the path and the overcast sky made their route look unreal, as if they were traversing some strange, fae land and would be well advised to remain on the way marked by the lights. The air held a chill, brisk but not unpleasant; it combined with the slight buzz from the wine to produce a profound sense of contentment in Stone.

  He glanced at Verity as she walked next to him. She too looked at ease, moving with her usual feline grace. Her long, dark overcoat, cocktail dress, and heels once again gave her an aura of maturity, a combination of power and serenity that struck Stone as new. She’d always been confident and strong-willed—those were qualities that made her a good mage—but this was different somehow.

  She turned and caught him looking at her. “Something up?”

  “No.” He put his hands in his pockets and focused back on the route. “Just…feeling good about this place.”

  “Yeah, me too. A lot to think about.”

  “Indeed.”

  They reached the house. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay longer?” Stone asked as he opened the door. “There’s no real reason for you to go back early if you’d rather not.”

  “No, I want to go back with you. I’ve got some thinking to do.” She gave him an odd, appraising look, then slipped out of her coat. “For now, though, I should probably get som
e sleep.” She chuckled. “I think I might have had a little too much of that wine.”

  “I wasn’t going to say anything,” he said wryly.

  “Hey, it was good. Everything was good.” She hung her coat on one of the hooks inside the door. “Anyway, I’ll see you tomorrow. ’Night, Doc.”

  “Good night, Verity.”

  He watched her until she’d disappeared up the stairs. A moment later, he heard her bedroom door close. He stood there for several moments, then hung up his coat and headed to his own room.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Stone couldn’t sleep.

  He wasn’t sure if it was the time-zone issue or his mind’s refusal to stop going over the day’s events, but in either case he found himself replaying the dinner, thinking about what Canby and the others had discussed. Verity kept returning to his thoughts as well: the way her eyes lit up as she discussed some aspect of magic with the group’s younger mages; how proud he’d been of her ability to carry on and even direct an intelligent discussion with the women; how different—but how utterly comfortable—she looked in her black cocktail dress…

  Finally, he got out of bed, retrieved a book he’d been reading from his overnight bag, and sat down at the room’s small table. Perhaps if he couldn’t get to sleep, he could at least get a bit farther on the research he’d been doing for a paper he planned to write. He could sleep tomorrow when they got back to California.

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d been at it when a soft knock on his door startled him. He glanced at the clock: just after midnight. “Yes?” he called.

  “Doc? It’s me.” Verity’s soft voice came through the door. “Can I come in for a minute?”

  “Er—of course. Give me just a moment.” He hadn’t bothered to put on more than the shorts he’d been sleeping in while he was reading; he quickly jumped up, pulled on jeans, and shrugged into the black T-shirt he’d been wearing when they arrived on Friday.

  She stood patiently waiting in the hallway when he opened the door. She too had changed out of her evening clothes and now wore a more familiar gray hooded sweatshirt and jeans. “I didn’t wake you up, did I? I saw the light under your door…”

  “No. No, I was just doing a bit of reading. Come in.”

  She did, moving with a hesitation that was unlike her.

  “What can I do for you? Sit down.” He waved her toward the table he’d vacated.

  “It’s okay. I won’t stay long.” She paused in the middle of the room and gave him a long, searching look. “Are you sure I’m not bothering you?”

  “You never bother me, Verity.” He tilted his head, returning her gaze. Despite her more casual outfit, she still wore her dramatic but understated makeup from earlier in the evening, and her sleek hairstyle hadn’t yet devolved into its more familiar spikes. The juxtaposition of the two styles formed a surprisingly intriguing combination. Quickly he looked away, returning his attention to the book on the table as the back of his neck grew warm. “Couldn’t sleep?”

  “No. I didn’t even try.” She perched on the edge of the bed. “I just wanted to talk to you a little bit about everything that’s happened today. I was hoping you’d still be awake.”

  “Sleep schedule’s all buggered—and I’ve been thinking quite a bit about today as well. What did you want to talk about?”

  She looked down at her hands in her lap. “Well—like I told Ms. Canby, I was really impressed by what they showed us on the tour, and what they’re doing here.”

  “As was I.” He studied her while she wasn’t looking; she definitely wasn’t acting like herself.

  “I felt like their magical style—well, resonated with me, I guess is a good way to put it. Working with natural forces always seemed to be the way my magic wanted to go, but the way they combine it with your style was what did it. The magic Edna taught me is amazing…but as I think I mentioned before, the way she uses it is a little more passive than I want to be.” Her gaze came up, and she smiled. “I think you’ve turned me into an adrenaline junkie. I don’t want to just sit back and wait for things to happen, then fix them. I want to make things happen—especially things that will make life better for people. Does that make sense?”

