Chapter 5
I remained icy toward Milo the entire week while he acted extra sweet, which only further pissed me off.
That and his need to call it my “frosty” ways whenever someone noticed me being cold.
Ben even clammed up some due to my petulant attitude, so I had to put my anger on hold while at home.
I didn’t want the kid suffering my wrath just because Milo was an absolute asshole. But at work, I remained distant.
Not that he or anyone noticed. They were all preoccupied with their new interns, with their overzealous acolytes trying to remain in the spotlight, with their constant flow of casework.
I, on the other hand, had nothing to occupy my time.
No cases. I couldn’t even continue my Celestial Coven work until a manifestation found a new lead, and despite them scouring the entire world, it became harder and harder to track The True Witch, Theodore, or any crumb of a lead on those wicked witches.
So, I spent most of my days in the training chamber.
Cerberus Guild had several nice workout facilities, and their training chamber allowed for isolated control over branch exercises, physical endurance, and root practice.
Plus, thanks to state-of-the-art technology and top-tier magic, it was the quietest place in Chicago.
The minds of the city hummed softly here.
My tether to my manifestations went nearly silent.
I flew around the empty chamber, hurling waves of telekinesis at the enchantment targets.
Only about half of them glowed with a precision strike, which meant my technique still lacked.
Hell, maybe Milo and Campbell were right.
If I still moved about with the root proficiency of a second-year student, then how could I hope to mentor anyone?
“You’re still keeping too much focus in your core,” Milo’s chipper voice echoed into the chamber room. “It’s altering your telekinetic blows.”
“And if I lessen the weight in my core, then my levitation will flounder and my aim will be off,” I responded with gritted teeth.
“Not if you harness the thread of that telekinetic blow and follow through to the end,” Milo said. “Trust me, I know a thing or two about blows. Blowing. Blowies. Plus, my precision strikes are always on point.”
With that, Milo twirled his fingers to send a stray strike of telekinesis throughout the chamber room and hit each and every target I’d missed. He didn’t even put the same weight behind his strike, yet still managed to fully activate the enchantment markers and complete the training module.
“Shouldn’t you be working on a case or something? With your intern?”
“I’ve got Gael doing some fieldwork recon for me.”
“What?”
“Yeah.” Milo shrugged. “There’s a shipment of illegal enchantments coming in.”
“You sent Gael to stake out an illegal shipment of goods?” I wobbled in the air, losing all focus on my roots as my telepathy searched for my former student.
“Relax, I told Cassidy he’d be there.” Milo chuckled.
“She’s gonna conveniently grab him and have a conversation about how things really work in this city.
Then we’ll have a chat, and I’m going to explain the crime syndicate of Chicago.
Figure it’ll do him good to meet the lady running the undercity. ”
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing. Just doing my mentoring gig.”
I descended to the opposite side of the chamber room toward the small sparring section where I could practice my punches.
“I suppose you’re not going to tell the actual authorities about Cassidy’s illegal enchantment scams?” I punched the bag, picturing Cassidy’s face, Milo’s face, my face.
“It’s not a scam. They’re just knockoff medical spells. And since they’re actually affordable, I figured more folks would benefit from the ill-gotten medication than they would lose out from Cassidy lining her pockets with profits.”
I snarled, throwing another hard punch. Of course, he’d already thought it out. He always thought ten steps ahead.
“You’re putting too much weight in your strikes,” Milo said, swaggering on over uninvited. “I could show you what I mean, if you like.”
“No thanks.”
“Come on?” Milo grinned. “Stop taking out your anger on a silly punching bag when I’m offering you a much better target.”
Cocky. Cocky little bastard was trying to goad me into an argument. A conversation. And through what?
“I’m not fighting you.”
“It’s not a fight.” Milo tugged his tie, loosening it some. “It’s training.”
“I’ll pass.”
“Afraid you can’t hit me?” Milo popped his hip, using the motion to telekinetically knock the punching bag into my face.
“Son of a bitch.”
“And here I thought you always liked my mama.”
“Ass.”
“Come on.” Milo gestured an invitation while raising his fists. “We can practice combat skills.”
“Is that necessary?”
“Usually, Campbell mandates fitness evaluations for all her enchanters.” Milo circled me, thoughts playfully musing with ideas of turning this fight into something flirty.
