Chapter 28 Busting Out #2
I averted my eyes as he chuckled.
“Honestly,” I murmured, shoving him off me a little.
I was smiling, though. And yes, definitely curious.
Looking up at the faint smirk that came to his lips, I snorted outright, amused in spite of myself. Maybe I didn’t mind so very much that he’d altered my Yule gift.
And he was right, I wanted to be able to find him.
Our small holiday group slowly began to cluster as we made our way down to the flat part of the Promenade. We didn’t talk much as we passed by the front of Malcroix Manor and the Fountain of Furies, which was frozen solid.
I think we all felt a little nervous.
I know my eyes never left the dark windows of the Mansion as we walked by it in silence.
I scanned for any glimpse of faces belonging to witches or mages who might be watching us go.
I occasionally saw curtains twitch and other signs of life, enough to make me tense, and to wonder if we were being watched.
I couldn’t help feeling like I was doing something wrong.
No one had told me I wasn’t allowed to leave campus.
I was asked not to leave. I was told it would be dangerous to be in public, especially on my own, but really, I shouldn’t try it with anyone else, either. They hadn’t said it would be okay as long as I magicked myself a disguise and went with friends.
But, as Bones pointed out, no one outright forbade me to leave, either.
Even so, I half-expected Forsooth or Blackstone to come striding out of the Mansion’s front doors, to demand Bones and I, at the very least, return to our dormitories. I wondered if they’d actually use magic to stop us, if they saw us out here.
No one did come out of those doors, though.
I wondered again just how many people were even here. I certainly hadn’t seen many others, although, granted, I hadn’t been on campus for most of the holiday myself.
When we finished crossing the last of the gardens and the Great Lawn, and entered Bonescastle Woods, I still hadn’t seen a single person apart from ourselves.
Despite it not yet being noon, the woods were surprisingly dark.
Snowy branches blocked the weak winter sun, which had always been scarce in that part of the Promenade.
The forest path was lined with floating lanterns, all of them glowing gold and red.
Wreathes hung from branches and I saw a few trees decorated almost like Christmas trees back home, but instead of light strings, they glowed and flickered with writhing bands of magic.
Branches were weighted down with gold bangles, glittery ornaments shaped like magical animals, red and green holly sprigs, multi-colored ribbons, singing mechanical-looking birds, and glowing icicles.
As we neared the gate, the reality that we were leaving campus finally sank in.
Real nerves reached me for the first time.
I wondered suddenly if this was foolhardy, given how few students had remained on campus. Would anyone watching us guess exactly who we were, simply through process of elimination? Did Dark Cathedral or anyone else have someone watching the school gate?
I hadn’t asked Forsooth anything about that, or even if the Praecuri might be watching the area, too. I highly doubted any of the others had either, because I had a very good idea what Forsooth would’ve said, had he known we were even considering this kind of outing.
At the same time, I couldn’t bear the thought of going back.
Maybe for the same reason, I kept my thoughts to myself.
I followed Bones and the others up to the gate.
Rather than open it at once, we all stopped and stared at it, as if everyone else was thinking the same things I had been.
Don’t worry, Bones murmured in my mind. I’m stronger now.
My magic is nearly back to normal, and would’ve been a lot sooner if my mother hadn’t been so determined to keep me from sullying you.
When I looked up at him at that, his thoughts and eyes grew serious.
I’ll phase us the fuck out of here at the first sign of trouble, Shadow, no matter how small.
Just don’t go anywhere without me. I mean it.
I won’t, I promised. But what about Alaric?
I didn’t add, And what if you get hurt?
Bones didn’t hesitate, at least with the first question. Him, too, he answered at once. But honestly, I’m not worried about Alaric so much. Not unless he gets so hammered he does or says something incredibly stupid. He’s far less of a target than we are now.
I nodded to that.
It felt true.
Still, they would go after Alaric if he was with us. He wasn’t safe, and we absolutely couldn’t leave him alone. Really, we couldn’t leave Luc or Nyx alone, either, not if we were all caught together, as a single group.
Really, just their being with me and Bones would put them in enormous danger.
Only if we’re seen, Bones murmured in my mind. We won’t be seen, Shadow.
I looked at him, and found him already watching me.
You thought that in Tunis too, didn’t you? I asked.
He hesitated, then conceded with a slight tilt of his head.
This isn’t Tunis, he thought at me next.
I was stupid then. I shouldn’t have gone, especially not with my leg fucked up like that.
I at least should have asked you to come with me.
We would have been significantly less stupid together.
If nothing else, I wouldn’t have subjected you to that kind of risk, which means we’d likely have done things very differently.
He gave me an apologetic look. I probably would have had you call your cousin.
I blinked in surprise.
Lifting an eyebrow, I made my thoughts teasing.
Are you sure you’re feeling all right? I asked innocently. That all sounded suspiciously non-suicidal. Did you bump your head or something?
Before he could answer, Nyx cut me off.
“They’re doing it again,” she said, motioning with her head towards me and Bones and rolling her eyes. She looked at Alaric. “Is it normal for your friend to talk to his witches in their minds all the time? Because it’s kind of weird.”
“I can’t say it’s normal, no.” Alaric gave us a faintly bemused look. “But then, Cal––”
“Rafe,” Bones cut in, his voice warning.
“––Rafe,” Alaric amended, without missing a beat.
“Who I’m sure in no way deliberately named himself something that sounds very close to the name of a certain fluffy black feline,” he added humorously, glancing at me.
“Rafe has never had a witch before. Have you, my sweet? So how in the realms of gods would I know what is normal for such an anomalous occurrence? Who knows what goes on in the mind of this gorgeous hunk of magical neuroses?”
There was a silence.
Luc and Nyx exchanged looks.
Then, as if by agreement, both of them looked at Bones.
