“All that time by yourself, though . . .” Nita said.
“It was worth that wait,” Pluto said. “I am home now.”
“Definitely worth it,” Lissa said, “even if finding the way takes a while. There’s always somebody that you’re the Special One for.”
“Patience,” Pluto said, “is key . . .”
They were all quiet for a few moments. “Your Penn guy—he’s looking for the Special One, too, maybe? But not waiting. Just grabbing at whatever gets close enough . . .”
“Could be,” Nita said. “Or trying to find something to replace something he’s lost. Not that I want to get close enough to find out. Because—” She paused. “There’s something else. Gut feeling—a visionary’s supposed to trust that, I think.” She shivered. “But right now I feel like a TV with a busted remote. Half the time, I get every channel but the one I want. And some of the ones I see, right now, I really don’t like.”
“But without getting into that,” Lissa said, “you were going to say you think Penn’s got something different going on with him.”
“Maybe.” And it flared again in Nita’s mind, that image of the stranger-Kit, staring at her with empty eyes. And Carmela, near tears, grabbing her, shaking her, begging her not to let them get Kit, whatever she did. Nita shivered. “And I don’t know where to go with that.”
Lissa shook her head.
“Stay in the Now,” said the dark regard fixed on Nita from the other side. “The Now is where all useful work is done. To plan for the future, to anticipate it: these are prudent. But to live in it? For those of us grounded in the world of time and matter, that’s mere folly. The Now is where we and the One brush shoulders. The only place.” And then Nita got a sudden sense of uncertainty from that otherwise very solid and grounded presence. “Was that the right idiom? ‘Shoulders’?”
“It’s usually ‘rub,’” she said, and smiled. “Close, though.”
And from inside, then, came a sudden roar of applause.
“Huh,” Lissa said. “What’s going on in there?” She peered toward the doors. “Some kind of big circle—”
A bare second later, something went through the back of Nita’s mind like a hot needle: the feel of a spell getting ready to fire.
“Oh my God,” Nita said softly. “Kit. What is he doing?”
The evening was wandering gently along to what Kit thought was probably going to be its conclusion. The dance floor was emptier than it had been; people had started saying their good nights an hour or so before. Matt and the other guys whom Kit had been speaking to earlier, except for Ronan, had already left. Carmela had left as well, apparently for the Crossings, to talk to Sker’ret about furthering one or another of her nefarious schemes.
Kit yawned—it had been a long day—and headed over to the drinks table to see if he could find one of those canned iced coffees before going to find Nita. He was rummaging around in the very depleted magical cold drinks bin, unable to locate anything there but beer, which he didn’t want—when the voice said from behind him, “Looking for a nightcap?”
Penn. Kit sighed. From what Nita had told him about his state this morning, he was pretty much fully recovered now, getting bolder and braggier by the hour as he forgot how embarrassed he’d been. Kit moved the last few cans around, found one of the little skinny beige-and-brown coffee cans, grabbed it, and popped its top. “Nope,” he said, having a drink, “I think I’m about done. Gonna find Nita and call it a night.”
“I can see why you might want to,” Penn said. “Finally, I can see it. She was so strong with me this morning, and I never saw that in her before.” He had a sip out of the bottle he was carrying. “I guess I’m big enough to admit I was a bit wrong about some stuff. Her power levels, anyway. And what she knows how to do with them. The manual doesn’t lie, after all.”
“So you can read,” Kit said, amused. “Nice to hear.”
“Yeah, I can,” Penn said. “But can you read what’s going on right in front of you? You don’t deserve her, Kit. You’ve been taking her for granted for a long time.”
He was getting loud, and some heads were beginning to turn. Kit’s mouth quirked a little in distaste. “Penn,” he said, “this isn’t a conversation I want to have with you. We’ve got a lot of work to do in the next few days before the finals . . . so let’s finish this up for tonight and head home, okay?”
Penn gave Kit a narrow-eyed look. “Yeah, I bet you don’t want to have this conversation,” he said, more loudly. “Because what I’m saying’s true, isn’t it? Anybody who appreciated what he had would’ve made a move by now.”
More heads were turning nearby. Even some people on the dance floor now, sensing the sudden tension in the room, had stopped to stare. In the increasing quiet, Kit’s voice became a lot more audible. “Another wizard,” Kit said, “another person, isn’t someone you can have. They might share themselves with you. But if you’re going to get all grabby-hands about them, then you deserve to be dumped on your butt.”
Kit couldn’t help glancing at the bottle Penn was holding. Penn’s expression went belligerent. “Oh, come on,” he said. “I don’t need to be drinking to be brave enough to take you on!”
“Not what I was thinking,” Kit said. He shook his head. “I don’t want to do this, Penn . . .”
“Of course you don’t. Nobody likes to lose.”
The silence around them was increasing. “If you don’t want me as your mentor,” Kit said, “say the word and I’ll step away.”
“Go right ahead,” Penn said. “Nita’s committed. I’ll keep her.”
Kit just looked at him.
“And why shouldn’t I? Because admit it, you’re on the downhill slide. Your high-powered days are behind you now. That’s why you’re mentoring, after all.” Penn smiled. “Those who can’t do . . . teach.”
Around them, the quiet went dead silent.
Kit felt the flush rising to his face. And to think we had the idea that maybe he was done being a jerk, he thought. Okay, then. He’s spoiling for it. Time to teach him some manners.
“Fine,” Kit said, raising his voice into the stillness. “I really don’t need to be listening to this. We’ve got hard work ahead of us at the finals, and there’s no point in letting stuff fester. So let’s find someplace where the ground suits.”
All around them, there was the sound of breath being pulled in. “Does the ground suit?” was the question asked by a wizard offering another one the opportunity to duel.
“Right here’ll do,” Penn said, glancing around them. “Even you’ve got enough expertise not to damage anything.”
“Let’s make double sure,” Kit said. “Keep it inside a force field. Who’ll hold it for us?”
Ronan came striding with some urgency from the far side of the room and stopped in front of Kit, bending his head down. “Are you seriously going to waste your time on this little twat?”
“No more than about five minutes of it,” Kit said.