Long Isle Iced Tea

by Gina LaManna

  “I’m sure that doesn’t make things any easier.”

  “Lily.” Ranger X finally spoke. “Where are we?”

  “X, you’re awake!” I let my hand rest against his cheek, skim across his face, and come to rest with my thumb against his lips. “We’re just inside The Forest. You had a spell of…wooziness. Take your time, and when you can stand, we’ll take you home.”

  Ranger X frowned, brought a hand to his forehead and massaged it, as if trying to bring back his memories. “But what happened?”

  “We’ll talk about it later,” I said. “Right now, just focus on…”

  I trailed off as he ran his tongue over his lower lip once more, his eyes flickering with understanding at the taste. “Obscurita? The antidote for Lumiette? But that’s impossible.”

  “Ain’t impossible if you never use your magic,” Gus said with a chastising frown. “You should know better, X.”

  “But I always—”

  “Closed yourself off, yep.” Gus nodded along. “We all know how this works. Looks like you’ve got some stuff to figure out, don’t you?”

  “Gus! Let him rest,” I snapped. “We’ll talk about it later. How do you feel, X?”

  “I’m fine.” He struggled to his feet, pulling himself upward with painstaking care. He reached for a nearby tree branch for support. “I’m fine. I can see myself home.”

  “Stop being so stubborn!”

  “Stubborn?”

  “Yes!” I stood, too, frustration bubbling behind my words. “Maybe if you hadn’t been so stubborn in the first place, we wouldn’t have gotten ourselves into this mess.”

  “We didn’t do anything. This is all my fault.”

  “And now it’s my problem. I love you, so if you go unconscious on me, of course I’m going to worry.”

  “Lily—”

  “Stop arguing and listen to me.” I linked my arm through his. “We’re going home, and you’re not moving until tomorrow. Understood?”

  A quiet laugh from Gus caused my hackles to rise once more.

  I turned to him. “Something funny to you, Gus?”

  “Nope. No.”

  “Can you please go back to the bungalow and work on the vial after you help me get him to bed? See if you can tease the potion ingredients out, separated individually, so when I return from taking care of this stubborn man, we can move forward.”

  Thankfully, Gus recognized my mood as one not to be prodded. He looped one arm around X while I took the other side, and together, the three of us limped toward X’s cabin.

  By the time we arrived and laid him in bed, X had thoroughly exhausted himself. I reapplied the salve to his lips as he drifted to sleep, then accompanied Gus outside.

  “I’ll be back tomorrow,” I said. “If you have any luck with the vial, let me know, and I’ll get Trinket to come watch over X.”

  Gus nodded. He began to stomp away, but at the last second, he turned back. “Lily, do you need anything?”

  “Like what?”

  “You seem…upset.”

  “I am upset.”

  Gus still looked confused, so I went ahead and unloaded.

  “I’m upset because my boyfriend is getting himself injured. He’s injured because of me.”

  “It’s not your fault, Lil—”

  “That’s not it.” I held up a finger. “I’m upset because there’s a vial I can’t dissect. I can’t figure it out, and that is my job. It’s my career, my life, my…everything to understand this level of magic.”

  “No, Lily—”

  “I’m also upset because Trinket’s upset. Something’s going on with Zin, and I hate that nobody is figuring out why. I’m upset because the gnome was right, and there’s something funny going on at that house—haunting or otherwise. I’m frustrated because we’ve had three disappearances from The Isle in so many months. On top of that, I haven’t eaten a good meal or slept through the night without horrible dreams for a week. Is that enough?”

  Gus started to reply, but I raised a second finger.

  “Oh! And all of The Isle, as well as MAGIC, Inc. and the mainland are watching and waiting for me to save the day. Is that good enough?”

  Gus stared back at me, flabbergasted. “How do you have room in your head for that much worry?”

  “Goodbye, Gus.”

  “Take a breath. It will be okay.”

