And that memory is sharp as knives. That was the time I’d started to share with her the magic I cared so much about, and she’d shut me down by trying to convince me not to treat her like a stupid child. And I realized I couldn’t prove her wrong and that since I couldn’t offer her magic making her hope for it like I did would be cruel.
It was the first moment I believed magic might be lost to me forever, and it crushed me, and I never tried to talk to her about it again.
I’ve been silent too long. Brook says, “The video. Sierra. You weren’t lying to me about magic, were you? What’s going on?”
Nathaniel’s eyes are on the road, but he’s obviously listening; I’m right next to him.
Well, fuck it. I don’t lie to my sister, and I can hex him if I need to, no matter who he is or works for.
“I’m bringing magic back,” I say. “For everyone.”
I practically feel the magic zinging through me, resonating with my statement of intent.
Nathaniel’s hands tighten on the steering wheel, just for a moment. It’s the only sign he’s heard. My hand tightens on the wand just in case.
“Is that dangerous?” Brook asks.
Impossible to overstate how dangerous. “Yeah.” I take a breath, trying to keep my focus evenly split between Brook, who deserves my attention, and Nathaniel, whose presence requires it. “There’s a slim chance you might be targeted. I can’t protect you yet, but I’m going as fast as I can. They don’t really know how technology in our world works, but when you get home you should take down any physical pictures of us together in case they come looking for a hostage.”
“Jesus, Sierra. Are you shitting me right now?”
“No, but I don’t think you’re in any real danger. This is just a precaution.”
If I thought she was in real danger, would it change anything for me? I don’t answer that, even to myself.
I’m doing this.
Brook is quiet for a longer beat this time. Then she says, “Next time I see you. Will you do magic for me?”
A lump forms in my throat all at once. I’m going to be able to share magic with my little sister after all.
Somehow I choke out, “I will. Call you when it’s done.”
I silence my phone and shove it back in my pocket.
Deep breaths. Focus on the unknown next to you.
“So,” that mystery says in his velvet voice. “That’s your goal. You know they’ll kill you.”
I’ve been avoiding thinking about that too, but somehow High Earth ignoring me for ten years is worse than the idea of all the people I knew there trying to kill me.
At least now they’ll have to acknowledge that I exist.
It occurs to me that Brook might feel differently, but since I don’t actually intend to let them kill me it’s fine.
“I know they’ll try,” I say.
“You’re sure of yourself in a death match with a mage?” Nathaniel asks. He sounds casual, like this is an idle curiosity to him.
Probably he is attempting to assess whether I’m delusional.
“You did just watch me solve a spell even the grand magus couldn’t,” I remind him.
“That’s an entirely different situation than a fight to your death,” Nathaniel counters. “I also had a fine view of your expression when you performed that spell. Conflicting emotions in a death match will get you killed, and since if they catch us before we arrive I’ll be treated as your accomplice, reassure me that I should not just pull over on the side of the road now.”
So, he has experience with death matches too. This is better and better.
I still need his car, dammit.
