Devon Monk - Magic in the Shadows

“How long have you two known each other?” I asked.

Zayvion shook his head. “Exactly one hour too long.”

Shamus made a rude noise. “You said that three hours ago.”

Zayvion lifted his beer and flashed me a quick smile before taking a drink. “Several years,” he said. “Long, painful years.”

“Grew up together,” Shamus added around a mouthful of chicken.

I took a drink of my beer. During the hubbub I’d managed to get through half my burger and made a serious dent in the pile of fries. The food did a decent job of clearing my head and settling my mood.

I was feeling a lot better. “Well, then, I’m sorry for you both.”

Shamus coughed and laughed, and Zayvion’s faint smile spread out into a grin. He looked good when he smiled. Looked like someone should be kissing him for it.

I guess some of my thoughts showed in my expression. Zayvion raised one eyebrow and pushed my knee with his knee, swiveling my stool toward him. I was now mostly facing him.

“How was class?” And even though he was relaxed, a hint of a smile still playing on his lips, he spoke a little more quietly, privately, and somehow that made it easy to hear him, only him, over all the other voices and people in the room.

He was concerned about me.

How sweet was that?

“I learned a lot. There’s um, still some question about my dad.”

He nodded. “She say anything about that?”

“She wants someone else to look into it. I think Jingo Jingo?”

Zay’s smile faded away.

“What? Is that bad?”

“No. No, not bad. He’s very good at what he does.”

“He’s a freak is what he is.” Shamus finished off his beer and tapped the counter for a refill.

“Shame,” Zayvion said.

“Sure, you go ahead and deny it. You know it’s true.”

“What does he do?” I asked.

“It’s not what he does.”

Shamus snorted, and Zayvion gave him a silencing look, then leaned in a little closer to me so he could lower his voice.

“Death magic. He is Liddy’s second, and deals hands-on with the dead. It makes sense Maeve wants him to see. . what your father may have done.” He pulled back, his gaze searching my face for understanding.

And I was absolutely positive he didn’t find a single stitch of it.

“What the hell?” I asked. At his look, I lowered my voice and leaned closer to him. “Death magic? I’m not letting anyone use death magic on me. Besides, it’s illegal.”

“Just because the law doesn’t know how to use something doesn’t make it illegal.”

Wow. There was a concept I didn’t want to think about.

“Isn’t that the magic Frank used on me, on the kidnapped girls in the warehouse?” I couldn’t remember much of what happened there, but I knew my dad’s corpse had been there, that was where he had possessed me, and that was where the girls had been tied down and killed.

“He abused it, twisted it. Used more than just death magic. He used dark magic. Forbidden. Jingo Jingo is one of the Authority. Sworn to use magic in the ancient ways.”

“Frank wasn’t part of the Authority?”

“He was. A faction. Part of the splitting off, the breaking that has been going on. But he wasn’t even near the same level of ability or responsibility as Jingo Jingo.”

“Is that your comforting speech? Because I am not feeling the comfort,” I said.

Zay rested his palm, warm and heavy, on my thigh. “Jingo is the best person to deal with this. I’ll be there with you, if you want.”

I suddenly wanted that very much. “I’d like that.” I slipped my fingers between his.

Two glasses of beer descended slowly between us, held with the tips of fingers wrapped to the second knuckle in black fingerless gloves.

Shamus, standing next to us, held drinks in both outstretched hands. “More drinking, less flirting,” he said. “Or so help me God, I’ll throw ice at you.”

Zayvion gave Shamus a withering glare. “You just don’t know when to keep your mouth shut, do you?”

“Nope,” he said cheerfully. “A toast.”

I took one of the beers, and Zayvion leaned back, let go of my hand, and took the other beer.

“To what?” Zay asked.

“To the only thing worth drinking to. Love.”

“That’s not what you said last week,” Zayvion said. “Last week you were toasting magnificent breasts, if I remember correctly.”

Shamus grinned. “Also lovely, but I’ve matured since then. To love.” He lifted his own glass and took a long drink.

Zay looked over at me. “To love,” he said quietly.

“To love,” I said. And joy, I also blushed like mad, my face washed with heat from that look in Zayvion’s eyes.

“You,” I said to Shamus, to have an excuse to look away from the raw intensity of Zayvion’s gaze, “are a trouble maker.,

“Aren’t we all?”

“No,” Zayvion said. “Some of us are trouble enders.”

Shamus chuckled. “Like hell.”

And he toasted us again, drained his glass, then patted Zayvion on the shoulder. “My friend. Be well. I need a smoke.”

“That’s gonna kill you someday,” Zayvion said into the rim of his beer.

Shamus nodded. “I could only be so lucky.” Then to me: “Tomorrow, love. Ten o’clock. Don’t be late. The mum has the temper of a demon with a diaper rash.”

He lifted a hand in farewell and walked across the room, weaving his way between tables, until I couldn’t see him anymore.

Ifinished my burger and fries, but not my beer. Zayvion sat with me, pulling his Zen moves, patient, silent. I finally pushed my plate away. “Mind if I get a ride home?”

“I was hoping you’d ask.” He stood and offered me his hand.

Like I said, old-fashioned.

I took it as I stood, then we walked out through the door nearest us, which opened onto the wooden porch that paralleled the river. The cool, dark scents of moving water filled my nose and lungs. Night had settled into the cracks of day, and only the yellow lanterns lining the old inn held it back.

There was no one in the parking lot. We walked down the porch steps and out into the clear night-wonder of wonders, it was not raining. I looked up at clouds broken by patches of stars.

Nice.

“You and Chase used to date?” I asked as we made our way across the parking lot.

“No. But we were lovers.”

Okay, even though I liked his honesty and had said I was adult enough to deal with the fact he’d had other relationships, I cringed a little. Chase was gorgeous, and they’d obviously known each other for a lot longer than Zay and I. And it was highly likely she didn’t get involved with weird Necromorph things, lose bits of her memory, or carry a dead relative around in her head.

Speaking of which, I hadn’t felt my dad since I’d been sitting with Shamus and Zayvion.

“We trained together,” Zay said.

“For?”

“Our jobs. The Authority. She’s a Closer too.”

“Is that what I’m training to be?”

“I don’t know. None of us know. When you are accepted into the Authority, you are tested to see what your natural abilities are and which branch of magic they can best be used with.”

“Like the test Maeve gave me in there?”

“No. Your real test will be done with several members of the Authority in attendance. Three days from now. Maeve was just gauging what you already know, and what preparation your testers will need so you don’t harm yourself or others during it.”

“And figuring that out takes more than one day?”

Here he smiled a small smile. “Not generally.”

Yeah, well, that made sense. I couldn’t imagine Maeve really wanted me to blow the walls out of her room again. No wonder Shamus ducked out early. If he was going to stand as my Proxy again tomorrow, he’d need the sleep.