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“Oh, but—“ I tried to pull out of her grip. “I really need to—“ She wouldn’t let me go, and I was already too tired from the day to fight anymore. I sagged and let her drag me along.
“You went to apologize?” Natasha asked with a knowing smile.
“Yes,” I replied.
“And?”
“We had a really good heart-to-heart,” I hedged as we neared the top of the hill and the large house.
“Looks like you had a really good penis-to-vagina too.” She raised a brow and smirked.
“Ah Satan!” I exclaimed dramatically. Natasha laughed boisterously at my use of her naughty name, and I smiled despite the embarrassed blush covering my cheeks.
“You should just tell me exactly what happened since I am living vicariously through you,” she suggested and guided me past the house, toward a shed further on.
“I can’t tell you. But it was very good.” I gave her a coy smile, and her eyes widened.
“That is so cruel, Clawdia.” She pouted. “No one likes a tease.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but behind us, a door slammed, and Karin stormed out of the house. We stopped as we waited for her to catch up with us, but her mind must have been somewhere else, because she furiously muttered at the ground and stomped until she saw us and changed her demeanor. Her foot missed a step, but her shoulders relaxed, and she managed a smile.
Natasha called, “Karin, we have a sacrifice for your wards.”
“Her wards?” I asked.Why are they hers?
“Karin covets them,” Natasha pretended to whisper but spoke loud enough for Karin to hear.
Karin narrowed her eyes at her cousin but smiled at me. Her voice was light and breezy when she said, “I just like to make sure they will never falter.”
Natasha explained with a roll of her eyes, “She manages the schedule of who is supposed to top up the wards and when. She takes her job very seriously.”
Manages the schedule? Does she not top them up herself?
I thought it impolite to clarify, so instead, I asked, “Are you all right? You seemed angry when you left the house.”
“I’m fine.” She smiled, but something I couldn’t decipher flashed in her eyes. “I can’t wait to see your magic and how the wards respond to it.”
Karin opened the door to the shed, and I stepped in to see a salt pentagram surrounded by lit candles on the wooden floor.
I swallowed nervously. “So, how do I help?”
While I wanted to help and be of use to the wards keeping us hidden, I wanted a shower more, so this needed to be over and done with fast.
Karin shut the door behind us and waved her hand over the salt. “This pentagram links directly to the wards. If you step inside, you should be able to push power into them and all their places across the island.”
“That’s it?” I asked with surprise.
“Told you it doesn’t take long.” Natasha smiled. “I do it in about two minutes.”
I stepped into the center square, settled on the ground, then crossed my legs. “I just … push … power?”
“That’s right.” Karin said, watching me avidly. I hesitated, and the confusion must have been written on my face because Karin sighed. “You’re a familiar. Have you forgotten that you can give power? It’s in your nature.”
I didn’t like her tone but decided against snapping because I wanted to get it over and done with before I checked on Baelen and had a nap. The day felt never-ending.
Getting comfortable, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and focused on the well of magic that lived in my center before gently pushing it out from my hands and into the salt.
A flash of white light burst from the pentagram as my magic was absorbed, and I gasped, my eyes flying open. My observers were standing open-mouthed.Was that not normal?The pentagram had formed a thin, clear barrier around it, which reminded me of the way Winnie had trapped and drained Savida of his fire. As I mentally made that connection, my eyes widened, and something from underneath me seemed to hook onto my hands and pull more magic from me than I offered.