  “How can you say that?!” My voice exploded from me. “Did you not just hear a word I said? Everything, everything is resting on my shoulders right now!”

  “And that,” Gus said with a smile, “is why everything will be okay. Take care of X. I’ll let Ranger HQ know he will be indisposed for a while.”

  He left, striding toward home, leaving me to digest what he’d meant. It had sounded almost like a compliment, but at the moment, it wasn’t feeling like one. It was feeling like a gigantic burden.

  I stepped back inside X’s home, locked the door, and eased onto the bed next to him. For many minutes, I watched him sleep. As I monitored his temperature, I wondered what choice he’d make.

  Would he choose the unpredictable road, the one to make him vulnerable from all sides…or would he play it safe?

  The question played over and over in my mind until eventually, my eyelids began to droop, and I eased my legs under the covers, too.

  Then, I slept.

  I slept for several hours, finally rising when the sun had started to sink. I made a quick dinner for myself and tried to share it with X, but he floated in and out of delirium all evening.

  I reapplied the balm several times, and each time it disappeared faster and faster, absorbing the energy just like Trinket had predicted.

  Finally, night came, the moon rose, and I moved back to bed and attempted to sleep. However, I’d slept well earlier, curled against X’s feverish body, and my mind was restless. I couldn’t drift off, so eventually I gave up trying and climbed from bed.

  I opened the front door and sat on the front steps, watching as a shooting star traipsed across the sky. The moon hovered, a silver path of light leading from it to the edges of the lake around us, further than the eye could see. For a moment, I debated wishing on a star.

  Wishery, I thought. I wondered if they would hear my wishes through the fog.

  Then I pondered, yet again, how there could possibly be a form of magic in that vial nobody had ever seen before. Wish magic existed, Lizzie had confirmed it. Used for good only, which meant it couldn’t possibly be wish magic that swirled in the vial.

  Unless…I stood and paced back and forth in front of X’s home. My mind worked through a series of scenarios as I formulated a plan, hoping, praying, needing to believe that it might work.

  It wasn’t until the new hours of the morning that I climbed back into bed, exhausted, and slept again.

  Chapter 15

  I WOKE THE NEXT MORNING to the scent of coffee and the sound of water running.

  My eyes eased open carefully as I stretched luxuriously in bed.

  For one moment, everything was as it should be: I’d slept, mercifully without dreams, and felt rested. My body sunk into the soft embrace of X’s bed as the fresh brewed caffeine gently teased me to consciousness.

  The sound of the shower running brought me back into the normal routine so quickly and thoroughly that it nearly washed away the memories of how I’d ended up here yesterday.

  Then, a thunk sounded from outside—the newspaper hitting the door, I imagined—and everything jolted back.

  Lumiette, the vial, wish magic.

  I bolted out of bed and rushed to the door to retrieve the paper.

  Returning to the kitchen, I poured myself a cup of coffee and skimmed the front-page headline, setting the carafe down with a heavy thud as the first one caught my attention.

  FOURTH DISAPPEARANCE—WHO WILL BE NEXT?

  Peter’s name appeared under the headline again. I settled at the table, forgetting all about the coffee I’d poured as I inhaled the article. Another missing
person, the second this week. Either there was a wild explanation for all of this…or things were escalating, and fast.

  This missing person was a woman, reported to have been a loner most of her life. Consistent with the first two missing persons. So far, Manuel was still the outlier in that he’d been the only one with a serious relationship and no desire—allegedly—for a way out.

  The woman newly missing was named Magdalena Sprite. According to the article, she had a human father and a witch mother, both of them long since deceased. She’d raised herself since her fifteenth birthday.

  However, she’d done well with her life and now had a career making custom school robes for Cretan. According to Peter’s article, she’d loved her job, had purchased a quiet little hut on the northeastern shore of The Isle, settling there for the long haul.

  She hadn’t, however, had many friends or acquaintances, so most of the quotes about her came from neighbors who’d seen her in passing, or the owners of local shops.

