The Scribe
Page 78
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“No, you’re not.” Rhys’s gaze flickered down to Malachi’s hands, still stained from the henna dye. His eyes widened. “You marked her.”
“I did.”
“Malachi—”
“It was necessary.”
“No, it wasn’t. She doesn’t know the other half of the ritual. You’ve given her half your magic with nothing in return.”
“Don’t say that.” He glared. “Don’t ever say that. If she was yours, you’d understand.”
Rhys opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. After a few tense moments, he said, “You’ll be weak.”
“And she’ll be strong.”
“This is the worst time for you to indulge in sentimental—”
“It was necessary, Rhys.” He bit back the urge to yell. “When we spoke to Jaron, he said something.”
“What could he possibly have said that would make you risk your life—?”
“It was a warning. One of her, Rhys.” His friend fell silent as Malachi spoke. “One of her. Thousands of us. She was sent to me for a reason. I have to protect her.”
“We will all protect her, brother.”
“I’m counting on that. If anything happens to me… I’m counting on that. Do you understand?”
Rhys’s eyes finally met his intense gaze. “I understand. I would treat her as my own blood. You know this.”
“Thank you.”
“But seeing as you’re her one true love, you’d better make this promise unnecessary. Do you understand?”
Malachi grinned. “You think I want to give her up after I’ve just found her? Think again. You’d have her forgetting me in no time.”
His brother cleared his throat and forced a smile. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
“You need to get her out of the city.”
“Has Maxim called?”
“No, but I know he keeps an extra car not far from here. With unknown Fallen activity and so many Grigori in the city, that’s probably the safest route. If you can just get her out of the city, you’ll buy yourself some time.”
“Vienna?”
Rhys shrugged. “For now? Yes. But she needs to find someone to train her. After her safety, that’s the first priority. Even untrained, her magic is powerful. She’s like a loaded gun. She’s been good about not speaking in the Old Language, but with your magic running through her veins now, the temptation to use it is going to be stronger. She might not even be able to control it.”
“Irina, then.”
“Irina. You need to find a group of them. Sari’s faction would be the best, if Damien would tell you where they are.”
“She’s forbidden it. You know how she feels about males now.”
Rhys nodded toward the stairs. “But you’re not a lone male looking for a woman. You’re bringing your mate with you for help. She won’t leave an Irina unable to use her magic. It goes against everything she stands for.”
Malachi nodded, thinking about their options. “She’s rumored to be in Scandinavia somewhere.”
“Somewhere. It’s a big region.”
“And Brage is on the hunt. He’s Volund’s offspring. If Volund is behind this aggression, Scandinavia may be the last place I want to take her.”
“Or it may be the last place he’d look.” Rhys leaned over and wiped at Leo’s brow, which was still dotted with perspiration. “If you get her out of the city, you two will have time to think. You’ll have to find documents for her, anyway. Though if you can find Maxim, it’s possible he already has them prepared.”
“He’s cautious like that.”
“He is.”
As if called by the gods, Ava’s phone rang. Rhys smiled and handed it to Malachi. “Speak of the devil.”
Malachi took the phone and saw Maxim’s number on the screen. “Hello?”
“Finding unlisted mobile numbers is a pain in the ass, Malachi. Add her to the contact list, will you?”
He let out a sigh of relief and walked upstairs. “As if you already haven’t.”
“You are correct, old man. How’s my cousin?” A slight hitch in his throat was the only clue how worried Maxim was.
“He’ll be fine. Do you know about the house?”
“Yes. Did anyone retrieve the fire for him?”
“Rhys managed, but his hair’s a bit shorter.”
“We both owe him a debt.”
“Which I’m sure he’ll collect. How badly damaged was the house?”
“Not as much as we thought. The firefighters did an excellent job. I’m guessing whoever set it was trying to scatter us.”
“So they succeeded.”
“To an extent. Damien and I got hit with tear gas of all things after we got away last night. He’s mad as hell this morning, but not damaged.”
“We’re lucky.”
“You need a way out of the city. Damien has already called Vienna about the house, so they know some of what is happening. He was very closemouthed about your mate, though.”
For some reason, Malachi was relieved. He didn’t know why, but he felt like the less people knew about Ava, the better. “I’m not sure where we should go. Rhys said Scandinavia, but I need to speak to Damien about that.”
