On the Edge Part 13

Thereas no way I can strike at it and not singe the shed. Itas physically impossible. And Iave left my swords inside.a aThatas why you should let me take care of this.a aHow, pray tell, will you manage that?a aLike this.a She spun around and whipped a blindingly white line of magic at the beast. The flash snapped, slicing the beastas head off its neck like a giant razor blade.

The headless torso froze in a half crouch for a long moment and toppled over. The oppressive magic vanished.

Declan stared at her, openmouthed.

Rose smiled.

Declan released her fingers and strode to the headless body.

aHmm,a he said.

aHmm back at you,a she told him and went to check the brush for signs of other beasts. She didnat feel any, but it didnat mean they werenat there.

They searched the bushes, but no other beasts were in attendance.

aWhere do they keep coming from?a Rose wondered. aAnd why?a aWhy is simple. They hunger for the magic.a Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) aI guess I better get a shovel. We should bury that d.a.m.n thing.a aWho taught you to flash?a He said it like he expected her to lie.

an.o.body taught me. I practiced for years. Several hours a day. I still do, when I have time.a Declanas face reflected disbelief.

aDonat look so surprised,a she told him. aIam the Edger girl who flashes white, remember? The reason for your trip to this horrible, awful place where you have to mingle with unwashed commoners.a aI knew you could flash white. I didnat know how precise you are.a aYouare precise. You knocked aside my bolt.a aYes, but I didnat aim for the bolt specifically. I just sent a wide pulse of magic from the front of my body, like a s.h.i.+eld. It wouldave knocked away one bolt or ten.a aOh. Well, thank you for the tip! Now I know how you did it.a They looked at each other.

aJust how precise are you?a he asked.

She gave him a sly Edger smile. aDo you have a doubloon on you?a He reached into his pocket and produced a coin.

aIall make you a deal. You throw it in the air, and if I hit it with my flash, itas mine.a Declan looked at the doubloon. It was slightly larger than a quarter from the Broken. He tossed it high above his head. The doubloon spun in the air, catching the sunlight, s.h.i.+ning like a bright spark . . . and fell into the gra.s.s stung by a thin white whip of her flash.

Declan swore.

She grinned, plucked the still-hot coin from the gra.s.s, blew on it, and showed it to him, taunting him a little. aGroceries for two weeks. A pleasure doing business with you.a Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) aIave only met one person who could do that,a he said. aShe was a flash-sniper in our unit. How can you do this with no proper training?a aDid you study flas.h.i.+ng?a she asked.

aYes.a aWhy?a aBecause itas the best weapon available, and I wanted to be good at it. And everybody in my family was good with it. I was a n.o.ble, and I had to uphold the honor of our name.a aI had a much better motivation than you,a she said. aWhen I was thirteen, my motheras parents died in a house fire. Grandpa Danilo always smoked like a chimney.

The whole house was covered with cigarette b.u.t.ts, and one night head smoked one too many. n.o.body got out alive, not even my grandparentsa cat. Their death broke my mother. She just kind of died right then, but her body kept on living. She started sleeping around and didnat stop. Shead have anybody whoad have her.

Married, blind, crippled, crazy, she didnat care.

She said it made her feel alive.a aIam sorry,a he said. aIt mustave been very painful for you.a aIt wasnat fun. People called my mother a s.l.u.t to my face.

Leanne, who lent you the clothes? She used to chase me around the school, chanting awh.o.r.eas b.i.t.c.h.a Shead written it on my locker once in big letters. You were the son of a n.o.bleman, handsome, wealthy, probably well liked. Poor little rich boy. I was the daughter of a wh.o.r.e, penniless, ugly, and despised. I had a lot of motivation to flash well. I wanted to ram my flash down the worldas throat to show everyone that I was worth something.a aHow did it work out for you?a aNot so well,a she admitted. aBut now playing with my flash is a habit. I taught myself a lot of fun tricks.a Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) aAha.a Declan pointed to the tree. aDouble slicer.a The magic slashed from him in two even streams, running low through the gra.s.s, and collided in a brilliant explosion at the tree. He had used a mere fraction of his power, just to show her the move. Declan had better control than she had thought.

aDonat be upset if you canat do it right away,a he said. aIt takes a bit of praa"a He clamped his mouth shut with a click as she sent two identical streams of magic into the tree.

aOh my . . .a she murmured innocently.

aBall lightning.a A sphere of magic ignited over his shoulder and smashed into the tree in a shower of sparks.

