Page 100 of A Winding Wave of Magic
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Fairly.” Jonathan blinked up at me from between my pillows, pupils dilated again. He sat up and shook his head like he was trying to dislodge cobwebs. “I tried to break the blinding spell to see what was inside it.”
“You rebel.That’snot allowed.”
He rubbed the spot in between his eyebrows. Both of us looked back at the box, which still sat innocently at the end of the bed as if it hadn’t just delivered a magical punch. “Put it back, for now. I’ll bind the safe so it will actually protect its contents, but we’ve got to figure out what to do with it. It can’t stay here.” He rubbed his eyes again and looked at me pointedly. “Do you still want to go to Seattle after everything I’ve told you, or straight to Ireland? You don’t have to decide about your place on the Council, but you need to be prepared should it come to that sooner rather than later. Do stop chewing your fingers, Cass.”
I yanked my right hand from my mouth. Damn, and I had been so good for the past five months. “I intended to go to Ireland to learn more about Penny and where I came from, and that’s still my plan. But I need to see my mother if only to know what she knows. Maybe more now.”
Jonathan nodded, then looked at the box with something akin to dread. “Put that back in the safe, then. I’ll secure it properly.”
He gave me a wide berth as I locked the box back inside the safe. Once the door clicked shut, he plucked a hair from my head.
“Ouch!” I cried, rubbing the tingling spot on my scalp.
Jonathan just crouched beside the safe, rubbing the hair between his palms. When he opened them, it was gone. He then placed his hands on top of the safe and murmured a few indecipherable words under his breath. His eyes glowed. Something in the room shifted.
Then he stood up and smiled at me. “All done. If anyone who isn’t you tries to touch that box, they’ll get a nasty burn.”
“That’s a neat trick.”
“For now, anyway. I should get going. I’ve some things to do if we’re to leave soon. Can you make arrangements to go in a few days?”
I glanced around at the mostly packed room. “Shouldn’t be hard. We’ve already found someone to take over my lease, so I’ll work on moving the rest of my things into storage tomorrow and Sunday instead of next week.”
I followed Jonathan into the living room where he scooped his jacket and hat off the couch before walking to the front door.
“I’m staying at the Four Seasons,” he said, setting on his fedora as he opened the door. “I’ll book the travel arrangements and be in touch.”
His gaze softened a fraction as he looked at me, and he reached out to touch my knuckles again, just as he had done by the reservoir. Comfort flowed through my veins, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the mingling of his care and my gratitude. His fingers dropped away, but the sensation didn’t. I smiled.
“Until then, little blackbird,” he whispered.
When I opened my eyes, he was gone.
31
A MOTHER’S LEGACY
Any woman could pique me into love by affecting indifference.
— LADY MORGAN SYDNEY,THE WILD IRISH GIRL
“Idon’t like it,” Reina said for the third time that morning as we stood outside my building, waiting for her car to Logan Airport.
After lunch, Reina and I had spent the rest of the day rambling around Boston’s less populated areas before her flight back to Portland this morning. I’d told her about Jonathan’s visit and the changes afoot—and what I hadn’t divulged, she’d figured out anyway through my constant brooding.
Reina’s duffel bag sat at her feet, and we both squinted in the bright May sunlight.
I peered down at her. “Think of it as a quest. And we’re both going on them, aren’t we? You to Guatemala, me to Ireland.”
She frowned. “It’s not the quest I’m worried about. Honestly, I think it’s great you want to visit Ireland, see where Penny’sfrom and all that. And I think seeing your mom is overdue. You need to get to the bottom of this weird inheritance anyway. Academia can wait.”
I sighed. I wasn’t so sure about that. The college in Oregon had agreed to defer my hire for a year while I took care of “family issues.” But my advisor, my department, and nearly every academic acquaintance I had thought it was a bit much. I’d be coming into the position with a reputation as high maintenance. It didn’t bode well for my chances of tenure in seven years.
And yet, here I was, still leaving for now.
Or maybe forever, a small voice reminded me.