“I did.”
“Malachi—”
“It was necessary.”
“No, it wasn’t. She doesn’t know the other half of the ritual. You’ve given her half your magic with nothing in return.”
“Don’t say that.” He glared. “Don’t ever say that. If she was yours, you’d understand.”
Rhys opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. After a few tense moments, he said, “You’ll be weak.”
“And she’ll be strong.”
“This is the worst time for you to indulge in sentimental—”
“It was necessary, Rhys.” He bit back the urge to yell. “When we spoke to Jaron, he said something.”
“What could he possibly have said that would make you risk your life—?”
“It was a warning. One of her, Rhys.” His friend fell silent as Malachi spoke. “One of her. Thousands of us. She was sent to me for a reason. I have to protect her.”
“We will all protect her, brother.”
“I’m counting on that. If anything happens to me… I’m counting on that. Do you understand?”
Rhys’s eyes finally met his intense gaze. “I understand. I would treat her as my own blood. You know this.”
“Thank you.”
“But seeing as you’re her one true love, you’d better make this promise unnecessary. Do you understand?”
Malachi grinned. “You think I want to give her up after I’ve just found her? Think again. You’d have her forgetting me in no time.”
His brother cleared his throat and forced a smile. “No, I wouldn’t.”
“No, you wouldn’t.”
“You need to get her out of the city.”
“Has Maxim called?”
“No, but I know he keeps an extra car not far from here. With unknown Fallen activity and so many Grigori in the city, that’s probably the safest route. If you can just get her out of the city, you’ll buy yourself some time.”
“Vienna?”
Rhys shrugged. “For now? Yes. But she needs to find someone to train her. After her safety, that’s the first priority. Even untrained, her magic is powerful. She’s like a loaded gun. She’s been good about not speaking in the Old Language, but with your magic running through her veins now, the temptation to use it is going to be stronger. She might not even be able to control it.”
“Irina, then.”
“Irina. You need to find a group of them. Sari’s faction would be the best, if Damien would tell you where they are.”
“She’s forbidden it. You know how she feels about males now.”
Rhys nodded toward the stairs. “But you’re not a lone male looking for a woman. You’re bringing your mate with you for help. She won’t leave an Irina unable to use her magic. It goes against everything she stands for.”
Malachi nodded, thinking about their options. “She’s rumored to be in Scandinavia somewhere.”
“Somewhere. It’s a big region.”
“And Brage is on the hunt. He’s Volund’s offspring. If Volund is behind this aggression, Scandinavia may be the last place I want to take her.”
“Or it may be the last place he’d look.” Rhys leaned over and wiped at Leo’s brow, which was still dotted with perspiration. “If you get her out of the city, you two will have time to think. You’ll have to find documents for her, anyway. Though if you can find Maxim, it’s possible he already has them prepared.”
“He’s cautious like that.”
“He is.”
As if called by the gods, Ava’s phone rang. Rhys smiled and handed it to Malachi. “Speak of the devil.”
Malachi took the phone and saw Maxim’s number on the screen. “Hello?”
“Finding unlisted mobile numbers is a pain in the ass, Malachi. Add her to the contact list, will you?”
He let out a sigh of relief and walked upstairs. “As if you already haven’t.”
“You are correct, old man. How’s my cousin?” A slight hitch in his throat was the only clue how worried Maxim was.
“He’ll be fine. Do you know about the house?”
“Yes. Did anyone retrieve the fire for him?”
“Rhys managed, but his hair’s a bit shorter.”
“We both owe him a debt.”
“Which I’m sure he’ll collect. How badly damaged was the house?”
“Not as much as we thought. The firefighters did an excellent job. I’m guessing whoever set it was trying to scatter us.”
“So they succeeded.”
“To an extent. Damien and I got hit with tear gas of all things after we got away last night. He’s mad as hell this morning, but not damaged.”
“We’re lucky.”
“You need a way out of the city. Damien has already called Vienna about the house, so they know some of what is happening. He was very closemouthed about your mate, though.”
For some reason, Malachi was relieved. He didn’t know why, but he felt like the less people knew about Ava, the better. “I’m not sure where we should go. Rhys said Scandinavia, but I need to speak to Damien about that.”
