I had magic!

I didn’t care at that moment if I was a Touched or not. I had magic and not just any magic, but FIRE magic. I could feel it inside me as if there was now a flame burning in my very soul.

“Well.” Master James plucked the stone out of my hand and put it in his pocket. “We can work on spells later, but for now…” He looked at me, “Don’t practice your magic indoors.”

Years of conditioning kick in. “Yes, Master.”

He shook his head, “Don’t be so sad. You’ll be outside for most of your life.”

I smiled and for a moment realized that I couldn’t get the smile off of my face.

“We have magic now…” Val brought me into the present. “Now what? “ She gestured at me. “Can you fix his eyes?” She pointed at herself. “Or make your Council not want to kill me?”

“There’s nothing I can do about his eyes, short of blinding him.” Master James shook his head. “And I don't want to do that..” He sat down in the empty chair between us. “What I can do is give you time. Finish your route, Byler,” He turned towards Val, “You should stay with him. Learn what you can about the Bokor and when you’re done with this route…” He shook his head, “Give me that long to figure out how to present you to the Council.”

“What if we run?” Val leaned forward. “There are places out west with caves for miles. We could hide out there. Besides, the Bokor don’t know we exist yet.” Her eyes narrowed, “Unless you are going to tell them.”

“I…” Master James paused. “I do not approve of their method for handling most things. I could not lie if asked directly, but I would not voluntarily offer that information.”

That was a relief. Part of me had been worried that he was going to bring us back with him. At least I didn’t have to worry about him sending the Hunters after us.

“I would not recommend running.” I realized he had gone back to answer her earlier question. “The Bokor are very protective of their secrets. Once Byler does not show up, they will send a Hunter to retrace their steps. As soon as they get here they will know that the two of you are rogues and that I assisted you. I would be executed and every Hunter on the Island and maybe more would hunt you both down until they killed you.”

“What if a Zombie got us?” Sarcasm dripped off of her question.

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“They would look for something to prove that. They have ways I’m not even privy to.” He shook his head. “I do not recommend running.”

“So do we leave tomorrow?” Val nodded at the door.

Master James thought for a moment. “No. This situation is complicated and I could use the help.” He looked at both of us,, “And you both could use some training. When I go back to the Island with this report, I will tell them that this delayed your trip and I may be able to buy you a month’s extension.”

That would almost double our time. While it probably wouldn’t make us any more prepared, it would give Master James time to figure out something.

“So what are we doing here?” Val put her elbows on the table and leaned forward.

“We need to find those missing crystals.” Master James shook his head, “With that many, they could make so many weapons. I fear that if those are not found, more Bokor will be sent here to retrieve them. Ones who are not as nice as I am.”

There were Bokor that made Master Bran seem like a sweet old man. I could only imagine what they’d do to the town in the name of ‘protecting’ people. I realized that until a few days ago, I would never have had those kinds of negative feelings about the Bokor. I wondered if learning that there were Bokor who aided in murdering human rivals had tainted my view of them as much or more than I was by the plague.

“First we’ll do some poking around.” Master James stood up. “I have a bad feeling that this might be about the Zombie killer. And with us here, the killers might get desperate to cover this up.”

“Why would someone want to hide something that kills Zombies..?” I realized that I was asking a Bokor why they wouldn’t like it if every time a person offered him a drink it could be laced with purifying crystal, which would poison him. Both the Bokor and the Touched wouldn’t like this being in human hands. Because, As Master James had pointed out, the applications for anti-Zombie weapons were huge.I suddenly realized something.

“The Zombies that were attacking the City when we got here and then were docile in the forest. Eger getting killed by a Living. And now with Winey being killed.” I swallowed. “The Touched are planning on destroying anyone in the town who knows about the purifying stone and they’re already here.” I looked at the Master, “Can you sense them? Can you sense me?”

He chuckled. “Yes I can sense you because you haven’t learned how to contain your magic, so you stand out like a lighthouse. But for someone more skilled? No, I wouldn’t be able to tell if they’re here until they used magic. They’d have to cover their eyes with something like you are, but I didn’t see anyone with head wrappings like yours.”

I nodded. This was serious. “Are you going to call the Bokor to come help out because the city is going to be attacked?”

Master James didn’t even need to think. “No, because that outs the two of you. And I’d like to think that as long as a Bokor is holding that sword, my apprentice died for something.”

Val reached behind her and touched the hilt of the sword.

“So!” He clapped his hands. “Get some rest. You might not feel like you need it, but it’ll keep you sharp, even if you only get a little sleep.”