The Left-Hand Path: Mentor

by T. S. Barnett

  20

  It was easy to make excuses to the nurses for Nathan’s injuries—he had fallen while they were on a hike in the desert and had lost too much blood on the way back to town. Cora listened and apologized in response to their scolding concerning hiking trips taken without proper first aid precautions while Elton filled out a bit of paperwork. She sat in the waiting room with him while they set Nathan’s arm and fit him with an IV full of blood, watching the Chaser’s drawn face as he attempted to fill in falsified information about the patient. At least he looked as tired as she felt now.

  “So that’s it?” she said after a few minutes, seeming to startle him. “It’s gone, right? The lich?”

  “Nathan seemed to think so. There certainly wasn’t much left of it to come back if it isn’t.”

  “So now what? Now you let them fix him up and then take him away to Canada to be killed?”

  Elton sighed, setting his pen down on the clipboard in his lap. “Now I call the Magistrate and tell them that Yuma is out a Chaser and that a lich has killed an unknown number of mundanes. Also that I was casting in the middle of a street with plenty of witnesses.” He ran his hands over his face.

  “That...seems like it’ll go well.”

  “I also get to tell them that I’ve caught Nathaniel Moore. That might be enough to keep me from the cuimne.”

  “The what now?”

  “Punishment. It’s...difficult to explain unless you’ve seen it. But it’s not pleasant.” He looked over at her. “I may not be able to provide you with a recommendation after all, Cora. I’m sorry.”

  “Like I care about that. What the hell happened out there, anyway? What happened to Nathan?”

  “He fought,” Elton shrugged. He shook his head. “I came into this prepared to see him do powerful magic, but the things he can do—”

  “I know, right?” she interrupted. “He freaking flew, didn’t he? That lich disappeared and he went right after it like—woosh.” She mimicked flying with one hand and realized that she had had far too little sleep over the past few days to be having serious conversations. “But you guys killed it, didn’t you? Together.”

  “Maybe seventy-thirty as far as contribution to the fight, but yes.”

  “So you’re going to take this curse off of me, right? You promised.”

  Elton looked over at her with a soft sigh. “Of course I will. I was going to wait until we were in Vancouver, but I suppose I can’t still promise that I’ll be free myself for very much longer.” He turned in his chair to face her and murmured to her to keep still, then reached out for her and gently pushed aside the collar of her shirt to touch the mark left there by his curse. She flinched and covered her mouth to muffle her cry as the symbol seared itself off of her flesh, but once Elton removed his hand from her, she rubbed the smooth skin and let out a burst of exhausted laughter.

  “Thank you,” she said with relief, but Elton didn’t feel he’d done much worth being grateful for.

  After a few moments of trying to look at her own collarbone, she looked over at Elton and frowned at his solemn expression. “You think they’re going to put you in Azkaban?” she asked quietly.

  “I wasn’t able to maintain control. I went out of my jurisdiction, I cooperated with a known criminal in secret, I failed to report the trafficking of human remains, I threatened a servant of the Magistrate—who then died—and I set in motion a series of events that led to the death of a number of mundanes.”

  She tilted her head and bent slightly to catch his eye. “Well, yeah, but you don’t have to tell them all that, right? You also stopped the lich from killing even more people.”

  “A lich that apparently wouldn’t have come to life at all if not for my interference.”

  “You couldn’t have known that. You said yourself he’s wanted, so you were doing the right thing by trying to bring him in. It’s not your fault he had some crazy thing trapped in a box. Maybe it would have gotten out anyway when you weren’t here to help at all. You don’t even have to tell them about the lich if you don’t want to—you can just go home.”

  He offered her a sad smile. “I don’t think you understand, Cora. Phillip Martin will stop reporting to his Magister, since he’s dead, and once his body is found, they’ll be able to connect his death with the lich’s other victims. The people in Zuni will tell police and newspapers what they saw, and solving the whole mess will be the first job of the new Chaser assigned to the district. If he’s competent at all, it won’t take him long to put the story together. My associates in Vancouver know where I am, and I spoke with the local police. My only hope would be Nathan claiming that he led me far away from all this business before it all started, but there isn’t much chance of that—and even if there were, all it would take is questioning the vampire, the fairy, or the needle-woman. None of them have any interest in keeping my name clear. Not that Nathan does, either, come to think of it.”