She hadnat seen that one before, but she had practiced making spirals for yearsa"mostly because she thought they looked neata"and a sphere was just a folded spiral. The trick would be to snap it with a spin, the way he had done. She concentrated and watched in satisfaction as a white ball formed over her shoulder. It was a bit lopsided and it didnat spin as well as his, but she was able to send it flying into the bark.

Declan shook his head. aUnbelievable.a aItas killing you that you canat stump me, isnat it?a Rose grinned. She never got to show off. To have him here as her audience was satisfying beyond words. Shead managed to impress a blueblood from the Weird.

An earl and ex-soldier. It didnat get better than that.

Declan planted his feet into the gra.s.s and concentrated. His eyes shone. A ghostly breeze stirred his hair. A crisp line of white burst from his back to rise two feet above his head. The top of the magic line curved down, stretching all the way to the gra.s.s in a white half arch, and began to circle him, drawing a perfect ring Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) in the dirt.

Wow.

aAtamanas defense,a he said, letting it die.

Rose tried it. She had no problems creating the straight upward line, but as she tried to bend it down, it struck at the gra.s.s under a sharp angle, not curved gently the way Declanas had.

Declan smiled.

aLet me see it again, please.a He reconstructed the arch. aIt took me a year of constant practice to learn how to do this.a Rose watched the arch go around him. Turn. Turn. Turn.

Like a whip. Turn. aGive me a few minutes.a aYou have time.a He sat in the gra.s.s.

aAre you just going to sit there and watch me?a aYes. Watching pretty peasant girls is what we poor little rich boys do best.a aPeasant?a He shrugged. aYou started the name-calling.a She snorted and went to work. It was harder than it looked, and for the first few minutes the sight of him on the gra.s.s distracted her. He looked like a painting with his strong body, long lean legs, and absurdly handsome face. There was humor in his green eyes, and when their gazes met by chance, he winked at her.

She nearly singed herself with her own flash. But soon, she sank into the task, and Declan and the rest of the world faded.

Sometime later Declan stirred on the gra.s.s. aDo you want me to tell you how itas done?a aNo!a He grinned.

She struggled with it for another half hour, until it dawned on her to put a spin into the line. At first it Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) merely sagged, but the harder she pushed, the lower it curved, until finally her line of white arched down gracefully and spun about her, like an obedient pet.

She turned, thrilled, and saw him striding across the lawn to her. He paused and ducked under the spinning line of her flash. He was so close, they practically touched.

She let the flash die.

aThatas incredible,a he said quietly.

aItas not that incredible,a she said.

aIt took me a year to learn it.a aI practiced a lot more than you.a aI can see that.a She glanced at his face, and all thoughts scattered from her head. She saw admiration and respect in his eyes, an acknowledgment one would give an equal. They looked at each other. Slowly his eyes darkened to deeper green. The way he looked at her made her want to take the half step to close the small distance between them, open her mouth, and let him kiss her. She could almost feel his lips on hers. Like playing with fire. Rose moistened her bottom lip, biting it a little to get rid of the phantom kiss, and saw Declanas gaze snag on her mouth.

Oh no. No, no, no. Bad idea.

He took a step forward, his hand reaching for her. Rose sidestepped.

aThank you. It means a lot to me, coming from someone like you. I think we better dig a grave for that thing. The stench is killing me.a She headed to the back of the house for a shovel.

aRose,a he called. His voice was deep and touched with a hint of command. She pretended not to hear him and hid behind the shed.

Shead done precisely the same thing for which she had berated Georgie during lunch. Declan had won the Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) first challenge, and if he did have any doubts about her abilities, she had shattered them. Now he knew that not only could she flash white, but she did it extraordinarily well. And the way he looked at her left her with no questions: Declan wanted her. She had to stump him on the second challenge, or in a few days shead be packing her things and following him into the Weird.

FOURTEEN.

THE first word that came to mind when one saw Max Taylor was asolid.a About two hundred and fifty pounds, he had the build of a pro wrestler gone to fat. His bullet-shaped head was shaved bald, and his small gun gray eyes were the very definition of unfriendly as he stared at Roseas truck through his storeas front window.

