"Don't you think you should...spend some time with your mate?"Farkas looked as if it pained him to say the words.Rourke glanced across the room to where Ezra was nodding at something Ulric said.He gritted his teeth.What were they talking about?Or maybe Ulric was talking and Ezra nodding.What was he nodding about?
"I have work to do."
Farkas didn't reply, instead, he drank the last of his coffee and stood."I'm going hunting, we're running low on meat.I'll take Ulric along."He hadn't gone hunting in a long time, but Rourke said nothing about it.If Farkas thought he had enough energy to hunt, then he wouldn't remind him of how weak he was compared to his normal state.
Farkas sauntered off toward Ezra's table where he leaned close to Ulric and gave Ezra a short nod.He couldn't see Ezra speak, but he watched Ulric and Farkas as they talked.Rourke grunted and focused on the sandwiches in front of him.
The next time he looked up, Ezra was in the kitchen and placing his plate in the dishwasher.He slunk out of the room without anyone but Rourke noticing.He crammed the last of the sandwiches into his mouth, then he grabbed a cup of coffee and headed toward the office.
* * * *
Ezra stared at the ceiling.He'd made the bed only to lay on top of it sometime later.Rourke hadn't come back after breakfast.Maybe he'd gone hunting with Ulric and the starved man.It was a little crazy to think they went out into the woods to hunt, but he guessed it made sense.They owned a lot of land, more now when they'd regained the area the last war had been about.He wasn't sure exactly where it was since he hardly ever left the hamlet the clan had built, but they'd lost.
He kept staring at the ceiling for what had to be hours.He'd been full, but now his belly was hollow again.Some time ago, he'd heard voices outside the door and had believed Rourke would come to check on him, maybe take him to eat something, but he hadn't shown up.
A time or two, he'd considered walking out there on his own, but then he'd changed his mind.
He got up and checked the cupboards in the kitchen area.Maybe he'd find the crackers Rourke had mentioned.He opened one door after the other, but the shelves were mostly empty.A couple of glasses, a couple of mugs, a few plates.A plastic bowl and cutlery.Everything was old and well-used.
Halfway through, he found an unopened bag of rolled oats.The need to make lacy oatmeal cookies was almost visceral.He hadn't baked or cooked anything in a couple of days, and it had a buzz building underneath his skin.His unused magic was growing more insistent.He needed an outlet.Cooking and baking were what he did back home.
He glanced at the door.What were the odds of finding vanilla extract in the kitchen?Eggs and butter were more likely.He pushed the oats back into the cupboard.No.He couldn't bake in Rourke's kitchen.Witches didn't bake.They stole power from animals and turned their enemies inside out.
He went back to the bed, but before he could sit, there was a knock on the door.
Fuck."Yes?"
Ulric poked his head into the room."Is Rourke here?"
Ezra shook his head.
"Is he in the office?"
Office?Was there an office?"I don't know."
Ulric narrowed his eyes."Okay, what are you up to?"
Up to?Did he suspect him of doing something he shouldn't?Fear slithered through him.He'd lasted longer than he'd dared hope without punishment, but maybe his time was up now.He doubted Ulric would fling a curse at him.No, their punishment would most likely be a physical attack.It was rarely the way they did things in the clan, but the shrinking skin curse Shixyll favored wasn't pleasant.
"Do you have a job or were you only doing witchy stuff in the clan?"
Ezra stared at him."Witchy stuff?"
"Yeah, spells and stuff.The work your coven does."
"Clan."
Ulric widened his eyes a fraction."Is there a difference?"
"Covens are fictional, myths.All witches refer to their group as their clan, unless you're talking about fairy tales or Wiccans.The word was hardly ever used until about a hundred years ago when the Wiccans organized with their high priests and priestesses."Wiccans had little in common with witches, but Ezra suspected he would've made a much better Wiccan than he did a witch.
"Really?"Ulric took a couple of steps into the room."So coven is what, an insult?"
Ezra shrugged."More like it's highlighting your ignorance.If you call the Enizax clan a coven, they won't be upset, they'll think you're underestimating them."
"Oh, I've seen their work.I'm not underestimating them."Ulric's eyes shifted color, and a shiver traveled Ezra's spine."I've seen a close friend slowly, and judging by the sounds, painfully, turned into a tree, and then a bitch set fire to it--him."
Ezra grimaced.Izibine.It was her favorite curse.
