AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He’ll see to your bags, as well.”
I didn’t let my smile fade one whit. “It’ll just be us, I’m afraid. Our overnight kit is…temporarily unavailable.”
Ignoring the way his eyebrows rose, I followed the bellhop, herding Margaret and Rafe over to the elevator. Margaret’s expression was mutinous and Rafe’s jaw was clenched so tight it made his molars squeak. I was reasonably sure that neither liked my plan, but at that moment, I didn’t care. My magic might not compare with theirs, but if I could buy us some respite, I surely would.
The elevator took us to the top floor. The hall was thickly carpeted, with the kind of hush that would be difficult to disturb. It had been years since I’d been in an atmosphere that so clearly spoke of wealth and I’m ashamed to say the scent of furniture polish and dollars relaxed something deep inside me. I could deal with my companions’ protests, as long as I was promised a meal, a smoke, and a good night’s sleep.
The bellhop stopped in front of a door and handed me the key. He left with a dollar warming his palm, and I let us in.
We were in a comfortable room with a merry fire in the fireplace, deep carpet underfoot, and a dining table with enough space for four. A loveseat and a pair of comfortable chairs faced the fire, and there were doors on either side that must lead to the bedrooms. I exhaled slowly, waiting for…
“What are we doing here?” Margaret sounded exhausted, as if she’d been taken against her will, trapped in an underground room, then snatched back in a blaze of witchfire.
“We’re getting a good night’s sleep,” I said briskly. “We’re each going to have a bath, we’re going to have a decent meal, and we’re going to go to bed. In the morning, we’ll row back to the lighthouse.”
“Not if the storm hits first.”
That would cause a problem. I crossed my arms, searching for a way around it. Rafe, meanwhile, had said nothing. He stood so still I wondered whether he’d shatter if I touched him.
A pair of electric lights glowed on either side of the fireplace, their reflection sparkling in the windows that lined two walls. The suit must occupy a corner of the building. The closest window overlooked city lights. I walked over to the windows on the other wall. They overlooked a narrow strip of downtown, then unending blackness.
“Which direction is the storm coming from? Because we’re on a corner, and the windows look west and south.”
“I’m not sure.” She grimaced as she spoke. “Honestly, most times the weather here comes from the southwest.”
That was encouraging. “Do you need to be at the lighthouse in order to affect the weather?”
“Of course not,” she snapped. “I simply need to touch the air.”
“Good. Take a bath and have a decent supper, then we’ll open one of the windows and you can set a protection spell that’ll slow the thing down until we can get to the lighthouse.”
Hands clasped in front of her, she caught her lower lip between her teeth. Her thoughts whirred behind her eyes, though I couldn’t be sure the direction they were headed.
“Okay,” she said finally. “But let me start the spell now.”
“Are you strong enough? You’ve had a challenging day.”
She waved off my concern. “Just get a window open.”
Reluctantly – because Lord I’d just started warming up – I raised the sash on one of the two windows closest to the corner. Margaret leaned out, one hand propped on the sill and the other tracing sigils in the air.
For his part, Rafe still stood frozen in the center of the room.
“Why don’t you go bathe,” I suggested. He blinked but did not otherwise respond.
“Rafe?” I approached, close enough to touch him, though I refrained.
“How do you stand it?” He forced the words out through clenched teeth.
“Stand what?”
“So far,” he said. “From the earth, I mean.”
“Hmm…” I scrambled for an idea that would help someone so grounded in earth magic. “When you came here for school, how did you manage?”
“Dirt.”
“What?”
