Chapter 8 #2
“Yeah, definitely two. The one who got me…” Pax trailed off, closing his eyes as he recalled details of that day he hadn’t yet examined.
Then, his eyes shot open. “It’s just possible that the one who got me was female.
I hadn’t put it together before, but I’ve got a strong feeling that it was a female mage who blasted me through that delivery truck. ”
“And the person we’ve been noting around town is definitely male,” Ari added, thinking this through with his twin. “Too bad he hasn’t allowed us close enough to sniff. If he smells of dark magic, then he might very well be the second mage from the ambush.”
“Which would mean his partner could be biding her time before showing herself,” Pax added, his agitation growing as the plot came clearer in his mind. “Son of a bitch,” he swore, his voice low and growly with frustration.
They were silent for a time, Pax seething with anger, mostly aimed at himself for letting things get this far. Then, Ari spoke.
“Well, one good thing, if anything about this could be termed good, is that this watcher is being cautious. If the guy we’ve seen around town is a mage, and if he had a higher-level power, he would’ve probably just attacked first and asked questions later.
The fact that he’s been observing before acting might mean he’s a mid-level mage who has to think before he acts. ”
Pax paused, pondering his brother’s words. “You might have something there,” he finally admitted, nodding. “If he’s a mage, then he’s likely the kind who uses what he has efficiently rather than ostentatiously. Which makes him more dangerous in some ways. He won’t announce himself.”
“He also doesn’t know about the Clan,” Ari reminded his twin. “He thinks he’s looking at just our family. Three, maybe four people, if he even realizes I’m back, with unusual abilities living quietly on the edge of town.”
“That’s Pedro’s assessment,” Pax agreed. “Then again, Pedro is almost always right about these things.”
“So he might be under-resourced for what he’s actually walking into.” Ari paused. “Which means we want to keep him under-resourced. Don’t give him anything that changes the limited picture he’s already seen.”
“Agreed.”
“I need to warn Bree,” Pax said, a few seconds later. “I told her some of it already, but I need to give her more. So she’s prepared.”
“Yes,” Ari said, without elaboration, which meant he’d already arrived at the same conclusion.
“But you know her. She’s going to want to be useful.” Pax shook his head, already dreading the conversation.
“She is going to be useful. Whether we involve her in the planning or not, she’s going to be useful.
She knows the town even better than we do, and she’s been paying attention.
You know how observant she is. Better to have her feeding us information than to try to work around her.
That’ll only piss her off.” Ari looked at him.
“And she’s going to find out anyway. Bree always finds out everything. ”
Pax thought about the invoice she’d been staring at the other day, and the way she’d already assembled more of the picture than he’d given her. “Yeah, that’s true enough,” he said.
“You should tell her tonight. Don’t waste time,” Ari advised.
Pax didn’t need any more urging. He made plans to go into town.
Pax arrived at the store that evening, just before closing. He greeted Tomás and told the younger man to head home. Pax would see to Bree’s safety and locking up the shop. Tomás nodded respectfully and took his leave.
That left Pax and Bree alone in the empty store, since her father had already gone upstairs to their private apartment.
With the doors locked, they sat in the back office to have a quiet chat.
She sat at the desk, with him in the chair he’d pulled around to her side.
He carefully laid out everything he had observed and what Pedro had said about the mage sniffing around for the past eight days.
He also told her about the likelihood that whoever was out there thought he was looking at a small family. Pax’s family.
She listened. Her expression was calm, but he knew she was processing the new information.
Bree had known about magic for a long time and she didn’t make him stop to explain things, even though she might not have ever heard him talk much about mages before.
When he finished she turned her gaze to his and shook her head slightly.
“Eight days means he’s been here while I’ve been having your Clan members going in and out of our front door.”
“Yes. But Pedro says they’re invisible because of his wards. Pedro believes the mage only sees me and my parents. And maybe Ari.”
“As long as no one does anything that makes him update his information.”
“Right,” Pax agreed.
She seemed to think about it. “The workshops,” she said finally.
“He’d see humans coming to a hardware store. He wouldn’t have any reason to think—”
“Unless he’s watching closely enough to notice that the humans coming to the hardware store are unusually large, fit, attractive, and move like athletes.
” She held up a hand before he could respond.
“I’m not saying we have to stop the workshops.
That might look even more suspicious. I’m just saying we should think about cutting back a bit, maybe.
At least until this blows over. Maybe just proceed with the ones that have already been planned, but don’t announce any new ones until things settle down. ”
“That might be a good idea,” he agreed readily.