  “Good morning,” X said, startling me into dropping the paper. “Sorry, I figured you’d heard the water shut off.”

  “No, it’s…another disappearance.” When he didn’t look surprised, I continued. “Had you already heard?”

  “He gave a slight nod. “Message came through this morning—it’s what woke me up.”

  “Right.” I blinked, shaking my thoughts back to the present. “How did you sleep? How are you feeling?”

  “I feel fine,” he said, running a hand behind his neck and hooking it there. “I felt fine yesterday, but that salve you kept putting on knocked me out.”

  “Sure, that’s what knocked you out,” I said, forcing my eyes not to linger too long on the arm crooked behind his head. His gorgeous bicep was a prime candidate for admiration, and I couldn’t let it distract me from the conversation we needed to have. “It was the salve that knocked you out, and not the fact that you’d stored up nearly thirty years of power without giving it anywhere to go.”

  “They’re saying it was Lumiette?”

  I nodded. “Trinket and Gus agreed. They were correct, I’d imagine, seeing as you’re looking much better today after the antidote.”

  “It was nothing.” X moved to the counter and poured himself a mug of coffee. “A mistake.”

  “A mistake that knocked you unconscious.”

  “Well, it shouldn’t happen again soon, eh?” He continued with the lighthearted tone, his eyebrow raised as he faced me. “I think we can call it good for the next thirty years.”

  “That’s not what Gus and Trinket seem to think.”

  “Is it any of their business?” The lightness faded fast from his tone.

  “I think it is, seeing as you are the head Ranger on this island. You protect all of us.” I swallowed, hating to say the next part. “Including me.”

  “They’re worried I’ll hurt you?” X growled, whatever light that’d been on in his eyes now sucked away, a vacuum of dark filling them instead. “I would never hurt you.”

  “Who cares whether or not you hurt me? What about yourself?” I stood, leaving the paper to flutter to the floor. “What if I hadn’t been around, or Gus, or Trinket? Would you’ve lain unconscious in The Forest until the creatures ate you alive?”

  “They wouldn’t. They know better than to eat me.”

  His lips turned up in amusement, but I ignored it. “Fine. Until The Faction found you? Until…your body shut down? I don’t know, X, but it didn’t seem like you had any choice in the matter at all.”

  “They’re not worried about me. They’re worried about me being out of control around you.” His jawline set firmly. “They think it’d be an accident. That I’d have another episode and you would be collateral damage.”

  “Forget about me! This is about you. It’s unhealthy, whatever you’re doing. You can’t keep this locked inside of you. If I’d known, I would’ve asked you to address it long ago.”

  “Well, I can’t just let it out, what do you suggest I do?”

  “What?” I stepped back, somehow hit by surprise to hear he had already rejected the first option. “Why not?”

  “I told you—using my Uniqueness puts me in a vulnerable position. When I use my magic, I’m at my weakest. It takes time to recover from that, and I can’t afford to be weak.”

  “Then what do you suggest?”

  “I suggest I keep doing what I’ve been doing all this time.” Ranger X sat at the table and reached for my hand. “I’m good at keeping things locked inside.”

  I backed further away. “You are,” I said slowly. “Until you aren’t.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “What does the future look like for us, X?! Admittedly we haven’t talked about it much, but Trinket brought up a few interesting points yesterday.”

  Ranger X’s hand remained extended, waiting for me to take it. “Lily, please. Let’s figure this out together.”

  My hand reached for his of its own accord. “You have to take care of yourself.”

  “What did Trinket say?”

  “She said…” I couldn’t bring myself to make the leap to family. “Just trust me. I think it would be best if you considered all your options.”

  “I don’t think I have an option.” X’s jawline was firm. “Lumiette rarely—if ever—renders a person unconscious. I believe the reason it took such a toll on me is because I was already in a weakened state in the first place because I’d used my magic on Harpin. I can’t afford to be weak in my career.”

