Bound by Ink (A Living Ink Novel)

Author:Marcella Burnard [Burnard, Marcella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-11-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Isa’s breath caught and froze against the icicles dangling from her rib cage. Not again.

“By the way, minor security breach,” Lawrence announced. “We believe it may be necessary to relocate.”

Isa met his gaze over her book and lifted one shoulder. “Okay.”

“You have no objection?”

Ah. Fishing expedition. They suspected that someone had made contact of some kind that morning. She hoped they weren’t playing this same scenario with George. Either one of them on their own sucked at acting. Together, they’d torch themselves on the pyre of their inability to lie convincingly.

“None,” she said. Ria had found her once. She had faith her psychotic—could she call him a friend—would do it again.

“Relocation may not be necessary,” Lawrence said. “But for your safety, we’d like you to remain inside the building for the next few days.”

She nodded.

He left. Until seven that night when both Lawrence and Dick let themselves in.

“Isa. We’d like you to do a test run with us,” Dick said.

“Right now?”

“Are you comfortable with working outside of normal business hours?”

She awarded him what she hoped was an “Are you really asking me that idiotic question?” look. “Do you even know what my ‘normal’ business hours are?”

“I have a pretty solid idea, yes.”

“What will it take to break you guys of this?”

“Of what?”

Speaking with forked tongues. She’d heard a couple of her friends on the reservation using the stupid phrase about one of the other kids at the high school. Dave. They’d been mimicking every aged Western movie they’d ever seen. Their tone had been sly, ironic. Comedic, but distinctly not joking.

Isa had thought they were just being jerks. Maybe they had been, but it didn’t change the fact that the kid they’d been dissing told you what he thought you wanted to hear and then smiled while he explained how you’d misunderstood him. If psycho Dave wasn’t dead or in prison, he’d be hitting the national political stage any day.

The way the agents talked to her reminded her of Dave. It occurred to her that protesting their communication methods would only entrench them when she least wanted them talking in circles.

“What do want me to do?” Isa asked.

“We have an item that belongs to a test subject,” Dick said. “We want you to find her for us.”

She held out a hand.

Dick blinked at her.

“Let’s find out whether or not I can do this.”

He pulled a flip, spiral notebook from his coat pocket and put it in her hand.

“How long have you had this inside your aura?” Isa demanded, turning it over in her hands. Red cover. Creased and the edges tattered. The back cardboard cover had a series of multicolored ink loops drawn on it. Priming pens? Doodling?

“Does it matter?”

She rolled her eyes. “How do you guys get anything done?”

“I don’t understand.”

She shook her head. “Look. In my experience, magic isn’t a permanent structure unless it’s maintained via spells. It wears away. You can hurry that process along by blotting out someone’s magical signature with your own.”

Dick and Lawrence traded a glance.

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