Of Caverns and Casters ✓ [TLRQ #1]

Chapter 53 - Aster

That was too close.

Jittery from the man's mind games and the magic, I make my way through the house as nonchalantly as possible. Leavi's quick steps patter close behind.

She went to the roof. This morning, she's told she'll fall if she goes, and hours later—

What possesses a person to go where they've been explicitly told is dangerous? My lips twist as I walk. I suppose the same thing that possesses her to steal materials in order to practice a dangerous art she doesn't believe in. This girl is trouble.

And afraid. She doesn't understand, yet she insists on not making me deal with the man by myself. I can't turn my back on her just because she's trouble; after all, she was also my rescue. She is reckless—but maybe that's not always bad.

I turn the handle of the living room door. My feet whisper across the porch, and Leavi crunches behind me. As we turn the corner of the house, she softly says, "What are you going to do with him?"

"The first thing to do when detaining a caster is eliminate their ability—tie them up and take their materials."

"And then what? We can't let him go back to Lady Veradeaux."

"No," I gravely agree. "No, he won't get back to Veradeaux."

She shoots me an alarmed look. "You're not going to—"

I glance at her. "No." Her almost-accusation stirs unease within me, but I continue. "We'll keep him tied up until I can leave for Morineaux. I'll take him with me."

"So then you're not coming with us? Sean's not going to let someone else come, and," she says, searching for the word, "certainly not someone dangerous like that man. And I don't... disagree with him."

"He can't do anything if restrained. And it's easier and safer to travel in a group, especially when on foot." A cold feeling rises in my stomach, and I pull my cloak tighter. I don't want to go by myself again.

Leavi shivers, a thin blanket she grabbed her only protection from the cold. "I'm more worried about what he can do when he's not restrained."

"He won't ever be."

Her lips press into a thin line, but she doesn't say anything else.

We break into the forest, and I gesture for her to stay here. Then I move through the trees, cat-footing behind where the illusionist should be. Tense, I watch for his form beneath the branch. Despite my exhaustion, my heart beats in double-time. Surely he can't have recovered and escaped already.

An edge of his robe peeks out, and I relax, moving to get a better view. He's still unconscious, pinned face-down by the wood. I hesitantly heave the branch off and kneel beside him, pulling twine from my cloak.

"You're going to tie him up with string?"

I startle, glancing up at Leavi. "You were supposed to stay back there," I whisper, returning to my work.