Rourke winced.He believed they all were.Years of war ruined people.
"They're back?"He hadn't seen Ulric since breakfast, and then they hadn't been sitting together.It was unusual.Most often they worked side by side all day.
"Yeah, took down a deer, or so Farkas told me."
Rourke nodded and headed toward Ulric's room.He could sense he wasn't there before he knocked on the door, but he peeked inside anyway.It was unlike Ulric not to come find him when he got back.
Once he got out into the corridor again, he eyed the door to his room.With a deep breath, he hurried forward and pushed it open.He scanned the area and took in the neatly-made bed, but Ezra wasn't there.Where was he if he wasn't in the dining hall or their room?A prickling built in his fingertips, his claws wanting to rip through.
Ulric was gone, and Ezra was gone.He flashed his teeth as his wolf whined in his mind.
* * * *
Ezra cut his palm and fed his blood to the bark of a tree.He couldn't remember how many times he'd done so already.Ulric watched him with glowing eyes.It was creepy how his eyes changed every time Ezra cut himself.
"Do you have to reopen the same wound every time?"Ulric's voice was growlier than he'd ever heard it before.
"It doesn't have to be the same, but I have to feed the spell."
"You said you didn't do spells."
"It's not a spell I cast on anyone.I can't fling it at you.I can put it here and have you walk through it, but it's...passive."Passive was the wrong word, but hopefully Ulric would understand what he meant.
The magic connected, sending a shiver down his spine at the same time as the hair on his neck stood on end.He removed his hand from the trunk and walked forward.He put the markers about fifty feet apart.He could do sixty perhaps, but he didn't want any of the sections to fail and have to redo it.
Grabbing the knife, he rolled up his sleeve and cut his forearm while doing his best not to hiss.
"Oh, for fuck's sake."Ulric paced back and forth, and Ezra gave him a worried look.
"Sorry it's taking so long."He wasn't the fastest witch in the universe.A snort was all the reply he got.
"Do you have a healing spell you can use after?"
Ezra shook his head."I don't do spells."Basic perimeters, he could do.He could tie them to himself, but he couldn't do more than bake himself a cookie and hope for the best.One good thing about setting up the ward was the buzzing of magic needing out had stopped.
He held his bleeding arm against a massive oak and winced at the sting when the uneven trunk rubbed against the wound.
"This is insane."Ulric ran a hand through his hair and flashed teeth.Ezra did his best to hide his fear and carry on.He worked as fast as he could, but Ulric grew more and more agitated by each linchpin he formed in the magical web.
"How much more?"He was looking huge again when Ezra gazed at him, huger than before.He clumsily cut the skin on his right forearm and pressed against the beech he was closest to.He didn't do well with his left hand, but he was running out of places to cut on his left, and Ulric got more unnerved when he reopened wounds that had stopped bleeding for some reason.
He was getting a little dizzy.He'd never done this much in one go before, but he didn't want to disappoint Ulric.
"Ezra?"
He jumped at Ulric's voice."Yes?"
"How much longer do we have to do this?"
He blinked and tried to clear his vision.He should've eaten lunch.It would've been easier if he hadn't been hungry when he'd started."I need to connect the circle."
Ulric growled, a real growl, and it sent a shiver through him.Ezra closed his eyes as the magic connected, the perimeter a golden wall in his mind, and he took a stumbling step toward the next tree.
"Through here."Ulric motioned more to the left than Ezra believed they should walk.Maybe a creek or something cut through the land.Magic worked over water, but he appreciated not having to walk into it.He only had one pair of shoes, and March was way too cold to go swimming.
Ezra spotted another oak and sliced his arm while still walking.If Ulric wanted him to work faster, he'd do his best.Ulric inhaled deeply at the same time as his head snapped in Ezra's direction.
Leaning against the oak, Ezra closed his eyes and waited for the magic to manifest.When it did, he forced himself to step away despite wanting to rest for a bit.
