‘It’ll be more than a couple,’the witch warned.
Loki flew down and landed on Amber’s shoulder.
Her expression softened. ‘Hello, beautiful,’ she murmured, assessing him. ‘You’re looking well. How’s the wing?’
Loki spread his white wings as if to show her he was healed, but I detected a hint of show-off energy.
‘Magnificent,’ she declared solemnly, and hepreened. Cheeky little fuzzball. Then he took to the wing, flying high, circling the ceiling light.
Amber watched him with an indulgent smile. Who knew she liked birds?
‘You’ll need a clean bowl for the scry, right?’ I checked.
‘Ceramic, if you have one,’ she said briskly, eyes on me. ‘And filled with clean water.’
I grabbed a bowl from under the sink, cleaned it and filled it with fresh water. Then I carefully carried it over to my dining room table.
Amber snapped on purple gloves and opened a jar of potion. She dipped her paintbrush into the dark gloop and turned to me. ‘Close your eyes and imagine a moment from the attack. One screenshot, if you will. If you think of the attack as a whole the image will be blurry. Focus instead on one singular moment.’
It wasn’t hardto pick. I recalled the moment his mask dropped. Fury had snapped his fangs down and his nose had wrinkled in a soundless snarl. He hadn’t looked so pretty then.
I closed my eyes and focused on that one snapshot.
‘I’m painting now,’ Amber warned. ‘Stay still.’
I suppressed a gasp as cold gloop was painted onto the warm skin of my forehead.
I kept my focus on the image of my attacker, trying to think of nothing else but him.
‘Try not to throw up on me,’ Amber said briskly.
‘Your concern is overwhelming,’ I said drily. ‘I’m ready. Bastion, you’ll take a photo of the image that arises in the water?’
‘I’ve got my phone out,’ he assured me.
Amber’s magic ran through the runes she’d painted on me, and then my skull started to throb in a dull ache.
Totally manageable,I thought.
‘There,’ Amber breathed.
I opened my eyes as the water in the bowl rippled violently, then stilled.
A face rose from its surface, exactly as I’d remembered him.
Bastion moved instantly.
Click.
Click.
His phone let out an old-school camera-shutter sound as he took the photos. He’d taken two snaps before the image shattered, and pain detonated behind my eyes.
Fuck! Not manageable.
I cried out, clutching my head as the room pitched violently sideways. It felt like a spike had been driven straight through my skull and twisted for good measure.
Amber wiped the potion from my skin with what felt like a cool baby wipe. ‘All done. It won’t get worse,’ she assured me. ‘This is as bad as it gets.’
