Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,50
getting themselves blown up.”
“Is it still considered fortunate if one of those swords allegedly drives you mad without the other’s presence, which is why I gotta lug both?” Ken asked with a wince.
“The perks of equivalent exchange, Ken.”
“Easy for you to say, you only die if you use the Ogmios wrong.”
“Blown up?” Tala eyed the segen of both, not sure if she should be traveling in the same car with them.
“Equivalent exchange doesn’t always mean it’s a successful one,” Zoe pointed out. “Lots of things can still go wrong during the binding process. It’s why most spellforgers refuse the more complicated spellbinding, no matter how much money they’re offered.”
“What sacrifice did being a blitzsegner ask of you?” Tala wanted to know. “If you don’t mind.”
“Sure. Well, blitzsegners tend to be weak against earthsegners and earth-based spells for obvious reasons.” Zoe nudged at her whip, tilting the handle Tala’s way, and the latter saw the words: In joy, sadness; in retribution, justice inscribed there. “Allegedly, if any of the Carlisles enjoy too much prosperity or happiness, it will be offset by tragedy to maintain the balance.”
“But…that’s terrible.”
Zoe shrugged. “The curse comes off so vague that I wonder. My mother doesn’t even wield the Ogmios, but she’s bad at relationships, and she thinks it’s because of the curse. I mean…it might also be my mom just being really bad at relationships.”
“I never realized there were so many words to mean the same thing for magic,” Tala said. “Segen, spells, agimat.”
Her father chuckled. “Aye, lass. A hundred names for magic in Tagalog alone, remember? Every place’s got their own names for it, and then even more where different cultures intersect.”
“I don’t have a segen,” West said cheerfully. “I’m not very good with weapons. I keep losing them.”
Zoe smiled at Tala. “You can argue that your ability to negate magic is a similar, albeit innate segen, except you don’t need to channel it through a weapon. Maria Makiling was an amazing spellforger in her own right. I can’t imagine what that curse cost her.”
“Maybe it’s for the best,” Alex offered quietly. Tala shot a worried glance at him and noted that Zoe and Loki were doing the same.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Alex stared out the window, watching the endless sand whiz by. “I’m fine.”
“If there’s anything you’d like us to do…” Zoe began.
“I don’t need your help,” Alex snapped, his voice unnaturally loud in the sudden silence of the car. “Leave me alone.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Tala whispered angrily.
Alex didn’t respond. He only folded his arms and continued to stare out the window.
“Sorry,” Tala murmured to Zoe. “I’m sure he doesn’t mean that.”
Zoe managed a small smile. “That’s okay. Everyone’s on edge tonight.”
The car slowed to a crawl. “We’re nearing the checkpoint, folks,” Tala’s father announced. “But we won’t be going through the blockade. There’s another route tae the Casa Grande domes that they’re none the wiser about, but we won’t be going through a road tae do it. Be prepared to walk.”
“We are a suspicious-looking lot,” Loki murmured.
“The Casa Grande domes?” Tala asked.
“There’s a sanctuary within, with a looking glass we can use,” Zoe reminded her. “There’s a swath of complicated spells keeping it hidden.”
“Sanctuaries are illegal by Royal States law, which is why we keep quiet about the ones we know about,” Ken added. “They really have a bee up their ass when it comes to immigrants, and they don’t want them zipping in and out of the kingdom without their say-so.”
“Belay that; we have a new problem,” Tala’s mother said, concentrating. “Looks like they’ve expanded the blockade, moved it a mile or so closer than it used to be this morning. That trick you kids pulled might have made them suspicious. They’ve activated some kind of anti-magic barrier. I can feel it from here.”
She was right. The tips of Tala’s fingers and the hair on the back of her neck were already tingling with the pulses of unseen energy battering in.
“So, now what?” Ken asked. “We just sashay in and pretend we’re a family off to Disneyland?”
“I think I can shut it off,” Tala’s mother frowned. “But they’re using other equipment that amplifies the spell.”
“I can help you,” Tala offered quietly.
Her mother looked like she wanted to say no, but her shoulders finally slumped. “I want you to follow my lead. Don’t do anything else beyond what I tell you to, you understand?”