“I thought we had a deal,” I snarled, forcing myself to sit up.
“We do, but the power draw is a natural process of the mark. There’s nothing I could do about it.” He didn’t sound very sorry about it. Quite the opposite in fact.
“Explain.”
“Basically, that mark functions on a number of levels. The first is it marks you as my servant and binds you to my will.” Yeah, I remembered that part. It’s the reason I had left the genie cuff on him. “The second purpose is the part that’s really important. It turns you into a deep well of power for my spells, essentially making it so I can filter magic through our bond.”
“So what you’re saying is you’ve turned me into a supernatural battery,” I said.
He lifted his head from fiddling with the skeleton of a bird and nodded. “That’s a good explanation for it.”
“Why? I thought you were powerful enough without it.”
He slammed something down. “I am powerful enough without it. This mark is just going to draw focus from where I need it. This was your choice remember? This thing was supposed to vanish after you fulfilled your part of the bargain. You were to give me the draugr’s watch and locket, and you would go your own way. Instead, you ruined everything by giving back his trinkets. Now I’m stuck with you for the next hundred years.”
He sounded enraged by my actions all over again. Strange behavior when the relationship so clearly worked to his benefit. It made me think there was more to this bond than he was telling me.
I remember Miriam telling me how marks of this nature often went in both directions. Perhaps it wasn’t the power he could draw from me that was the concern.
He continued tinkering with the assortment of items on the table, measuring powder out using a tea spoon and dumping it into some noxious liquid that sent up a puff of foul smoke. It smelled like an infantryman’s bag after a seven day mission outside the wire. It was disgusting.
“What are you doing?”
“What I promised, concocting a spell to locate your friend.”
I closed my eyes in relief. At least one part of this crazy plan had worked out. I could take this pain if it meant he did as he promised.
He muttered to himself as he poured over his table, shifting items around to find the things he needed.
I drew my legs under me and stood. The mark was a steady burn, but nowhere near as bad as it had been when I woke up. I took a wobbly step toward him, as unsteady on my legs as if they’d turned to stilts.
My headed pounded in time to my heart beat.
“I need one more item,” he said.
“That’s it?” I asked.
“Normally, no, but I tagged Caroline with a strand of magic when I was working with her earlier. It should act as a locator.”
“You did what?” My voice was a high pitched shriek.
“Calm yourself. It did her no harm and will probably end up saving her life.”
“What is it with you people supernaturally microchipping human beings without their permission?” It seemed to be a theme with the spooks.
“Are we really going to argue about the ethical ramifications of my actions when we need to save Caroline?”
My mouth clicked shut, and I made a gesture that said by all means continue.
He nodded, pleased with my answer.
“How does this work anyway?” I asked.
“I’d explain, but I doubt you’d comprehend. It takes years of intense study to understand even the most basic of concepts.”
I gave him a flat stare. “This insignificant mind will struggle with the basics.”
He gave an angry sigh. “We don’t have time, but I’ll try to dumb it down for you.”
