Magic's Design by Adams Cat

Author:Adams, Cat [Adams, Cat]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: Tor Paranormal Romance
Published: 0101-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

She heard the jumble of voices as the men tried to find out what was happening from their mothers. But she wasn’t listening. Instead, she was watching the tendrils carefully, with a sort of fascination. The sickness was looking for a place to expand, someone else to infect. But it couldn’t attach to the others—she watched as tendrils reached for them, only to shrink back abruptly.

Then it occurred to her … they were mages. Tal had said he lost his parents and was sent to a foster family—also mages. Jason’s mother was earth clan, but he had inherited his father’s talent. “It makes perfect sense.”

Tal must have been waiting for a reaction from her because he pounced on her words. “What does?”

“Of course he wouldn’t create a virus he could catch. You’re all immune.” But as she watched the squirming threads of the sickness grow stronger, even as Jason’s alchemist mother got weaker, she knew she had to do something. She opened her eyes and managed to get to her feet among the smelly vegetables and brushed off the sticky seeds as best she could. But this cloak is never going to be the same, and I need a shower.

Jason was helping his mother rise to a sitting position. But she couldn’t hold it and fell backward. In that brief movement, panic flashed in Mila’s mind. She saw a wisp of a tendril … seeping down, into the ground. Magic. It’s a magical illness. But can a Tree catch a virus?

“We have to get her out of here! Now!” She hadn’t realized she’d yelled as her eyes opened, but everyone silenced and turned with wide eyes. Mila didn’t want to panic them, but something told her if they stayed, the slave Tree was going to catch Tin Czerwona and send it straight to the Tree of Life. “Somewhere, anywhere. But we need to get this woman away from the Tree.”

“We can’t move Mum. She’s horribly ill. We need to find a healer to come to her.” Jason looked at Mila as though she was insane and his voice reflected his anger and worry.

But Tal took in the whole scene before turning his face back to her and rumbling a question. “What’s the problem?”

“She is sick, Tal—with the same thing as Suzanne. And she’s about to infect the Tree. We need to get her away.” She stared at him strongly, willing him to understand. She tried to push the words into his head. Please figure this out so I don’t have to say it, Tal. It’s Tin Czerwona, and it’s contagious. C’mon, you’re smart enough.

Whether he heard her, or figured it out on his own, she watched as confusion turned to panic, and then to action. He rose to his feet, away from his mother and picked up the other woman in his arms. “No time for talking, Jason. We need to get back to the shop. Mila, do you need to stay here to fix … anything?”

She closed her eyes again and stared at the ground.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.