He shrugged. “Just that it appeared to have gained some sort of sentience and was, in some instances, acting with intent.”
Which was certainly true, and not just because of Katie’s presence. The wild magic had woven itself through my spells long before I’d become aware of its presence, and the café was nowhere near the main wellspring. And while the long strands of its power hovered over the reservation’s wilder regions, it was very rarely found anywhere near Castle Rock.
“What about a compromise? You can mention the wild magic but can’t mention the truth of this place.” I hesitated. “And it’s not just because of me and Belle.”
“I’m not entirely sure that’s—”
“Monty, there are some secrets—just as there are some magics—that are too dangerous for general consumption.”
“We’re talking about the high council here. I don’t think—”
“You don’t yet know the truth,” I said. “It’s not what you think.”
His gaze narrowed for several seconds, then he glanced across at Belle. “I suppose if I don’t agree, you’ll just make sure I can’t say or send anything about this place to the council.”
A smile touched her lips but she didn’t bother replying.
He swore and then held out his hand. Energy sparkled across his fingertips. “Fine. A deal then.”
I clasped his hand, and my magic merged with his. Except it wasn’t just my magic. “A deal sworn on the power of this place is a deal that cannot be broken,” I said softly. “Do so at your own peril, Monty.”
Something flashed through his expression—something that was both fear and understanding. “Ashworth was wrong. It’s more than just an affinity with this place, isn’t it?”
I hesitated. “I actually don’t know what it is. I just know that I can use the wild magic—and not just in spells. I can call it to me—and aside from the change in my eye color, it’s had no real effect.”
“Apart from being drained to the point of insensibility and coming close to death,” Belle commented, voice dry. A timer went off in the kitchen and she rose. “I hope you still like lasagna, Monty, because that’s what we’ve made.”
“Perfect.” He watched her walk into the kitchen and then said, “Define what you mean by use if you don’t mean in spells?”
“I can draw it into my body and direct its energy.”
“No,” he said, almost automatically. “That’s not possible. You wouldn’t be alive if you did something like that.”
“Except that I have—and a number of times now.”
“Fuck.” He swept a hand through his longish hair. “How?”
“Again, I don’t know.” I grimaced. “But I will say it almost feels as if the wild magic is a part of my soul—a part of my very DNA.”
“No wonder you didn’t want Canberra here,” he muttered. “They’d study you as thoroughly as a bug under a microscope.”
“Yeah, and this is one bug who has no intention of ever letting that happen.”
“Understandable. But there is a bigger question here—”
“Why would someone so notoriously underpowered as myself even be capable of using wild magic?”
A smile twitched his lips. “Yeah.”
“Again, I have no idea. We’ve only been here for a few months, and this is all very much a new development.”
“Huh.” He glanced around as Belle returned with the tray of lasagna. “There’s enough there to feed a goddamn army.”
“You did have quite an appetite, if I remember correctly,” I said.
“Still do.”
There was something in his eyes—in the way he was looking at Belle—that suggested he wasn’t talking about food.