‘All right.’ Braced for the weight, I took it. Given that my magic was full to bursting, it took very little effort to create a small pocket of air beneath it, making it effortless to lift. As Robbie had done, I hefted it up and rested it against my shoulder. With the air pocket, the metal spikes didn’t even touch my shirt, let alone cut into my skin, but it sure looked the part.
Loki flew over and rested on my spare shoulder. We were ready to rock and roll. I felt like a pirate, with a mace in hand and a bird on my shoulder. If anyone called me Blackbeard, I’d swing at them.
I opened the door and Maktel stared first at me, then at the mace, then finally at Loki. He blinked rapidly, which from anyone else was the equivalent of a shocked gasp. Then, to my shock, he bowed low to me for a count of eight seconds. Then he rose. ‘Are you ready to leave for the den?’
That was weird, but good weird, surely? ‘I—yes. Let’s go.’
I locked up and pocketed the key, slipping it next to my phone. I hadn’t bothered with a bag. I wanted my hands free at all times, save for the hand resting on the mace, as if I were actually carrying its ridiculous weight.
As Maktel drove, I mentally recounted the rules Ji-ho had told me. Always drink with the right hand. Take food with the left hand. Only eat or imbibe once the High King had declared we all could. Eating or drinking before he gave the nod was considered extremely rude. I wasn’t to worry about accidentally touching shadows with someone else since I was in Krieg’s own shadow,but I should try to avoid it where possible. Someone deliberately encroaching on my shadow or touching me with theirs was an insult, but I had to assess whether it had been done deliberately or accidentally. I hoped the lights inside would be set to blazing to negate the whole shadow-related minefield.
When we drew up to the red-brick converted barn that housed the ogres, I was pleased to see that the smattering of crows from my last visit had grown in number significantly.
The birds remained eerily silent as Maktel parked beside a host of other vehicles. Robbie hadn’t been exaggerating when he said every ogre in the den would be summoned. Every single local ogre must have made the trip.
I climbed out of the car and gave the murder a jaunty wave – I should make an effort with them since they were the closest thing Robbie had to family, and he always took care of Loki.
‘You got any nuts handy?’ I asked Maktel.
‘We should go in.’
‘Nuts first,’ I said firmly.
He gave me an unreadable expression before disappearing into the main building. He returned moments later with a huge bag of unshelled peanuts.
The bag was sealed ridiculously tightly, so after a moment of effort, I abandoned using my fingers and used one of the daggers at my ankle to cut into it. I walked around the tree where the crows were resting and poured the nuts on the ground, but none of them moved.
Loki launched off my shoulder to fly around them. I wasn’t sure if he was saying hi or taunting them.
You need to speak to them,Loki said, speaking directly into my mind, making me start.They’re not sure how you feel about them.
Huh. I didn’t really have many feelings about them, but Robbie loved them, and that was enough. I concentrated on thefeeling of friendship – of Kass and Stevie, of Kate and Ji-ho – and I bundled that feeling up and sent it to the crows.
Though I was using my sub magic, it was the least invasive use of it. Even a kid with sub magic knew how to pulse feelings at people.
You could tell when my feelings of friendship hit them, because the whole murder squawked. It was a happy sound, and they fluttered into the air, flying around me in a black maelstrom that would have been intimidating if I hadn’t known their feelings toward me were also cautious warmth.
After they’d all said hi – in their way – they went to the ground to eat the gifts I’d kindly brought.
Maktel stared at me with astonishment.
‘I’m good with birds,’ I said blithely.
With effort, he pulled himself together. ‘If you’re done, follow me this way,’ Maktel said quietly, leading me not into the building as I’d expected, but around it to a large patio area with various seats, tables and extra-large beanbags.
Every ogre was scantily dressed. The women all wore sports bras and shorts, the men just shorts. Scars were on display, and I suddenly felt wildly overdressed. Besides the limited clothing, everyone was armed, and at least in that regard, I didn’t stand out. Ji-ho’s notes hadn’t mentioned anything about virtual nudity.
Robbie was next to a huge fire burning at the edge of the patio in a monumental sunken firepit. His proximity to the flames had caused a thin sheen of sweat to roll all over those delicious muscles, causing a flare of desire so strong I had to struggle to push it down. He was barefoot, in nothing but tight black shorts that left nothing to the imagination. I licked my lips because I didn’t need my imagination to know what lingered there.
Careful to avoid anyone’s shadows in the waning sun, I made my way over to him. His eyes were soft on mine, but his face was carved from granite.
‘Thank you for coming, Stacy,’ he said, voice a soft whisper.
‘Of course. I’m overdressed.’
Finally, that smirk I knew and loved so well appeared. ‘We can rectify that later.’
‘You look good in shorts,’ I said, admiring the well-defined thigh muscles that the shorts cut across.
