Page 33 of Bound By Blood
"Your castle's consciousness?"
He placed another chunk of pottery on the table. "I don't even know how it happened, but it had to be something when we were finishing off Volsrei. All I know is that I found myself here. And the curse still lingered."
"The curse?"
This was all rather complicated and confusing.
He rubbed the back of his neck, his voice lower now. "None of us can touch the ground when the sunlight touches it." His shoulders sagged. "I don't think I'll ever find a way to fix even half of this, Erryn. It's beyond me. Buttons wouldn't have fixed it either. Quinn confirmed that. My magic is just too weak."
She moved to the stovetop and stirred the soup. Fragrant steam rose. The sharp smoky scents from Ryul's magic had faded. A heaviness weighed upon her.
"I'm so sorry. Also, dinner is going to be late tonight. Later than usual, I mean. I'm going to roast the duck and then add it to the soup. Do you need something to tide you over?"
"No. It'll work out." Though he said it with some cheer, it sounded forced. "I am learning more and more each day. And they're looking for me as well."
"And your magic is returning? Even though the soup isn't working?" Guilt built within her.
"It might be making it happen faster," he said. "It might just be that this is slow. And until I found you, I hadn't had good food. I don't actually know how to cook. The larder is usually full of raw ingredients. The magic of the castle handles that. I'll bring ingredients from now on."
She almost laughed. Of course he had amagicalcastle. Why wouldn't he? Not just an ordinary castle. No, it had to be magical.
She washed her hands in the basin and then set to scoring the duck with her slim paring knife. "Thank you again for the duck. I have a wonderful recipe for duck and noodles, but I don't know how to make it without the duck. I was just going to make noodles and vegetable soup for tonight with some of the dark broth, but this is far better."
He chuckled a bit as he rubbed his arm. "I suppose if it comes down to integral ingredients, duck is one of the most."
"Exactly." She flipped the duck over and scored the back with light even strokes. The way he looked at her made her heart melt. "And I'm glad that the soup is good for something. I'm just—I thought the books would have more information on how to restore your magic, and they don't, and I'm not sure who else to ask without rousing suspicion beyond those I've already asked. I haven't asked Traelan, but I'm not sure he'd help anyway. Maybe this will work. We haven't tried duck yet, and I've got some special spices I'll rub in."
"I don't think it will. It's just going to take time. It wasn't going to work the other way either." He gave Buttons an affectionate scratch. "My magic was never going to be enough."
"It was enough to make a really wonderful little dog." She closed the oven door and crossed over to him. "He's such a sweetheart. And you know, that makes me think there has to be something very special about your magic as well."
"Well, something." He smiled faintly. "But you know, I can only take credit for the initial form. The personality he has taken on is more a reflection of you."
"A little spastic. Afraid of rabbits. Devourer of dandelions and random weeds. You're right. That is me." She set her hands on her waist, hoping he would smile more. The sadness hanging over him weighed on her as well. "I just—I know that we didn't get started right, and not that I want to create another trade or bargain, but if I can help, I want to."
"Having somewhere to go has helped, and having food that tastes good helps too. Even though I don't know how I'll find a way back, Quinn insists there's a way. Just that it will take time to find. That I can't rush it."
She frowned a little. He'd mentioned this person before. "And who is Quinn?"
"A consciousness embodied in the castle now. Separate from the castle's typical magic." He shrugged as he leaned against the counter. "The castle—and by that, I mean the building—broke apart during the battle. It was scattered as well. Enough of the functioning magic imbued into it keeps it running, floating, and mostly hidden. But I don't have enough magic to guide it or to make it move in accordance with my will at all. Volsrei cursed us to never touch the land before our final battle. He cursed us many times, and that one stuck. In one of the other conflicts, all at once, this consciousness was imbued into the castle itself."
"And that consciousness calls themselves Quinn?" She blinked. The assorted spices she had gathered blended easily. Carefully, she rubbed them into the duck. "Did Volsrei create them? Who is he, anyway?"
From the way Traelan had reacted and the way Ryul had spoken, it was obvious they agreed on how horrible he was.
"A necromancer and warrior who attempted a bond with my kind and others and who tried to take our skills for his own. Among other things." He picked up the onion and peeled it. "My family and a few others opposed him publicly, and it got worse from there. But whatever consciousness was imbued into the castle, we don't know who they are exactly. They won't say either except that they will protect us. They spoke more to my siblings than to me initially. When the castle itself shattered, I don't know if their consciousness fractured out into all those pieces or if they just stuck with me. Quinn themselves does seem like they're slower and angrier lately. Far more protective than they used to be."
"Well, if someone tore me apart and sent my consciousness in lots of directions, I probably would be upset as well." She put the duck into the pan and then popped it into the oven. These were odd types of magic, but she vaguely recalled hearing stories of such things.
"Fair enough. They don't let me into the armory or a lot of other places, and it's often a battle of wills, though it is getting better. They just say they don't want anything to happen to me."
"It's surprising they let you do anything with your magic then."
"Probably because that room has no walls. That and the old ballroom just rotate out there. What remains of the castle is really more of a ruins. At the end of every lunar, it seems to fall apart more and more. One day—" He scoffed, shaking his head. "It's still beautiful, though. The ballroom is my favorite place to go. Whenever I need to think, I always go there. Especially when the sun is setting and the moon is rising."
"You just watch the sun set?" It had been a while since she had taken the time for that, but she could envision him doing that so easily.
"If I have a big decision to make, yes. Though lately, as soon as the sun goes down, I am on my way here. I want to be here almost more than anywhere."
