“Yes, ma’am,” I grin. I know I probably shouldn’t, but I like that she worries about me. So long as she isn’t really worrying about me. I guess what I’m trying to get at is that I like that she cares enough to worry about me, but I don’t want her worrying about me.
Fucking hell, I’ve confused myself.
I’ll admit that I am stalling slightly, maybe more than slightly, for the simple reason that I do not want to feel like that again.
They’re all staring at me expectantly though, so I take a deep breath, and feeling nervous for maybe the first time since this part of my magic emerged, I call on it to move me from one side of the room to the other.
“Thank fuck for that,” I mutter, letting out a relieved breath as the tension drains from me, and I appear exactly where I wanted to be.
“So your magic is still working, but you can’t go back to the other house?” Griff clarifies.
I nod, “It would seem that way, yes.”
“That suggests that there is something going on at the other house, and that someone or something has stopped us from gaining access to it,” Van summarizes.
“We can’t send anyone back to the other house to check on it and see what’s going on, one because we don’t want to put anyone in danger, there’s a good chance that it has something to do with Casimir, and we don’t want anyone caught in those crosshairs. The other reason why we can’t send someone is that no one knows where the house is, and it needs to stay that way,” Reed says.
“All true. So, I don’t know how we’re going to figure out what’s going on with it, or who is messing with it, and why Doc can’t go back,” Neith says with a frown.
“Which, from what you told us about the spirit guides, Neith, would suggest that they are most likely the ones who have something to do with it,” Coen adds.
“Agreed, I’ll try and call them again and see if any of them answer,” she suggests.
As she opens her mouth though, Raiden reminds her with a grin, “Remember, Winston said that you didn’t need to shout, you just needed to say his name.”
A glint of mirth lights up her eyes as she replies, “I know. I just like messing with him. He gets so mad, and it’s cute.”
“I don’t think anyone has referred to a spirit guide as cute before,” Ransom points out with a chuckle.
She pulls a face, “Come on. They may not have said it out loud, but I can guarantee that they thought it.”
“They definitely did,” River agrees.
“It might not be a good idea to say it to their faces though,” Raiden adds. “I mean, they look cute, but they’re extremely powerful. I wouldn’t want to piss them off.”
Neith grins, “Don’t worry, I won’t use it unless he’s pissing me off.”
“I don’t think that’s as reassuring as you think it is,” Van points out, looking amused despite himself.
She shrugs. “I’m going to yell now.”
That’s the only warning she gives as she shouts for Winston, Wallace, and Senka again. I do notice that she only really shouts for Winston, the rest of them, she’s not quite as loud about summoning.
When none of them appear, I say, “Maybe you pissed him off by shouting, and he’s being stubborn?”
“Winston does seem like he would be the kind to do that,” Coen adds.
Neith’s frown is deep. “He totally would, but that doesn’t explain why Senka and Wallace haven’t shown up. Now, I really am worried that there’s something wrong.”
I open my mouth to tell her that I’m sure everything is fine, when there’s a sudden flare of power that I don’t recognize, and before I can ask anyone elseif they feel it too, there’s a giant bear standing in front of Neith and towering over her.
“Stop!” She shouts, holding her hands up in warning and somehow already knowing that we were all about to attack. “He’s a spirit guide.” She explains, before adding with an adorable tilt to her head, “I am surprised to see you though. Usually, you stick to the woods, and I only catch glimpses of you.”
He nods his big head as he falls onto all fours, his landing making the room shake.
He is fucking massive. I have never seen a bear so big, but then again, he isn’t a normal bear, and bear shifters get pretty fucking huge, definitely bigger than normal bears, so magic obviously plays a part in their size difference.
The bear speaks, its voice a deep baritone that rumbles through the room, “I thought that it had been long enough by now that you would no longer be frightened of me.”
