A pause.Yes, my mother says.Many of the tethers burn out. And Magecorp doesn’t care if they do, as long as they get their magic.Her voice is bitter.
“That is—” I cut myself off and shake my head, unable to find adequate words.
It’s greed, Harrisford, pure greed.My mother’s voice is rising.They worked out years ago that humans are the most effective tethers, as opposed to objects, or familiars. Objects are inert, and animals absorb the magic, making it harder for Magecorp to harvest. But people? The Source fragments interact with a human’s magical abilities, augmenting the Source’s power. Magecorp discovered that when human tethers implanted with the Source are placed on either side of a tear, they can keep the magic flowing from the Void for longer than the Source alone.
“So they need a tether for each portal,” I say, trying to comprehend it all.
“Twotethers per portal,” Danny explains. “One stays on our side—that’s your mum, in this case. The other goes into the Void—that’s you.”
My mind is getting tangled. “So I’m holding the portal open now?”
Danny shakes his head. “We’ve closed it for now. We didn’t want to risk the portal becoming too unstable and collapsing.”
But when we re-open, Pudding continues,it needs to be in the exact same spot. If any of us moves, or the portal collapses while it’s open, the two of you could get trapped.
I stare at Danny, aghast. “People get trapped inside the Void?”
Rarely.My mother pauses, hesitating.We usually stay in one place for as long as is feasible, in order to throw the authorities off our trail. Then we remove the victim’s Source and help them escape. Mostly it works as planned; sometimes, though, there’s insufficient time to get everybody out safely.
My heartbeat stutters. “MLO is risking its own members to save civilians? Why?”
“We’re not making them risk themselves, Briggs.” Danny sounds impatient. “MLO members volunteer, to further a cause they believe in.”
“A cause they believe in,” I repeat, scrunching up my face. “That Magecorp shouldn’t exploit people?”
Danny squares a look at me. “That magic should be available to everyone,withoutneeding to exploit people.”
I clench my jaw, ruminating on this for a moment. All of a sudden I feel very tired. The ropes around my wrists and torso continue to cut in. “So the surges, the excess magic, the magiphilia, and the explosions…You’re causing all this because you’re trying to save people from Magecorp?”
The explosions aren’t caused by us, Harrisford, Pudding says.
“Who, then?”
There’s a long pause. Eventually, my mother speaks.They’re caused by you.
45
Gwendolynne
The next morning, Harrisford is gone.
The painful pang that jolts through my body transforms into a warm, fuzzy feeling when I spot the note he’d left:Gone for a run. Be back soon. H xx.His writing is so messy it’s almost illegible; I guess it’s appropriate since soon he’ll graduate as a doctor of sorts.
While I’m waiting for him, I take another shower—uninterrupted this time—making use of all the upmarket toiletries. I dry my hair to smooth silk with the fancy hotel hair dryer. I wrap myself in a fluffy robe, brush my teeth, then settle down in front of the enormous TV to wait for Harrisford.
By ten a.m., my stomach is growling, so I order room service. I order twice as much as I would usually, because I assume Harrisford will be back soon. He doesn’t show up, so I eat too much, feeling faintly sick by the time housekeeping shows up at noon.
“He must be training for a fucking marathon or something,” I grumble, and Percy sends anUgh!down our bond. Ugh, indeed, since why would anyone want to runthatfar? Though at least I finally understand how he keeps himself so fit.
By two p.m., Harrisford still hasn’t returned, and I’m picking at the cold remains of my breakfast. It barely fills the hollow achegnawing at my stomach—an ache that’s there not because of hunger, but because I’m now coming to the cold, stark conclusion: Harrisford isn’t coming back.
He’s fucking left me.Again.
Even after we’d had mind-blowing sex. Even after he’d whispered the sweetest things, deep in the dark of night. Even after he’d caressed my face, kissed me oh-so-tenderly, looked at me as though I was the center of his entire universe.
He’s lied to me. Again. And again. And I fell for it. Again. I should have gone with my gut instinct: that this was all part of his strategy, his scheme…to triumph. To achieve one final victory.
My chest feels like it’s all caved in. My heart is thumping pitifully fast. The hotel is surrounded by high-rises that block out the afternoon sun. I shiver, my teeth chattering in the darkening room, once again feeling like the world’s biggest fool.
