Chapter 9 #2
True. I set the coffeepot next to the mugs. “But it would give me something to put on that entrance exam…” I prompted.
“Won’t it bring in that shadow?” Marty said, clearly concerned. “That’s why I had to quit my job. Every time I made a field, it showed up.”
“Were you fixing dross inert?” I said, and she bobbed her head.
“That’s what brought him in, not the field itself.
” Still, she looked uneasy, and I frowned at the haze of dross clinging to Lev’s ratty slipper.
“That’s how I caught Pluck,” I added, shifting all my weight to my left leg when Pluck froze my right in protest. “I gave him some inert dross and he popped right into a lodestone.”
Lev’s eyebrows rose. “I seem to remember it a little differently.”
Yeah, it was a lot different, but I wanted to see what Marty could do.
“You sure?” Marty glanced at Pluck puddled about my feet.
“Absolutely.” I went to set the tray on the low table, stifling a shudder when Pluck’s grip on my leg stretched and snapped.
“Shadow spit, Lev. I am not your cleaning service.” Taking the heat distortion from his foot, I balled it up and tossed it to the trap by the door.
The coffee smelled wonderful, but I ignored it, clearly waiting.
Marty sat straighter. Palms pressed, she inhaled, pulling them apart to make a slight distortion between them.
I kept my neutral smile in place. It was a field, but it was thin and patchy, hardly holding together. Maybe she’s better with a wand…
Her skill level is like minus two, Pluck fizzed and bubbled, a thin trace of satisfaction coloring his thoughts. No wonder she hasn’t attracted a shadow yet. She’s a yeth.
Marty squinted, her face showing the strain as she shifted her field a little denser before letting it go. You thought I was a yeth, too, I reminded him.
Yes, but you came with skills. Marty has none. Thoth wouldn’t be interested in her, even if he could mesh his psyche to hers. There was a flush of worry, and the shadow pulled from me to hide under the couch again.
Marty was staring expectantly, and I found my train of thought. “Ah, not bad,” I said, and exhaled in relief. It was obvious, though, that she knew she was behind the curve.
“I’m working on them,” she said softly, startling at the sharp rap on the door.
“Hey, Petra? You home?”
Benny, I thought in a mix of relief, worry, and delight, glad Pluck was under the couch. He didn’t like Benedict and I needed a hug without the shadow’s sour commentary.
“That coffee smells good.” Lev unfolded himself to reach it as Marty collapsed her field.
I crossed the room with a definite bounce in my step, not caring if Ryan had sent him to check on me. Pleased, I opened the door with a flourish. “Hi, Benny.”
My shoulders eased at his smile, and I sighed when he lifted the bakery box in his hand high so as to put an arm around me and give me a hug. “How are you doing? Is Pluck okay?”
Yep, Ryan had talked to him, and I gave him a kiss, whispering, “Fine. We spent some time in the grotto and he’s recovered. I thought you had class today.”
Benedict’s gaze flicked over my shoulder. “Ryan called. Said you thought a murderous shadow might be tailing the new weaver.”
I took a breath to protest, and he pulled me closer. “I heard about your trap at the records building. Until he’s caught, there’s a chance Thoth will show here. It’s me or Lev. Your choice.”
Choice? Not really, and I nodded as I pulled my arms from him. “So, no class?”
“Thanksgiving break starts this week.” Benedict came in and set the box on the eat-at counter. The scent of his cologne hit me when he took off his jacket, and I breathed it in, enjoying it.
“Is that coffee?” Benedict said, his smile genuine as he nodded at Lev. “Perfect. I brought Danishes. They’re left over from my meeting this morning, but still good.”
“Ooh, cherry,” Lev said when he flipped the lid open and helped himself.
“Marty?” I asked, and she shook her head. After that mega-burger, I wasn’t hungry, either, and I tugged at Benedict’s elbow. “Benedict, this is Marty. Marty, this is Benedict Strom. He’s a professor of mage studies.”
“Boyfriend,” Lev coughed, as if the kiss hadn’t made it obvious.
“Junior professor,” Benedict admitted as he gave her a charming, goofy wave. “But you can call me Benedict. It’s great to meet you. Petra’s been looking for you—or someone like you, rather—for months. You have no idea.”
Marty stood, leaning over the coffee table to briefly take his hand. “Marty Mayson,” she said, her gaze shifting nervously as she sat down again. And just like that, I finally had a last name. “It’s nice to meet you,” she added, but again, it was by rote, sounding even more tired.
“Coffee and Danish…this day is shaping up.” Lev settled himself, hands full. “You sure you don’t want to get in on this, Marty?”
