“Consider that a warning!” yelled Tapestry.
She’d wrested Golden Joab away from Fantasy and apparently shot her in the arm, in the process. Malcolm frowned, not wishing for violence on either side of the fight. Rose was at Fantasy’s side, whispering something into her ear. After a moment, both of them retreated, disappearing through one of the theater’s side doors.
“Wind Runner!” shouted Tapestry. “Go after them!”
“And give up the spryte we came here for?” asked Malcolm, gesturing to Jade Portal’s arm and the hold he had on it. “No, we can let them go for now.”
Tapestry scowled, but didn’t object. She had her gun pointed at Golden Joab. Jade Portal seemed to be thinking about something. Malcolm glared at her.
“Tapestry,” he said. “If Jade Portal blinks, or closes her eyes, shoot the magician.”
Jade Portal tensed up. She nervously looked over at Golden Joab, hope draining from her expression.
“That’s her weakness?” asked Tapestry.
“Functional weakness,” said Malcolm. “But yes.”
Tapestry grinned at him.
“We’ve got her,” she said. “Good work, Wind Runner. Let’s call Savior and give him a full–”
“I’ll give you what you want!” cried Golden Joab. “Please… We can get money for you. Or help in other ways? I’m a licensed magician in most countries in the world.”
“It’s not happening, man,” said Malcolm.
“I don’t care about myself!” cried Golden Joab. “Just please… don’t hurt my family.”
“She’s a spryte,” said Malcolm. “And she clearly has a power that could be dangerous.”
“But you don’t know if the child will be!” Golden Joab’s voice took on an angry tone. “You don’t know anything!”
“The… child?”
“She’s pregnant,” said Joab. “Jade is pregnant… with my child.”
A pregnant spryte. Can I justify turning her over to the Champion Authority, knowing that?
“Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “I don’t like the look of your eyes right now.”
“Please,” said Joab. “You’ll never hear from us again. We’ll live a quiet life. You can say you killed her, through the portal! Somewhere where people would never check, in the desert.”
“Damn it,” muttered Malcolm. “Man…”
“Malcolm!” Tapestry walked over to him, her expression hard. “You’d better not be thinking about doing what I think you’re thinking about doing.”
He shrugged.
“They would never be able to hold her, anyway, Tapestry,” he said. “She can make portals. What sort of holding cell would they be able to build for her?”
“The Champion Authority could keep her asleep, or drugged,” she suggested.
“And that’s what we’re going to inflict on a pregnant woman?” asked Malcolm. “No. Sorry, I can’t do it.”
Tapestry’s eyes narrowed into a glare full of anger, resentment, and a keen sense of betrayal. Malcolm couldn’t blame her, but he also knew that he was making the right choice.
“Every time I give you a chance to earn my trust…” whispered Tapestry. “You throw it in my face. I don’t even know why I try with you anymore, Malcolm.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.”
He let go of Jade Portal’s arm and waved his hand toward Golden Joab.
“Go,” said Malcolm. “I don’t want to see either of you again. You’ll have to start new lives.”
“Thank you!” cried Golden Joab. “God bless you, kind sir! We’ll never forget this!”
He gave Jade Portal a tight hug, and then the two of them disappeared through a portal. Malcolm looked over at Tapestry, but she said nothing to him, her mouth tight with disapproval.
CHAPTER 27
Malcolm continued to use his portal power liberally, for the next few minutes. He teleported them back to their hotel room, selling it to Tapestry as being better than making her walk through the lobby with no pants.
The two of them gathered their luggage, and Tapestry changed into fresh clothes. Malcolm insisted on bringing them back to Vanderbrook through a portal, under the pretense that it would be faster and that Savior needed to hear the news of their failure immediately.
“And what about my car?” asked Tapestry. “Am I just supposed to leave it here?”
“We’ll send Wax to pick it up,” said Malcolm.
He made another portal, linking their hotel room with his apartment. Tapestry was looking at him disapprovingly as they stepped out into his living room. He realized that he had a maniacal grin on his face.
“You aren’t keeping her powers,” she said. “It’s too dangerous.”
“What?” Malcolm shook his head vigorously. “You can’t be serious! This is the coolest power I’ve ever borrowed from someone.”
“You’re already using it too much,” said Tapestry. “You’ll start making portals everywhere if you have the ability.”
“That’s… not necessarily true.”
Probably better not to tell her that I was considering trying to make a portal from my bed to the toilet, for the purposes of late night peeing.
“Take my power instead.” Tapestry held out her hand.
“Come on, don’t do this again,” said Malcolm. “Tapestry, you’re being–”
She slapped him, hard and directly across the face. Malcolm fell back a step, stunned by her sudden intensity. Her face was set into an icy expression, and she slowly shook her head.
“Malcolm,” she said, softly. “You’re on the verge of losing my trust, and my friendship, completely. For both our sakes… quit pushing it.”
Malcolm hesitated, pushing down his first response instead of starting an argument with her.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “You’re right.”
He took her hand into his, feeling the tingle of taking a power after only a second. He kept holding Tapestry’s hand for a few moments longer, giving it a small squeeze before finally letting go.
He had a question to ask her, but wasn’t sure how to put it into words. Tapestry was looking right at him, staring into his face intently.
“Have you ever thought about retiring?” he asked.
Tapestry let out a small chuckle. Malcolm felt grateful that if nothing else, he’d broken through the tension.
“I’ve already lived what most people would consider to be an entire life,” said Tapestry. “I thought that I was retired, or at least the housewife equivalent of it, for a good twenty years.”
“You know what I mean,” said Malcolm. “The Champion Authority, this life of chasing and fighting people. Having to… make hard decisions.”
“Not everyone is like you, Malcolm,” said Tapestry. “I wouldn’t have let Jade Portal go, if I’d been the only one there. And I probably would have finished the job with those two sprytes. They are Rain Dancer’s lackeys, after all.”
She checked the safety on her gun and then slipped it into the holster underneath the sweatshirt she had on.
“I just can’t see it like that,” said Malcolm. “It’s not black and white to me.”
“Maybe you’re the one who needs to consider retiring, then,” said Tapestry. “You could always ask Savior to give you a desk job somewhere.”
“And leave you to defend Vanderbrook on your own?” Malcolm shook his head. “Not happening.”
“If that’s the case,” said Tapestry. “Then you need to make a choice. Having resolve in this line of work doesn’t mean cultivating some secret kernel of moral wisdom that nobody else does. It’s just about doing what you’re told.”
Maybe it can be that simple for her, but that’s not enough for me.
“Anyway,” continued Tapestry. “We should get moving. Savior’s going to want us to check in with him as soon as possible.”