Shifted Agony (The Painter Mage Book 1) by D.K. Holmberg

Author:D.K. Holmberg [Holmberg, D.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2015-04-27T23:00:00+00:00

9

Where the park met my yard, I stopped and waited for Devan. The pine trees Taylor had damaged left an acrid odor in the air. Mixed with it was the musky scent of an animal and I briefly hoped it wasn’t the shifter from the night before. I didn’t have the strength to deal with it.

Devan didn’t take long to catch up. She looked over at me, a mixture of concern and amusement on her face. “I thought you wanted to help her.”

I tapped my hand on my leg, bumping against the book now tucked into the pocket of my duster. A sense of relief washed over me at its return. Not that I needed the book—or that I could do anything with it—but it was important enough to my father that he had left it for me. With enough time, I hoped to be able to figure out what it meant, even if it took decades. I might not have the same lifespan as an artist, but taggers lived a long time, too.

“When I thought she needed help. This…” I waved my hand toward where we’d left Taylor. “Whatever happens is on her.”

“You’re still thinking about what she showed you of the other side of the door.”

I didn’t answer. I suspected it meant a different way across the Threshold, each door to a different location. If so, Devan might be able to return. To stay safe.

“And your friends?” Devan asked. “You’ve never been the one to leave someone who needs help.”

“They’re not my friends,” I answered. “Hard was the reason I left Arcanus.”

Devan punched me on the shoulder.

“Ow!”

“I think you’ve been feeding yourself the same lie so long, you’ve begun to believe it, Ollie. You really think Arcanus kicked you out, or did you simply outgrow what they could teach you?”

“I hadn’t learned everything I could before I left.”

“Really? And would it have changed the kind of painter you are?”

Probably not. Arcanus was willing to teach taggers only so much. Beyond that, only artists really learned. I was too hurried, too willing to rush through things, to ever have the patience to become an artist. But I had an eye for patterns. That helped me understand the arcane patterns, allowed me to learn them quickly. Had I not left Arcanus, I doubt I would have learned half of what I had.

“See?” Devan said. “You’re an—”

She cut off before finishing and jerked her head around, staring back into the park. A soft glow came to her skin and the amulet around my neck went cold.

“What is it?”

“Don’t know. Something.”

“Shifter?”

The shifter had to be out there still. We’d seen it twice now, the second time only scared off by a combination of what I and Taylor had done. I didn’t know what she wanted with the creature, but I was beginning to doubt that it really meant us any harm. That didn’t mean it didn’t mean Taylor harm.

“Shit,” I muttered.

I checked the satchels of ink and grabbed two charms from the pocket of my duster, palming them.

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