“Seriously?” Luc asked, snorting.
He didn’t look at me, but directed his incredulity at Bones himself.
At Bones’s silence, Luc let out a laugh that sounded like he didn’t know if he should be amused by that or not. All that came across was that he was surprised.
“Is that true?” Nyx pressed Bones next. She folded her arms.
I thought Bones would deny it, or really, just tell them all to fuck off, especially Alaric. He surprised me by seeming not to be offended by the question at all. He didn’t so much as glance in my direction. He merely shrugged.
“It’s not not-true,” he conceded.
“Does that mean it is true?” Nyx prodded again. “You’ve never had a girlfriend before?”
Bones shrugged a second time. He gave me the briefest sideways look imaginable, then aimed his stare at Nyx and her violet eyes.
“No,” he said. “I’ve never had a girlfriend before.”
Everyone fell silent for real.
Alaric ended up being the one to break it. He smiled at me knowingly for some reason and winked, then aimed a finger at Bones.
“Rafe… Gryphon. Will that do?” When Bones nodded, Alaric pointed at me next, and I realized it was a question.
“Chloe,” I blurted, then, thinking, added, “Angelus.” Bones raised an eyebrow, and I shrugged. “I’ve always liked the name Chloe. And I’ll remember Angelus.”
Alaric smiled, nodded, and pointed at Luc.
“Desmond,” he said, as if he’d just decided. He smiled at me. “I’ve always liked that name, too. And Hunter will do for a last name.”
Alaric pointed at Nyx.
“Mauve,” she said, pursing her lips. “…Silver.”
Luc snorted, and she smacked him.
“Now, now,” Alaric scolded. “No editorializing around others’ choices.” Still thinking, and now standing right in front of the gate, he declared, “And I’ll be Loki. Loki Ravenous.”
I laughed, and earned a mock-offended stare from him.
“It’s a little on the nose,” I told him apologetically.
Alaric looked confused, like he wasn’t sure what I meant, but I strongly suspected he knew exactly what I meant and was playing dumb.
Bones snorted, too, and leaned towards me to murmur, “Loki was the name of his pet wyrmloc when he was little.” He held out his hands to show me the size, with looked like a large cat, or a small dog.
“It ‘flew away,’” he added, using air quotes with his fingers.
He looked at Alaric. “How old were you when it happened? Fourteen? Fifteen?”
Luc burst out in a shocked laugh. “You had a dragon as a pet? Gods and monsters. Only a Greythorne would give their child a deadly creature to play with.”
“It was a wyrmloc,” Alaric corrected loftily. “NOT a dragon.”
“A wyrmloc is a dragon,” Nyx pointed out. “Just a small one.”
“Not the same thing at all,” Alaric sniffed.
“Totally different. Wyrmloc are quite affectionate. Downright cuddly, for your information. Mine slept in my bed with me every night. It snored very adorably. I only woke up to it gnawing on my arm occasionally, and then it was just teething, as they lose their teeth quite easily, poor babies.”
Luc snorted louder, his expression openly disbelieving.
“Well, it slept with you until it flew away, I take it?” Nyx asked, her mouth pursed. She seemed more fascinated than amused. “Why did it fly away, if it was so cuddly?”
“That was just the rubbish story his father told him,” Bones said.
Alaric jutted out his chin, his jaw harder.
“My baby Loki loved me,” he insisted. “He wouldn’t have flown away.
Of course my father waited until I’d gone back to school to do it, and to concoct that outrageous lie.
One incident of Loki torching and eating a baby noobi and suddenly he decides to ‘go feral’?
Utter nonsense. My father really does think me an idiot.
And what did he expect a little wyrmloc to do, with all of those yummy noobi running around free? ”
Bones leaned towards me. “Noobi are soft, funny-looking creatures with long, gold hair and wrinkled black necks,” he explained.
“Alec’s father breeds them. It’s a bit of a vanity, but the Greythornes are actually quite famous for their herd, and the items made of their particular brand of noobi hair are sought-after and quite expensive, only used for high-end clothing and the like.
Greythorne senior is famously secretive and meticulous about their breeding strategy, and a baby noobi from the Greythorne flock would fetch a pretty amount of gold. ”
Bones glanced at Alaric, his mouth twitching.
“We think his father either killed Loki, or sold him,” he added.
Alaric, obviously listening to Bones, scoffed again when Bones finished.
I saw genuine anger in his eyes when he glanced back at his friend.
“My father absolutely sold him. Probably to a grubby little gold collector. He never would’ve killed him when there was money to be made, no matter how petty and vindictive he might be feeling. ”
Bones leaned towards me again.
“Wyrmloc might be small,” he explained. “But they’re still dragons. They can sense gold almost as well as the larger varieties, they just have shorter range. Makes them quite valuable to gold collectors and treasure hunters more generally.”
I shivered a little.
I caught hold of Bones’s sleeve briefly.
I had to admit, I liked him explaining things to me that everyone else just assumed I already knew.
I genuinely wasn’t sure if I should be flattered or insulted that most people never bothered to tell me things, but just took for granted that I knew all the things every other Magical in their social circle already knew.
Even if I was still reacting strangely to Bones’s magic, I appreciated his nearness, too.
I hated that I’d gone back to sleeping restlessly since I’d been kicked out of his room at the Black Tower.
Anyway, at least I hadn’t passed out again, like I did in Luc’s lab.
Bones wrapped his long fingers around my arm. When I glanced up, he looked down at me a bit warily, which told me he’d probably heard at least some of my thoughts.
“Are we ready?” Alaric asked, looking back.
No one answered, but apparently we all were. Alaric made a mudra in front of the snake and rose-covered gate. Reddish-purple magic filtered through the silver giraffe primal he’d made for the day, and left his fingers.
The gates slowly began to open.