it.
“We did it!” the kid crowed, jumping into the air with one downward thrust of wing and spinning madly. Sawdust flew, and I closed my eyes until he landed back upon my shoulder, tail whipping around my back and under my arm. Again the glory of the lines hit me, almost making me pass out, and I bubbled my thoughts to numb them. Yes, I had missed seeing all the lines at once like this, but they were overwhelming when I got them so clear and raw from Bis. But even more important, it was my freedom. For Bis, it was his reason to exist, his entire species having been created by demons with the sole intent to help them learn how to travel lines of energy. We had a lifelong bond, Bis and I, and now—we both felt complete.
“I can sing the lines to you,” Bis said joyfully. “Which one do you want to learn first?”
Hodin chuckled, the low sound cutting through my delight like a nightmare. “Yes, jump the lines,” he said as he ran a knife over the slate table to get the worst of the wax up. “Show everyone what you can do. How will you explain it? No one alive knows the curse to permanently shift a soul’s expression.” His eyes narrowed and he stood, waxy knife in hand. “We have a deal, Rachel.”
“You really suck. You know that?” I said, and Bis’s ears drooped. “I can’t help Al with what you’ve told me. What is your problem with him anyway? Did he sell you a bad familiar or something?”
Bis’s tail tightened around my arm in warning, but I didn’t care. I had risked taking instruction from Mr. Dark-and-Broody to help Al. That I might be able to jump the lines alone was secondary. And now . . . I had nothing but a promise to not tell anyone about Hodin and an ability that if I used it would lead to questions that would out him. Damn it, Al. I hate it when you’re right.
“My issues with Al are not your concern.” Clearly pleased with himself, Hodin ran a hand over his spelling robes and they vanished to turn him back into his dark, somewhat unkempt self. “You two aren’t going anywhere until I say, and most certainly not without a spotter. Which would be me.” He dropped his knife into the basket with the rest. “Line jumping is an art. Besides, aren’t you at all curious if the mystics are interested in you?”
Mystics, I thought, my fear cutting through my anger.
“Not that I can see,” Bis said rather grumpily, clearly not ready to let go of his anger. “At least, not out of the ordinary. They’re around like usual, but they aren’t swarming you.”
“What do you want for the rest of the curse, Hodin?” I said flatly. “I’m saving Al.”
“You’re a worthwhile student,” Hodin said, telling me he’d been judging me as much as I’d been judging him. “Too confident,” he added, looking lanky and slim in his black jeans and leather boots. “But I imagine that nearly killing yourself a few more times will curb that.”
“Yeah?” I flopped back into the chair. Bis left, his ears at a nervous slant as he returned to the sawhorse. “Well, you’re too close with information that could be the difference between success and failure, but I imagine that your student going to someone else for clarification and study a few times will curb that. If you ever get one.”
Hodin looked at the door behind me, and I leaned forward over the table. “Why are you even pretending to help me? Is it because you think I wouldn’t keep my mouth shut if you asked? Or are you trying to poach me from Al?”
“You think you’re worth that much?” he said, and I felt my face warm.
“Maybe Al and Dali are right,” I pressed, my anger and worry for Al bypassing my already thin filter. “That you’re dangerous and not to be trusted.”
Hodin frowned, mood clearly bad. “The two are not always synonymous. You yourself are dangerous and yet trustworthy.”
Flattery? I thought as I stood as well. “That’s just it,” I said, sash bells ringing as I put a hand on my hip. “I don’t trust you. Why did you bother to teach me this?” I gestured at the slate table. “To see my frustration at not being able to help Al? Is that how you get your fun? Seeing me try and fail?”
Hodin’s head came