Keelin jumped back. “Sorry.”
I waved her off. “My fault.”
“Opal, wait,” Keelin said.
I turned.
She handed me the dolphin I had made. “It’s pretty. You should display it.”
Absently, I glanced at it. “Thanks. How did your paperweight turn out?”
“Like a clump of dirt kicked up by a horse.” She laughed. “But you were right, my latest one is better. And I tried to make a dolphin, too.”
“Good for you. How did it look?”
“Not as sleek as yours and it didn’t flash, either.”
“Flash?”
Keelin pointed to the shelves filled with finished pieces from the annealing oven. “When anyone in here used magic, it would flash. I thought since you…you know…with the glass…that it was supposed…” Her voice petered out.
Odd. “Must have been a trick of the light.”
“You’re probably right.” A queasy relief shone on her face.
I hurried away. Out in the bright sunlight, I examined the dolphin. Nothing out of the ordinary. When I encountered a few pools of magic, nothing happened, just as I had suspected.
Stopping by the infirmary, I visited Teegan. Reema read to her brother. She held the book up to the lantern light. His room didn’t have a window. Teegan didn’t seem to mind the gloom. He listened to the story with his eyes closed anyway and a half smile on his lips. I waited for her to reach a break.
Magic touched my cheek.
“Fire Lady’s here,” Teegan said without opening his eyes.
“Your control has improved,” I said.
He peered at me with a sly smile. Impishness danced in his gray eyes.
“And you’re feeling much better, aren’t you?”
He sat up in his bed. “Yep!”
“Good. Now you can tell me why you call me Fire Lady.”
He glanced at the dolphin in my hand. “Did you bring me a present?”
“You’re trying to change the subject.”
“Can I see it?” He reached.
“Only if you answer my question.” Ha!
Holding a hand out, he said, “The dolphin will tell you.”
“Tee,” Reema warned. “Don’t.”
“Why not?”
She waggled her fingers as if communicating to him. He scratched his nose and tapped his shoulder.
Reema grunted in frustration. “She won’t believe you.”
Teegan smiled. “Seeing is believing.” He turned to me. “May I see your dolphin please?”
He played it just right, making me curious and hitting me with a polite request. I handed him the dolphin. He placed it on the table next to his bed. Folding his hands, he closed his eyes.
Magic spread from him. It was slow and in control. Impressive. When it reached the dolphin, the glass animal blazed with light. He pulled back and the glow died.
I grabbed the statue. “Do it again…please.”
The magic swelled, and the light returned. I handed it to Reema. “One more time.”
She squealed in delight when fire burst from the glass.
I met Teegan’s gaze. He said, “I call you the Fire Lady because you have magic trapped inside you and when you—”
“Teegan!” Reema jumped to her feet. “Be quiet!”
“Doesn’t matter now, Ree.” He swept an arm out. “We found a home.”
“You found a home. I’m still too young. And you’re going to scare her.”
“Has Master Jewelrose tested you?” I asked her.
She nodded. “I don’t have any magic.”
“Not that the Master can detect,” Teegan said. “I’d bet you a hunk of bread Fire Lady has felt it.”
“You’re guessing,” I said.
“So? I’m right. Aren’t I?”
“Teegan, that superior attitude won’t help you make friends at the Keep,” I admonished with a stern tone.
His arrogant manner remained. “Now you’re trying to change the subject. You felt Reema use magic, didn’t you?”
“I thought it was from her. But I could be wrong.”
“No, you weren’t wrong. The trapped magic burns inside you. You feel power. Even when it’s a tiny bit. Even when the person doesn’t even know she’s using it. When you touch magic, there’s a faint shimmer around you. A glow. You can’t see it. Reema and I can, but—”
“No one else. How convenient,” I said.
A sullen pout creased his face. “That’s right. We’re a couple of homeless street urchins. Why believe us?” He flopped on his pillow and turned his back on me.
His words slapped me in the face. It hadn’t been too long ago that I had fought to convince my friends and colleagues about an unbelievable twist of blood magic.
I sat on the edge of his bed. “I’m sorry. It’s hard for me to believe you because…” Did I really want to tell him and Reema? “I’m immune to magic. No power can be inside me. There’s nothing there.”
Teegan rolled over. “Then why did your dolphin blaze with light?”
“Your magic caused it to light up.”
“Exactly.”
“But I have nothing to do with that. It’s all you,” I said.
He hissed in frustration. “It’s both of us! You created the magic detector. I just supplied the magic to detect.”
21
MAGIC DETECTOR? HARD TO BELIEVE AND EVEN harder to wrap my head around. Yet Teegan and Reema took the revelation in stride. They didn’t understand enough about magic to think it odd. Who really understood it? As each generation reached puberty, new wrinkles seemed to develop.
I reviewed our conversation and remembered Keelin’s comment. “If no one can see me…shimmer when I encounter magic, then why can they see the dolphin light up?”
Teegan shrugged. “Probably the glass works like a…” He cast about for the right word. “One of those…things that increases the light.”
“Like a magnifying glass?” Which was also used for my spyglass.
“Yeah. The glass magnifies the glow so everyone can see it.”
His explanation sounded logical. “Reema, why did you think the information would scare me?”
She shrugged and dipped her head. Her long corkscrew curls hung in her face.
Crouching down, I lifted her chin and looked her in the eye. “Worried I would leave you?”
The slightest nod.
“It’s going to happen no matter what. In fact, I’m leaving tomorrow for a mission for Master Jewelrose.”
Her features hardened into her tough street kid mask.
“I’m trying to find a sitter for you. And don’t worry so much.” I tucked a curl behind her ear. “When I’m done, I’ll come back and find you a home.” I straightened and picked up the dolphin, shoving it into a pocket. “And I’ll figure out what this means. For now, can you keep it quiet?”
They gave me their solemn promise. As I left the infirmary, I realized my intentions for full disclosure had failed. I’d kept many things from the Council and others—my immunity, being trapped by a null shield and now the magic detectors. If I recovered my blood, those secrets would be moot. And they couldn’t mourn the loss of something they never had. Right?
Or were my motives a bit more complicated? If Pazia’s super messengers proved to be legitimate, the Council might think I was better off with my immunity and confiscate my blood, claiming it was illegal for me to use it.
I checked on Quartz and inspected my tack. The trip to Ognap would take nine days, including the shortcut through the Avibian Plains and a stop in Fulgor. As for my backup, the only way to reach Ari and Janco would be through a complicated series of message relays, starting with Leif. And there would be no guarantee my request would reach them in time. Instead, I planned to arrange for backup in Fulgor.
“There you are!” a girl’s voice cried.
I spun to see a young page hurrying toward me. She wore a Council uniform. A finger of unease slid under my ribs.
“Opal Cowan, your presence is requested. You are to accompany me,” she said.
“Requested by whom?”
“Councilor Moon.”
I relaxed. “Tell her I’ll—”
“You are to accompany me now.”