  With effort, he forced himself not to look away from her again. Her gaze was so earnest, so intense, so compelling. “It does indeed. It’s a tempting thing—I’ve discovered something similar myself over the past few years.” He began pacing again, rubbing the back of his neck, surprised to discover his hand shaking a little. He’d never felt uneasy around Verity before—why did he now? “When I first came to the U.S., I didn’t want to do anything but teach and pursue my magical studies.” He chuckled. “I was sort of like one of Tolkien’s hobbits, I suppose—I didn’t want adventures. I just wanted to be left alone.”

  Her eyes sparkled with amusement. “Somehow, Doc, I can’t picture you as a hobbit.” She glanced down at his bare feet. “To start with, you don’t have the feet for it. And you’re way too tall.”

  Before he could reply, she shoved her hands through her hair. “I just feel like I’ve got so many potential opportunities, and if I pick one, I’m closing off the others. I’m like a little kid with too many toys—every time I think I’ve settled on something, something else appears and grabs my attention.”

  He noticed that her gaze had never left him, and followed him around the room as he continued pacing. “Verity…I understand what you’re feeling. My situation was a bit different—since my apprenticeship was more traditional than yours and I knew what I wanted to do from a much younger age, it wasn’t as difficult for me to choose. But that also means I might have missed out on opportunities that you’ll have more chance to explore.”

  Moving with a reluctance that surprised him, he stopped in front of her and crouched down. “Trust me,” he said softly. “You’ve got plenty of time to explore all sorts of things. There’s no law in the magical world that says you’ve got to settle on any given aspect of the Art. If you want to give this a try for a while and it ends up not being what you were looking for, that’s fine. You can move on to something else. It’s not as if Ms. Canby and the others are going to punish you for it, or force you to honor any decision you make indefinitely.”

  “And…if it is what I’m looking for?” she asked, her gaze still fixed on him. “What then? Do I stay here? Before a couple weeks ago, I’d never been out of the U.S. in my life. Am I supposed to just…relocate to England? What about Jason? What about you?”

  “What about us? They’ve got the portal—it’s not as if you’d have to take a plane back and forth if you want to see us.” He gently gripped her arm. “Verity, you can’t live your life for me, or for your brother. You have to do what’s best for you. That’s what I’ve been training you for. I want you to be confident, and independent, and happy with the decisions you make.”

  Her arm tightened under his hand, barely enough for him to notice.

  He should move his hand. He knew that. But he made no move to do so, and she made none to pull back. In fact, she leaned forward a little. He’d never noticed before that her intense dark eyes had tiny lighter flecks in them.

  “So…do you think I should do it?” Her voice was soft, a little rough.

  Still he didn’t move his hand, and still she didn’t pull back. “It’s not for me to say,” he said in the same tone. “I…think you should do what makes you happy.”

  His hand tightened again, involuntarily. The warmth on this back of his neck began to spread down his body. How had he never noticed how attractive she was before?

  But that wasn’t true. He had noticed, plenty of times. He’d simply refused to acknowledge it. It wouldn’t have been proper for him to acknowledge such things. He was her teacher, her mentor—the one she trusted for advice. It wasn’t right for him to—

  “Doc…?”

  “Yes…?” He moved, with great reluctan
ce, to pull back.

  She covered his hand with her other one, stopping him. “You…said I should do what makes me happy.”

  “Yes…I did say that.”

  She leaned still closer, and before he could react, she kissed him.

  He tensed, but didn’t retreat—partially out of sheer shock. Part of his mind felt as if it were watching the scene from somewhere high above. This was insane. This had to be a dream—he’d fallen asleep over his books, and would wake up any moment now, warm and uncomfortable and needing a cold shower. There was no way Verity could—

  But she was.

  Her lips moved, soft and insistent, and after a moment he responded. He pulled her into his arms and rose from his crouch, bending his neck so as not to break the kiss. Her arms snaked around him and locked tight; her body was warm under his touch, trembling.

  No, a little voice in the back of his head warned. You can’t do this.

  And why not? another voice challenged it. Still, he pulled away with visible effort, breaking the kiss but not the embrace. “Verity…” His whispered voice was husky.

  “Shh…” she whispered back. “It’s all right…”

  “We…shouldn’t…”

  Her hands slid beneath his shirt and kneaded his tense back muscles. “Why not?”

  “Because I’m—You’re—” His breathing increased, and so did his heartbeat. His whole body had taken on an exquisite tension, which both scared and exhilarated him. What am I doing?

  “You told me to do what makes me happy… Did you mean it?”

  “I…I did mean it.” She had little flushes of red on her cheeks, and her eyes gleamed with unmistakable desire. He shifted to magical sight; her aura was awash in pulsing red flashes—and so was his. “But—Verity—is this…is this what you want?”

  “Is it what you want?”