With a ground-shaking grumble, Garran set his fishbowl back on the bar and said, “I will trust you. But why would you eat your hat? I did not think beings from Tranquis ate clothing.”
“It’s only an expression,” I replied, giving his arm a little pat.
The matter sorted—at least for the time being—I turned toward the stage. As the curtains drew back and spotlights flared on the Delphinian wizards readying to stun us with their tricks, I spotted Raphael sitting alone by the front of the stage, sipping a martini, as handsome as ever.
11
“What shapes our lives?”bellowed a lanky wizard in flowing robes who stood beneath a glowing spotlight, his arms sweeping over his head as yellow and orange flames erupted from his fingertips. “What inspires our destinies? What fills our dreams and fuels our passions?” His voice thundered through the sound system as he roared, “Magic!” to a wild onrush of applause.
Deafening techno music surged through the ballroom in driving,oontzing beats that vibrated through my chest while twenty more wizards took the stage. I sensed a sharp tension radiating off Freddie’s shoulders when the wizards began chanting incantations in time with the music.
I commed him.
He scanned the ballroom, wincing when his gaze landed on the bank of tables where that large party of frizzy-haired Gorbies sat. Three Gorbies stood from their seats, posturing with two of their four hands on their heads—which, on Gorbulon-7, was an indicator of outrage. Something likeyou dare to flatten my hair!
he commed back.
Squashing my smile between my lips, I commed Tig.
she replied.
I asked as two wizards rose above the stage with fire shooting from their bare feet like rocket boosters.
I scoffed.
And with that, Tig clicked off the comm.
Leaning in close enough that Freddie’s linen scent surrounded me, rudely taking advantage of the relationship between breathing and inadvertently smelling things, I said, “I’m going up front.”
“Be careful,” Garran shouted, making my ears whine. “I do not like magic. It is not natural.” As if on cue, a dragon made of fire leapt from one of the wizard’s hands, growing to the size of an Imperion gunship as it roared above the crowd. Garran’s eyes slammed shut while he uttered some guttural Argosian oath, making the sign of the Tilth—hisplanet’s three-pointed constellation thought to be the giver and taker of abundance—on his forehead.
After squeezing Garran’s arm, I gave Freddie a tight and awkward smile, receiving a tight and awkward nod in return. Then, taking a deep breath once I was out of Freddie’s scent-range, I skimmed along the wall to move closer to the stage, and to Raphael. On my way, I spotted Chan staring up at the magic show with wide eyes and an even wider grin.
With her braids lashing through the air around her, Chan’s mystery Delphinian summoned a ten feet tall ring of fire stage left while another wizard conjured an oorthorse made of light to leap through it. Before the oorthorse’s hooves touched the ground, the animal exploded into thousands of tiny embers that flitted away toward the ceiling, winking out one by one.
Sneaking up beside Chan’s hoverchair, I leaned in close. “She’s lovely.”
His head whipped toward me. “Sunny,” he shouted over the music. “You scared the shit out of me.”
I tilted my chin toward the stage. “Who is she?”
With a wistful glance at the Delphinian, he muttered, “Someone I don’t stand a chance with.”
If I was a genie, those would be the words that would summon me from my lamp. “Is that so?”
He nodded miserably.
Stooping to take his chin in my hand, guiding his attention to me for a moment, I winked and said, “We’ll just have to see about that.”
