by Box Set
“So tell me about halfling boy,” Ryn says, as if he can read my thoughts. “Does he have any magic? And how’d you find out he isn’t human?”
I open my eyes and stare at the ceiling once more. It’s darker now, with only Ryn’s lamp on. What can I say that will make him stop asking questions about Nate?
“I’m guessing he does have magic,” Ryn continues without waiting for me to answer, “otherwise he’d be of no use to the Unseelie Court.” He nudges the pillow between us. “Aren’t you even a little bit curious as to what he’s doing for them? Handing you over can’t be the only thing he signed up for.”
“Ryn.” I sit up abruptly and look at him over the pillow. The bruise I noticed around his left eye earlier is long gone, leaving his face flawless. “We may be giving this friends thing a go, but there are certain topics that are still off-limits, and Nate is one of them.”
He watches me for a moment, then says, “Okay. Sorry.”
I lie down once more and breathe deeply. It smells like summer. I’m about to close my eyes when the long pillow next to me suddenly slides away. Ryn turns onto his side and raises himself on one elbow. “There’s something you never explained to me.”
I back away from the open space between us. “What are you doing?”
“I’m about to ask you a question.”
“Please put the pillow back.”
“Come on, V. I’m not going to bite you. Can’t we just have a conversation?”
It strikes me then that I’m probably being ridiculous. Ryn and I are supposed to be friends now. Of course we can have a conversation. “Um, yeah, sorry.” I turn onto my side so I can look at him. “What did you want to ask me?”
“You know those discs that Zell has, the ones that fell out of his pocket while I was fighting him?”
“Yes?”
“When I told you I’d picked them up, you asked if I’d used them. You seemed to know what they were.”
I hesitate, then say, “Yes.”
Ryn raises both eyebrows. “Okay, so what are they?”
I bite my lip. I suppose there’s no harm in telling him. “Remember the halfling Tharros? The one we all learn about in history lessons?” Ryn nods. “Those discs contain some of his power. They’re cool because when you’re fighting you never get tired as long as you keep drawing power from them. I was only told about one, though, but I’m assuming they’re all the same.”
“Who told you about this? Have you used them?”
I hold a hand up. “Okay, remember the off-limits territory? You’re in it.”
Ryn breathes out a frustrated sigh. “Fine, but you told Councilor Starkweather about them, right?”
“Actually … I kind of left that part out,” I admit.
“You don’t think that’s something she’d appreciate knowing for when she tries to take Zell down?”
“Well, I didn’t intentionally leave it out. I was just focusing more on all the people he’d trapped in cages down there.”
Ryn goes quiet for a while. “Do you think they’ve been rescued yet?”
“I don’t know. I’ve thought about asking Councilor Starkweather if the Guild was able to rescue them, but I’m too scared. She made it very clear we weren’t supposed to be involved at all, and she isn’t someone I want to cross.”
“I guess not.” Ryn looks away, lost in thought for a few moments. Eventually he says, “Do you think he’s still after you?”
“Zell? I’m sure he is.”
“I should probably keep my distance from you, then.” He pulls back slightly, one side of his lips turning up in a grin. “You’re like a magnet for danger.”
“No I’m not. He has no idea where I am.”
“Vi, he has a spy in the Guild. I don’t think it would be too hard for him to find out where your final assignment is taking place. He could be planning to show up here in the middle of the night.”
“Good thing I’m not wearing pajamas.”
“And good thing you have the Guild’s best trainee right beside you.”
“You wish,” I say, trying to suppress a smile. “Anyway, if it was so easy for Zell’s spy to find out where I am, then why hasn’t Zell shown up on any of my other assignments in the past two weeks?”
Ryn shrugs. “Perhaps his spy has been busy with more important things, like plotting murder within the Guild.”
“Well, whatever.” I turn my gaze to the ceiling so Ryn can’t see that this conversation is actually making me nervous. “If he shows up, I’ll deal with him then.”