  Elton set the clipboard on the seat beside him, then leaned his elbows on his knees and put his face in his hands. “I wasn’t thinking. I let this go too far. I should have reported the lich to the Magistrate immediately and let them handle it properly. I was too proud, and I let Nathan get to me. I was so focused on bringing him in, on making this my collar, that I lost focus on everything else.” He let his hands drop with an empty chuckle. “Then again, it isn’t as though I have anything to go home to anymore, is it? An apartment with nothing left in it but memories.”

  Cora didn’t know what to say to him, so she stayed silent, but he looked up at her with an apologetic smile.

  “Perhaps worst of all,” he said, “I’ll be going to prison and depriving you of your mentor as well.”

  “Well I’m not going to let you take Nathan off for trial or whatever without me. I sure as hell don’t have anything going on here; at least, I won’t if you guys leave.”

  “I’m sorry you were involved in all of this.”

  “Are you kidding me? Aside from the horrible nightmares, this is the best time I’ve had in my whole life. And now the nightmares are gone, so all that’s left is the fun stuff.”

  “I thought you’d be angrier with me on that front, now that you mention it.”

  “Oh, it was totally a shitty thing to do, and your attractiveness level has decreased since they got bad—not by very much, I admit—but you took the curse off like you promised, and you clearly felt bad about it, so it’s fine.” She paused and returned his blank stare for a couple of beats. “I just called you attractive, didn’t I? Wow—I need, like, so much sleep. Just ignore me.”

  “I never even got to show you any Chinese magic,” Elton added softly. “Would you like me to?”

  “I’m a little too tired for anything complicated,” she admitted, and he smiled.

  “I’m sorry. Here. Let me at least give you something.” He lifted the silver and jade amulet from around his neck and offered it to her, but she shook her head and tucked her hands under her arms.

  “Isn’t that from your dead friend’s grandmother? I can’t take that.”

  “It’s meant to keep black magic away from you,” Elton insisted. “Clearly it hasn’t worked, since Nathan’s been stuck to my side like a remora. Maybe you’ll have better luck. They probably won’t let me keep it once they take me in, anyway.”

  Cora hesitated, but then she reached out and let him drop the amulet into her palm. She slipped the chain over her head and kept her eyes down to turn the pendant in her fingertips. The chain was still warm from his skin, a thought that made her cheeks feel slightly flushed. “Thanks,” she said as she peeked back up at him.

  Before Elton could do anything but smile at her, a nurse approached and informed them that they were free to go into Nathan’s room. Cora hid the amulet under her shirt, feeling like she was keeping a secret. Elton handed the nurse the half-filled out clipboard and held open the curtain so that Cora could enter the emergency room cubicle where Nathan lay sleeping.

  “He’d lost a lot
of blood,” the nurse said quietly, “and he has a few bruised ribs, but his arm fracture didn’t require surgery, which is good. We’ve got him on antibiotics for the surface injuries. He should be fine. Someone will be in to explain his aftercare, but you can take him home as soon as he wakes up and finishes his IV.”

  As the nurse left the room, Elton let out a small sigh. “I don’t suppose he has health insurance.”

  “Maybe whoever you put on his forms does,” Cora offered helpfully. She pulled up one of the plastic chairs so that she could sit beside Nathan, and she leaned over to peer at the white plastic cuff strapped to his arm. The strap across his chest disappeared under his blue spotted hospital gown, but she lifted it by the collar to look at him without a second thought.

  “Fifty bucks for a ride,” Nathan muttered groggily, opening one eye and smirking up at her.

  Cora gave him a light smack on his chest, making him cough out his laugh.

  “Not injured there at all; thanks for asking,” he chuckled. He looked past her at Elton and lifted his eyebrows. “Everything in order, Mr. Chaser?”

