“No. Or, at least, I’d like it not to be. I still have magic and would greatly appreciate citizenship in Xest.” I went to cross my arms but then kept them at my side, afraid of looking distant or defensive.
“We’ve already received a long list of why you shouldn’t be allowed to stay,” Lead Hag said.
I didn’t care if it took a week. I was writing every name down until I found out who did this.
“Not to mention she’s too short.” This came from the shortest witch in the room, who was probably a good foot shorter than me.
“No. She’s too tall, I say,” the tallest one said.
Should I argue, or would that anger them? If I said nothing, that might not go well either. I tried to read the room, but nothing about this situation read well.
“She has no job,” Lead Hag said.
“I do have a job,” I said. That one wasn’t an opinion. At least I could argue it.
Lead Hag got close enough that I would’ve sworn I smelled the grave she’d crawled out of. How old were these witches?
“Someone hired you? I thought you were a Nowhere witch. No one hires a Nowhere witch,” Lead Hag said.
I’d never minded being called a Whimsy witch, though most would consider it an insult. But this “Nowhere witch” was like a rasp that kept running over the same piece of flesh, rubbing it raw.
“Someone did hire me. I’m working at Zark’s.” If I got out of here, I was going to have to thank Oscar several more times. I didn’t care why he’d helped. I just knew I was on a razor’s edge, and these witches were looking for any reason to get rid of me.
“She still has no home,” Ringlet said, proving my point.
“I do. I just got it a day ago.” Thank you, Zab! I was going to hug that dust bunny when I got out of here.
Every positive thing I had going for me seemed to build this feeling of anger in the room.
Suddenly, all sounds disappeared. The witches clustered together on the other side of the room, growing more animated. What didn’t they want me to hear? Why was there an argument and why did not one of them appear to want me here?
I tried to stay calm as it continued, hating the loss of one of my senses, or that they’d taken it from me so easily.
They stopped arguing, and the sounds of the room, the boiling of whatever brew they churned, filled the space again.
The lead hag stepped forward. “You have one moon cycle to return. When you come here again, you must bring fifty citizens of Xest to vouch for you. You must still be employed. You must have a residence. You must also pass our test of magic.”
“Xest is a very desirable place to live. We can’t just let anyone in,” Ringlet said.
I wasn’t sure which scared me more: the fifty people when I only had a handful of friends, or the magic test. Nope. It was the magic for sure.
“I’ll be here.” I infused my voice with a confidence that was all smoke and mirrors.
Even through the wrinkles, I could see the skepticism. Oh, someone had definitely given them an earful.
They stared. I pointed to the door.
“Yes. Go,” Lead Hag said.
Zab stopped pacing when I opened the door. He waited until I got to him before he said softly, “How’d it go? Couldn’t be too bad, since you’re still here.”
A swish of wind blew my hair forward as the building disappeared.
“Not as bad as I feared, but not great. I need fifty witches or warlocks to vouch for my character. I need to keep a job, a place to live…” That was all doable. It was the last bit.
“That’s not so bad. I mean, fifty people isn’t a drop in the bucket, but I think between just the people I know, it can be accomplished.”
He was already mouthing names and counting in his head when I said, “Oh, yeah, I have to pass their magic test.”
Zab swallowed, and there was no quick “it’ll be okay” forthcoming this time, because we both knew it might not be.
Finally, with a shrug, he gave it his best try. “It’s not like you don’t have plenty of magic to work with.”
“We both know it doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. It does whatever it wants most of the time.” I looked around, making sure the building hadn’t popped back up. It was still gone, but I nodded toward the road, hoping he’d take the hint that we needed to be farther away before continuing our discussion. Those old hags looked crafty.
“My couch hugged me and wouldn’t let go for an hour yesterday. I’m not sure how this test is going to go, but if it were for couches? That would be a fail. And forget heat. It was a sauna at my place. I nearly killed myself from heatstroke. The monkeys were even losing some of their glaze. Even when I do good things, it’s because my magic decides it wants to. I have zero control over any of it.”
“Then you practice. I’ll help you. You can do this. You can because you have to. I might not be as strong as you are, but I’m very technical. I can teach you. I’m positive.” He nodded as we walked.
“Hawk couldn’t teach me.”
“Hawk is more of an instinctive magic wielder. For this, I’m definitely better. You can do this. You can. This is going to happen.” The more he talked, the more he tried to convince us both that it would work out, the worse I felt.
11
“There’s no way he did that,” the girl in the blue cap said.
“I’m telling you, it happened,” the guy with flame-red hair replied.
“Old wives’ tale, if you ask me. There’s no way a Middling could get good enough at defense to fend off a Maker. No way in hell,” Blue Cap said, shaking her head.
I’d been half listening to them for the past fifteen minutes, simply because they’d been sitting at the bar in close proximity. Now? I was a hundred percent invested.
I grabbed my rag and started polishing the taps that were a little bit closer to the duo.
“He did,” Flame Red insisted.
“Then tell me how that’s possible.”
Flame Red glanced around, and I gave them my back as if I weren’t listening to a thing they said.