Rose slid her vehicle into the parking spot in front of Tayloras Metal Detectors. The yellow script in the window, bright and s.h.i.+ny in the morning light, promised to purchase rare coins and sc.r.a.p gold for the best prices.

Georgie fidgeted in the backseat, uneasy. Yesterdayas chicken episode reminded her that placing all her eggs in one basket wasnat the most prudent course of action. True, she wanted Georgie to earn good grades, and go to school in the Broken, and possibly get a decent paying job there, but in the end Georgie lived and breathed magic. He was an Edger. She had neglected the Edger part of his education, and it was time to correct that oversight.

aThere are two people in Pine Barren who can fence precious metals,a she said. aGold, silver, jewelry, anything like that. One is Peter Padrake and the other is Max Taylor. Peter is very straightforward in how he deals. Heall charge you a flat forty-five percent fee. That means that for every hundred dollars, Peter Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) takes forty-five and you keep fifty-five.a Georgieas smart eyes turned calculating. aSo he takes almost half?a aYes. He wonat try to cheat you, but he also wonat haggle.

Peteras comics store is doing well, and he has money. He doesnat have to hustle to make a living, so he can afford to let some deals go. Thatas why you must only go to Peter as a last resort. Always come here first.a She glanced at Max through the winds.h.i.+eld.

aMax Taylor will try his best to dupe you. Heall claim your stuff is fake, and heall try to give you some ridiculously small amount for it. Heas a big man, and heall get loud and try to intimidate you. He also keeps a gun in his desk, and he likes to take it out and wave it around during haggling. Now, I heard a rumor that the gun isnat even loaded, but we know what the golden rule for guns is, right?a aEvery gun is loaded,a Georgie recited.

aThatas right. We treat every gun as if itas loaded, with a round in the chamber and the safety off. We never point guns at other people, even when we think theyare not loaded, unless we intend to shoot the person, yes?a aYes,a Georgie agreed. aWe hold the gun to the side and down, so we donat shoot our feet by accident, or barrel up.a aVery good.a She nodded. aSo the golden rule says, we must treat Maxas gun as if itas loaded.a aWould he shoot us?a Georgie s.h.i.+fted in his seat.

aNot very likely,a she a.s.sured him. aHis store is a front.

n.o.body buys metal detectors. The only way he can stay in business is to make money off people like us. If he shoots someone, what would happen?a aPeople would go to Peter instead,a Georgie said.

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) aThatas right. If weare smart, we can get Max to come down on the fee. Anything below a third is good. So, weare going to sit here in our truck for a bit more, as if weare deciding what to do, and then weall go inside and haggle. No matter how loud or stupid Max gets, keep calm.a aOkay,a Georgie promised.

Rose dug in her pocket and pulled out a rumpled piece of paper.

Jack joined me for the morning exercise. Weall be back before lunch.

Declan She had awakened to find this piece of paper on the table.

She was a light sleeper, but Declan moved like a wolf, and n.o.body could hear Jack when he didnat want to be heard. They had snuck out of the house like two thieves in the night.

Rose frowned at the note. When he was tiny, Jack used to run off into the woods. Left to his own devices, head be gone for days, and so Rose kept some of his fur and hair and claw and nail clippings so she could find him. She had done a quick scrying spell, but it had a short range, and Jack was nowhere within two miles from the house. That meant Declan had taken him into the wilderness of the Wood.

Her initial impulse was to run after them, but Rose stopped herself. First, she had no idea where they had gone. Second, her kitchen was emptya"they literally had nothing to eat. The last of the cereal was gone.

Georgie had finished it. He was still hungry, and she was hungry as well. Georgie couldnat go too long without a snack, not with the drain his magic placed on his body. She could spend a couple of hours searching for Jack, or she could go and get some money and buy food. So she had borrowed four dollars Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) from Grandmothera"it nearly killed her to do ita"put a gallon of gas into the truck, and drove out to see Max Taylor.

It irritated her that she hadnat woken up in time to stop Declan. Logically, she had nothing to worry about.

Declan had sworn not to harm the boys. Jack was a changeling just like Declanas friend, and the emotion she had glimpsed behind Declanas blueblood facade felt genuine to her. He had saved Jack once; it made no sense that he would put him into any sort of danger. Besides, the safest place in the Edge now was by Declanas side.

She kept herself from panicking through logic, but worry ate at her. Jack was gone. Theyad probably gone deep into the Wood. Why? They didnat tell her, and there was nothing she could do about it, not without making some major magic happen.