“You know what?” Ryn pushes himself up into a sitting position. “I know how to do a concealment charm. A proper one. If you want, I could do one on you.”
I sit up so I don’t have to feel him towering over me. “Aren’t those hard to get right?”
“It is rather complicated to make the powder, but once it’s on you, there’s no magical means by which anyone can find you. None at all.”
“Actually, there is one.” I point to myself. “Me.”
Ryn hesitates before saying, “Your finding ability can get past a concealment charm? Are you sure? It’s a pretty darn powerful charm.”
“Yeah.” I look down at the bed covers, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “Tora and I were curious about it, so when I was in third year she got one of the senior guardians to do the charm on himself. I don’t know what reason she gave him, but the point is that when she gave me one of his belongings, I could still find him.”
“So the only thing that can actually stop you is that weird metal stuff Zell seems to have access to?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Anyway. Back to the part where you were offering to perform complex magic on me. Can you really do that?”
Ryn leans over the side of his bed and reaches for one of his shoes. “After we rescued Calla, I asked one of the senior guardians—probably the same one Tora asked—to help me make the concealment powder.” He clicks open a compartment similar to the one I have in the base of my own shoe. “That was the hard part. Putting it on Calla and performing the charm was easy enough.”
“And you have some of this powder left over?” I ask as Ryn enlarges his potions kit.
“Of course. I wasn’t going to spend hours and hours in a cramped laboratory and only make enough for one person. I had to pay a lot for the ingredients, of course, but I figured it was worth it.”
“Oh.” Now I feel awkward. “Well, just tell me how much I owe you and—”
“Owe me? Don’t be silly, V.” He pulls out a bottle labeled Conceal. Fine gold powder sparkles within.
“Ryn, I can’t just use up an expensive—”
“Violet,” he says loudly. “Pretend it’s an early birthday present if it makes you feel better.”
“It doesn’t.” I know I’ll still feel like I owe him, and I don’t want that.
“And it’s not even that early,” he adds as he searches his potions kit for something else. “Your birthday isn’t that far away.”
Wow. I’m surprised he remembers.
“Okay, stand up,” Ryn says, holding the bottle in one hand and a piece of paper in the other. “We’re going to the bathroom.”
“The bathroom?” I narrow my eyes at him. “I don’t have to be naked for this, do I?”
“Actually, yes.” I cross my arms over my chest and give him a no-way-in-hell-is-that-happening glare. “But don’t worry. I promise not to look,” he adds with a glint in his eye.
With a sigh, I follow him to the bathroom where he’s already begun filling the tub with water. “You need to be covered entirely in this powder,” he says. “The best way to do that is dissolve it in water and submerge yourself.”
We stand in silence as we watch the bathtub fill with water. I feel like I should say something, but I don’t know what. I twist my hands together. It’s weird, standing in this small, steamy space next to Ryn. Eventually, he stops the flow of water with a small flick of his hand. “That looks like enough,” he says. “But—” he go
es back into the room, then returns with his stylus and amber “—I need to know exactly how much water is in there so I know how much powder to add.”
He kneels down and sticks his stylus into the water, then does some kind of calculation on his amber. I lean over his shoulder to get a closer look at what he’s doing, but the numbers vanish before I can get a good look. Ryn lets the bottle of powder float in the air as he tells it how much to add to the water. The bottle tilts. A thin stream of powder pours from it, turning every drop of water in the bathtub golden within seconds.
Ryn takes hold of the bottle and puts the lid back on. “Okay, now get in.” He rises and turns toward me. Before I can move out of his way, I find myself standing inches from his bare chest. I try instinctively to take a step backward, but the curved edge of the basin is right behind me.
I can’t move.
Why won’t he step away?
I don’t want to look up at his face. That would make this moment even more awkward. I focus instead on the silver trainee pendant resting against his chest. It’s flat and oval-shaped, with a clear stone set in the middle and patterns weaving around the edge of the metal. It looks just like every other trainee pendant, but I know if I turn it over I’ll see his name engraved on the back.
