When they popped out onto the ramparts of his mountain castle keep, Kevin goggled. “You never bring anyone here.”
“I don’t.” But it was freshly warded-he and Morgan now had free run of Realm. Marcus motioned to a nearby guard. “Some refreshments, please.”
The man saluted and withdrew-his old castle staff didn’t talk much. By design.
Kevin let loose something that sounded suspiciously like a snicker. “How come he’s wearing pink slippers?”
Marcus regarded the bunny footwear in disgust. Nothing like a visitor to point out the flaws in your not-so-humble abode. “Warrior Girl magicked them, and she booby-trapped the spell seventeen ways to Friday.”
“Hmm.” Kevin looked thoughtful. “I might be able to make it go away. I’ve been studying some of her spells.”
“Really.” Marcus regarded the boy with significantly more interest. His aunt had sent distraction on many levels.
“It’s what good researchers do.” Kevin leaned over the ramparts. Carefully. His twin brother would have been dangling by an ankle by now. “We read, and study, and then when you least expect it, we spring a surprise attack.”
Oh, really. Marcus made a mental note to stick a tracking spell on the quiet little librarian who had qualified for level seven barely two weeks ago. “Laying in a strategy, are you?”
Kevin blushed, pushing back from the ramparts. “Not yet. This level’s kind of crazy.”
It was. And Kevin was the second-youngest arrival ever. “You did well to get here.”
The boy looked gobsmacked.
Bloody hell-you’d think he never handed out compliments.
Morgan stirred on his chest, and then settled in for the second half of her nap. Time to get down to business, then. Magical affinities-those ought to bore even Kevin within the hour. Marcus nodded toward the stack of books. “What did you bring me?”
Kevin held up his hands, a tiny whirlwind hovering over one, a rain-laden cloud floating above the other.
Marcus blinked-small magics were far harder than they looked, and two at once was nicely done. “You’ve been practicing.”
“Mmm.” The boy switched his gaze back and forth between his two hands, and then neatly blended the magics into a very small, very wet storm.
That was more than nicely done, especially by a witch of Kevin’s power. “Making the most of your talents, are you?”
“I like to practice.” Kevin flushed again. “Sean says it’s stupid.”
Sean had twice the power and half the control. “Your brother will eventually discover the virtues of practice.” Maybe. “In the meantime, it appears you’ve learned the practical uses of magical affinities.” The boy had nicely used the similarities of air and water flows to blend his storm.
“You saw.” Kevin beamed with quiet pride.
“I’m not blind, youngling.” Marcus nodded in thanks as the guard returned with a tray of food and left. “Water and air have the closest magical affinity. The pattern of their energies is similar, and easy enough to combine.”
He picked up a sandwich and glanced at the boy. “Bet you can’t do the same trick with fire and air.” Fire was fickle, a tricky magic that didn’t like combining with anything.
“I’m close.” Kevin grinned. “But Elorie says if I practice in her house again before I’m fifty, she’s gonna borrow Aunt Moira’s cauldron.”
It was good to know the boy wasn’t entirely lacking the mischief gene. Marcus pushed over the tray. “Have a sandwich, for pity’s sake-I don’t bite. And I can’t help you with fire affinities.” Fire had been Evan’s magic.
“I was wondering.” Kevin reached for food, but his mind was hesitant-witch treading with extreme care. “Air and water magics have the tightest affinity that we know of.”
Marcus wasn’t sure he liked the last four words of that sentence. “There are others, but you’re right-none are as strong.” And if this was going to turn into a lesson on storm magic, he was going to need a change of clothes.
“How do we know?” The gears turned quickly now in Kevin’s head. “We thought mind magic didn’t really look like anything else, but it kind of works like Net power.”
The boy had a point. Vastly different results, but both activated from a web of tiny power channels, rather than a single focus. “Perhaps. An affinity of origin, rather than output.” Interesting idea, and once he’d had some sleep, one he might spend some time considering.
Except Kevin wasn’t done. “Exactly. So what if that wasn’t the only affinity we didn’t know about?”
The clenched feeling was back in Marcus’s gut. “You think we’ve missed another one.” It wasn’t a question-the boy’s mind was springing leaks faster than his cottage’s roof in last month’s freak hailstorm.
“Yeah.” Kevin nodded quietly, fingers absently running up and down the spine of some dusty book. “Morgan’s happy here in Realm, right? And she doesn’t travel when she’s here.”
Marcus stared, his brain racing to piece together Kevin’s clues. Realm ran on Net power. Morgan traveled. His mind froze as the right neurons finally connected.
It was Kevin, however, who was brave enough to say the words. “Maybe Net power and astral travel are magical affinities.”
The earth tilted on its axis. “Nothing’s like astral travel.” Marcus muttered, mostly to himself. “That’s why it takes an entire circle to call a traveler back. Hard to get the magics to integrate.” So blindingly, impossibly hard. Like calling flames from the ocean.
The light in Kevin’s eyes was fierce. “Maybe we’ve been using the wrong magics.”
Marcus was already there. The best way to fight magic was with its closest affinity. He jumped to his feet, sending Kevin’s half-eaten sandwich soaring. More strange dots. A whole, connect-the-dots swarm of them.
He needed his brain trust again.
Chapter 20
Marcus settled Morgan down on her blanket next to a patch of the blue flowers she liked so damn much. Girls.
Daniel appeared beside him, Kenna yammering away on his hip. “Excellent. Someone to distract this little punk.”
“Pulled uncle duty, did you?” Marcus handed over a beer. A real one. Not technically Realm legal, but he didn’t expect the owner to protest too much-he’d imported half a dozen. Another way to thumb his nose at fear.
“Just transport.” Daniel settled Kenna down and grinned as she butt-scooted over to Morgan. “Jamie and Aervyn are broom flying over the south tower. They’ll be here as soon as he can talk my son down from the sky.”
Only a damn fool taught a five-year-old how to fly a broomstick. Morgan wasn’t ever getting on anything faster than a turtle.
“Good luck with that,” said Jamie wryly, arriving with Aervyn on his shoulders. “And you might want to save Morgan before Kenna feeds her any more flowers.”
Marcus turned, just in time to see Daniel disarm his troublesome niece. The man was fast.
“Keeping me on my toes, are you, munchkin?” Daniel swung her around in the sky, laughing as she shot off fireworks in all directions. “No burning my eyebrows, kiddo, or I’ll sell you at the market.”
“He won’t.” Aervyn plunked down in Marcus’s lap, grinning. “He tries to sell me lots, but Mama says witchlings don’t fetch a very good price.”
Jamie ported his daughter into his own arms, which ratcheted up the squeal volume several decibels. “Thanks, Daniel. Nat’s currently sleeping with some of Ginia’s goo on her face. She’s offered to name our second child after you.” He tossed his daughter into the air. “Presuming this one ever gives us time to procure her a sibling.”
“What’s ‘procure’ mean?” Aervyn looked up at Marcus, cookie crumb mustache fairly well established. “Is he gonna try to buy a baby at the market?”