In a softer tone, Flame Red continued, “He went up into Razor Hills and called on Bautere.”
Blue Cap threw a hand up. “That’s insane. They’re more likely to kill you than help you.”
“I’m not saying I’d do it, but that’s the story. He went up there with an offering, and it taught him. If you have some serious magic coming after you, you do desperate things.”
I knew they weren’t talking about me, but it sure felt like that last sentence was directed right at me. Try having half of Xest coming for you. I didn’t know who this witch or warlock was, but I understood completely.
Bautere. I’d have to remember that.
Gregor walked over and leaned by the area I was cleaning. “Hey, you want to grab a cocoa after work?”
Was he asking me out? Or was this a friendly outing? Dating right now was nearly out of the question with the amount of problems I had going on. It would be like taking someone on a stroll over quicksand just to have some company.
He was waiting for an answer with his smiling eyes. Poor sucker. He had no idea what he was asking for. He needed to be told.
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to be seen with me socially. I’ve got some issues at the moment.”
“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” He actually laughed, as if none of my mess bothered him. “Seriously, I’m not worried about those issues.”
Gregor’s eyes shifted over my shoulder. I was facing him, my back toward the door, and I still knew Hawk was here. This crowd tended to be quiet to begin with, never wanting anyone to hear what they were saying. When the soft murmurs died down even more, it could only be due to one person.
The patrons who’d been talking at the bar got up. I didn’t want to turn around and deal with Hawk, but he was as stubborn as they came. He wouldn’t leave until I did if I was his purpose.
“Do you want me to handle this?” Gregor offered.
>
“No. It’s fine. He’s here for me.”
I turned, hating how my heart always did a little jump at the sight of Hawk. I was training myself to be a hardened junkyard dog, but somehow, deep in my chest, there was a golden retriever in there just jumping around, begging for attention.
I placed a coaster in front of Hawk, making sure he only saw the teeth and not the wagging tail.
“Can I get you a drink? There’s a special on pitchers today. You get a free shred sandwich with each one.”
I pretended to wait for his order when I, and everyone in that room, knew he wasn’t here to eat or drink. He’d come to torture me. Get me fired. Kill me. Maybe all three, and in that order.
“We need to talk,” he said.
That I hadn’t expected. Didn’t make me feel any warmer toward him. Well, except for the golden retriever that wanted to lick his face, but I was working hard on killing that damned dog.
“No, we don’t.”
Gregor stepped beside me. “Tippi, you don’t need to—”
“I’m fine. Can you watch the bar for a minute?” Now I wanted to kill Hawk and Gregor. The only thing Gregor had accomplished was forcing me into a conversation with Hawk.
I’d felt Gregor’s magic with an accidental brush of the hands the other day. He was no match for Hawk. I moved around him before he could continue trying to fight for me and got himself killed in the process.
I walked out of the bar, Hawk right behind me. If we were going to talk, this was not going to be a theatrical performance for the bar.
“Why are you here?”
“I need you to come to the broker house. I don’t want to talk here.” He took a step as if I’d just follow him. He still didn’t get it.
“That’s not going to happen,” I said, not budging.
“I’m telling you, we need to talk,” he said, staring at me as if I was short a few brain cells suddenly.
“This is it. This is all you get. A couple minutes in the street.” I waved my hands around, indicating the spot where we stood.
His jaw shifted. Oh, that placid lake had white caps now. Good. See how he liked it when he was treated like the disposable help.
“You want to make it difficult, it’s your call.”
“I do. I like it difficult.”
He was already walking off when I yelled, “The harder, the better.” It didn’t escape me that I sounded like I’d lost my marbles. The glances from the patrons about to enter Zark’s confirmed it. Oh shit. I hoped they hadn’t taken that to mean something of a more sexual nature.
It wasn’t my fault. If they’d had to deal with him as much as I had, they’d be a little wobbly upstairs too. But they didn’t. And why was that? Yeah, they all ran across the street when they saw him coming. The lot of them were big babies, and I would not be shamed by babies.
“We’re in a fight, in case you all wanted to know,” I told the looky-loos. “Because I’m not a scaredy-cat,” I added, just so they’d know who they were dealing with.
Then I went inside before I looked even crazier.
12
My feet were sore, but I had a pocket full of coin. I might’ve made my entire month’s rent in one night. It was as if every customer was trying to make amends for their initial slights and doubts with fat tips. Who knew what they’d been saying behind my back to feel this much guilt, but I didn’t care if it was going to pay off this well. Maybe I could make them talk some more about me. If they’d seen me outside yelling, they’d have plenty of material.
Fifty coins, sixty, seventy, eighty…
Oof. My coins hit the ground as my head smacked into something hard. Except there was nothing there. I reached down and picked up my coins, took another step, and hit it again.
I reached out and felt something blocking my way that couldn’t be seen. I backed up a couple of steps and rammed my shoulder into the area. Whatever was there, it was stronger than me. I tried moving west, and could only get a few steps. Same happened if I went north or south. The only direction I could head was east. I took a few steps, tried the other directions again, and found I could still only move east. I couldn’t even turn around and go back in the direction of Zark’s, where I’d just come from. A few more steps and the trend was obvious. The only way available was the way that led to the broker’s office and him.