Ryn clears his throat and finally steps away from me. “Um, so, you should get in now. Then memorize these words and say them in your head while you’re completely submerged. I’ll … be in the room.” He pushes the folded paper into my hands and leaves quickly, pulling the door shut behind him. I relax and start to breath normally again.
That was weird.
I unfold the paper and repeat the paragraph of words in my head until I know them without looking. I remove my clothes, step into the warm water, and take a deep breath before slipping beneath the surface.
By the time I’ve completed the charm, got dressed, and partially dried my hair with hot air blown from my hands, I expect Ryn to be asleep. When I walk back into the room, though, he’s lying on his back staring at the ceiling.
“Did the gold disappear from the water when you finished the charm?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“Good. That means it worked.”
I join Ryn on the bed, and, for some reason, it doesn’t feel as weird as before. Maybe the warm water relaxed me. I reach over and turn my lamp off.
“Thanks,” I say quietly to Ryn.
“You’re welcome, V.”
I find it surprisingly easy to fall asleep, and it’s only when I wake the next morning that I realize Ryn never put the pillow back between us.
Seven
“The guests have begun arriving,” Ryn says. He shuts the pool house door behind him and walks across the room to his potions kit. “Time to find a way in.”
I poke my head around the bathroom door. “Great. Need any help?”
“Not while you’re wearing nothing but a towel.” He stuffs a vial in his pocket and closes his potions kit. “But thanks.”
I place my hands on my hips. “I do actually plan to put clothes on before I leave this room.”
“Good to know.” He pauses by the door. “You have something appropriate to wear, right?”
I roll my eyes and pull the bathroom door shut. “You don’t need to steal me a dress, if that’s what you’re asking,” I say loudly. I hear him chuckle as he leaves.
I drop the towel and begin rummaging through my bag of clothes. I spent part of my weekend with Raven, trying to learn a few clothes casting spells. By the end of our two hour session, the black cocktail dress I’d cast—using a pair of my pants as starting material—didn’t look that bad. Raven just had to get rid of the weird long bit that trailed along the floor behind my left foot.
I step into the slim-fitting dress and pull it up. The two pieces of the halter-neck snake around my neck and meet at a silver clasp. The shoes Raven cast for me have heels that are way too high, but I’m afraid if I try to shorten them I’ll mess them up in some way. I slip my feet into them and totter over to the mirror. I use a few makeup spells on my face and comb my fingers through my hair. I don’t bother doing anything fancy with it—this isn’t like the masquerade ball we attended at Zell’s house. Lastly, I attach a necklace of silver baubles around my neck. The baubles are hollow and large enough for the miniature versions of my bags to fit inside.
I hear Ryn come back into the room and decide to give him a few minutes to change. I practice walking back and forth across the small bathroom. After doing this about thirty times, I can turn without wobbling.
“You sure are taking a long time in there, Pixie Sticks,” Ryn calls.
I quickly shrink my clothes bag before pushing the door open. “I’m ready. Did you figure out a way for us to get in?”
Ryn looks up from tying his shoelace and, instead of answering me, lets out a long whistle. “I think you just graduated from Pixie Sticks to Sexy Pixie.”
“Oh, bite me,” I snap as I head to the bedside table to fetch my miniature emergency and potions kits.
“I guess I could,” he says, “but that would probably make things a little awkward between us.”
Ignoring his comment, I conceal my three bags inside the baubles of my necklace. The chain tightens around the back of my neck with the added weight. It isn’t exactly comfortable, but I’m not going anywhere without my stuff.
“Where’d you hide your stylus?” Ryn asks.
“Strapped to my leg.” Along with my amber and a non-magical knife.
He looks down. “Obviously not the leg with the slit going up it.”
