sarcastic… You know what? Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” Gideon turned and walked toward the truck. “It doesn’t matter at all.”
“What does that mean?” Gwen said, climbing into the passenger seat.
“What does what mean?” he said. Exasperation. She recognized that tone.
“That it doesn’t matter,” she said, her own exasperation lacing the words “What doesn’t matter?”
Gideon put the car in reverse and backed down the drive, focusing just a bit too much on the task at hand instead of answering her. Honestly, she didn’t know why they were even driving everywhere. She didn’t have any magic of her own for spells and things, but she could teleport. That was a power that was innate to being a witch. In fact, it was the only power she had. The least he could do was let her use it.
When Gideon didn’t answer her, she blinked and poofed herself out of the car and onto the side of the road.
Ooomf.
Okay, so it turned out poofing oneself from a moving car to a standstill on the side of the road created a bit of a jerk, for lack of a better word. Gwen wheeled her arms like a windmill to try to stop the fall, but all she succeeded in doing was looking like more of an idiot on the way down to the ground.
Screw it . She sat up and pulled a clump of grass from her hair. Maybe she should just leave. She could let Baba Yaga and Gideon handle this. She could go back to just being herself. Just being an anchor.
Don’t you mean anchored? Bound? a little voice in her head asked. Because that’s what she was. She could pretend she was this all-important anchor for magic, but when it really came down to it, all her role as the anchor of magic really did was trap her.
She had very little conscious awareness when she wasn’t corporeal. No awareness of the passage of time. She could catch occasional glimpses of what was going on in the world, but other than those, she was basically alone in an empty realm with nothing to keep herself company.
No one , you mean, the little voice piped up. Yes. That was it. No one to keep her company. That wasn’t even quite accurate. It was Gideon. If she left… when she left, she wouldn’t have him. In fact, she wouldn’t even have any memory of him. She knew that now. And as much as being around him without him wanting her sucked, wouldn’t it suck much more to not even remember him?
Gideon appeared in front of her. “Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing?”
Oh hell no. She didn’t need this.
She poofed herself back to her hotel room, landing a little ungracefully on the bed. She really needed to practice poofing.
Gideon appeared a second later, landing casually, completely unruffled by the whole poofing thing. Figured. He would have to be an expert at something she sucked at.
“Go away!” The last thing she needed was him here while she had her pity party. Because let’s face it, that’s what this was. A full-blown pity party. And it wasn’t pretty.
“No. Tell me why you’re running away from me. What the hell is wrong, Gwen? Don’t you want to solve this mystery so you can get on with your…your…” He seemed to be struggling, and she knew why. Because the word he wanted to say was life , but he was realizing what she was. That she didn’t have a life to go back to. She had an existence , but she was truly without life when she wasn’t in this corporeal form.
“No. I don’t want to go back. What would I go back to, Gideon? To empty space? Is that what you think I should be so excited to go back to?” She turned away, looking out the window. Anything to not look him in the eye right now.
“Well, you sure as hell hightailed it out of here without a backward glance last time!”
Gwen whipped around and glared at him. “I didn’t want to leave! I had to, Gideon. There’s a difference.”
Both of them froze and Gwen realized what she’d said. Judging by the shock registering on his face, Gideon realized it, too.
“What did you
“What does that mean?” Gwen said, climbing into the passenger seat.
“What does what mean?” he said. Exasperation. She recognized that tone.
“That it doesn’t matter,” she said, her own exasperation lacing the words “What doesn’t matter?”
Gideon put the car in reverse and backed down the drive, focusing just a bit too much on the task at hand instead of answering her. Honestly, she didn’t know why they were even driving everywhere. She didn’t have any magic of her own for spells and things, but she could teleport. That was a power that was innate to being a witch. In fact, it was the only power she had. The least he could do was let her use it.
When Gideon didn’t answer her, she blinked and poofed herself out of the car and onto the side of the road.
Ooomf.
Okay, so it turned out poofing oneself from a moving car to a standstill on the side of the road created a bit of a jerk, for lack of a better word. Gwen wheeled her arms like a windmill to try to stop the fall, but all she succeeded in doing was looking like more of an idiot on the way down to the ground.
Screw it . She sat up and pulled a clump of grass from her hair. Maybe she should just leave. She could let Baba Yaga and Gideon handle this. She could go back to just being herself. Just being an anchor.
Don’t you mean anchored? Bound? a little voice in her head asked. Because that’s what she was. She could pretend she was this all-important anchor for magic, but when it really came down to it, all her role as the anchor of magic really did was trap her.
She had very little conscious awareness when she wasn’t corporeal. No awareness of the passage of time. She could catch occasional glimpses of what was going on in the world, but other than those, she was basically alone in an empty realm with nothing to keep herself company.
No one , you mean, the little voice piped up. Yes. That was it. No one to keep her company. That wasn’t even quite accurate. It was Gideon. If she left… when she left, she wouldn’t have him. In fact, she wouldn’t even have any memory of him. She knew that now. And as much as being around him without him wanting her sucked, wouldn’t it suck much more to not even remember him?
Gideon appeared in front of her. “Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing?”
Oh hell no. She didn’t need this.
She poofed herself back to her hotel room, landing a little ungracefully on the bed. She really needed to practice poofing.
Gideon appeared a second later, landing casually, completely unruffled by the whole poofing thing. Figured. He would have to be an expert at something she sucked at.
“Go away!” The last thing she needed was him here while she had her pity party. Because let’s face it, that’s what this was. A full-blown pity party. And it wasn’t pretty.
“No. Tell me why you’re running away from me. What the hell is wrong, Gwen? Don’t you want to solve this mystery so you can get on with your…your…” He seemed to be struggling, and she knew why. Because the word he wanted to say was life , but he was realizing what she was. That she didn’t have a life to go back to. She had an existence , but she was truly without life when she wasn’t in this corporeal form.
“No. I don’t want to go back. What would I go back to, Gideon? To empty space? Is that what you think I should be so excited to go back to?” She turned away, looking out the window. Anything to not look him in the eye right now.
“Well, you sure as hell hightailed it out of here without a backward glance last time!”
Gwen whipped around and glared at him. “I didn’t want to leave! I had to, Gideon. There’s a difference.”
Both of them froze and Gwen realized what she’d said. Judging by the shock registering on his face, Gideon realized it, too.
“What did you
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