As if sensing the waning magic, a soft knock came at the door.
“Malachi?”
“You can come in, Damien. I’m finished.”
The door cracked open and Damien entered, clad only in the ceremonial wrap all watchers wore when attending to the sacred fire of their scribe house. The wrap covered his hips and upper legs, allowing the rest of Damien’s talesm to warn anyone watching of his years and skill with magic.
Malachi, still flush with new power, sat back in the wide chair and let out a long breath. He could feel the magic working within, connecting and bonding with the older characters that marked his body.
“Good morning,” Damien said, “You’re up early.”
“I slept little.”
Damien grunted and rubbed his eyes. “You have finished your new talesm?”
“I have.”
The watcher glanced over at Malachi’s bicep, and his eyebrow lifted. “Self-control?”
“And focus.”
There was a thoughtful pause before he asked, “Have you given thanks?”
“I have, Watcher.”
Damien nodded.
Malachi took another deep breath as the other man kneeled before the fire, lifting his left wrist and tracing the letters of his own talesm prim. As the magic rose, Malachi could see the faint silver glow travel over Damien’s body, from the newest spells on the man’s legs to the family tattoos marking his shoulders and back. Malachi had similar tattoos, the only ones he had not written himself. He’d received the first from his father at the age of thirteen. The first taste of the ancient strength he would spend centuries perfecting.
As a boy, his mother’s power had protected him, but at thirteen, Malachi was no longer considered a boy. His eyes were drawn to the first halting letters on his left wrist. The old spells hadn’t faded, but the clumsy, boyish work still made him smile. The characters slowly grew more sophisticated as they traveled up his arm, trailing over his shoulder and collarbone before they started their centuries-long journey down his right arm. Wrapped and stacked around each other, each was unique, an expression of the scribe who wrote it.
Spells of protection on his forearm.
Long life over his wrist.
Strength.
Speed.
Keener vision. Steadier reflexes. Immunity to poisons and drugs. An Irin scribe as old as Malachi was practically immortal in battle unless he willingly gave his magic to another. But as Malachi had no mate…
His eyes flickered to the marks below Damien’s left shoulder, directly over his heart. The scribe was rising from his knees, finished with his morning prayers, and collecting the ash from the brazier to make more ink.
Malachi asked, “Have you heard from Sari lately?”
Damien shot him a dark look. “Why?”
“Just curious.”
“None of your business.”
Silence. Malachi should have known better, but the urge to rankle his superior and the flush of magic made him brave.
Finally, Damien muttered, “No.”
“I’m sorry.”
The watcher shrugged. “I know she’s safe. That’s the most important thing. I can see her in our dream-walks; she just chooses to ignore me.”
The light-headed feeling of new magic finally passed, so Malachi rose to his feet and dropped the tattoo needle in a basin to clean it. Then he gathered the linen cloths marked with ink and blood and tossed them in the fire. He stood, watching the pieces burn as Damien swept up the remains of the ash.
“I am drawn to her,” Malachi confessed in a low voice.
“Since I’m going to assume you haven’t lost your mind and aren’t referring to my mate, I must assume you mean the human woman.”
“Ava.”
“Ava,” Damien said thoughtfully. “It is a good name.”
It was an Irina name. Malachi had wondered, but he knew humans used it too. It meant nothing.
“I touched her.”
The brush clattered to the table and Damien grabbed him by the shoulder, spinning him around. The watcher’s eyes were frigid pools of blue.
Malachi was quick to continue. “It was only a second. An accident caused by an unruly child in the crowd.”
“She was not harmed?”
“No. It was only a few moments. No.”
The grip on his shoulder relaxed slightly. “You’re sure?”
Malachi lifted his hands. “She was tired afterward and asked to go back to her hotel, but I sensed it was the crowd bothering her more than anything. It had become busy at the cistern, and her head was aching again.” And he’d reached out to relieve her as if she’d been Irina, Malachi realized later. Luckily, he’d drawn his hand back before their skin could connect. “She had a doctor’s appointment the next day. She seemed completely healthy.”
“Good.” Damien took a deep breath and turned back to his tasks. “Has Rhys made any progress finding information about this doctor?”
“He’s found her doctor in Tel Aviv, but there’s no record of that man referring any patients to a Dr. Sadik in Turkey. Or any doctor in Turkey, for that matter.”
Damien grunted again. “You two trust your computers too much. You think just because it isn’t written in some electronic cloud, it cannot exist? Not everything is written, you know. Especially if this does have something to do with the Grigori. They would know better than to leave a record.”
“Her doctor is not Grigori. I’ve seen him. And all his staff are women.”
Damien nodded. Both men finished their tasks and walked out of the ritual room, which remained unlocked and open unless a scribe sealed it to mark talesm.
“I want you to patrol tonight,” the watcher said. “I’ll put Leo to watch the girl.”
“Leo?” Malachi instantly felt mutinous. “Leo is too young.”
“He’s over two hundred years old, brother.” Damien smirked. “How old do you think he needs to be to watch a tourist sleep in a hotel and go out to dinner? She won’t even see him; make sure you’re ready to fight tonight. I don’t like any of us to go too long without battle.”
Malachi wanted to object but knew it was useless. Damien ran the scribe house; his word was final when it came to matters of safety or strategy. Though he deferred to Malachi or Rhys on occasion because of their age, he didn’t have to.
“Fine.” He walked to his room, wishing he’d gotten better rest the night before.
Damien called out, “She’s human. How much trouble could she attract in one night?”
Malachi watched the edge of the water where the waves crashed up against the embankment as a giant freighter glided through the narrowest part of the Bosphorus. It was a normal sunny day along the water, so why was his mood so dark?
“What’s with you today?” Ava nudged her foot against his knee. She was relaxed again. The change in her temperament would last for a few days after each appointment before the agitation would start again. It was a curious cycle, but one he couldn’t question more without arousing suspicion. He caught the tip of her shoe in his hand, pinching her toe under the leather before he released it. Another curious thing. He found himself finding ways to touch her without contact with her skin. A brush of arms as they passed each other. A hand on the small of her back as they walked through a crowd. It was fleeting and probably unwise, but he couldn’t resist.
He didn’t really want to.
He frowned when he realized he’d never answered her question. “I’m fine.”
“You’re being all broody, Mal.”