Inside the store, Max started rearranging things on his desk.

aSee? Heas getting antsy. Letas go.a Rose popped the doors open, and together she and Georgie stepped into the shop.

Max sat behind the gla.s.s counter. aWhat do you got?a Rose showed him the doubloon. He reached for it, but she shook her head. aYou can see it from right here.a Max squinted. aA hundred bucks,a he said.

She closed her fist over the doubloon and nodded to Georgie.

aLetas go to Peter.a aThat d.a.m.n pirate wonat give you more,a Max growled.

Rose gave him a withering look. aThe coin is exactly one-half ounce of gold. Right now a half-ounce U.S.

Gold Eagle is trading for four hundred and fifty-seven dollars and forty-seven cents and a half-ounce Maple Leaf is going for four hundred and sixty-four dollars and ninety-four cents.a aHow did you know that?a Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) aI went to the library and looked it up on the Internet. Peter charges a flat forty-five percent, so I should get at least two hundred and fifty dollars for each of my coins.a Maxas beady eyes shone. aCoins?a aCoins. As in more than one.a aHow many do you have?a She shrugged. aThree for now. There will be more.a aNine hundred and fourteen dollars for the whole thing,a Max offered.

aThatas a third. I donat think so. I might go as low as twelve hundred.a aNine fifty.a aEleven seventy-five.a aYou wonat get a better price . . .a She shrugged. aI can always take it to a jeweler in the city.

Itas an houras drive.a Max reached under the counter. By the time head pulled out a Glock and put it on the gla.s.s, Roseas gun pointed at his head.

aThatas a .22,a Max sneered. aIt will bounce from wet laundry.a aI can shoot you three times before you squeeze off one shot.

You think my bullets will bounce off Maxas face, Georgie?a George didnat miss a beat. aIf they donat, we can take him into the Edge and Iall raise him.a Max blinked. Rose smiled at him.

aOne thousand twenty-eight dollars and twenty-five cents!a Max said.

A twenty-five percent fee. aDone.a She didnat put away the gun until they peeled out of the parking lot.

aYou did very well,a she told Georgie.

Georgie smiled in the rearview mirror.

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Tiny sharp needles p.r.i.c.kled Roseas hands, a belated reaction to the adrenaline rush. It finally sank ina"she had a monthas worth of money.

aWhat would you like to eat?a aWhatever I want?a aWhatever you want.a aFrench fries,a Georgie said. aAnd chicken nuggets. And then maybe shrimp.a Shrimp would have to wait till home, but nuggets and fries she could manage. Rose made a left into the McDon aldas drive-through.

ROSE took her gaze off the road for a second to steal a glance at the white Wal-Mart bags in the pa.s.senger seat. Shead bought beef, and chicken, and shrimp for Georgie. She managed to snag a couple of packs of country-style pork ribs on sale. Shead gotten potatoes. And cheese. And the tomatoes she liked. And apples for Jack. And eggs, and b.u.t.ter, and milk, and cereal . . . The truck was full of bags. She was too paranoid to put them into the truck bed. Who knew what might happen?

They could fall out or fly off.

She had enough groceries for a month, and all of her bills were paid. It was a most wonderful feeling. She would go home and spend an hour putting it all up, separating the meat into dinner-sized portions, wrapping it in plastic wrap, and putting it all into her freezer.

Rose grinned. No worry about the food. For a month.

aRose?a Georgie asked.

aHmm?a aWhy donat you like Declan?a Now there was a loaded question. She wanted to tell him the truth, without mincing her words, but both he and Jack were smitten with Declan. Looking at him from the boysa perspective, Declan was the very Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) definition of cool. They were two boys raised by women.

Enter Declan, who had swords and magic, who was strong and manly, and who stood up to her, something neither of them could do. Itas little wonder they wanted to be like him.

For the thousandth time, she wished Dad hadnat run off.

aDo you like Declan?a she asked carefully.

aYes.a aWhy?a she asked.

aHeas smart,a Georgie said. aHe knows a lot of things, and his magic is as good as yours. He said that his house has its own library, except you donat have to have a card to check the books out. You can just go and take one whenever you want.a Roseas heart clenched a little in her chest. aI see.a She swallowed. Declan was working on the kids, more so than she had realized. He was working on her, too. She couldnat get him out of her head.