“Just coffee,” she said, and I went to get another mug.
Pluck was glowering at me from under the couch, his green eyes snapping sparks.
With both Lev and Benedict here, it was starting to feel a little oppressive.
And yet I was glad when Benedict followed me into the kitchen, the large man pushing a little too close as he got a couple of plates for his pastries.
“Are you sure her being here is a good idea?” he said, his voice low so Marty, now talking to Lev, wouldn’t likely hear. “What if that shadow shows up?”
I glanced at Marty, worried. “Then I catch him. You tell me who on campus is better suited for this than Pluck and me. The only reason I’m not at the records building tonight is because I want to get Pluck a new stone first.”
“Fine. I’m staying the night even if I’m on the couch.” Fake smile in place, he headed into the living room, plates and box of Danish in hand.
“Where’s Pluck?” Benedict asked, and when Lev pointed to the evil green glare coming from under the couch, Benedict sat down right over him. “Hey, Pluck.”
I took the corner of the couch, my feet tucked under me so Pluck couldn’t freeze my ankles. If he wanted to be a part of the conversation, he’d have to put in an appearance.
“Ryan said you might need a ride out to the rock and gem show.” Benedict set a pastry on a plate. “Count me in.”
Must he sit over me? fizzed through me, and I jumped. Pluck had snaked a tendril up through the cracks of the couch, and I put my feet on the floor, not surprised when he coiled about my ankles.
“And, Marty,” Benedict continued, turning to her, “I’m sure you’d rather have a stone you picked out yourself instead of Ryan’s.”
A flash of fear crossed Marty. “I just want that shadow to stop following me. I’ve never been good at school. I’d be wasting everyone’s time.”
She was getting agitated, and I put up a hand, asking for patience.
“Marty, everyone learns differently. There’s a place for you here even if you decide against taking classes.
I know this is scary, but shadows are what we make them.
Pluck was an ugly, pus-dripping fiend when I first met him because that’s what I saw. Now he’s…”
A dog, Pluck fizzed.
Hurt, I leaned to look under the couch. “I told you before, if you want to be something else, be something else. You said this was what you enjoyed being. Pluck…”
Pluck slithered away, little rills of dark matter spilling from him as he snaked through a sunbeam. Green eyes virulent, he curled into a ball on the floor in the kitchen and glowered.
“Pluck…” I started to stand, then caught myself. Marty was staring at me as if I’d gone crazy. But then again, she could only hear half the conversation. Lev and Benedict were used to it, but Marty? Flustered, I hid behind a gulp of coffee, almost choking on it.
Benedict scrubbed a hand over his face. “Ah, so tomorrow morning? Whether you stay or not, you should have your own chunk of moldavite, Marty.”
“Sure.”
It was a listless response, and I winced, feeling the conversation lag.
“So, Petra.” Benedict shifted his Danish to his other hand so he could lick his fingers. “Dana is fit to sever heads. Did you really suggest that mages go out with the sweepers to fix dross into nuggets?”
“Seriously?” Lev said, and I cringed, nervous at what he might think.
“Ah, yeah. It was Pluck’s idea. I think it’s a good one.”
Benedict slurped his coffee. “Good or not, it’s already causing a lot of discussion.”
Discussion, he said, but what I heard was anger. “How much—discussion?”
“Well…” Benedict turned his Danish, eating the gooey side before it dripped onto his jeans.
“The sweepers don’t want to take the mages out with them because they think they will eventually lose their jobs, seeing as once the dross is inert, mages can handle it safely.
The mages feel insulted to have been asked to do this in the first place. ”
I wasn’t surprised. “Sweepers are not trashmen,” I said, not caring that Marty was getting a look at the boulder-size chip on my shoulder. “None of this would be necessary if the mages handled their own waste.”
“I’m not arguing, just relating the mood.” Done with his Danish, Benedict eased back with his coffee.
“So make a class,” Lev offered. “This is a university, isn’t it? Freshmen have to take a dross-handling class already. Extend it to them partnering with a sweeper for a year.”
“Oh, if only it was that easy.” I dangled my hand to find Pluck, forgetting he had put himself in the kitchen. “Most freshmen don’t have the skill to fix dross into inert nuggets.”
Marty’s eyes were wide, and I forced myself to smile. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It’s nothing you have to be concerned over.”
Benedict heaved a sigh, his entire body moving. “The most skilled mages—the ones capable of making this work—are understandably reluctant.”
I extended my foot across the space between us and pushed on his knee. “Then maybe you and I should work together as a sweeper/mage pair for a semester. Show them how it’s done.”
That’s the balance, Pluck fizzed, my ankle cramping. He was back.