Cold Burn of Magic
Page 44
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“Is it true? What Blake said? That you have a Talent for healing?”
Felix winked. “Watch and find out.”
He held his hand out, showing me the three deep gouges in his palm. He stared at the wounds, and his skin began to wiggle, move, and slowly draw together, like a door sliding shut. Even though Felix was using his magic on himself, I could still feel it shimmering in the air around him, like a cloud of frost.
Felix wiped the blood off his hand and held his palm up again, showing me his smooth skin. “See? All better now.”
“Pretty cool.”
He shrugged. “What would be really cool was if I could do more with it. But cuts and bruises are about all I can fix. My dad, too. We have to use stitch-sting to heal everything else. It works great, but it’s so painful. One of the guards came in with a broken arm the other day. We had to use almost a whole bottle of stitch-sting on his arm, and he was screaming by the time we were done.”
I frowned, thinking about the attack at the pawnshop. I’d thought that the mystery man had hit Felix first because he’d been the one standing closest to the door. But what if there had been another reason? What if the mystery man had taken out Felix so he couldn’t try to heal Devon and Ashley?
That would mean that the mystery man knew Felix—or at least knew about his Talent.
Knowing someone’s Talent was no big deal, most of the time. Most magicks didn’t try to hide their powers. Still, something about the whole situation nagged at me. But before I could figure out what it was, a pixie zipped around the bushes and over to us.
“Hey, Felix,” she called out. “Reginald needs those herbs for dinner. He sent me to check on you.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
The pixie nodded and darted away.
Felix slid off his stool and started gathering up the paper towels filled with herbs. “Duty calls.”
I nodded, and we walked toward the front of the greenlab. Angelo was now standing in front of the stitch-sting bushes, his beekeeper hat back on, whacking at the limbs with a set of pruning shears. Felix and I waved at him. Angelo returned the gesture before going back to his trimming.
Before we reached the doors, Felix stopped and looked at me. “You know, it was really awesome what you did to Blake. Do you think you could teach me how to do that wrist thing?”
“Sure, but don’t the guards teach you guys stuff like that?”
He shrugged. “The guards are always, well, guarding things. Grant is too busy working on Family deals to spar with me, and Devon just likes to punch things. He doesn’t exactly go in for subtle stuff. Besides, I’d like to learn.”
I didn’t ask why. It was obvious it had everything to do with Deah.
“Maybe we can work on some stuff tomorrow?”
He winked. “It’s a date.”
I groaned.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Felix and I went down to the dining hall. He handed the herbs off to a pixie, then we sat down at a table and kept talking. I liked him. He really was a chatterbox who wasn’t happy unless his mouth was going at least a hundred words a minute. The only time he was quiet was when he was eating. Even then, he still tried to talk with his mouth full.
Speaking of food, the eats tonight were as good as they had been at breakfast. Thick, hearty, roast beef sandwiches with ooey, gooey wads of melted Swiss cheese and piled high with fresh tomatoes, crispy lettuce, and tangy slices of red onion. A horseradish dressing gave the sandwiches a spicy kick, and homemade potato chips provided some salty crunch to the meal. The pixies had sprinkled the fresh dill from the greenlab onto the chips, giving them even more savory flavor. Trays of fresh fruit and brownies with a molten chocolate center were served for dessert. I set a few strawberries aside on a napkin to take back to my room for Tiny. Oscar might not like me, but that was no reason for the tortoise to suffer.
After dinner, Felix asked if I wanted to hang out in the game room and play some pool, but I turned him down. It had been a long day and I wanted some time to myself. After being alone for so long, being constantly surrounded by people was a little exhausting.
I went back to my room, opened the door, and stepped inside. Oscar must have worked hard while I’d been out because my suitcase wasn’t on the bed anymore. I opened the closet door. Sure enough, the suitcase had been moved to the back corner. All of Ashley’s things were gone, replaced by my clothes, although my few pairs of jeans, shorts, cargo pants, and T-shirts took up a pitifully small amount of space. I closed the door on the depressing sight.
And that wasn’t the only thing Oscar had done. He’d made up the bed and pulled the sheets back. A basket of apples and oranges sat on the table in front of the TV, and a fresh assortment of soaps and lotions were lined up on the counter inside the bathroom. I grinned. I could totally get used to this.
I went over to the pixie house to thank Oscar, but all the curtains and shades were drawn. There was no sign of him, although more honeybeer cans littered the yard. I wrinkled my nose at the sour stench.
Oscar might not be around, but Tiny was in his corral, slowly wandering from one side to the other. It was the first time I’d seen him actually move.
“Here you go, little fella.”
I dropped the strawberries I’d saved for him into the corral. Tiny waddled over and sniffed them before sticking his beak into one of the berries. I stroked my finger over his soft, velvety head. Tiny blinked back with black eyes. I took that as a thank-you. I left him to munch on his treats and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
Felix winked. “Watch and find out.”
