Chapter 7
“How did you meet her?” Laura asked, two hours later. Nathaniel had meant to just ask for advice and then go back to speak to Eliza. Instead, his conversation with Laura had spiraled into a conversation about everything imaginable. It was easy to talk to her; he didn't have to explain the things he had to explain to Eliza, like how magic made him feel or why he felt restricted at times. Laura understood with a simple look and a glance.
“A quest,” he replied with a shrug. “It was just supposed to be a normal quest, but it turned into something more.”
“Obviously much more,” Laura shrugged. “It's the way it goes sometimes. You won't be the first, and you won't be the last, I doubt. But is this something serious?”
“On and off,” he said as he sat back. “There have been disruptions in our lives, but it's steady.”
“Good for you,” she said. “The only thing that many witches stick to is their magic and their Maestros. Everything else is different from day to day.”
“Can I have credits?” Sienna was suddenly at his side, and Nathaniel looked up. He had almost forgotten that she was there, she had been so quiet. After Devon's ping pong game, they had settled down, presumably working on homework. He had barely looked up in an hour. He felt her – with his bond, of course – but she wasn't in distress, and so he didn't intervene.
“What do you need credits for?” he asked, confused. Witches were allotted a small amount of credits every month when they weren't on quests to pay for anything they deemed necessary outside of their needs that were taken care of at the Academy. Seeing as how they generally didn't subscribe to any outside methods of teaching, work, or material objects, they rarely needed them.
“Uh…” She looked back to Devon, who grinned.
“Pool.”
“Pool?” Nathaniel said in surprise “Like the game?”
“Royals in Center town has pool tables,” Devon said. “I thought ping pong was too easy; we should try pool without the cues.”
Laura clearly had no issue with her Tiro wandering into the city without her and heading to mainstream establishments. Nathaniel looked up to Sienna, assessing her color.
“You don't look well, little one,” he said, but she shrugged.
“It's just a short walk away. One game. I would like to try.”
“Let them try, Nathaniel,” Laura said to him, grinning. “Devon has been going on his own for years. It's good training for them to try their magic in a different environment.”
“I agree with that assessment,” Nathaniel said, taking out his com-link. He pressed a few buttons, transferring a minimal amount of credits over to her. “One game, you hear me? And if you don't feel well, you come back right away.”
“Yes,” she promised.
“And you call me if you need me,” he said.
“Yes,” she said, rolling her eyes. “One game.”
“I promise I'll take good care of her and bring her home soon.” Devon stood up, his hands shoved in his pocket. “You won't even notice she's gone.”
“I'll notice if it's anywhere close to ten o’clock,” Nathaniel said. “That's curfew.”
“Promise,” Devon said, and Sienna grinned up at him, in awe of how relaxed he was. Nathaniel was surprised by the request, because Sienna rarely wanted to be more than three feet from him or Desmond. But if she was comfortable, he wanted her to learn it was all right.
As soon as they were gone, he turned back to Laura whose eyes were sparkling.
“You don't normally do that, hmm?” she said.
“She did just get out of the med bay,” Nathaniel pointed out. “But no. We're–”
“Overprotective?” Laura teased, leaning back. Their tea mugs were empty, and she had an idea. “Do you want to go to my room for a moment?”
“Sorry?” Nathaniel said in shock. She couldn't possibly be as forward as she was coming off.
“Only that I have something a bit stronger than tea,” she said. “If you are game.”
He grinned. “I am game. Not for much, though. Technically on duty and all.”
“You're lucky,” Laura said as they rose. “I'm on duty with Devon twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There is no off time, no break. The way the two of you do it, it makes it seem like having two Maestros is ideal.”
“It can be that,” Nathaniel answered. “Although, there are plenty of times where it's Desmond and I, and we still can't handle it.”
“It must be hard,” Laura said and touched his arm. “You're strong.”
“I…” He turned to meet her eyes and felt a shiver go down his spine. She had such beautiful eyes – so deep and soulful. They were locked in their gaze for a long moment, people swirling past them. “Thank you.”
“There's no sugarcoating here,” she said. “I tell it like it is, and I ask for what I want.”
It was the same kind of strength that attracted him to Eliza. A strong woman who knew where her heart and mind were was more attractive than any supermodel. It didn't help that Laura looked like a siren on top of her strength.
He was in trouble, and he knew it.
“Shall we uh…get the things? From your room?”
“Sure,” she said, with a little smile. “This way.”
