Page 68 of A Tower of Half-Truths
“Think of it as a bit like Aumbremancy, but calling upon the Ether itself instead of the shadows. Instead of obscuring us, it’s turned us incorporeal.” He paused. “But yes, to the casual observer, we’re invisible. A trick of the light, in a sense.”
To Mavery, shadow magic had always been stifling, like trying to breathe in smoke. But this… She had expected this amount of magic to overwhelm her Senses. Being shrouded in Ether—or, perhapsveiledwas the better word—being one with arcana itself, its hum and chill were more soothing than oppressive. She had never experienced anything like this when shrouded in shadow, not even when Neldren had been in control.
She banished that name to the deepest corner of her mind. Because this was nothing like the shadows, nothing likehim.
Alain continued to breathe slowly, steadily. Though his explanation had been more concise than usual, it had still drained most of his stamina.
“Remember what I said earlier about using another mage as an anchor?” he whispered.
“Of course,” she whispered back. “What do I need to do?”
“Just stay right here.”
There was nothing she would rather do.
She stood motionless enough to feel his presence. Not in the form of physical touch, but in the pull of his arcana against hers. Her own trickled through her veins, gathering along the surfaces where his incorporeal body met her own, creating pools of calm, yet electric, warmth.
Her pulse slowed to match the cadence of his as they shared the same magic, the same breath. Each inhale brought about a small controlled surge of heat. Each exhale left her body a bit lighter than before.
The world continued on around them, occasionallythroughthem, but they were merely observers. The only sound was their shared breath, the only sensation was the gentle tug of arcana as her magic replenished his.
They were fully clothed, doing nothing more than standing together in broad daylight. And yet, Mavery had never felt a closeness quite like this.
Alain emitted a quavering exhale, and the Ethereal veil dissipated. As their bodies returned to their physical forms, she once again felt the weight of his body pressed to her back. His chin rested on her shoulder, his right cheek touched her left. At some point during the spell, he’d wrapped his arms around her waist. Even now, he continued to hold her. She suspected being an anchor didn’t require this much touching, but she didn’t mind at all. In fact, she didn’t mind standing like this a little longer. Her eyes fluttered shut—
“Oi! Get outta the feckin’ road!”
—and snapped open again. Barely three feet to her right was a man on a horse-drawn cart. He glared and rudely thumbed his nose as he passed by.
“Alain.” She’d been jolted from her reverie, but his body was dead weight, as if he were in a drunken stupor. Her knees began to buckle.
“Hmph?”
“The spell wore off. We need to move.”
He nodded, but he stumbled only two paces on his own before Mavery took his arm and slung it across her shoulders. Being his anchor had completely drained her arcana. Fatigue settled beyond her deepest muscles. She doubted she could conjure even the simplest protective ward. But she still had enough physical strength to drag Alain out of the street, then prop him against the exterior of his apartment building.
She’d grown used to seeing him exhausted, but this was something else entirely. Without the brick wall at his back, she suspected he would be a useless puddle on the ground.
“So, what did you think?” he asked, peering at her through half-closed eyes.
“Amazing,” she sighed. “I’ve never experienced anything like that. I see now why they made you a wizard.”
“Of course, onlynowdoyou see it.”
“You know what I mean.” Cracking a smile, she suppressed theurge to roll her eyes at him. “Now, let’s get you inside.”
Walking side by side, his arm over her shoulders once more, they reentered Steelforge Towers. Bertie had stepped out of the lobby, but Klaus was perched atop the front desk. The kutauss watched Mavery ungracefully drag Alain toward the lift. Its beady scarlet eyes shot her what she could only interpret as a judgmental glare. If the creature could speak, she assumed it would give her a snide comment as well.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” she muttered.
Inside the lift, she had to release Alain to turn the crank, but the small space made it impossible for him to fall over. He slouched against the wall, watched her with a dazed but intent look that made her heart race. It seemed that spell had turned them both delirious.
“Why can’t this building have a lift like the ones at the University?” she asked, if only for a distraction. They’d passed the third floor, and her arm muscles were on fire. What she wouldn’t give for a bit of magic to speed up the process.
“Only-for-wizards.” Alain’s speech had devolved to something halfway between mumbling and yawning. Had his mouth not been six inches from her ear, she would have failed to differentiate one slurred word from the next.
“Butyou’rea wizard. You could’ve installed one yourself.”
