I put a comforting hand on his arm. “You know, flying isn’t all that great. I mean, look at the birds.”
Right on cue a pair of birds flits through the air. They look magical.
“And what would you have me see in the birds?”
“That they’re too smug. Look at them, they heard me talking about flying and they just had to flap their wings in front of us. It’s unconscionable. When I’ve got a handle on this whole witch thing I’ll make sure you can fly,” I tell him. I’m ready to tell him that living in trees and having to make a nest isn’t all that the birds make it out to be when I see the first signs of town. A hugespire from what might be a church rises up in front of us. It’s white with goldish-tan tiles on the roof. I hear the sound of bells a second later and swallow hard. This is real.
“Is that mageland?”
“It is.” Jaak scans the horizon and puts a hand on mine. “You have nothing to fear. Remember what I said about invulnerability. So long as I draw breath, you are safe.”
I don’t like the sound of his emphasis onso long as he draws breathbecause it brings up the possibility of a scenario where he wouldn’t be. I brush that aside and nod. I’m not going to manifest anything happening to Jaak.
“What do we do? Do we just walk into town and act natural?”
“Yes, there’s a good deal of visitors to the town, much like yours. We can blend in with the visitors while we track the head mage.”
“Right. The head mage.” I don’t know if it’s stage fright or the fact that I’m about to walk into a town full of mages that I know would skewer me like a hot dog if they had the chance but my brain completely blanks on the plan. “Can you, ah, remind me what the plan is again?”
If Jaak is exasperated at my goldfish memory he doesn’t let on. “We have your friend’s book, and that book, coupled with the power gathered by your friends, is what the mages desire. Our plan is to find the head mage and destroy them to stop the attacks on your home and the gamemaster’s mind.”
We hid Charlie’s book in the cellar of the house under a few loose stones that Jaak enchanted. I tried my best to help but all I ended up doing was making a silver mess so I stopped.
“There’s no other way to stop this other than destroying a head mage?” I ask, even though I know the answer. Of course there’s no other way. Whoever the cult leader is isn’t going to be satisfied moving on and forgetting about my home and my friends just because they lost a few dozen mages.
“No, I’m afraid there isn’t,” Jaak says. His voice is gentle and patient. I’m grateful he’s so understanding. “They’ll try again and again until they succeed. Our only hope of saving your home is taking their head off and ending this for good.”
I shudder at the thought of ripping anything’s head off but Jaak is a pro at it, considering last night. Maybe he can do the ripping while I offer moral support.
“Okay, just checking.” I smooth my hands over my pants and then pat down my navy blue sweater. “Do I look okay?”
The clothes we found were surprisingly decent. They might have been a little bit dated compared to the clothing I saw Outsiders wear but nothing so old that we’d get attention in Sweet Tooth. I found a thick navy blue sweater and black trousers in one of the dressers Jaak showed me. I look decent enough, at least I think I do. Meanwhile, Jaak looks perfect. Like one of the models in the clothing catalogs we used to get to order winter clothes from. He’s casual in a white button up and tan trousers but somehow it looks fancy, perfectly suited for him and the fairytale prince look he has going on.
“You look perfect,” he says, catching my hand to press a kiss to the back of it. “Enchanting.”
“So do you,” I tell him. “Perfectly enchanting.”
He smiles, the expression making him look younger. Freer. The sounds of the battles I heard come back to me, but so does the woman that had been humming, the field of green blowing in the wind. It was peaceful there. Was that his home?
“When we enter town I think it would be best for us to begin an inventory of all possible suspects. From what I remember seeing in the mage’s mind there will be multiple businesses open. We’ll be able to slip in with the visitors and gather information.”
I nod. “Okay, so this is intel. No big bad boss fights.”
“No, not yet.”
The not yet makes me worry but I push past it. “When there is a big bad boss fight how am I supposed to just know what to do?”
“You and I are connected now. My power is yours and so are my memories. Before, it was only you that shared with me but now the circle is complete. Anything that I know how to do, so do you. Your body will know precisely how to act when it’s needed. The only thing you have to do is keep your mind open to me to keep the connection stable. If we don’t have that you’ll be solo.”
“Like I’ll lose the powers?” I don’t remember Buffy saying anything like this when she mentioned having Wrath’s powers but maybe she didn’t notice with how connected they are. “What would happen if my mind wasn’t open to you?”
“If your mind closes or you lose focus, you will lose access to my memories. Any and all skills in combat you would have would be limited to what you already know.” Jaak doesn’t say the part that we’re both thinking—I don’t know anything. He’s been in my head for years now. He’s seen me run through countless nightmares screaming and trying to hide. The only thing I’ve ever been able to do in those situations is wake myself up.
“I-well, okay. So we’re working with a limited knowledge base but that’s okay. If I do something from your memory then I know it so I can do it again, right?”
He looks thoughtful and then nods. “Yes, I would imagine so. I’ve never done this with anyone, nor do I know of anyone completing it with a human. We will have to learn as we go.”
“I’m a fast learner,” I tell him and smile not because I feel forced to but because I want to. “We can do this. I can do this. It’s going to be scary but that’s life, right?”