***
Meanwhile, walking toward the city center, Sienna had Devon's arm in a similar style. It was her first time out in town without her Maestros, and she clung to Devon's arm as the people swirled around her.
“It's so busy,” she said as they walked.
“Well, you probably don't usually come out in the evenings,” he replied.
“No,” she said. “Never. Usually, just in the mornings for an item or a walk.”
“After sunset is the most fun,” he answered, slipping an arm around her waist for easier navigation through the crowds.
She copied his position, noticing that her hip bone fit perfectly into his side. She had never felt like this – so safe, so right.
“Oh…” Devon moved her hand gently, shifting it lower on his waist so that she was touching his hip bone. She looked up at him in confusion, having felt something bulge against his side – hard metal on the right side that jabbed at her fingers.
“What?”
“Just there,” he said, his face casual. But Sienna was smarter than that, even if she couldn't find the words. She put her hand back where it had been, tracing the hard, metal circle and then the light tubing that went from the bolt up to his chest. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes.
“You have a port,” she said in surprise.
He took a deep breath, trying to smile. “It's just temporary.”
“They don't put ports in temporarily,” she replied, trying to keep her voice low. “I know that.”
“There's no hiding anything from you, is there?” he asked, looking around. They were passing a park, dark and quiet as the citizens kept to the outside. The streets were noisy, but Devon could see a bench inside by the river that was secluded. “Come with me.”
She didn't question it, taking his hand as they walked through the grass. Once they were behind the trees, he sat. She followed suit, her eyes wide with questions.
“Why?” she asked.
He didn't meet her eyes. “Because I'm on a constant drip of Sarcodone.”
The name of the drug hit Sienna like a rock. She knew he was sick. She knew that he needed regular treatment, and she suspected she knew what it was.
But to feel the tube feeding constantly into his heart, keeping it beating – to know that he was IV'd constantly to battle the mutated cells in his body – was a whole other ball game.
A hundred years ago, Devon would be dead within three days. Today, she knew they could do much more for him. He'd have years, decades maybe, and they could manage it so he felt no ill effects; no pain as long as he lived. If he was without the drugs for too long, it would all come rushing back to him.
It was a fake life – a chemical life. He wouldn't feel his insides failing, his organs committing suicide, his heart faltering. He would feel none of it until the moment it was too late. They weren't curing him, just as they couldn't cure her.
Sienna had never felt so connected to anyone in her whole life. She lay her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed. She reached out for his hand, and he took it, using his other arm to stroke his head.
“It's okay,” he said. “You're the one with the short-end of the stick. I feel fine most of the time.”
“You shouldn't be going on quests like you do,” she said. “You could–”
“I know,” he answered, cutting her off. “But Laura and I made a pact. We would do as many as we possibly could and try to live a normal life.”
“That's why it's closed off to the Jurors,” she said. “They would pull you off quests for sure.”
“Probably,” he said with a shrug. “Which is silly because I'm just as capable as anyone else until the moment that I'm not.”
“Is that how it will be?” she tried to verify. Having spent her life in the medical system, she was strangely jaded by such talk.
“Likely,” he answered. “Hopefully, it's good timing.”
“I'm sorry,” she said, and he kissed the top of her head.
“Hey, we wouldn't have met otherwise,” he replied. She pulled her head away to meet his eyes, and she noticed their faces were inches apart.
She had never kissed anyone before; never even thought about it. She knew that her Maestros were not obedient of the rules, but she hadn't thought that life was going to be hers.
Most days, she didn’t even think beyond the next day, let alone how she was going to navigate the rest of the life she was given.
The kiss was everything she hoped it would be: short, sweet, and tingling. She pulled back after just a moment, terrified and yet excited.
Devon's eyes sparkled. “Is that all right?” he asked. She nodded wordlessly. “Have you done this before?”
She shook her head.
“Have you?”
“No, actually,” he said. “Believe it or not. There's just never been someone I felt connected to.”
“Connected,” she repeated, squeezing his hand. “Yes, that is the word.”
“The two of us against the galaxy,” he said. “They don't know what they are up against.”
“Mmm.” She closed her eyes, snuggling into him. The wind was cold, and she knew this was not appropriate. But just for one moment, she wanted to share her reality with someone who understood what it was like to fight on the most basic level. “Yes.”
“Come on,” Devon said, and pulled her up after a moment. “The pool table awaits.”
She giggled, willing to follow him anywhere. She had felt so alone, so out of step with her peers. But now that she found Devon, she felt like she could conquer anything, including a game she had no idea how to play.