Spiral Hunt by Margaret Ronald

Author:Margaret Ronald
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins

Fourteen

Not running to the rendezvous was one of the hardest things I’d ever had to do. He’s not in danger, I kept telling myself; this isn’t a distress call. Don’t panic. Don’t run.

The end result was that by the time I reached the statue, I thought all my muscles would cramp at once just from the tension. A few people were out on the mall, some businessmen walking home and a few dog walkers with their cadres, but no sign of Brendan yet.

I looked for the statue and found it, a red stone thing that could only have been a Victorian’s idea of a Viking. He had the helmet-with-wings-on, the hunting horn, and two very poorly placed breastplates with little spikes that made him look like the Viking inventor of pasties. Even tense as I was, I still couldn’t keep from grinning when I saw those.

No Brendan. There was a shadow at the base of the statue that resolved itself into a bum in a hooded sweatshirt and baseball cap, but he didn’t quite look right…I paused a moment, trying to reconcile what my nose told me with what I saw. What I saw was the guy in the sweatshirt, a duffel bag on his lap, muttering to himself. No one else seemed to pay any attention to him; even the muffin-sized dogs yanking their owners every which way only gave him fleeting looks. What I smelled was the warm, familiar scent of Brendan, plus a persistent fireworks whiff that intensified when I looked straight at him.

Aversion ward. Minor enough, but I didn’t want to have to push against it for long. I walked up and leaned against the statue. “You’re all right?” I said quietly.

Brendan looked up, and right away I saw why he’d needed the aversion ward. His disguise wasn’t much of one; anyone who looked closely would notice that this bum was wearing well-tailored trousers with the grubby sweatshirt, plus the same sunglasses Brendan usually wore. “You’re quick.”

“It’s a lousy disguise. Besides, I’d know your scent anywhere.”

He managed to look both flattered and hurt at the same time, and I laughed as he explained, “It was this or a heavy-duty ward, and I’d rather not call on that much magic right now. I don’t want to get in the habit.”

“You won’t get an argument from me.” It also was a point in his favor; most adepts would pull out all the stops to make sure they stayed safe, but this kind of restraint only reinforced my impression of him as sane.

Brendan pushed the duffel bag off his lap and got to his feet. “I’m staying in a safe house of sorts, but I didn’t want to bring you there—actually, I’m not sure I could, come to think of it. This was the best way I could think of to meet you in the open.”

I noticed how stiffly he moved, and took a step closer to him. “Are you all right?”

Brendan hesitated, then sighed and took off his sunglasses.

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