He held his hand out, showing me the three deep gouges in his palm. He stared at the wounds, and his skin began to wiggle, move, and slowly draw together, like a door sliding shut. Even though Felix was using his magic on himself, I could still feel it shimmering in the air around him, like a cloud of frost.
Felix wiped the blood off his hand and held his palm up again, showing me his smooth skin. “See? All better now.”
“Pretty cool.”
He shrugged. “What would be really cool was if I could do more with it. But cuts and bruises are about all I can fix. My dad, too. We have to use stitch-sting to heal everything else. It works great, but it’s so painful. One of the guards came in with a broken arm the other day. We had to use almost a whole bottle of stitch-sting on his arm, and he was screaming by the time we were done.”
I frowned, thinking about the attack at the pawnshop. I’d thought that the mystery man had hit Felix first because he’d been the one standing closest to the door. But what if there had been another reason? What if the mystery man had taken out Felix so he couldn’t try to heal Devon and Ashley?
That would mean that the mystery man knew Felix—or at least knew about his Talent.
Knowing someone’s Talent was no big deal, most of the time. Most magicks didn’t try to hide their powers. Still, something about the whole situation nagged at me. But before I could figure out what it was, a pixie zipped around the bushes and over to us.
“Hey, Felix,” she called out. “Reginald needs those herbs for dinner. He sent me to check on you.”
“Tell him I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
The pixie nodded and darted away.
Felix slid off his stool and started gathering up the paper towels filled with herbs. “Duty calls.”
I nodded, and we walked toward the front of the greenlab. Angelo was now standing in front of the stitch-sting bushes, his beekeeper hat back on, whacking at the limbs with a set of pruning shears. Felix and I waved at him. Angelo returned the gesture before going back to his trimming.
Before we reached the doors, Felix stopped and looked at me. “You know, it was really awesome what you did to Blake. Do you think you could teach me how to do that wrist thing?”
“Sure, but don’t the guards teach you guys stuff like that?”
He shrugged. “The guards are always, well, guarding things. Grant is too busy working on Family deals to spar with me, and Devon just likes to punch things. He doesn’t exactly go in for subtle stuff. Besides, I’d like to learn.”
I didn’t ask why. It was obvious it had everything to do with Deah.
“Maybe we can work on some stuff tomorrow?”
He winked. “It’s a date.”
I groaned.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Felix and I went down to the dining hall. He handed the herbs off to a pixie, then we sat down at a table and kept talking. I liked him. He really was a chatterbox who wasn’t happy unless his mouth was going at least a hundred words a minute. The only time he was quiet was when he was eating. Even then, he still tried to talk with his mouth full.
Speaking of food, the eats tonight were as good as they had been at breakfast. Thick, hearty, roast beef sandwiches with ooey, gooey wads of melted Swiss cheese and piled high with fresh tomatoes, crispy lettuce, and tangy slices of red onion. A horseradish dressing gave the sandwiches a spicy kick, and homemade potato chips provided some salty crunch to the meal. The pixies had sprinkled the fresh dill from the greenlab onto the chips, giving them even more savory flavor. Trays of fresh fruit and brownies with a molten chocolate center were served for dessert. I set a few strawberries aside on a napkin to take back to my room for Tiny. Oscar might not like me, but that was no reason for the tortoise to suffer.
After dinner, Felix asked if I wanted to hang out in the game room and play some pool, but I turned him down. It had been a long day and I wanted some time to myself. After being alone for so long, being constantly surrounded by people was a little exhausting.
I went back to my room, opened the door, and stepped inside. Oscar must have worked hard while I’d been out because my suitcase wasn’t on the bed anymore. I opened the closet door. Sure enough, the suitcase had been moved to the back corner. All of Ashley’s things were gone, replaced by my clothes, although my few pairs of jeans, shorts, cargo pants, and T-shirts took up a pitifully small amount of space. I closed the door on the depressing sight.
And that wasn’t the only thing Oscar had done. He’d made up the bed and pulled the sheets back. A basket of apples and oranges sat on the table in front of the TV, and a fresh assortment of soaps and lotions were lined up on the counter inside the bathroom. I grinned. I could totally get used to this.
I went over to the pixie house to thank Oscar, but all the curtains and shades were drawn. There was no sign of him, although more honeybeer cans littered the yard. I wrinkled my nose at the sour stench.
Oscar might not be around, but Tiny was in his corral, slowly wandering from one side to the other. It was the first time I’d seen him actually move.
“Here you go, little fella.”
I dropped the strawberries I’d saved for him into the corral. Tiny waddled over and sniffed them before sticking his beak into one of the berries. I stroked my finger over his soft, velvety head. Tiny blinked back with black eyes. I took that as a thank-you. I left him to munch on his treats and went into the bathroom to get ready for bed.
