The Shadow Companion - Laura Anne Gilman [44]
“What happened back there?” he asked, sitting beside her, feeling exhaustion pull at him. They had not slept much the night before, and as dusk rapidly approached, his limbs became heavier, and his brain more fogged.
“Merlin tried to put a geas on us.” Gerard looked at her blankly. “It’s a spell that would not allow us to leave the camp.”
“You broke it?”
Ailis nodded. “I suppose I did, yes.” She saw Gerard’s look, and shrugged. “I was very angry. And I know Merlin; I know how his mind works, so I had an advantage—besides, he wasn’t expecting me to do it.”
“And now?”
“I’m still angry.”
“At Merlin.” He hoped. He didn’t think he had done anything for her to be angry about. He was occasionally stupid, but he’d never tried to manipulate or force anyone into doing something against their will.
“Yes, mostly. At everyone, but especially Merlin, for being such a hypocrite. Ger, I don’t believe that Morgain was lying. I think she was truly scared. And anything that scares her…”
“Scares me, too,” Gerard admitted. It was the truth.
“I’m going,” she said without further comment.
“Obviously,” Gerard said dryly, and placed his own bag down on the ground next to hers. He sat down beside her. “We can’t take the horses.” They didn’t own the horses they had been riding; they were loans from Arthur’s stable. Going without permission for an emergency, they could justify borrowing the beasts. Leaving against explicit orders…that would be theft. There was a moral line he was very clear about not crossing.
“I know,” Ailis said. “I think I can work something once we’re outside of camp. But I won’t know until I try it.”
She hesitated, then added, “I’m stronger than I was before. Calling Merlin…I pulled him from the sky, Gerard. Even knowing him, I shouldn’t have been able to do that.”
“You think it’s Morgain?”
“Actually, I think it’s Newt’s salamander.”
Gerard laughed. Then he realized that she wasn’t laughing. She wasn’t even smiling.
“The salamander?”
“It climbed into a fire and wasn’t consumed. It was attracted to my magic. Clearly it’s magical, somehow.”
“But it prefers Newt, not you.” The moment he said it, Gerard realized his mistake in pointing that out. But she only sighed.
“Yes, I had noticed that. And yes,” she said with reluctance, “I am…”
“Jealous?”
“Jealous,” she admitted. “A little. Mostly, I just don’t understand it. Newt hates magic. He doesn’t trust it. But…”
She rested her head against his shoulder for a moment. Gerard felt an absurd sense of loss. He grew nostalgic for the days of their youth.
“Go talk to him,” he said finally. “Maybe…maybe he’s been feeding it tidbits, or something. Or maybe salamanders notoriously like the stink of horseflesh on humans.”
That got a faint laugh out of her. “We all stink of horse at the end of the day, Gerard. Except those who smell worse.”
“Talk to him.”
“And say what? Newt, I know you hate magic, but that pet you’re so fond of? It’s magic, completely magic. In fact, it might even be made of magic.”
“He liked the griffin,” Gerard offered, referring to the great beast they encountered at Morgain’s keep, a beast that had kept Ailis company while she was held hostage there.
Ailis made a small, mysterious smile, but merely said, “Sir Tawny wasn’t a pet. Not his pet, anyway.” She clarified. “Newt wasn’t carrying him around with him.” She shrugged, throwing the question off. “I’ll worry about it when we get back. Are you ready to go?”
“Ready as I can be, walking into a probable trap without Merlin’s protection or the king’s blessing or any backup save ourselves…” Gerard got to his feet, picked up his pack, and offered Ailis a hand as she stood up as well. “You’re the one with the map. Where are we going? And how are we getting there?”
Suddenly Newt was standing behind them, his pack on his back and the salamander’s head sticking out from inside. If he had overheard any of their conversation, his face didn’t show it.
“What, you thought I wasn’t coming?” he asked, seeing their astonished expressions. “We’ve always been in this together.