Page 42 of Polestar
“What can you tell us about the shaman, Magnus?”Kane asked, refilling his mug.
He shrugged.“The shaman that I knew growing up was my father’s closest friend and advisor.His duty was to oversee all royal rituals and activities, but above all, to protect the king from non-physical threats.He had a Guardian Chief for the physical ones.I haven’t seen him or anyone else from Barentia since they banished me.I haven’t been back, and I haven’t had any contact with anyone—not even my son.”
Ana jerked in his arms, sitting up and moving away so she could turn to look at him, her expression incredulous.“You have a son?You have a son you haven’t seen in a decade?”
“Yes,” he said, his body tensing.
She frowned as she considered this, but said nothing more about it.Instead, she turned to Kane.“Why do you want us to go into his clan’s territory?”
Kane looked at Magnus.
“Joey, she should know,” Magnus said to Kane, using her given name, which he rarely did.
“Know what?”Ana demanded.
Wearily, Joey held Magnus’ gaze before turning her attention to Ana.“It’s my fault Magnus was banished.”
“I wouldn’t say it wasyourfault,” Magnus objected.
“It was.Is.If I hadn’t pushed your father so hard, he probably wouldn’t have turned against you when you tried to help make him see reason about the prophecies.”
Magnus snorted.“Maybe.But there were also an awful lot of underlying clan politics that pushed him toward his decision.”
“Prophecies?”
A pang struck Magnus when Ana moved away from him, renewing the distance between them as she slid to the opposite end of the couch.She huddled in the wool throw he’d wrapped around her.
He turned so that both his feet were firmly on the floor, elbows on his knees, as they continued their discussion.
“Look, Joey, you’ve always known something was going to happen there.That was the whole deal in the first place.Something is happening and we need to find out how it relates.”He rubbed his hands over his beard and through his hair.“How else would Aksel end up on a human trafficking ship with a hex tattooed into his throat like this?”
Magnus had never seen Joey with any kind of expression that resembled uncertainty before.
“Why are you back-peddling now?Whynow, when you were just pushing us to move forward on this yesterday?”he demanded.“We’re so close, Joey.Soclose.”
“Is it because of the shaman?And what’s this about prophecies?”Ana asked again, setting her mug on the floor next to the couch.
“Yes.The way forward isn’t as clear to me now.I need to think this through.We’ll discuss the prophecies later, but it’s all part of the reason Magnus needs to go to Barentia.”
Ana cut in.“If we can somehow break the sigil, wouldn’t that free Aksel?Then he could wake up and just tell us what we need to know?That black inky stuff seemed to consume the icebergs and I don’t know what that means for him—or the others.”
“It’s not so simple as that.”Joey’s voice was gentle as she reached a hand to Ana’s knee.“Even if there was some way to remove the tattoo, it magically embedded the ink in his skin and bloodstream.”
“Magic like that has very few counteragents.”
“Death is usually the main one,” Magnus said, “Of the creator, or the recipient.”
“Are there any other tattooed victims nearby that I could interview?I might get more information from someone that is trapped in human form,” Ana asked.
Joey shook her head.“They’re all being cared for at facilities close to their homes, although GPSA is monitoring them and keeping us informed.”
Ana threw off the blanket as she stood, then began pacing.“Okay, I really don’t think I can do anything useful with my gifts.But at the very least, Icanpose as Magnus’ fiancée if that gets him through the door, and close to whomever he needs to talk to.Since I can’t actually help save anyone, this is the very least I can do.”She paused mid stride and shrugged.“If it’s a dead end, then we move on.Who knows, maybe this will give Magnus a chance to see his son.”
Magnus blinked.He cleared the sudden lump in his throat.“That would be irrelevant to the mission.”
“Like hell it is,” Ana exploded, color blooming in her cheeks.“Sons need their fathers.Fathers need their children.You—.”She closed her eyes, straightened her spine and drew a breath.“Everyone has the right to see their family.”
A smile tugged at Magnus’ lips.“That’s not exactly how my society works, but I appreciate the sentiment, Ana.”
