Page 106 of The Tribes of Magic
Besides, Conner was pretty adamant that he was going to start investigating the General immediately. I wasn’t convinced it was the General, but I wasn’t convinced it wasn’t the General either. All I knew was I was hungry, and I was not going on another Quest before I’d had something to eat—something that preferably included dessert—and a good night’s sleep.
“Remember the story and keep to it.”
Kato and I were walking down the path toward the door that led into the dining hall. It was summer and the days were long, so the sun hadn’t set yet. It had painted the sky in striking shades of orange and pink, though. I was glad the rain clouds had cleared away so we could enjoy the sunset.
At least I was enjoying it. Kato was still talking me through our story.
“A lie only works if it’s consistent.”
Kato didn’t like to lie, but when he had to, he did it in a very orderly fashion. He was so adorably organized.
Our story was Kato had a lead on the Rebels today. One source led to another, led to another, until he had to speak to a ghost to proceed further. Kato can’t speak to ghosts. Neither can any of the other Knights. The only person he knew who could speak to ghosts was me, so he recruited me for his Quest.
The ghost led us to a Rebel camp in the Dark Woods, but the Rebels were already gone. Kato had some photos of the supposed Rebel campsite on his phone. He’d staged the scene pretty convincingly.
Katocouldhave said he’d recruited me for my power to repel Cursed Ones in the Dark Woods, but he didn’t want people—aka especially the General—to know about my weird ability. If he learned what I did to the Cursed Ones, he would exploit my power. Kato figured he’d place me at the front of the army to keep the Cursed Ones back, then try to steamroll over them and reclaim all the lost lands around former Sydney in one fell swoop.
That would put me in the dead center of a war zone, which Kato was adamant he wouldn’t let happen to me. Most especially until I could control my power better—and even then, most definitely not.
Those were his words, not mine.
“Ok, we’re here. Are you feeling up to this?” Kato turned to look me over.
We were standing just outside the dining hall. Even through the closed doors, I could hear the sounds of dinner. I could smell the tantalizing aromas of dinner too. A fresh wave of hunger hit me.
“I’m fine,” I told him.
I was ready to face the masses. Undoubtedly, Kato’s story had spread through the whole Castle by now.
“My power nap in the car did the trick. My energy is back.”
So was my hunger, but we weren’t talking about that.
Kato had one hand on the door. The other was on my shoulder. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. It’s time. I can’t hide out here forever.”
So with our stories straight and our heads held high, Kato and I stepped into the dining hall. We walked down the center aisle to pointed fingers, raised brows, and a chorus of oohs. Kato ignored them all.
He especially ignored Jareth, who gave us a big thumbs up. “Way to go, Team Kato!”
Kato joined some Knights at one of the tables. I went to go sit with the Apprentices. We acted totally casual, all the way.
Bronte pounced on me the moment I sat down. “You went on a quest with the White Knight. You talked to ghosts. You can do that? Since when have you been able to talk to ghosts, Savannah? You got to leave the Fortress. That’s incredible! What was it like in the Dark Woods? Did you encounter any Cursed Ones? I can’t imagine facing them again, not after…”
I tuned out Bronte and focused on hunting down my dinner. Bowls and plates were spread all down the long table. Mashed potatoes. Green beans. Steamed carrots. Thyme chicken—I really hoped that one had regular thyme, not Magic Thyme. Vanilla yogurt. Garlic bread. Cucumber salad. Sweet potatoes. Roasted potatoes. Boiled potatoes.
There sure were a lot of potatoes today.
Pizza. Pasta, in at least six varieties. Tomato sauce. Grilled cheese sandwiches. Chocolate chip cookies. Apple pie. Cherry pie. Banana bread. Ice cream.
My eyes must have wandered into the dessert section. I backtracked to the mains and sides. There were so many choices. I opted for the carrots, the mashed potatoes, and because I probably needed protein after expending all that magic today, the thyme chicken, which was in fact made with regular thyme rather than the magical herb of the same name.
Dante watched me load up my plate, his eyes dancing with amusement. “That’sallfor you?”
“Of course. I’m hungry.”
“I heard you were busy today.”
