Chapter 9
Nathaniel rolled off Laura with a lazy grin. He hadn't meant for it to go this far, but surely something that felt so good couldn't be wrong. It wasn't the first time he had been with a woman that wasn't Eliza, and he had needed it badly. She was good, and he knew it wasn't her first time either.
They didn't talk about how many times they had rolled into bed with someone else under the very nose of the Jurors. There was no need to explain the guilt, the need to keep quiet, or the silence as their magic intertwined. They understood each other.
“Well!” He sat up in her bed, taking a sip of the drink she had poured before straddling him. He wasn't drunk, but he felt good – relaxed, even. All the tension and the stress he had felt before now was gone, his body lose. “Wow.”
“Wow is right,” she said as she grinned, sitting up. “I know that was fast, but oh, Creator...”
“Next time won't be so fast,” he grinned at her. He knew he should get out of bed, pick up his shirt, and leave her room. But he wasn't sure he could stand straight, his legs still quivering. “That is, if you are interested in another time.”
“I wouldn't mind another time,” she said. “Were you thinking right now?”
“Ha,” he grinned. “I'm not seventeen. Give me an hour or so.”
“Mmm, I bet you were stud at seventeen.” She snuggled up to him. “Who can I ask for proof?”
“At seventeen?” he asked. “There was just the one.”
“Ah, the queen,” Laura rolled over to look into his eyes. “Is she going to mind that I've taken you to bed?”
“No,” Nathaniel answered. “I mean, we don't openly talk about it, but we also don't expect the other to act like monks. That would be unrealistic, given our situation.”
“Seems an odd situation to keep up with,” she said. “But more power to you.”
“I also don't…” He tried to put it delicately. “You know this is against the rules.”
“I didn't become a witch yesterday, Nathaniel,” she rolled her eyes. “I won't tell anyone.”
“And try not to think about it,” he said as he swung his legs out of bed. “Especially around my Tiro. Her ability to read minds is off the charts. She saw that I was thinking about kissing you in an idle fantasy earlier.”
Laura grinned. “You were thinking about kissing me?” she teased.
“It was just…you know,” Nathaniel blushed, “one of those things.”
“Obviously, I felt the same way,” she answered as she reached for her clothing.
Nathaniel chuckled, finally finding the strength to get dressed. His plan was to idly saunter out, perhaps head to the library, and then make sure Sienna was on her way back. He did not expect Desmond to suddenly invade his mind.
Where are you?
The force of the thoughts nearly threw him backward.
What's the matter? he asked, confused. Laura recognized the look on his face and knew he was speaking through a bond. She froze, waiting for him.
Where are you? Desmond repeated.
I'll be in the blue hallway in a moment. Nathaniel dressed as quickly as he could, buttoning up his shirt and sliding into his pants.
“What's the matter?” Laura asked, confused. Nathaniel shrugged.
“I don't know,” he said. “Desmond won't say. I hope it's not Sienna,” he said. “Shouldn't they be back now?”
Laura searched her mind, calling out for Devon. “Uh oh,” she said, and Nathaniel stopped.
“What?”
“Well, they aren't at the pool hall anymore,” she said. “I see…a park. It's dark.”
“Oh, my Creator,” Nathaniel growled as he pushed Laura's door open.
He came face-to-face with Desmond, standing there and looking entirely unimpressed. Desmond's thoughts were confused, bouncing everywhere. Nathaniel had never felt him in such a state.
“What's the matter?” he asked. Desmond opened his mouth, but apparently couldn't decide what was the most important thing. Behind him, Mariah filed in. She didn't have to have sight to know what Nathaniel and Laura had been up to.
“There's a situation in the hangar,” she said. “All witches are asked to return to the Academy immediately until we sort it out.”
“And our Tiro is MIA,” Desmond said. “Apparently, she missed an appointment with Tara.”
“I completely forgot about that,” Nathaniel said as Laura joined him, trying to look put together. “What situation in the hangar?”
Nothing prepared him for the story Desmond told him in half, shocked sentences.
“What?” Nathaniel asked as he finished. “No, how is that possible? It's not possible. This must be some sort of trick; some sort of illusion. Or there must be an explanation!”
“Nathaniel,” Desmond said. “One thing at a time. Where is Sienna?”
“With Devon,” Laura said. “They went to play pool in the city, but right now, I think they are walking in Swift Park.”
“They did what?” Desmond clearly did not agree with what they had been allowed to do. “Did you know?”
“I let her go,” Nathaniel answered. “I didn't see the harm in it – not for just a little bit. But how can the Ronan be back, Desmond? How can this be possible?”
