Page 75 of Twisted Magic

“Yes, let’s get that taken care of.”

She only hoped they would be in time to save House Phel from sinking into ignominy a second, and final, time.

~23~

Nic hadn’t realized how monotonous a siege would be. It was an odd kind of tedium, too, born of long periods of nothing happening, underlaid by the singing tension of dread of what might happen, interspersed with moments of utter terror when something did happen.

It was a very strange way to live: becoming so bored you began to wish for something to happen, until you remembered that the only thing that could happen would be terrible. She occupied herself with what she could, trying to keep busy so she wouldn’t worry about those things she couldn’t control. Which was pretty much everything at that point.

The aerial bombardments had begun not long after she predicted they would—possibly in response to the flock of Ratsiel couriers she’d sent—and Gabriel had been forced to close the wards overhead. They’d had a time of it chasing down the tiny machines that had whirred their way through the manse, seeking flesh and burrowing in with terrifying speed. Elal spirits of various kinds had made their way in, too. To Nic’s immense frustration, and despite her sensitivity to Elal magic, she could detect only some of them.

The one bright side was that the higher-echelon, warrior spirits could be dealt with directly using mundane weapons. There had been bloody skirmishes throughout the lovely manse, Han’s cadres of fighters grimly battling the semi-corporeal beings. Dispersing the entities entirely had taken wizards, but—although they had no one fully skilled in Elal wizardry—enough of their minions possessed MP scores in spirit magic that they’d been able to team up to eventually disperse the things. It had taken more magic than they could afford, but the moral victory had been worth it.

The remaining spirits created further problems, however, primarily the poltergeists that had burrowed their way into the framework of the manse, causing mischief resulting in minor injuries and major frustrations. The wicked creatures had a knack for chaos, interrupting at critical moments and driving everyone crazy. Worst of all, they seemed to be immune to all efforts to expunge them. Alise could have done it, Nic was sure, and she caught herself regretting not having her sister with them.

Until she reminded herself how glad she was.

She was in the infirmary, up on a ladder with a crowbar attempting to pry off the window molding to uncover a poltergeist burrow, when Gabriel found her. This particular gremlin had been harassing Asa and his assistants by stealing bandages and ointments off trays just as someone was reaching for them and also contriving to drop cold water onto sleeping patients. Asa was strained to the breaking point. As their only healing wizard with a steady supply of wounded to deal with, he needed all of his wits about him. It didn’t help that he, in particular, was also wearing thin on his critically needed healing magic.

The poltergeist lurked at the end of a thin tunnel, probably created by one of those wood-eating worms that had infested the place before they hired the House Pestis exterminator wizard to come and work their magic. It had squeezed itself into the very back and Nic was offering it emotional tidbits, luring it to stick its snout out long enough for her to snag it with the canned enchantment one of the minions had fabricated. “Come here, sweet baby polty,” she crooned. “Have some nummy emotions. Just for you.”

It crept forward, wanting the turbulent emotions poltergeists thrived on, but suspicious of her.

“Polty polty,” she sing-songed. “Come on, sweetie muffin ba—ack!” She screeched as someone seized her by the waist and lifted her into the air, and she flailed before realizing it was Gabriel.

He set her on her feet and spun her around to receive the full force of his glare. With his fulminating frustration at being unable to do more to counter their enemies, his glare packed considerable force, indeed. His moon magic had gone to the dark face, flaring about him in a palpable wake like black wings. “No. Ladders.” He punctuated the words forcibly, fists on his hips.

“I wasn’t going to fall,” she protested. “And I almost had—”

“Everyone says they’re not going to fall. Nobody thinks they will until they do.” He gave her rounded belly a pointed stare. “We’re trapped in here with no access to a House Gaia wizard should you go into labor prematurely.”

“Listen to you,” she griped, “talking like only House Gaia can help with this pregnancy. I feel quite certain that Meresin women have been giving birth quite successfully without Convocation wizardry to assist. Laryn had her baby without Gaia’s assistance.”

“She had Asa’s help.”

“As would I.”

“Not if the baby comes early and Asa is buried in dealing with the wounded.”

“You’re borrowing trouble.”

“All of this is beside the point,” he countered swiftly. “You shouldn’t be taking foolish risks.”

“Don’t you call me a fool, Gabriel Phel.”

“Lord Phel. Lady Phel,” Asa interrupted the increasingly heated argument in his calming healer’s voice. “Tempers are short throughout the manse, but you set the example and there are witnesses.”

Flushed at the chastisement, Nic rounded on Asa, lowering her voice because he held the sleeping infant in his arms. That had been another bright spot, the birth of little Cornelis. “I was attempting to satisfy your request, healer, by nabbing the poltergeist everyone else has failed to.” They all winced as a tray of implements hurtled through the air and crashed against a wall, showering broken glass and pungent oil. Cornelis woke with a wail. “We’ll never catch that fucker,” she muttered unhappily.

“I won’t apologize,” Gabriel retorted, as if she’d been speaking to him. “I refuse to prioritize a nuisance over your health.”

Someone shrieked, then cursed angrily, an assistant running with towels to mop up the water—and the person who’d gotten doused. “I never imagined being aggravated to death,” Asa said on a weary sigh, handing Cornelis to Narlis, who’d come hurrying over.

Her creased face lit with joy and Cornelis quickly quieted, waving his hands at Narlis. “You’re a good boy,” she told him, carrying him off with promises of a nice bottle. Laryn, still listless ever since the bond-severing, hadn’t shown any inclination to nurse Cornelis and indeed seemed indifferent to the child. Nic was glad they’d kept Laryn in House Phel until the birth, instead of sending her back to Refoel, or the house of her birth, but more than once Nic had considered using the woman for hunter bait.

Asa watched Narlis and his son go with a wistful smile before turning back to them. “Lord Phel is correct, Lady Phel—we can cope with this spirit, annoying as it is. At least you gave us a reprieve while it hid from you.”

“I almost had it,” Nic repeated, giving Gabriel some of his glare back. But he wasn’t looking at her, studying Asa instead.

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