Page 13 of The Mage on the Hill
“LR3,” Darius grunted as he shoved bags in the back.
“QF7.”
Darius slammed the hatch, probably harder than he needed to. The black eye patch with a blond eyebrow raised over it somehow managed both piratical and distinguished. “What?”
“Oh. I thought we were spouting out random letter/number combos.”
The gusty sigh could’ve been the end of Darius’s patience or exasperated amusement. Toby hoped for the second.
“Not… a Range Rover.” Darius shooed him toward the passenger side. “Less pricey.”
Toby peered into the cabin. “Still looks pretty cushy. Older model, yeah, doesn’t have the kind of display every car has now, but still looks like a spaceship cockpit. Or at least airplane. Why do they call it a cockpit, anyway? I mean, you can’t steer with your dick. Though I guess if you—”
A sharp throat-clearing cut him off. Darius had moved over to the driver’s side door and regarded him over the roof of the vehicle. “Scared?”
“Maybe a little.” Toby fidgeted with his backpack strap. “Yeah.”
“Of me?”
Was there a hint of sorrow in the question? “Hell no.” Toby let a smile creep in. “You’re just a great big teddy bear.”Griffin. Teddy griffin.
The snort at least was free of emotional subtext.
“Look, I trust you.”
“Not much….” Darius grimaced, apparently fighting for a word. “Choice.”
“You don’t say much, but you don’t bullshit me either. You took me in when you didn’t have to. You’re trying to help, even though I can see parts of you want to run screaming. If I haven’t said thank you yet, thanks. Even if none of this works and I go up in a big magic mushroom cloud. I’m grateful you want to try.” The conversation was moving into territory that sometimes made Darius stomp off, so Toby flashed a grin. “Did we bring junk food?”
That bright blue eye gave a slow blink. “Maybe.”
“Maybe? Aw, man. You’re killing me here.”
One corner of Darius’s mouth twitched.Score! Almost smile!“If you behave.”
Toby let out a dramatic gasp before he laughed and climbed into the car… truck… off-road thingy. He had the feeling Darius had bought it years ago for fieldwork when he was still geology professoring. A few wriggles in his seat confirmed his initial assessment, though. Might’ve been a work vehicle, but it was still cushy and comfy.
He hadn’t been bullshitting Darius either, nor did he intend to. Maybe his new teacher’s methods were dangerous like the guild said, and maybe Darius was crazy like the guild implied, but he was trying todosomething to save Toby. Sure, Toby might still die before he got his magic under control, but it was better than having the rest of his life taken from him. Yes, he trusted Darius, to protect him and to know what to do next.
As far as the scared part went? Yeah, he was scared. Even though he felt better than he had in weeks, he was a ticking wild magic explosive. Any moment might be the final number on a countdown clock he couldn’t see.
That could’ve been paralyzing if he thought about it too much, and if he’d been alone. He wasn’t. The mage beside him was badly damaged, but in watching him struggle out of his own personal murk, battling demons Toby couldn’t begin to visualize, he’d seen something of the fierce heart burning under the scars.Yes, he trusted Darius, and not just for his expertise. He trusted Darius to be a decent person, to do the right thing.
It wasn’t exactly friendship, but it was a start. Or something. Where was his brain going with that thought? A sudden weary wave compressed his spine as the garage door went up and uneven light filtered in from a cloud-swept sky. So tired….
Toby jerked when something landed on his lap. “Oreos! Cool, thanks!”
A normal grunt response, then Darius got out of the car, which made no sense since the garage door opener wasinthe car. Curious, but not so curious that he didn’t open the package of cookies and snag a couple, he kept an eye on Darius as the big man used the outside keypad to close the garage and lifted a bucket of something reddish.
Darius held a palm over the bucket. When he raised his hand, the red substance followed and filled in the seam between door and garage. It mimicked his movements up, across, and down to complete the fill until the garage door had an unbroken seam of whatever it was.
With the bucket left near the front stoop, Darius climbed back into the driver’s seat and eased the Land Rover down the driveway.
“So, uh, what was that?”
“Clay.”
Toby twisted in his seat and spotted an identical red seam around the front door. “To seal the house? But you didn’t do the windows? Is it to keep someone from breaking in?”