Self-conscious, I grab his arm and steer him toward the door. “The slit was not my idea. Now tell me what’s happening.”
He shuts the door behind us and leads me around the side of the house. “I managed to catch an older woman and a young guy in the entrance hall, and I was kind enough to offer them a welcoming drink.”
“Which I’m guessing had a little something extra added to it.”
“Compulsion potion. The woman now thinks I’m her nephew who’s visiting her for a few days, and you’re the young guy’s girlfriend.”
I hold up the bottom of my dress to keep it from brushing against the damp grass. “Girlfriend. Great.”
“What, you don’t think you can play the part?” He gives me a wink.
“Hey, I can do whatever is required to complete this assignment. So where are these people you compelled?”
“Waiting obediently in the driveway.”
We reach the front of the house and Ryn lets go of my arm. “Is that him?” I ask, nodding my head in the direction of a young man leaning against a car.
“Yes. See you inside.” Ryn heads toward an older woman examining her makeup in a small hand mirror.
I walk carefully across the driveway toward my ‘date.’ He’s well built, with fair hair that seems a little messy. When I’m almost in front of him, he looks up. “Uh, hi,” he says. His smile is friendly, but uncertain. He has no idea who I am.
Crap, what exactly did Ryn say to this guy? “Um, it’s me, Violet.”
The moment I say my name, his eyes glaze over for a second. Then he pushes away from the car and reaches for my hand. “You look gorgeous, babe. Did I tell you that earlier?” He places a kiss on my temple and slips his arm around my back. I try to pretend it doesn’t freak me out to have a stranger touching me like this. And why are the Harts inviting such a young guy to their dinner party? Shouldn’t all their friends be old?
We enter the house and my ‘boyfriend’—crap, what is his name?—steers me between the clusters of elegantly dressed people. Most of them are old, as I expected, but I spot a few younger ones. Ryn’s already found himself an attractive blonde woman to flirt with.
“You know, you could still make a run for it if you want,” my date says. “You could always meet my parents another night.”
His parents?
“David!” I jump at the sound of Mrs. Hart’s voice. She hurries down the last few steps and
comes toward us as fast as her loudly clicking high-heeled shoes will allow. “David, I didn’t know you were coming tonight.” She wraps her arms around him in a quick embrace, submerging us both in a cloud of strong perfume. “Did your father invite you?”
Ah, so this is the Harts’ youngest son, the one Mr. Hart spoke to on the phone yesterday morning. I look across the room, catch Ryn’s eye, and flash him a quick thumbs up.
“Yeah, Dad asked me to come.”
A crease forms between Mrs. Hart’s eyebrows. “Are you in trouble again?”
“No, Mom.”
“But you’d tell me if there was something going on, wouldn’t you?”
“Trust me, Mom.” He takes hold of her shoulders. “I am not in any kind of trouble. Now I’d like you to meet my girlfriend.” He puts an arm around me and nudges me forward. “This is Violet.”
“Oh, hello.” She sweeps her gaze over my purple hair and eyes and plasters on a fake smile. “I had no idea David had a girlfriend.”
I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to say to that, so I smile and try not to look too awkward.
“Well, I need to greet my guests,” she says to David. “Your father’s around somewhere.”
David watches as she click-clicks away, then says, “Sorry about that. My mom’s been weird to all the girls I’ve ever brought home.” He laces his fingers between mine and leads me to the edge of the room.
“So, there’ve been lots of girls, have there?” I try out a flirtatious smile.
“Uh …” He laughs guiltily. “Not that many.” He runs his fingers up and down the bare skin on my back—definitely a mistake to cast a dress that scoops so low—while I do my best not to shiver.
“So, why did your father ask you to come tonight? Did he need to talk to you about something important?”
“Oh, you know, just some stuff he’s going through at the moment. You wouldn’t be interested.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Try me.”
He looks away, laughing quietly. “It’s pretty insane stuff. I don’t think you’d actually believe me.”
