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As I went about my task, Rafe’s muttering hurried me along. I turned the wood Rafe gave me into a small saw and made an opening wide enough for me to slip my hand through. The weight was a heavy ball with a loop at one end for the cable. I took a minute to fix its dimensions in my mind, then enlarged the opening so it would fit.
“Got it.” I carried the weight upstairs, the broken cable dragging on the floor.
“Damnation. We have no way of repairing the cable.”
Lord. “I’ll think of something.”
He laid out a handful of metal cogs and another handle, while I glared at the two broken ends of the cable, trying to figure out a way to connect them. “If we had some sort of glue…hmm…maybe rubber cement.”
“Just make it work.”
I bit my lip to keep from snapping back at Rafe. Yes, the situation was dire, but we couldn’t afford to fight with each other. Wordlessly I went about my task, turning a piece of wood into a glob of rubber cement, smearing it over both ends, and sticking them together. The thing we didn’t have was time to wait for it to dry.
“Can you make this solid?” I lifted the repaired section of cable and described what I’d done. His scowl never lifted, but, raising a hand, he sent a burst of power that rushed past me like a gust of wind. Just as fast, the rubber cement hardened.
Assembling the mechanism was a trial for both of us. Rafe spoke in terse phrases that landed like bullets, and I did my best to keep up. In a matter of moments, we were both snarling at each other.
“No. Smaller.” Rafe held a small cog in the flat of his palm.
I gritted my teeth and sent another push of power at the object.
He ran a fingertip along the teeth. “More of them.”
Inhaling sharply, I readied myself for another try.
“Hurry.”
“Lord, Rafe. I’m doing the best that I can.”
“Well, do better.”
I snatched the cog away from him. “Listen to me, Rafe Gallagher. I am not your enemy. Now calm down orwe’ll never get this done.”
My tone of voice must have been more forceful than my words, because Rafe took a literal step back. “I…I apologize.”
Glancing up, I met his gaze for a heartbeat. “Accepted.” I gave the cog another push of power, increasing the number of teeth along its perimeter. “Is this better?”
“Yes, thank you.” His voice gruff, he took the piece and fitted it into the replacement mechanism. “We need one more.”
Rafe described another missing cog, this one the size of my palm. I transformed a small piece of wood into the thing he’d described.
“That’s right,” he said, running his finger along the teeth. “That will work.”
I couldn’t tell whether his restrained manner was due to true regret or if he was simply biding his time. Either way, we’d accomplished our task. The last time I’d stood up to Rafe, I’d ended up with a burned wrist. At least this time he’d apologized.
Once he’d tested the hand crank to make sure we had the balance right, he put a binding spell onto the entire mechanism, holding my little spells in place.
“There,” he said finally, the tower light flashing overhead every twenty seconds. He ran a hand through his hair and gave me a weak smile. “I am sorry for being an ass. I haven’t had much chance to work with others.”
Taking hold of his hand, I gave his fingers a squeeze. “I’m just glad we were successful.”
Dawn had turned the clouds a sullen grey, reminding me of all we still needed to accomplish. “We should go,” I said, although neither of us made a move to leave.
My stomach growled, and we both chuckled. “Must be time for breakfast.”
He reached out and ran a fingertip down my cheek, and easy intimacy that made drawing a breath almost impossible. “We will find the one who did this and then we will find the amulet,” he whispered. “And we will destroy them both.”
I had no answer for that, so I pulled him down for a kiss. Madam Munro had made it very clear she wanted me to bring the Ferox Cor to her, but I knew full well why Rafe wanted to destroy it.