Oh, I’d go see him, all right. Each step had a little more force than the last, as the walk gave me time to stew over his high-handedness. What did he not understand about “stay out of my life”? That he wasn’t entitled to my time? Did he think it was optional? He could leave me alone on his good days and screw with me when he felt the need for some entertainment? This was not how my life in Xest was going to be, and this time I’d make sure he got it through his thick head.
I slammed the door open, stepping inside the office. He was leaning against a desk, arms crossed, as if casually waiting for an appointment. In truth, I wasn’t afraid of Hawk. If someone was going to commit violence tonight, it was me. He’d ship me off right quick, but I didn’t think he’d physically hurt me. Trust was an altogether different beast, one with teeth that could bite if you put your hand a little too close.
“What the hell was that?” It was surprising there wasn’t fire shooting out of my mouth as I spoke.
He raised his brows and shrugged, moving slightly as if to acquire a more comfortable position. “That’s called a directional, or in common slang, all roads lead to Rome. Comes in handy when you aren’t sure a newsflash will do the job.”
Figured he’d get into semantics on the “what” and not the “why” of it.
“And I guess you’re Caesar?”
“I told you we needed to talk.” He smiled. I didn’t believe for one second he was happy. As relaxed as he seemed, I could feel his edge like a razor pressed against my flesh. Yep, he was having a bad day, so he thought it was a good day to bother me. Wasn’t going to happen.
“I told you I didn’t care. Whatever you have to say, I’m not interested.” If he’d acted like a normal human being and not corralled me into coming here, I might’ve heard him out eventually out of pure curiosity. Giving in to his domineering ways would only encourage future bad behavior, and that wasn’t happening.
I turned toward the door.
“See, the thing of it is, you’re going to have to hear me out.” His voice was calm, like the lake that was hiding the Loch Ness Monster beneath its surface.
“And why is that?”
“I’m not lifting the directional until you do. If you were capable of protecting yourself at all, of resisting it, you wouldn’t be here.”
My lack of self-protection skills still seemed to get under his skin enough that he couldn’t seem to pass up an opportunity to take a jab.
I didn’t need any more hits after the last couple of days. I already felt like I was in the tenth round with Rocky. I’d marched over here, angrier than anyone else was capable of making me. Now I wanted to throw up the white flag. It was too much. He was too much. My feelings for him were a jumbled-up mess of what I’d thought we were, what I thought he was, and the truth. All I wanted was to go home.
“What do you want? Tell me so I can get the hell out of here.”
There was a tiny little flicker in his eye. It was small, and if I hadn’t been staring so hard, I might’ve missed it. But I didn’t. He had the nerve to be hurt after all he’d done to me? Even now, forcing me to come here and listen to him? I looked away. He might still be able to crawl under my skin now, but I’d hammer out any softness until there was nothing but hard, impregnable steel.
“I have a job for you,” he said.
I let out a sigh as I rolled my eyes. The man was incapable of listening.
“I don’t want it. If that’s why I’m here then we can wrap this up right now.”
“You don’t have the option of turning this one down. You’re the only one that can do it.”
I shook my head. He wasn’t winning this time.
“I’m sure you can figure it out. After all, I’m not even supposed to be here, remember?”
I made my way to the door. I’d stand outside for hours if I had to. The door wouldn’t open. Not a huge surprise, considering how Hawk did business. I looked around the room, trying to locate the best thing that might smash through the glass, focusing on the door, escaping, anything but him.
“There’s a crack in the wall,” he said.
I stopped scanning the room. There was only one wall I’d have any interest in, and it was the one I’d created. The one I’d nearly died making. The one that would protect this world from whatever evil thing that lived in the Unsettled Lands.
Now there was a crack, a weakness, a possible opening that could unleash hell. The visions of this place burning down, of Zab trapped, all ran through my mind again, as if it was here toying with me again. A shiver spread over my flesh and then settled somewhere deeper, in my chest, where it wouldn’t leave.
I turned partially toward him, just enough that I could keep sight of him out of the corner of my eye but hopefully shield some of my horror from him.
“How bad?” Were we talking a hairline or a gap? There was a wide range of what could be considered cracks.
“They’re slight, but they’re growing. Figured as a future upstanding citizen of Xest, you might have an interest in keeping this place in one piece, especially considering how many enemies you’ve made simply by creating it.”
There was only one word that caught my attention.
“They? How many cracks are there?” I turned fully toward him, wanting him to feel the depth of my rage.
Ideas, emotions all simultaneously clashed against each other. Of course I’d care. I’d cared before I’d been forced out. Had preached just this possibility, and look how that had turned out. If I’d been here, maybe I could’ve caught this earlier.
“Several.”
Breathe. You need to breathe through the rage and get as many details as you could. “How long ago did they start?”
The Nowhere Witch (Tales of Xest Book 2) Page 7
