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“Your neighbor’s still at it?”
“I’m going to murder that naga and have myself some snake soup,” she hissed. “It doesn’t matter what time of day it is. It sounds like he’s throwing bowling balls at the wall.”
Nugget, who had been quiet until now, squawked. I lifted up the fleece blanket covering her cage to check on her. She looked fine, considering we’d just gone through a portal.
“You have your familiar with you. Wonderful.” Seth made some quite adorable cooing sounds at Nugget, to which Nugget just stared back at him like he was stupid. “I never understood the other wizards’ disdain for familiars. I have one myself.”
“They hate anything they consider lowly witchcraft,” Sybil said.
“Hopefully, that will cha—” More banging interrupted him.
“We can continue this talk at my place.” He turned to Sybil. “Thank you for your help, witch. I’m eager to no longer be in a dragon’s debt.” Then, with a wave of his hand, another portal opened up in Sybil’s living room. He took my luggage and gestured for me to go first.
Not sensing any reservation from Sybil and not detecting deceit of my own, I decided it was safe enough. Not to mention, Nugget seemed okay with him, which was a much better sign than if she’d started squawking up a storm. I thanked Sybil, gave her a hug, and followed the wizard through.
I stepped out dizzy, disoriented, and wanting to throw up. I stumbled forward and held onto the first thing I could: a heavy chair. Moments later, a hand was on my shoulder, steadying me. Energy flowed from the hand, and my nausea ceased.
“Portal travel takes some getting used to.” He took Nugget’s cage and placed it on the metal industrial-style coffee table and guided me to sit on the chair. “Let me grab you a drink and something with salt in it. Salt always helps.”
He headed over to the attached kitchen, and as he rummaged through his cupboards, I took note of my surroundings. I was in a loft with high ceilings, outfitted with industrial-grunge style décor. Somehow, this place made grunge look expensive.
Maybe it was the large screen TV, or his many electronics on display. Seth had put a lot of thought into this place, and it was definitely a man cave.
There was a giant tropical enclosure on one side of the room. Seth had mentioned having a familiar of his own. What type of animal needed an enclosure that large? It looked like a home for a reptile. I made a note to keep Nugget safe in her cage while we were here. I didn’t want her to become her namesake.
Seth returned with an armful of drinks and a bag of chips. Not a diet cola in sight. I grabbed a normal cola instead. I hadn’t realized I was so thirsty until my first sip. Portal travel must dehydrate you. I checked, and sure enough, Nugget was drinking from her water silo.
“Just make yourself at home. There are always snacks in the cupboard, so help yourself. The bathroom is that door there, and your room is the one next to mine.” He pointed up to the lofted area where there were two doors. One of them had a skull on it; I assumed that was his.
“Thank you.”
We talked over chips and soda, and Seth asked me how much magic I’d learned. He assured me that I was progressing quickly, faster than most, despite feeling like I was moving too slowly.
“You can’t rush these things. And you need rest. This is why Desmon thought it would be best for you to be here with me instead of with Eamon. He’s a demon; the magic he does is inherent. It’s part of who he is and doesn’t cost him energy. He can phase through walls all day and not get tired. That’s not the case for you and me.”
Sybil and Iris had mentioned eating more and resting between practices. I thought I was already doing enough.
“I’m surprised Eamon wasn’t more eager for my help, considering who Amrita has working for her.”
I perked up. “You know who it is?”
“Oh yes. Nastafar’s return has caused quite a stir among the wizards. He’d been so quiet everyone had believed him to be dead, his late grandson included. So when Nastafar showed up, looking a century or so younger, it was quite surprising.”
I didn’t recognize the name. Eamon had never said the name of the wizard who had wronged him. “This is the wizard who trapped him?”
“The very same.”
“I see. Eamon didn’t know.” Then remembering that Eamon had been ignoring his calls, I said, “I didn’t know you were trying to contact me. I’m sorry Eamon ignored you.”
“That might have been my fault; I might have egged him on.” He tried not to smile, but the corners of his lips tugged up. “You have a devoted demon, witch. If I wasn’t so eager to square up with the dragon, I wouldn’t be getting between the two of you. Are you sure you didn’t charm him?”
Devoted. More like hyper-protective.
“I wouldn’t know how to. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you end up owing a dragon a favor?”
“He helped me hide someone I really care about from another wizard.” He didn’t go into detail and changed the topic. “Do you want to meet my python?”
I figured that the little he had told me was a lot already. “Your python? You have a snake?”
