me.”
“Yes, but I’ll stay awake in solidarity. We should get a move on. I don’t want to stay in one place for too long. It’ll be a lot harder to track you without the orb, but the magic that necklace released was pretty powerful. It’s possible for someone to track it.”
I paid for the food, and the waitress gave me a to-go cup of coffee. I wished I could sleep, but even if I could teach Alex to drive, my car was far too temperamental for a beginner.
As I headed north on the freeway, the talisman around my neck glowed pleasantly, seemingly in approval of our plan. I concentrated on that, hoping it would settle the nervous fluttering of my stomach that wondered what on earth I had gotten myself into.
Chapter 6
A ccording to my phone , we’d make it to the headquarters of Magical Games, Inc. by midmorning, assuming I could stay awake the entire way there.
“So how does this tracking thing work? Could someone know where I am because of the necklace?” Talking would prevent me falling victim to the lulling effects of the road passing by in the darkness with no break in the monotony.
“I’m not entirely sure, and it’s not like there’s one blanket answer. The rules are completely different for a sorcerer than a mage. A sorcerer would be more likely to trace the magic within the necklace. Mages are closer to your idea of witches. They need something—a wand, talisman, some sort of magical object—in order to perform spells. Could there be a mage who has figured out a way to track the necklace? Sure. For all I know, the necklace has been tracked since before your mother died. Whoever it is could have been waiting for me to deliver it to you.”
“Gee, thanks. Could’ve sold it to a pawn shop, but no, come knocking on a college girl’s door and turn her life upside down. That’s a much better use of your time.”
“There was a concern that you’d be able to be tracked anyway. Mages all have a magical spark inside them. You have one passed down from your mother. It was only a matter of time before you were found. After your mother was killed, the natural assumption was that whoever killed her might come looking for you. You could have been left defenseless. That talisman saved your life earlier.”
The little thing had come in handy, but I wasn’t convinced that all this had been inevitable. I still had my doubts that this Meglana woman really had been my mother. “And how do you know for sure that I’m her daughter?”
“Oh, I’m sure.” His answer came quick and confident. No further explanation seemed to be forthcoming. That was the most sure statement I’d heard him make thus far. He couldn’t speak with authority about the world he came from, but something had him convinced that I was Meglana’s daughter.
“How can you say that?”
“I doubt the talisman would work for anyone else. The reaction it had when you were threatened was telling.” This statement lacked the confidence his earlier assertion had held. His certainty didn’t spring from that reason.
“But that only happened a few hours ago. What had you so convinced that I was her daughter before?” I took my eyes off the road for a moment to see if I could figure out where his hesitance came from. Nervous eyes darted to the side and met mine then focused quickly back on the road. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”
“The talisman knows who its rightful owner is. It led me to you. It wouldn’t make a mistake.”
“Led you to me? How do you know it didn’t mean to take you to the girl next door?”
“Oh, I know.”
His insistence only made me more curious. “But how? Did a voice speak from the heavens? You’re turning my life upside down, attracting a magical assassin to me, and all because you have a feeling that the talisman led you to my door?”
Alex sighed. “It’s more than that, all right? The talisman is attracted to you. I wore it around my neck as I searched, and I can’t describe it
“Yes, but I’ll stay awake in solidarity. We should get a move on. I don’t want to stay in one place for too long. It’ll be a lot harder to track you without the orb, but the magic that necklace released was pretty powerful. It’s possible for someone to track it.”
I paid for the food, and the waitress gave me a to-go cup of coffee. I wished I could sleep, but even if I could teach Alex to drive, my car was far too temperamental for a beginner.
As I headed north on the freeway, the talisman around my neck glowed pleasantly, seemingly in approval of our plan. I concentrated on that, hoping it would settle the nervous fluttering of my stomach that wondered what on earth I had gotten myself into.
Chapter 6
A ccording to my phone , we’d make it to the headquarters of Magical Games, Inc. by midmorning, assuming I could stay awake the entire way there.
“So how does this tracking thing work? Could someone know where I am because of the necklace?” Talking would prevent me falling victim to the lulling effects of the road passing by in the darkness with no break in the monotony.
“I’m not entirely sure, and it’s not like there’s one blanket answer. The rules are completely different for a sorcerer than a mage. A sorcerer would be more likely to trace the magic within the necklace. Mages are closer to your idea of witches. They need something—a wand, talisman, some sort of magical object—in order to perform spells. Could there be a mage who has figured out a way to track the necklace? Sure. For all I know, the necklace has been tracked since before your mother died. Whoever it is could have been waiting for me to deliver it to you.”
“Gee, thanks. Could’ve sold it to a pawn shop, but no, come knocking on a college girl’s door and turn her life upside down. That’s a much better use of your time.”
“There was a concern that you’d be able to be tracked anyway. Mages all have a magical spark inside them. You have one passed down from your mother. It was only a matter of time before you were found. After your mother was killed, the natural assumption was that whoever killed her might come looking for you. You could have been left defenseless. That talisman saved your life earlier.”
The little thing had come in handy, but I wasn’t convinced that all this had been inevitable. I still had my doubts that this Meglana woman really had been my mother. “And how do you know for sure that I’m her daughter?”
“Oh, I’m sure.” His answer came quick and confident. No further explanation seemed to be forthcoming. That was the most sure statement I’d heard him make thus far. He couldn’t speak with authority about the world he came from, but something had him convinced that I was Meglana’s daughter.
“How can you say that?”
“I doubt the talisman would work for anyone else. The reaction it had when you were threatened was telling.” This statement lacked the confidence his earlier assertion had held. His certainty didn’t spring from that reason.
“But that only happened a few hours ago. What had you so convinced that I was her daughter before?” I took my eyes off the road for a moment to see if I could figure out where his hesitance came from. Nervous eyes darted to the side and met mine then focused quickly back on the road. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”
“The talisman knows who its rightful owner is. It led me to you. It wouldn’t make a mistake.”
“Led you to me? How do you know it didn’t mean to take you to the girl next door?”
“Oh, I know.”
His insistence only made me more curious. “But how? Did a voice speak from the heavens? You’re turning my life upside down, attracting a magical assassin to me, and all because you have a feeling that the talisman led you to my door?”
Alex sighed. “It’s more than that, all right? The talisman is attracted to you. I wore it around my neck as I searched, and I can’t describe it
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