How had he seen that? He couldn’t have been bluffing, though, because I’d seen the mark myself.
He crossed his arms as he waited for my response. If I were a good liar, I could’ve thought up a convincing response on the spot. But I was me. So instead of something brilliant, I said, “Well, yes. That did happen, but I’m not sure I did it. The dragon might’ve had a quirk or something. A defect.” This all might’ve been true. It was more believable than thinking my perpetually failing magic did it.
“And then you flung it across the street,” Zab added, practically jumping up and down. If I didn’t get a hold of him soon, he’d be writing the screenplay.
“She’s a Protectorate,” Musso said, scratching his beard. “Can’t believe we didn’t see it.”
Hawk nodded. “There’s not many of them around. Considering that less than one percent of one percent of the witch and warlock population is a Protectorate, who would’ve thought it?”
“Ooh,” Zab said. “Now it all makes sense.”
The three of them were discussing me like I was a new animal at the zoo, but no one was sharing what the hell a Protectorate was. “Can someone let me in on this? What am I now?”
I was getting whiplash with the changes lately. Once upon a time, I’d been a normal person, which was still my aspiration. Then I was told I was a Whimsy witch. Then I was the Whimsy witch who wasn’t, but I wasn’t sure what I was if I wasn’t. Now I was the Whimsy witch who wasn’t, who was a Protectorate. The entire thing was enough to tie my tongue into a knot and my neurons into tangles.
I turned to Hawk. “Can you tell me what that means?”
He smiled, as if he were taking pity on me. It was much better than the awe-struck gaping.
“Almost all magic in Xest is offensive in nature. Yours is defensive. That’s why you couldn’t toss the book or light the fire. Your magic works nearly opposite. You couldn’t fling the book because once you focused on the book, your magic sought to safeguard it. Same with the logs. Whatever you focus on, your magic wants to protect.”
“If that were the case, how come she couldn’t fend off the grouslies?” Zab asked.
“Maybe she’s still getting her feet under her,” Musso said, scratching his cheek.
Hawk said nothing, not sharing an opinion he surely had. He had one, too, because he always did.
“Well, now that the excitement is over and everyone is alive, I’ll be crawling back into my bed,” Musso said. “I have a line of appointments tomorrow, and I’m not a young buck anymore.” He waved and headed out. It seemed like any momentary awe he might’ve had over the dragon incident had gotten swallowed up by his innate gruffness. I’d be eternally grateful, since I was already afraid of Zab’s awe-struck hangover lasting a while.
The room fell quiet for a minute, and I caught a look between Hawk and Zab.
Zab took a few steps toward the door. “Okay, well, see you guys tomorrow. Thanks for saving me from the dragon,” he said.
“And thanks for the drinks,” I responded, as if they were equal.
Zab took another step to the door and stopped. “Shit. Almost forgot.” He dug into his pocket and held a folded piece of paper out to me. “It’s from Ab. He thought you guys were hitting it off but didn’t want to put you on the spot.”
He gave a final wave and was off.
Ab? Ooh, the dark-haired guy I’d been sitting next to. He’d been nice enough, but I hadn’t really thought we’d hit it off. I tucked the note into my pocket for later.
With Zab gone, it was me and Hawk, and I was glad. I had several bones to pick with him, and they were going to be scraped clean. I wasn’t waiting until it was convenient for him. I was done with his schedule. It didn’t matter if he had somewhere else to go. We were having it out.
He was settling on the couch. Well, I’d already won one.
“Hitting it off?” he asked.
“Where were you? We were supposed to practice and I don’t even get a note? A go screw, I’ve got something better to do?”
“So you liked Zab’s friends?” he asked, steepling his fingers.
“Are you not hearing me? I’m trying to talk to you.” I put my hands on my hips, shaking my head as he sat casually on the couch. Always his