  “As in order as it can be, I suspect,” Elton sighed.

  “Booked our victorious flight to the Great White North yet?”

  “Soon,” he said.

  Nathan paused as he glanced back at Cora, and he reached his undamaged arm up to touch the collar of her shirt. “Curse-free, are you?” he murmured with a pensive hum. “A bit premature.”

  “Our agreement still stands, I trust,” Elton said. “I’ve held up my end.”

  “And I’ve helped you kill a lich,” Nathan answered. “I think we’re about even, wouldn’t you say?” Elton gave him a warning glare, but he went on, “And what about Cora? You can’t just leave her all by herself in Vancouver. She needs me. Don’t you, my love?”

  “Definitely,” she agreed.

  “If you won’t come quietly, I’ve no problem telling these people that you’re a dangerous felon under my care. I’ll have them put you under until I can get you before the Magistrate.”

  “You’re no fun at all. I thought you were better than that. You know, I recall our agreement involving a fair fight when all this was over.”

  Elton frowned at him. “I’m game, if you feel up to it.”

  “Just when you’d stopped being so damn cocky, too,” Nathan chuckled hoarsely. He sighed. “Fine. I’m tired. You win, Chaser. Let’s go to Canada. It’ll be fun to see a few stuffy Magisters again.”

  Elton did his best to dodge the questions of the hospital staff that came into the room for payment information, but it was Nathan’s illusions of identification that stopped the questions entirely. Elton was amazed he had any strength left to cast anything at all. As soon as they were able to get the paperwork processed, Elton stood outside the hospital with Nathan leaned against the wall beside him and called his supervisor at the Magistrate.

  “Where’s Teresa?” Nathan asked. He bummed a cigarette from a man who was on his way inside, since his own pack was irreparably mangled when he was tossed around the desert. He plucked at the cut sleeve of his t-shirt with a frown and leaned down so that Cora could light the cigarette for him.

  “She said she was going to dump the truck and report hers stolen. I don’t know if she’s coming back.” She offered him the personal effects the nurse had left with her, which consisted only of his wallet and his various jewelry. He bent down so that she could put the amulets around his neck again.

  “Shame,” he said through a puff of smoke. “I liked her. Feisty.”

  “The feeling wasn’t mutual,” Cora chuckled.

  He shrugged and then winced, regretting it. “Probably better for her if she just goes home and forgets about the whole thing. She can imagine me swinging from a gallows and go on happily with her life.”

  “Would have been nice of her to bring back our stuff,” Cora muttered. “Not that I had anything worth keeping, I guess. It’s kind of freeing to be completely homeless and without possessions.”

  “Isn’t it?” Nathan laughed, then groaned and put a hand to his ribs.

  Elton tuned them out as the line finally picked up. “Robert,” he said immediately. “Can you get me a flight? There’s...a lot to explain.”

  “Elton, Jesus,” Robert answered. “What’s happened? I’ve been trying to call for days.”

  “It’s complicated. But I need to get back right away.”

  “Moore too?”

  “Yes. And one more. I can explain when we arrive. Her name is Cora Daniels.”

  “Okay. I’ll see what I can find. Out of Phoenix?”

  “No.” Elton paused and took a quick glance around the building. “I’m somewhere called Gallup, New Mexico.”

  “You have had a ride, haven’t you?” Robert chuckled. “Hang on.” Elton could hear him tapping on a keyboard for a few moments. “It looks like you’re not too far from Albuquerque. If you can get there, I can get you a flight leaving late tonight.”

  “I’ll get there. Thanks, Robert. We have a lot to talk about.”

  “I’m sure we do. Get here safe.”

  Elton hung up the call and turned back to face Nathan and Cora. “Now the only issue is identification. I doubt Teresa will care to bring us our things even if we had time to wait for them.”

  “Did you miss what just happened in the hospital?” Nathan asked. “I can handle our IDs.”

  “That doesn’t really solve the problem of my lost passport, does it?” He sighed. “I’m not exceptionally comfortable with fraudulently travelling internationally, but I don’t seem to be making very many good decisions lately.”

