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“Are you playing sugar daddy so early in the morning?”
He turned his head to watch Luka approaching them. Fucking finally, there was his quarry. On the one hand, he was relieved Luka had finally shown his face. On the other…this still smelled like trouble. He was smiling but it looked more than a little complicated, perhaps a touch fearful as well. That reaction only made Vasily more concerned.
“He needs tools. And clothes.”
Amaru turned to give that same oh-so-innocent look to Luka. Which impacted instantly—it was almost like Luka forgot how to breathe for a second. Vasily couldn’t blame him for that reaction; the look wasn’t even aimed at Vasily, and he couldn’t help but think Amaru was entirely too cute for his own good.
“I can wear your clothes, though, right?” It was clearly not a question.
Luka somehow managed to get words out. “But then I’d have nothing to wear.”
Amaru’s smile turned lecherous. “Oh no. How terrible.”
The flirting was cute and made him happy all over again. See, Luka? He likes you too.
If he reacted quickly enough, he might be able to rope Luka into the shopping trip. Time spent with Amaru would surely knock some of these wrong impressions out of his head, and perhaps Vasily could find a moment to speak with him. “Tools. Spell elements. You two can argue clothes later.”
Amaru stuck his tongue out at him. “Fine. Hmm, let’s see, where’s Evora? She’d know what we have in stock, right?”
“She’s probably the best person to ask, yes.” Vasily had passed her in the search for Amaru, and she’d been getting breakfast at the mess tent, so he turned and led them in that direction. “We can eat breakfast while you ask her.”
“Sounds good.” Amaru bounced along at his side.
Luka walked with them, his attention on Amaru. “What were you doing earlier? That looked like a cell phone you took apart?”
“Right, it was. I hate not knowing how something works. It’s like ants crawling under my skin, truly just…” Amaru broke off with a full body shudder. “Everyone has one, too. Everyone. Everyone but me, and I don’t even know how they work. Horrific. I must change this as quickly as possible.”
“Amaru.” Luka was definitely laughing on the inside, Vasily knew that look well. “Do you have any other speeds aside from full steam ahead or dead stop?”
The mage sniffed as if this question was beneath him. “I slept for five hundred years, woke up to a world that’s like a treasure trove full of fun things to learn, and you expect me to not dive in right away?”
“Okay, fair point. But, uh, Amaru? Whose cell phone was that?”
“No idea.” Amaru bounced along without a care in the world. “I found it lying about with no owner around.”
That poor sap, whoever it was.
It was still early enough not everyone was at the mess tent. They lined up at the tables, choosing what to have for breakfast and getting coffee. Vasily’s suspicions stirred when he saw Amaru doctor his with milk and sugar like he knew exactly what to do. Had someone introduced him to coffee last night? To help him stay awake?
Well, damn. This spelled trouble.
Amaru filled up a plate, spied Evora, and beelined right for her.
“Evora, I have questions.”
She waved him to a chair opposite her at the card table. “Sit. I might have answers.”
He promptly did so. Vasily took position at the head of the table, there basically to eat breakfast and take notes on what Amaru needed. At this point, Amaru was the only one who had a clue of what to do next.
“I need”—Amaru’s hands lifted in a broad gesture, like he was hugging the whole world—“everything. Tools, spell elements, all of it. I understand from Sam that my lab is basically a shell right now. Nothing remains?”
“Not much,” she admitted with a grimace. “Sorry.”
“Not your fault. Damn tomb robbers. Well, I suppose I can’t call it a tomb, as no one was there.” Amaru pulled a face and slurped his coffee.
Luka joined Amaru’s side of the table, settling in with his usual heaping amounts of everything. Luka could, and had, out-eaten people twice his size. He claimed it took that many calories to look good.
“What spell elements do you need?” Luka prompted. “Start there.”
“Hmm, yes, right now I need elements that can break things. Shadow of an eclipse?”
Evora nodded. “Have that.”
Encouraged, Amaru pressed, “Caipora’s howl?”
From the blank expression on her face, she did not have that. “I didn’t realize it had power?”
Amaru blinked back at her, also confused. “Why wouldn’t it? It’s a mystical being.”
“You have to remember, we’re not native to this area,” Evora reminded him patiently. “And when we came, there was no one native to teach us anything. We stuck to what we knew.”
“Oh. Damn. Well, that doesn’t bode well for the rest of my list. Uh, how about iara’s song?”
