* **
I slipped Mordon his knife when I came down the stairs. He put it in the sheath on his belt and said, “You're late.”
“Not by much. I had to tidy up, you know.” I winked, then became part of the ebb and flow of customers yet again.
This day was just as busy as the last. many people only wanted to look around, but the ones who bought got the expensive items. One man seriously thought about buying the airplane, and I was glad when he decided it was six inches too long.
It was nightfall before we quit, and Barnes had Mordon pulled aside with an attempted thief when Leif came to sit next to me. My gut twisted when I saw his taut frown.
“Give me one reason to not throw you to the dungeons right now,” Leif whispered.
“It is in your best interest not to.”
“It is in my best interest to keep someone performing dark magic?”
Lilly must have told him. Mother had always told me to clean up my messes after I'd made them, and her point was very well-taken now. I shrugged. “It's gray magic.”
His voice dripped with scorn. “That is so much better.”
I shot him a glare. “Yes, it is, and you need to knock off the drama before you do something stupid.”
Leif's blue eyes stared into nothing. He did that for a few seconds, pursing his lips and then not speaking. Finally he said, “Convince me.”
“I'm your link between you and the rest. No, I'm not gooey sweetness like Lilly, crass like Barnes, or loyal like Mordon. I'm much more like you, but I'm backed into a corner. I understand the others in a way you cannot. Now, this means that you are going to have to trust me. They trust me, or they are learning to. It is a little hard to trust a trixster, but also it's endearing in a way, isn't it? Or so I've been told. They trust me more as a partner in crime. Would you rather they keep to themselves, or that they have someone who can decide if their secret is worth keeping?”
Leif sighed. “What is going on?”
“Mordon wants his vase back. I'm helping.”
“And you think it'll help you find Railey.”
“Yes.”
“Peculiar leap in logic.”
I shrugged. I didn't dare to tell him about my dreams. “I know they're connected, just not how.”
Leif crossed his arms and leaned back, watching Barnes and Mordon who were ending their talk with the kid. Leif said, “You're deeply entrenched in the feral magic. Can you trust it?”
“If I can't, then I can't trust any decision I make.”
Leif stood. “Do keep me in the loop.”
He approached Barnes and Mordon while the boy left with his father.
Was I wise to be doing this? All of this? Leif was right. I was just as feral as I had been while I was terrorizing the nation. The only difference was now I had a smile and calm manners. Without magic, I had felt lost, but I'd had much more freedom. I was every bit as chained as I was enabled. I sighed. Too late for reflections and worry.
I set about planning my introduction illusion.