I was now allowed free run of the estate, and I took full advantage of it, stalking here and there, working out some of my frustration and hopelessness by kicking at stones and scowling.
Jonas was still keeping an eye on me, but I was less frightened of him now, of any of them.
Powers was going to arrange it so that I could join Silus as soon as possible. I had already packed and was now waiting anxiously for that to happen. It seemed like it was taking forever.
In the midst of pacing, I remembered Kit Fowler, who had helped me so kindly. That, at least, was something I could do something about now. It felt so helpless waiting, but he had been kind to me, and he had helped me a great deal. He'd told me where my Silus was.
I went at once to go and find him, and when I asked, was eventually directed (though I had to ask three different people to get there) to the back garden. He was sitting on a stone bench, throwing sticks for two very differently sized dogs. The dogs rushed over to me, and then rushed back when Kit whistled for them.
"Hello." I approached him cautiously, trying not to step on or trip over the smaller, faster dog, who seemed to be everywhere at once. I didn't mind dogs, but I draw the line at their making me fall or biting me.
"Hello!" He gave me a sweet, sunny smile. He looked blissfully content to be out here, on a pleasant day, playing with the two dogs.
"How are you feeling?" I sat beside him gingerly on the bench, not quite sure how to ask.
"Oh, I'm feeling really strong today! I'm so glad."
I reached out with a tendril of my ability and touched the core strength of him, his heart. It was a bit stronger than it had been. I saw the way it was improving already from the little I'd done earlier.
I swallowed, rubbed my hands on my trousers, and looked at him. It was hard to ask this, but it was wrong to do any more without asking him.
"Kit, I — I touched it a little, earlier. With my magic."
His mouth fell open. "What?"
"Your — your heart. Just a tiny bit, to help you feel better. I'm sorry I didn't ask. But — can I now? Can I try to fix you a little more? You've been good to me, and I hate to see you suffer. Maybe I can help a bit more. I'll be gone soon, so you need to decide today."
"Oh! Yes, please! You did that? Please do it, please fix me. I want to be here for a long time. I don't know what Wes will do if I die, and it looks—" He swallowed hard, fighting back emotion. "It's been looking like I don't have very much longer, even with lots of medical treatment." He looked at me helplessly. "There's only so much medicine can do when — when you have a heart that's dying."
I saw the raw pain in him, that this was controlling his life, that he had been in many ways told to accept he was dying.
"They said that magic couldn't fix me, nothing could, but I do feel better today. I feel a little stronger." He looked at me with pleading eyes. "Anything you can do. Anything will be a help."
I swallowed back emotion. "Of course I'll help. I'll do what I can."
I took his hands, clasping them both in mine. It would give me something to do — and more than that, begin to repay my debt for his kindness, the kindness of the Skeffields, and for all the wrong things I'd done in my life.
If I could help him even a little, it would be a beginning.
#
Jocelyn woke me up from my afternoon nap. "I need your help," he told me. I was sleepy and worn out after working on Kit's heart. It had been a good use of energy, but had left me feeling drained and sluggish.
He looked at me closely as I sat up in bed and groaned a little, fumbling for my glasses. "You look tired."
"I am tired. I was working on Kit's heart."
He looked surprised. "You can do that?"
I shrugged, trying to appear more nonchalant than I felt. "Apparently I could for him."
"Hm. Well, if this is a new skill you're learning, you need never let the ministry punish you unduly. You can simply apply to some hospital or other for work and they will fight for you to the ends of the earth."
Healing magic is somewhat rare, so I could understand that. I gave a short nod. I hadn't thought about how fixing Kit might affect my future; I'd just wanted to help.
Would I have to have a personal connection with anyone I used magic to fix? Would I be able to help anyone, or only improve heart conditions? There was a lot to figure out. I was suddenly nervous that they would be fighting over me and pressing me to work long hours and knock myself out, healing multiple people every day. If it drained me this much, I wouldn't be good for long...
He gave me a knowing look, and said, "Don't worry about it right now. I need your help with something. Oh, and Lucas and Cillian are going to be helping as well, so you had best get along. This is beyond petty dislikes."
I raised a brow, unconvinced, but willing to listen.
"I need to talk with you all away from the manor. Get your shoes on and meet me at the carriage house."
Curiosity piqued, I hurried. A few minutes later Jonas, Cillian, Powers, and I were all four at the carriage house where the shiny cars sat. One was Jocelyn's, though I was pretty sure he didn't own a car, so it must be a rental.
We stood there under the metal roof, loud with the drumbeats of rain over it. It was dark inside and out. We stood around Jocelyn, listening. It felt ominous.
"I have reason to believe there is a hostile fae or something worse trapped in a room of the manor. It may or may not be connected with a fae-magic artifact." He took a deep breath. "It has contacted at least two people, offering them outrageous things in exchange for its freedom. Both these individuals lack any magic themselves, but each has been touched deeply by magic in some way. They both reported a sense of overwhelming fear and dread from the encounters. We need to find this thing, and keep it from endangering civilians."
He looked around at us, rather military in his neat three-piece suit the rain hadn't touched. He'd clearly used his magic like an umbrella to keep himself from getting wet on the walk out here. He had the self-contained quiet strength he always did; he was the sort of person you could walk right past without noticing...unless you could sense magical talent. His was strong, and so was his skill with it.
Right now, Powers had the intensity I recalled from the war. I hadn't actually been a soldier myself; my gifts weren't suited for weaponry, and from what I've learned since, I have every reason to be grateful for that.
Jonas cleared his throat. "What do you need us to do?"
"Provide backup. I know the location, but I still need to track it down, then neutralize the threat if I must. If it is in any way triggered to release when touched or something like that, I need people there who can try to stop it, or at the least report on what happened. If I tackle this alone, too much could go wrong."
I understood his point, but it seemed somewhat hopeless. Powers had the most magic out of any of us here, and the best usage of it. If he couldn't take down the thing, we couldn't, that was for sure. Magic wasn't something you could combine, not really. It was such an individual thing, you might as well ask someone to combine their heartbeat with another person's to make a stronger heartbeat between them. It couldn't be done, didn't even really make any sense. In the same way, magicians couldn't work together to make one stronger magician, not in the real world.
It sounded mostly like he wanted witnesses — so that if he caught it, he'd have proof. And if he died in the attempt, there would be someone to tell the ministry and take up the task.
I didn't envy him this night.
Just then, thunder rumbled overhead, and we all jumped. I was glad I wasn't the only one, at least.