“When you work the spell, do the weapon first, your move second. That way the pistol gets to your hand before you move yourself. Worst thing that happens is you stay where you are but you’re armed.”
I stared at him as if he’d done the spell right there. “I thought you said you were muddled today.”
“I was, ’til you got here.”
I smiled, and he did, too.
“There food in the car?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Good. I’m outta most everything and I’m starved. I’ll make you a sandwich.”
I handed him the keys and he unloaded what I’d brought him. After a while he emerged from the trailer with a couple of sandwiches.
We didn’t say much more, but I was glad I’d made the trip, and I know that he was, too.
I started the drive back to Chandler a short time before dusk. As soon as I was back on the highway, Namid materialized in the passenger seat, the pinks and yellows and reds of the western sky shimmering in his waters.
“Ohanko.”
“Where have you been, ghost? You missed all the excitement.”
“I have been speaking with my kind.”
It all came back to me then, how he had saved my life in Robo’s and warded my house, breaking the most basic rules of the Council of Runemystes. “Did they punish you?”
“They warned me not to act on your behalf again.”
“That’s it?”
“No. They told me to ask your forgiveness. We were careless and you nearly died. We have done what we can to make certain such a thing does not happen again. But we will remain vigilant, lest others in the council make a similar attempt.”
I wanted to ask what they’d done to keep the other runemystes in line, but I knew he wouldn’t tell me.
Instead, I asked him something that had been bothering me for the past several days. “Why did he come here, Namid? Why Phoenix of all places? Why didn’t he do all of this in France?”
“He could not,” Namid said, sounding like I should have known this already. “France is where he was bound into service as a runemyste. To escape that fate, he first had to leave his native land.”
I suppose that made sense. “All right, but why here?”
“I cannot be entirely certain,” the runemyste said. “He would have required the presence of a university, so that he could find young victims for his magic. He might also have wanted a warm climate, so that his potential victims would be out of doors throughout the year.”
“You think he came for the weather?” I asked, incredulous. I thought of Sophie Schaller. I couldn’t imagine anyone who had less in common with Cahors; I didn’t want to believe that the two of them could have come to Phoenix for the same reason.
“I am merely saying that it is possible,” Namid said, his expression remaining the same. “I also think he would have chosen a place with powerful ties to the craft. That might have helped him, too. My people have been using magic in this part of your world for many hundreds of years. And he has known me for a long time.”
I hadn’t expected that. “He came here because of you?”
“I believe so. In part at least.”
I didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry, Namid.”
“I believe I should be apologizing to you.”
“No,” I said. “That’s not necessary.” I’d never felt sorry for Namid before; it was unsettling. “Anyway,” I said after a minute or two, “thank you. For saving my life, I mean. I know you weren’t supposed to.”
“Of course. Tread like the fox, Ohanko.”
I tried to think of some clever response, but nothing came to mind. In the end, I merely nodded, and Namid faded from view.
It was almost dark when I got back to my house, which may be why I didn’t recognize the car that was parked out front. I pulled into the driveway and had hobbled halfway to my front door before I noticed Billie standing on the walk. My heart began to hammer so hard in my chest that I was sure she’d see my shirt move.
“I heard you got shot,” she said. “It was in the paper.”
“Yeah?” Intelligent, I know. But it was all I could manage at the time.
“You all right?”
“Sure. I’m fine.”
She nodded, and walked to where I was standing. I hadn’t left the porch light on, and only the blue glow of a nearby streetlight kept us from standing in total darkness.
“Can I come in?”
“Why? To tell me again how much you don’t want to be with me?”
“That’s not fair. Everything I said to you the other day was about how much I do want to be with you. But I’m scared.”
Her eyes held mine for the span of a single heartbeat. Then I walked past her to the door, unlocked it, and reached in to switch on a light. I hesitated for an instant, before turning to her and indicating with an open hand that she should come inside. She wouldn’t look at me as she stepped by, and I wondered if I would have been better off sending her away. But I followed her into the house and closed the door behind us.
After a few seconds, she turned toward me and took a breath. “You have mental health problems, Fearsson.”
“I know that. I’m the one who told you, remember?”
“Of course I do. But I’ve been researching this, and I’ve learned a bit more about magic and the phasings. You can actually learn a fair amount once you figure out where to look.”
I had an idea of where she was going with this. “Billie-”
“There are drugs. Medications you can take that will keep you healthy. I know about the full moon now, what it does to you. But you can control it.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Why?” she asked, sounding frightened and angry and so sad it made my eyes sting.
“I tried to explain it to you on Saturday.”
“Right. Magic. But wouldn’t it be worth it to be whole again, to make those bad times go away?”
“No,” I said. “It wouldn’t.”
She shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek, and then another. “Damn you! You’d actually choose to suffer this way, wouldn’t you? You’d turn your back on a cure and keep going the way you are now.”
“Magic is a tool. I need to be able to use it. And after all you know now about what happened to Claudia Deegan, and what almost happened to me, you should understand that.”
She shook her head again. “You’re too far gone already.”
I’d had enough. We could have spent half the night going around and around with this. But I didn’t see the use, and I didn’t have the energy for it. “You know, Namid,” I said aloud. “I could use some help here.”
“Who are you talking to?” She sounded scared. If the runemyste didn’t show, I’d never see her again.
But a moment later, there he was, shimmering like starlit waters.
“She wants me to start taking blockers,” I told him.
“It would be better if you did not,” he said. “You can do more good with your magic than without it.”
“I know. I want you to tell her that.”
Billie took a step back, and I was afraid she’d bolt for the door. “This isn’t funny, Fearsson.”
“Come on, Namid. Help me out.”
“Who is Namid?”
An instant later, his liquid skin rippled, as if disturbed by a gust of wind. Billie gasped.
“He is,” I said.
“Good God, what is that?”
“Please. ‘Who,’ not ‘what.’ His name is Namid’skemu and he’s a runemyste.”
“What the hell is a runemyste?” she asked, her eyes riveted on Namid.
“It’s kind of a ghost.”
“I am not a ghost,” he said, making her jump again. “I am a runemyste. And you are a distraction to him.”
What a charmer.
“Never mind that. Tell her about the blockers.”
“If Ohanko were to take the Abri, he would no longer be able to cast spells. I would rather he train his mind and his magic, and keep his mind clear that way.”
“Abri?”
“The medicines that stop magic and protect him from the moon-times. Ohanko calls them blockers.”
“But he’s sick. Magic is driving him insane.”
Namid glanced at me, and a flicker of sadness crossed his watery features. “Yes,” Namid said. “As it did his father. Magic is a dangerous tool, and it exacts a cost. As he hones his craft the effects may be controlled. But this is his choice as well as his fate. If he chooses to give up his powers, it must be his decision, and his alone. I cannot force him not to take the Abri; you cannot force him otherwise. For now he has chosen to be a runecrafter, and he must live with the consequences of that choice. So must you.”