Page 109 of The Demon's Delight
“Oh good! You’re okay?” Greta was clearly very concerned that she’d broken me.
“Fine, I promise. Would you mind keeping that somewhere safe for me? Just in case.”
“Of course.” She nodded in relief and scurried over to her worktable after giving me a brief one-armed hug.
The pressure in my head was gone, but I could feel a new presence around me. I realized it was magic.Allmagic. From theambient magic in the earth to the specific types in the people in the room with me. To my relief, I also had the ability to tell my powerno, don’t take that. It was a strange new subconscious negotiation with everything around me that I’d need time to adjust to.
“Can I take the necklace?” Rylan asked. I braced but removed it. Necklace held by the chain in one hand, he summoned his electricity in the other. Relief washed over me. “Well done.” He shifted his weight, rubbing his chin with a thoughtful finger. “I’ve been thinking about your hair, as well, Hailon. I agree with Ophelia’s theory, that it was the mate bond waking up.” He gestured with his hands. “New magic in the mix inside you. Seir, did you happen to be exposed to her blood during the summons?”
Seir nodded. “Yes. Her original offering and then a bit more when I came back after the circle was broken.”
Rylan nodded slowly. “I think perhaps that’s the catalyst. It helped you acclimate to her nulling a little bit and pushed the mate bond along. Started to mix the magic between you. Hailon’s hair just happened to become the outward evidence of those changes.”
I sat there several long moments, staring off into space as I puzzled through that new theory, and what had happened.
“What are you thinking about?” Seir asked.
“When I got angry at Sal, something changed.”
“Yes, and it made your eye start shifting.”
“I think that was a new side of the healing power. I think that’s why she looked older after I grabbed her when I was mad.”
“Like anti-healing?” Calla asked. “You were taking her health?”
“Yes, like that.”
“That’s another way to nullify,” Rylan nodded.
“I don’t want to use it that way.” I frowned. “I don’t want to feed off of your magic, or the town.”
“You won’t.” Seir’s confidence was far more than I could ever muster. “You won’t, Hailon. You can control it.”
“And if I can’t?” Ravenglen invaded my mind, all the ugly, the hatred.
“You will. You have the necklace and the dagger.”
“And us,” Calla said, dropping a quick squeeze on my shoulder as she walked by. “We’re not afraid of you, Hailon. We’ve seen far worse. Most of us havebeenfar worse.”
There was not a single face in the room that disagreed with her. I found myself overwhelmed once again.
Vassago smiled at his sister-in-law and gave a polite little bow, a smile playing on his mouth. “Welcome to the family, Hailon.”
I spentthe next several days traveling from d’Arcan to Ophelia’s hut and back again so I could be safely behind wards while Rylan and Imogen tinkered with my obsidian objects. Luckily, Ophelia seemed to enjoy our time together as much as I did.
Seir always traveled with me, though he didn’t stay, and for all the warnings about her, she was hardly scary. Besides, I was pretty sure Ophelia found Seir as amusing as the rest of us did and looked forward to his visits.
Since having my mind opened, I’d been able, though in varying degrees, to manage that side at will. Ophelia was dedicated in helping me hone that skill, and while exhausting, after a few days with her as an instructor, I was pretty confident in my newfound ability.
“Take my shifting power,” she ordered.
“What? We’ve never done specific things like that before, nor have we used you as a subject, Ophelia. I’m not sure?—”
“You’ll be fine. Take it. I never use it anymore anyway, what’s the worst that could happen?”
I could think of plenty of things, honestly, but I didn’t argue. I had been told that disobedience was the quickest way to get the ancient gargoyle to anger, so I did as she asked.
Going to the silent place in my mind, I directed it to pull that ability from her, but not to consume it. I’d realized as we practiced that I could be that specific with my powers, which was a pleasant surprise. I could borrow magic and hold it somewhere above the well instead of siphoning it directly into my healing well. I didn’t fully understand all the mechanics yet, but I felt like I was getting closer all the time.
