“What is that?”
“A dialysis machine.” He smiled. “I was thinking about blood recently.”
I raised my eyebrows at that statement, but he waved it aside.
“And I thought, if a leggerock’s oath is in your blood, then maybe if we filter your blood, then it’ll filter out the binding.”
“Really?”
“Well . . . maybe.”
I smiled. It was worth a try. A dialysis machine was like an artificial kidney. It took the blood out of you, filtered it, and put it back in. “You’re lucky I’m not squeamish. How long does it take?”
“About three hours, maybe five.”
“Oh.”
“You could make some chairs. A couch.”
“I could?” I didn’t create illusion; I’d only ever torn it down.
He nodded. “It’s your room. Your mind. You can do whatever you want here.”
I concentrated, and then a green velvet couch appeared. It was similar to the couches in the Night Den, plush and soft. I made myself comfortable.
“Maybe while it’s working, we can talk.”
“Do you like ice cream?” Jacob asked.
“Mint chocolate chip.”
“That’s my favorite too.” His eyes lit up. “Do you like to read?”
I shook my head. “No. That’s Luvic. He loves to read.”
He nodded. “If you were a woman?—”
“I am a woman.”
He stared at me as if “sister” and “woman” were two things that prior to this moment hadn’t intersected. It took a second, but then he nodded. “Right. Good point. As a woman, let’s say someone was going to give you a gift. And if they were to give you a gift, what would you want to get?”
I had a feeling he wasn’t asking what kind of gift I would want, but what gift he should get someone else.
I chewed on my bottom lip.
“Is she a conjurer?”
“Yes.”
“Does she already have everything?”
“In a way.”
I thought about it. If she was powerful enough, there wasn’t really anything she couldn’t get herself.
“You like her? This is a nice gift? Not a ‘Surprise! Venomous snakes in a box!’ gift?”
He laughed, which was unexpected. And nice.
