Chapters (50)
- Cover
- Roc Books by Jacqueline Carey
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-one
- Twenty-two
- Twenty-three
- Twenty-four
- Twenty-five
- Twenty-six
- Twenty-seven
- Twenty-eight
- Twenty-nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-one
- Thirty-two
- Thirty-three
- Thirty-four
- Thirty-five
- Thirty-six
- Thirty-seven
- Thirty-eight
- Thirty-nine
- Forty
- Forty-one
- Forty-two
- Forty-three
- Forty-four
- Forty-five
- Forty-six
- Forty-seven
- Forty-eight
“But . . . ?”
“I don’t know if it would work on Emmy,” he admitted. “I can’t ban her from my heart, which means the binding may not hold against her. And if she truly believes in her heart that she’s doing the right thing, it wouldn’t work anyway.” He shrugged. “But safeguarding the house is only the first step. I need to learn to protect myself.”
“You don’t think Kim’s magic bath did the trick?” I teased him. “How about the nice scarf Mrs. Meyers knitted for you?”
Sinclair gave me a look. “Hey, now! Are you making fun of my prayer shawl?”
“Not at all.” What Mrs. Meyers had produced was a lightweight scarf striped in the pan-African colors of red, green, gold, and black. It actually looked rather dashing looped around Sinclair’s neck. “I just didn’t know knitting was a kind of magic.”
“Neither did I.” He stroked the scarf absentmindedly. “But it makes sense. Knots are a form of binding. It’s the intention that it’s done with that makes it effective, and I can feel hers in this.”
“A blessing in every stitch?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “Believe me, that kind of focused intention is hard to maintain. I’ve been working on visualization techniques. It’s tough.”
“Like a shield?” I asked, hoping maybe we could compare pointers. Or maybe, truth be told, that I could show off a little. I’d held my own in the House of Shadows and I’d kept up my daily practice, including several more sparring sessions with Cooper out behind the Wheelhouse. I was proud of my progress.
But Sinclair shook his head. “Not exactly. More like an orb of white light. And chakras,” he added. “I don’t even know if I believe in them, but did you know Mrs. Sweddon can actually manipulate her entire aura? It’s pretty amazing.”
“Huh.”
He stretched out his hands, regarding them. “So far, my favorite part is working in the nursery with Warren. I’d forgotten how much I liked working with plants.”
“So no tattoo?”
Although I asked half as a joke, Sinclair took the question seriously. “I stopped by the shop and took a look at their portfolio. It’s all beautiful work, but nothing felt quite right, you know? I think for that kind of commitment, it has to be right. Mark and Sheila told me it would be better to wait for my personal sigil to reveal itself than to choose something just for the sake of getting some protective ink.”