Page 47 of The Tribes of Magic
I stretched out my arms, wiggling my fingertips. One of them brushed against something sticky, like honey. I poked around until I found the honeypot—or rather, the edge of another dimension. I peeled back the thick, heavy layer of…whatever it was. I guess it was the fabric between dimensions. Or big, fat folders in an inter-dimensional filing cabinet.
I kept searching, strumming my fingers across the dimensional divide. I’d done this once before with Nixi the ghost, and it had felt kind of similar.
Things were a little rougher this time, a little edgier and harder and louder. I couldn’t pinpoint exactly where Orion was hiding, but I had a general idea of the direction.
“Is that the best you can do?”
Orion’s voice sounded closer. And it echoed less. I had to be getting close.
“You will never be Knights.”
I pulled back another layer, and Orion’s voice completely disappeared. I heard only crickets—literally. I couldn’t see the crickets, but I could hear them all around me.
The mist cleared. I saw I was standing in an open field. The wild grass, green tinged with red, was as tall as my knees and asthick as my fingers. The blades swayed in the breeze. I laughed when they tickled my bare legs.
“Red.”
I turned at the sound of Conner’s voice. Though he stood at least twenty meters away, far out of reach, his words sounded like they’d come from right beside me.
“Conner? You’re here?”
“I’m here.”
Conner moved through the sea of grass toward me, his body lit up in a halo of moonlight. He wore a dark bodysuit, cut off at the arms. His bow was strapped to his back.
“Nice cape.” I smirked at him.
His chuckle was soft, understated, and very much amused. “Nice outfit.”
“It’s just my Apprentice uniform.”
“It’s dirty.”
I brushed the grass off my black tank top and shorts. And socks. And shoes. And hair. Geez, it really had gotten everywhere, hadn’t it?
“A couple of the other Apprentices are taking our training sessionwaytoo seriously,” I said. “They pushed me down.”
“I hope you pushed back.”
I laughed. “No. That’s so not me.”
“Yes, revenge is sweeter when it comes unexpected and unannounced. So, what will it be, Red? Chili pepper on the toothbrush? Salt in the sugar shaker? A rogue red sock in their white laundry?” He gave his eyebrows a mischievous wiggle.
I tried not to laugh. I really did. But it was hopeless.
“I’d never do any of those things!”
“Oh, really? How terribly disappointing.” Conner pretended to sigh, but he was grinning far too much to pull that off.
“Of course not. You’re the only rogue here, Captain Rogue.”
“Careful, Red. Only Kato gets to call me that. And afterwards,Iget to enact my revenge.” He let out a melodramatic, maniacal laugh.
I laughed too. “You’re so silly, Conner.”
“Obviously,” he purred. “So what brings you to my doorstep, Red? Or should I saydimension?”
“Today we’re training Dreamweaver magic.”