“Nathaniel, if I had an answer for you, I'd give it to you,” Desmond replied. “Are you in the right state of mind to go get her?” He could smell the liquor on Nathaniel's breath, although his former Tiro did not seem incapacitated.
“Yes,” Nathaniel answered. “Laura, alert Devon that we are coming for them. Sienna probably won't answer me if she's distracted.”
“Distracted by the lovely duck pond?” Desmond raised his eyebrow. “I need to get back to the med bay if you two are going as well.”
“We'll bring them back safely,” Laura promised, and then gasped. Everyone froze.
“What?” Nathaniel answered as Laura shuddered.
“It's Devon. We've got to go now.”
“Why?” Nathaniel asked. “Are they in danger?”
“We need to go now,” Laura closed her hand over his, and Nathaniel didn't question it, following her out of the room. His head was spinning as he absorbed all the information they had been told.
“It's not possible that they are alive,” Nathaniel said. “Dorian was barely dead when Desmond came to me. Over the years, we went over the Ronan explosion again and again. There was no way out of it.”
“Every day, we discover that magic does something that we weren't sure of before,” Laura said. “It's possible this is a case of that. Fourteen teams of Tiros and Maestros – the magic on that ship would have been off the charts! Who knows what safety net they created for themselves; what protective spell that they could have put on at the last second?”
“That would have them missing all these years?” Nathaniel asked, and Laura tensed. “What's happening?”
“Sienna isn't in danger,” Laura assured him. “It's Devon. I think something isn't agreeing with him.”
“Laura,” Nathaniel felt intimate enough with her now to ask her what was happening. All the things that she had said before and the way she changed the subject whenever she was asked about Devon's tests – something wasn't adding up. “Are you in the same position as I am?”
He put it as delicately as he could, and Laura's eyes turned toward him. To his surprise, he found tears in them.
“Will I be a Maestro wandering in the dark in a few years, knowing that my Tiro will slip away before me?” she asked. “Yes.”
He heaved a great sigh. “I'm sorry.”
“No, no,” she wiped away her tears. “I shouldn't complain. You two have it worse. Devon's illness is known; he feels no pain most days. We have decided to act as normal, and continue until we can't. But you two…what you go through with her – I don't envy you.”
Laura squeezed his hand, and he sent thanks up to the universe that he had met her. “It's hard at times,” he said, “but it is worth it. Desmond and I have such different styles, and I think we want very different things for her future.”
“But you want her to have a future,” Laura said. “The same as I want for Devon, which is why I am not as strict on him as I should be. I just want him to be happy, regardless of what kind of witch he becomes.”
“I never thought of it that way,” Nathaniel replied, and Laura managed a smile.
“I guess we have a lot to learn from each other,” she said.
It wasn't far to the park, but Nathaniel's heart was nearly beating out of his chest as his mind swirled with the possibilities of what could be happening. He was so distracted that he bumped into someone on the street.
“Oh, I'm sorry,” he said, usually a graceful witch. But when he met the person's eyes, his heart stopped.
“Grego? Are you Grego?” He recognized the face of the alien staring back at him. Grego had been a CEO of half the construction operations in the city. He had been a quiet businessman who seemed to have it all. Until one day, he took to the top of one of his buildings and jumped.
The whole city saw what was left of him as the news crews struggled for the story. The galaxy covered it for months, trying to figure out why this being who had it all would end his life.
Why he had done it had never come to light. The only thing they were sure of was that Grego was dead – splattered across the payment.
Except that Nathaniel was staring at him right now.
Grego blinked twice at his name being called, and then he took off down the street. Nathaniel stood, stunned.
“What the heck is happening?” he asked Laura.
‘Nathaniel.’ Sienna's voice entered his mind then, frantic, and Nathaniel let Grego's face leave his thoughts. He and Laura took off in a jog toward the park, their breath coming out in gasps.
Nathaniel had been in the city center many times at night, and it was always crowded. But this seemed more chaotic than usual. Beings were walking around with dazed looks in their eyes, unsure of what was happening. Nathaniel had no doubt that half of them were dead.
They had to elbow their way into the park, calling out to their Tiros several times. Nathaniel eventually found Sienna huddled by the lake against Devon's arm. They were shivering, and the boy was holding his side in pain, his face pale.
Nathaniel rushed to Sienna, putting his arm around her as Laura dropped to Devon's side.
“What's happening?” Sienna asked, referring to Devon's pain. Nathaniel shook his head, bewildered.
“I don't know,” he said, as Laura triaged her Tiro. “I don't know. But we have to get you back, and now.”