Chapter Thirteen #2
“Because you’ve trained and expanded your well of strength, just as I train to expand my well of power.
But I still need to conserve it. The bigger the spell, the more energy I drain, just as a bigger blow will take more of your strength.
If you exhaust yourself in a fight, you won’t collapse in a motionless heap, but you can’t fight the way you need to.
If I use up my spell power, I can only cast small spells that won’t be terribly helpful. ”
“Such as?” He leans back. “Show me a spell.”
Julius groans. “Cordelia isn’t performing for your entertainment, Rufus.”
“It’s not a challenge. I’m curious. I’ve never fought a spellcaster, and if you’ve got a cabal on your tail, I might need to.”
“He’s right,” I say. “Here’s what might be the best-known witch ones.”
I cast a quick cover spell on myself. Rufus’s brows lift, and he leans forward, peering at the space where I’d been. When he reaches out, Bishop catches his hand.
“I was just seeing if she’s still there,” Rufus says.
“I am,” I say, breaking the spell. “A cover spell hides me, but I’m still here and if I move, I break it. Stereotypical witch magic because…” I shrug. “Hiding.”
“Useful, though. Could you cast it on someone else?”
I nod. “I can reliably hide two people at a time.”
“And to cast it, you recited an incantation.”
“Witch magic uses spoken spells. If we can’t talk, we can’t cast them. Sorcerer magic uses…” I flick my fingers, and he jerks back in his seat, startled enough to make Julius laugh.
“That’s what you did to me earlier,” Rufus says.
“Knockback spell,” I say. “No fancy words for us. Spells generally do what the name says.”
“And you cast that every time you make that gesture?”
I shake my head. “I need to consciously think of it while making the gesture. Now, for power, the knockback is low energy, which is why it’s one of my favorites. It won’t incapacitate anyone, but it’ll get them out of my way.”
“Useful,” he murmurs.
“It is. Knock them back and then cast a stronger spell. Maybe this one.” I say the incantation, and Rufus goes totally still, and when panic sparks in his eyes, I break it.
“Fuck,” he says as he shakes himself. “That was…”
“Even more useful? Binding spell. Very handy, but also very hard for a spellcaster. I can maintain it for only a few minutes, and I’m rather proud of myself for that. My aunt could hold it for ten. With practice, I’ll get there.”
“But you recited an incantation. It’s witch magic?”
I smile. “Witch magic doesn’t mean weak magic. That would still be considered a defensive spell. It doesn’t hurt you. It just stops you from hurting me. Or, in a fight, stop you long enough to be hurt.”
He considers before saying, “Could you hurt me while I’m stuck like that? Lunge at me with your knife?”
“Are you offering yourself up for practice?” I arch a brow.
“Honestly, I don’t know, and I would like to practice—not with a knife, of course.
The question, I think, is whether I could bind someone and then move fast enough to stab them before they can recover, because as soon as I lunge, the spell breaks—it really does require all my concentration. ”
“And uses a lot of power?”
I nod. “If someone surprised Bishop from the front, I’d use a knockback, to give him time to react. If they surprised him from behind, I’d use the binding spell to stop them.”
Julius starts unpacking the lunch hamper, and as we eat, I answer more of Rufus’s questions. When I stifle a yawn, Rufus and Julius tease Bishop about not letting me get enough sleep at night.
“You should all rest,” Rufus says. “We’ll be there in a couple of hours, and if the Caledonian Alpha wants to see you right away, it’ll be a very long night.”
“I’m fine,” Bishop says. “I’ll stay awake while everyone rests.”
Rufus shakes his head. “You’re the Alpha now, boy. We need that brain thinking as fast as it can. As your enforcer, it’s my job to watch over you. I’m well rested. I have this. Sleep.”
Rufus telling us all to sleep while he stands watch nudges my suspicions. But when both Julius and Bishop promptly relax and sleep, I know it’s safe. I still stay awake with my eyes closed, and after about thirty minutes, I peek.
Rufus is watching me … but not in the way men often watch me. I’ve had no hint of that from him, which I appreciate. No, this is a careful studying gaze that says I’m not the only one feeling both protective and suspicious.
I open one eye and say, “I’m not going to hurt him.”
“There are many ways to hurt a man.”
“True. You have my word, though, that it is what it seems to be. I’m not pretending to be with him to hide from my grandmother.
I haven’t been sent by my grandmother to ingratiate myself with the werewolves.
I’m not biding my time, seeing what I can get from him.
If I turn out to be anything other than what I seem, then I accept that you’ll do what you need to do, as his enforcer. ”
He nods slowly, but I know he’ll still be suspicious, and I’m glad of it. That’s what Bishop needs. A clever enforcer who can’t be swayed by pretty words.
“You can sleep,” he says. “Whatever my concerns might be, I’m not going to hurt you.”
“It’s not me I was worried about.”
The affront on his face is almost comical. “I’ve known them since they were boys.”
“But I don’t know you. My father ordered my mother’s murder when I was fourteen. Having once cared for, maybe even loved, a person doesn’t stop one from killing them. People will do what they think they need to do.”
“People? Or just werewolves?”
“People. Witches. Sorcerers. Half-demons. Humans. Bishop and Julius obviously trust you, but I’ll be careful until I know you better. They obviously trust me, but you’re going to be careful until you know me better. No offense intended, yes?”
He relaxes with a crooked smile. “Yes. I hope you’re what you seem to be. If you are, you’re well matched.”
I look over at Bishop’s face, calm and boyish in repose. “I hope so.”
“Sleep. You’ll need your wits about you in that place, girl.” He makes a face. “Lass?”
I laugh softly. “We’re heading to Scotland. He’ll let you get away with lass.”
“Sleep then. I’m no threat to you as long as you’re no threat to them.”
“Then I have nothing to worry about,” I say, and close my eyes.