Page 12 of The Tree of Spirits
He nodded.
“What about ‘magic takes time, so don’t rush it’ and all that nonsense?”
“It is, as you say, nonsense. I see that now.” His smile was loaded with guilt. “You were born with magic, Red. Magic isn’t just who you are now; it’s who you’vealwaysbeen. You aren’t like the other Apprentices. I need to stop treating you like you are.”
“So that means you’ll teach me big, powerful spells to blow stuff up?” I said, hope bubbling up in my chest.
He chuckled. “Let’s save the blowing stuff up for later. When I’m confident you won’t become collateral damage to your own spell.”
“Hey, I know how not to blow myself up.” I crossed my arms. “I’ve been not blowing myself up for years.”
That made him laugh. Which made me laugh too. When I was done, I gazed across the clearing at the base. If Connerwas right, the Brothers were inside. Those cowards were hiding behind two fences, all those weapons, and an army of Cursed Ones.
“Why do you think they took Marlow?” I asked.
Wolf whimpered.
Conner gave her a comforting pat on the head. “This Marlow is a Scavenger?”
“Yes.”
“Your friend is not the only Scavenger the Brothers abducted. They took many more. The Brothers are using them to gather supplies like fuel for their trucks and building materials for their compound. And weapons. Lots and lots of weapons.”
“That sounds like a big job.” I watched two men in black clothing unload a crate from the back of their truck. “Just how many Scavengers did these people abduct?”
“Ten, spread out over the course of the last two months.”
“Ten?” I choked on the word. “How could the Watchers not notice ten people going missing from the Fortress?”
“Because they didn’t go missing from the Fortress. The Brotherhood nabbed the Scavengers during their salvage missions in the fallen districts. Scavengers go missing out there all the time. It’s a dangerous job. Sometimes they’re killed or cursed before they make it back to the city. And sometimes they desert before they’re killed or cursed.”
“I guess so…but for ten people to just disappear…” I shook my head. “That’s so many.”
“It is,” he agreed. “But if the Watchers are investigating the missing Scavengers, they aren’t telling anyone.”
“Nothing new there.”
A small smile touched his lips. “More likely, though, the Watchers have been too busy to investigate this at all. It’s been a crazy week.”
He wasn’t wrong about that.
“Well, then I guess it’s up to us to save Marlow and the other Scavengers.” I arched a brow at Conner.
“Yes?” The twinkle was back in his eyes.
“You can turn yourself invisible,” I told him. “You could teach me the spell. Then we could sneak in and rescue the Scavengers.”
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
“Why?” I frowned. “Did you forget how to turn yourself invisible? Or did you run out of magic?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten how to turn myself invisible.” He laughed. “And there’s no danger of my running out of magic.” A confident smirk twisted his lips.
“Oh, really? Then why aren’t you invisible right now?” I planted my hands on my hips and countered his smirk with one of my own. “Did the invisibility game you were playing with me grow old?”
“It wasn’t a game, Red.” He rolled his eyes at me, like he was annoyed, but the humor on his lips gave him away. “I am trying to keep a low profile.”
“Because the General doesn’t want you investigating what you’re investigating.”