  “That’s not why it knocked you out! It knocked you out because your power was too great inside of you!” I gripped his hand tighter. “You’re the most powerful person on this island. You have to find a way to control it.”

  “I can’t risk it. As of today, I will return to my old pact to never use it. Not for anything.”

  “That can’t be the solution. Nobody else has that option,” I said. “I can’t just turn off my Mixology magic—the island would suffer.”

  “Trust me, everyone’s better off if I keep the telekinesis hidden.”

  “Then you will have some thinking to do,” I said, reluctantly pulling my hand from his. “Because I won’t put you at risk.”

  “How are you putting me at risk?”

  “Don’t you understand? This is about you being unstable. Emotionally. Don’t roll your eyes; you have emotions no matter how much you hide them. You’re frustrated right now. Probably angry, and—”

  “—in love,” he completed softly. “I know.”

  I swallowed, waiting for him to continue, but he didn’t.

  “It will be okay, Lily.”

  “Not if something doesn’t change.” I shook my head. “There are fissures in your coat of armor, and if you decide to close yourself off and keep all that locked away, you can’t afford to have a single weak link.”

  Another silence followed in which X looked away.

  “I am a weak link for you, Cannon.”

  “That’s not true.” He rose, closed the distance between us and wrapped me to his chest. “You make me stronger than I’ve ever been.”

  “Then maybe,” I whispered into his bare skin, “you need to become weaker before you can get stronger.”

  He smelled of forest and mint, fresh from the shower, his skin smooth against my cheek. I let my hands ease around his waist for a moment, just a moment, before I pulled back.

  “I really have to go,” I said. “Gus is expecting me at the bungalow.”

  “What am I supposed to do?”

  “I can’t tell you that. I’m just asking you to think about it.” I opened the front door and let my feet carry me away. I looked back when I reached the front path. “Let me know what you decide.”

  “Lily—”

  “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

  Chapter 16

  “THIS WILL DO,” I SAID, after making my way back to the bungalow. “Thank you.”

  Gus stepped back from the table in the center of the storero
om. He had the vial prepared as I’d asked, separating the elements to the most basic level possible.

  Swirling in the glass jar, the cloud of black smoke seemed darker, deeper. The rest of the ingredients had been teased out to the bottom of the vial and lay in shimmering layers of pearly white, startling silver, and intense platinum.

  Gus cleared his throat. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”

  “Thank you for your help yesterday.”

  “You know that’s not what I mean.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about. Ranger X and I had a conversation about his condition…” I paused, shaking the vial to see the contents separate. “He has some thinking to do.”

  “What did he say to you?”

  “Look, you don’t want to talk to me about this,” I said, straightening. “You hate talking about anything that requires emotion.”

  “Lily, I—”

  “I know you care about me, Gus.” I set the vial on the table and straightened to face him. “You don’t have to say anything more. When I asked for help in The Forest, you came without question.”

  “Very good,” Gus said, a look of relief flooding his face. “Have you decided what to try next on the cloud?”

  “Yes.” I eased into my seat and pulled the contents closer. “I believe I know exactly what’s happened.”

  Gus’s wiry gray eyebrows shifted with curiosity. “Are you certain?”

  “You know better than that, Gus.” I pulled up my sleeves and circled one hand around the bottle. “I can’t be certain until I have a correctly functioning antidote.”

  “Well?”

  “I’ll need more silver,” I said. “The purest this island has ever seen. Do Mimsey and Trinket carry that at their supply store?”

  “Yes. Mimsey mentioned something about a new shipment coming in yesterday. What else can I get for you?”

  “Stardust,” I said. “Is there a market for that?”

  “I wouldn’t call it a market.” Gus gave me a meaningful stare. “There is one man who could help you find it.”

  “Liam,” I murmured. “Any chance you’re able to get in contact with him?”

  “I can put the feelers out.”