Thirty-Two - Felix
???
Though I couldn’tuse node magic for everything, I packed the satchel for Isa’s return to Leort myself. There were items I wanted to include that she might object to if she saw them going into the bag. Of course, she’d notice that there was more than the standard report confirming which contracts I had passed through the node. But if she didn’t notice all the surprises I had slipped into the satchel, that was good enough for me.
In fact, I wanted her to notice one. It ought to be enough to distract her from looking too closely at the rest.
She entered my office, a cloak draped over her arm. It was still raining this morning, making me feel terrible. Her journey home would be miserable. Insisting that she summon something to keep her dry and ride my horse into town had already led to arguments. When she picked up the satchel, I suspected her refusal to accept any more help would boil over.
She started to say something, then shook her head. Squaring her shoulders, she walked up to my desk. “Do you have the messages for Berklay ready?”
I placed a paw on the satchel. “In here.”
Isa grabbed the strap, pulling the bag from the table. As it swung from her fingers, she yelped. Her hand spasmed, and the bag fell to the floor with a thud.
I took a step forward, but what could I do? “Are you all right? What happened?”
She glared at the satchel, then at me. “The node. It objected to me holding the bag. What did you put in there?”
“Damn it.” I leapt off the desk and fumbled the bag open. I searched for the paper I wanted and carefully pulled it out. “Can you hold it now?”
Isa hesitated, then reached down and grabbed the satchel once more. This time, when she lifted it, nothing happened. After a moment, she set it on the nearest chair and pointed at the paper under my paws. “What is that?”
“An addendum to your contract. I included instructions for Berklay to give it to Edwin. I figured that if you didn’t even know you had it, the node couldn’t object to you carrying it.” So much for that plan. “I should update my letter to Berklay, since you clearly can’t take it.”
“Don’t ask him to write out an addendum himself, please. I’d rather not experience that again.”
I grimaced. “Was it very bad? I apologize. I really thought it wouldn’t matter if you didn’t know what was in the bag.”
Isa looked at the satchel. “You’ve added much more to the bag than I expected. Should I be worried about any of the rest?”
She didn’t answer whether the node’s punishment had been terrible. She couldn’t reassure me without lying, I supposed. I hopped onto the chair, grabbing the letter to Berklay myself. The less Isa rooted around in the bag, the better. “My other surprise is meant to help you and doesn’t risk upsetting the node.”
Her eyes narrowed, and I remembered that Isa could truth-read me now. How much did she pick up from what I said? I hadn’t lied, but there was more than one surprise. If she found the second one while still at Rose Castle, however, she’d never agree to bring it to Leort.
Isa reached into the bag. Even before she pulled my next addition out, I could tell she knew exactly what I had added. The enchanted mirror looked right in her hand. It was ornate, but not ostentatious. Beautiful without fragility. Practical, yet elegant.
She waved it at me. “What is this?”
“A magic mirror,” I drawled.
“What is it doing in the bag I’m taking to Leort?”
“You are going as my spy. It might come in handy.”
“But what if you need it? You are going to be stuck in the castle by yourself.”
“When I use the mirror, I see people without hearing anything. It will not do me any good.”
She hesitated.
“Seriously, Isa. Take it for my sake. If it stays here, I’m going to drive myself wild. I’ll use it, then get frustrated because I can’t hear anything.”
More likely, I’d use it to get a glimpse of Isa. I had already behaved like an utter ass where she was concerned. It was better not to allow myself the temptation of spying on her as well.
Her lips pressed together. “I’ll take it on one condition.”
“What?”
“I want you to give me a report about how things are going here every evening. We can set a time when I’ll use the mirror, and you can assure me that everything is fine. Or you can talk about what experiments you have tried with the node and give me warning if you need my help. That way, it might save me the discomfort of the node tugging me back to Rose Castle unexpectedly.”
“Deal.”
I let Isa help me rewrite my letter to Berklay, which both saved time and distracted her from the satchel. As I had hoped, the mirror had been enough to keep her from looking any closer. When we finished, we made our way to the stables.
Once my mare was saddled and ready to go, Isa tried to mount. At first, I couldn’t tell if it was her lack of experience that was causing her to hesitate, but soon it became obvious there was more keeping her out of the saddle.
“The node?” I asked.
“The node,” she agreed.
“Give me a moment.” I concentrated on all the reasons it made sense for Isa to return to Leort. I willed the node to agree with me. “Try now.”
Isa tried. She couldn’t even put a foot in the stirrup.
We spent more than an hour at the stables, but Isa could not mount.
“We knew there was a chance this wouldn’t work,” she finally said.
“It will work,” I insisted. “But I can’t have any doubts. I have to know this is the best way for you to fulfill the terms of your contract. Give me the rest of the morning. If you still can’t mount after the midday meal, we’ll try again tomorrow.”
I spent the morning listing reasons Isa would do more good in Leort than Truthhold. But she still couldn’t leave.
“Why don’t we use the mirror to see what Marc is up to today?” Isa suggested as we left the stables. “It might give you a stronger reason to send me away.”
I had no better plan. I had gone over every reason I didn’t need Isa at Rose Castle, but I couldn’t help also thinking about all the reasons I wanted her here. When we settled in my spire room with the mirror, however, I knew this plan would fail. In order for us to both see and hear through the mirror comfortably, I ended up draped over Isa’s lap. She thought nothing of it—I was merely a cat to her—but I was very aware of the intimacy of our position.
Especially when her fingers stroked through my fur, an idle gesture as we waited for Marc to actually do something.
“I suppose we were lucky yesterday, using the mirror right when Marc met with your father,” I said, trying to focus on anything other than the motion of her hand.
“We also listened in near supper time. If the bulk of his plot is centered on these rumors, he’ll be busiest in the evening.”
“True, but I was still hoping he’d go into a lengthy monologue detailing all his plans and motivations the instant we used the mirror.”
Isa looked down at me, the corner of her mouth tilting up. “You’ve been reading the novels on the third floor of the library, haven’t you?”
“Knowing how the library is organized does explain why I always found the books on the lower levels so boring. When I read a story, I want to escape reality.”
Isa’s gaze snapped back to the mirror. “Marc’s finally leaving his room.”