  “Feeling guilty, Elton? Look on the bright side. We killed a lich and solved a mystery, and you get to bring me in. It’s a big catch for you.”

  Elton went silent and turned back toward the street to try to find a taxi, but Cora frowned and worried the hem of Nathan’s shirt.

  “You’re very cavalier about this,” she said. “This is it, you know. There’s going to be a trial and everything. You said yourself they’ll either wipe your brain or hang you.”

  “Hanging’s far more likely. Don’t worry, my love. I’m a big boy.”

  She looked up at him with a furrowed brow, and he took a deep drag from his cigarette and winked at her as he exhaled smoke through his nose.

  “Get in the car,” Elton called over his shoulder as a taxi pulled up to the curb. He went around to allow Cora to sit in the middle of the back seat, but she was too focused on Nathan’s imminent demise to care about how closely she pressed against Elton’s side. She watched Nathan drop his cigarette in the parking lot and slide in next to her, but he only hummed a quiet tune and watched the landscape go by through the window as they drove to the airport.

  21

  As promised, Nathan got the three of them through security without issue. He handed attendants and clerks folded bits of paper in place of passports, and they accepted them and stamped them the same as they would have any other. Cora wondered how many people around them saw the pieces of paper as passports, since nobody said anything to them—were people just minding their own business, or was Nathan’s spell like a cone of illusion? She made a mental note to ask him, then frowned as she realized how little time they might have left together.

  At the terminal, Elton kept his eyes on Nathan constantly, since he hadn’t had access to his magic-suppressing herbs and oils. Nathan, for his part, didn’t seem particularly inclined to run. He sat in the uncomfortable leather seats in the waiting area outside their gate and stared down at a crossword book he had demanded Elton buy for him, lightly tapping his pen on the page. Elton didn’t trust his cooperation in the slightest. There was no chance that after all of this, Nathan was going to just come quietly and allow himself to be taken to the Magistrate. There had to be a game, had to be some trick or trap that would be sprung at the last second, but he couldn’t work out what it might be, so instead he sat across from Nathan and glared at him to take his mind off of his own l
ooming punishment.

  The woman’s voice over the intercom called for their boarding, and the three of them filed into their seats on the plane. All three of them fell asleep quite quickly, although Elton made a noble effort to stay awake and watch for Nathan’s inevitable escape attempt. At least once they were in the air, there wasn’t much Nathan would be able to do—he hoped.

  They had a connecting flight in Salt Lake City and a delay long enough to get some food. The restaurant in the airport terminal had only standard sports bar fare, but even Elton was grateful for a stomach full of greasy french fries. It wasn’t until the sickly sweet smell of sugar hit him as they sat waiting at their gate that he realized he had shut his eyes again. Nathan and Cora had clearly run off while he dozed because now they both sat across from him with sticky fingers, sharing a Cinnabon. At least they had come back.

  “So you have a plan, right?” Cora whispered when Elton returned his attention to his newspaper. “You aren’t really going to let them hang you, right?”

  “Don’t be silly, girl. I have every intention of cooperating.”

  She paused. “Wait, so—does that mean you do have a plan or you don’t?”

  “I’m more concerned about you,” Nathan said, pausing to lick a bit of icing from his thumb. “Our little adventure is almost over. What do you want to do now?”

  “I want to go with you,” she answered immediately.

  He shook his head. “You’re a good apprentice, Cora, and you’ve got potential, but you’re so young. You need to have a life first before you can decide to give it up. I think that if Elton’s in any position to set you up with the Magistrate by the time we’re done with this, you should do it. Even if you hate it, at least you tried. The stability might even be good for you. If nothing else, you could go back to Allan’s, and he’ll be able to put you on the right path. He’s not a bad sort. Just don’t get turned into a vampire, hm? It’s really not as romantic as you young girls think it is.” He smiled at her furrowed brow. “If normality really isn’t for you, you can look me up in a couple of years. If I’m still alive, that is,” he added, catching Elton’s gaze for just a moment.