I glared, squaring up and readying myself. “Stop treating me like I’m some rookie.”
“You kind of are.” Milo threw a few jabs, which were easy enough to avoid. “You’re new to your role as an enchanter.”
He was leading me into a verbal trap and a physical one. The flurry of slow strikes was pushing me closer to the wall where Milo meant to pin me. And naturally, I walked right into the trap without thinking.
“I’m not new,” I said, swinging a fist. “I’m just a little rusty.”
Milo pivoted out of the way and managed to kick me in the stomach at the same time. “More than rusty. Sloppy. Which is fine. You’re better than most of the enchanters here, but that’s not enough for you.”
“Why’s that?” I swung another fist.
My hit didn’t connect, but it got me back to the center of the mat and out of Milo’s trick.
“Because you don’t want to be great. You want to be perfect.
You want to avoid the mistakes of the past.” Milo’s demeanor shifted, calm and somber.
“Last time you faltered, met an unstoppable foe, you lost a piece of yourself. We both did. The difference is you walked away and shut out everyone and everything.”
Milo’s loneliness crept to the surface of his thoughts. It sent an uncomfortable rush of warmth through him, embarrassment and shame and guilt for all the moments of his past he’d believed he failed to prevent.
It gnawed at my insides, reminding me that no matter who I was now, I was still that broken man who grieved and lost myself to grief, abandoning Milo in the process.
He did well to bury his sorrow, even if forcefully, while letting his mind dart with obvious tactical blows. I weaved around his leading strikes and moved in with one of my own. My fist connected with his chin, and left Milo stunned for a moment.
“What happened with Finn will never happen again.”
Part of me believed that comment would end this, would silence Milo into surrender, but the wily bastard smirked.
“You’re right, because I won’t let you split your focus.
” Milo grabbed ahold of my arm and flipped me over his head.
The whoosh of his telekinesis hurled me all the faster, but thankfully softened the landing when Milo slammed me down.
“You want to aim big, target the deadliest coven of witches that ever witched it up, fine by me. I trust you. I believe in you. I need you. But I’ll be damned if you take on more than you’re ready for, if you distract yourself, guilt yourself, overwork yourself, and burn out. ”
Milo’s mind jigsawed with blurry possibilities.
Most of his visions still remained veiled from me, even if several thousand were locked away safely in the back of my head.
All the same, Milo never did anything maliciously.
If he opposed me taking on an intern, he had his reasons.
He’d likely seen every possible outcome of my failure to balance enchanter work, Global Guild missions, and mentoring.
Why was I always so thick-headed? I never managed to take anything at face value. I always had to pick a fight, to prove a point, to challenge Milo.
“Plus, we both know you’d never be satisfied with mentoring one kid or three kids or twenty kids.
” Milo stared down at me, grinning his goofy fucking grin, revealing all the stress knotted inside him had washed away.
“We both know you’re going to use your telepathy to stalk your students and check in on them, so I made sure you had the time for that. ”
I scoffed. “I don’t stalk.”
“You totally do, babe. It’s cute. I like it.” Milo smirked. “And since you won’t have to officially mentor, you can focus on any and all your kiddos. Then bitch about their mentors not doing things to your liking.”
“Like how you sent Gael off on some solo venture his first week?” I glowered. “Absolutely horrible.”
“Exactly, just like that.” Milo pointed a finger, commending my scolding.
He was the worst. “I want you to prioritize the Celestial Coven. I want you to help me bring them down, to prevent the visions they conjure, the horrors they seek to unleash, and then I want you to go back to your usual grumpy self without the weight of the world on your shoulders.”
“Here, I figured you’d like someone carrying a bit of the weight with you.”
“Look, my workout routine requires I carry the weight of the world all on my own.” Milo flexed. “How else do you think I got this cut?”
“You’re absurd.” I playfully shoved him.
“Yeah? How absurd?” Milo nudged me with his shoulder, his thoughts dancing with taunting words, and a desire to continue our sparring session.
“You know, I can predict all your moves, right?”
“When’d you become a mind reader?” Milo batted his lashes, taunting and sweet and so annoying.
“I can read your thoughts, so I already know what you’re—”
POP.
I blinked in stunned surprise. “You just slapped me.”
“I thought you’d see it coming.” Milo snickered, circling me. “All that talk, and your moves are still so slow.”