Read Online Jinx's Fire by Sage Blackwood - Free Book Online Page B

puppies.
    â€œCongratulations,” said Elfwyn. “They’re, um, adorable.”
    â€œUm, yeah. That’s great,” said Jinx. “Why didn’t you try to stop the Bonemaster?”
    â€œYou’re aware that he’s an extremely powerful wizard?” said Malthus. “Quite aside from being the other wick, of course.”
    â€œYes, but—” said Jinx.
    â€œI had no desire to be burnt to a crisp, or turned into a toad,” said Malthus. “So I took cover behind that tree over there, and lurked.”
    Some help you are, Jinx didn’t say. “How long ago was this?”
    â€œAbout six days,” said Malthus. “I tried to come andtell you, but it’s difficult to get near your lair with all those people running around. People so often misunderstand werewolves.”
    â€œAnd we so often don’t. I was away anyway,” said Jinx.
    â€œSix days ago?” said Elfwyn. “That’s before I left Bonesocket. I think he’d been back and forth through the portal a lot of times before then.”
    â€œIt’s quite possible,” said Malthus. “As I said, I haven’t been around much. What I don’t understand, though, is how he knew the portal was here.”
    Blue-green guilt from Elfwyn.
    She told him something, Jinx thought. But they didn’t need to talk about this in front of Malthus.
    â€œI must say I envy him,” said the werewolf, gazing at the portal. “The libraries of Samara!” He gave a hungry sigh, then turned to Jinx. “Was it there that you saw the Eldritch Tome?”
    â€œYes,” said Jinx, not adding that he’d brought it home with him. He wondered if Malthus would be able to help Sophie decipher the Tome. Preferably without eating Sophie. He’d have to talk to Sophie about it. Meanwhile— “We have to work on this ward spell.”
    Malthus gave Jinx a thoughtful look. “Then I’ll just be slinking off.”
    He did so.
    â€œHe doesn’t like to hang around when I’m doing magic,”said Jinx. “In case he accidentally eats me while I’m concentrating. Did you—” He stopped himself. “I guess you must have told the Bonemaster that the portal was here. But how—I mean, I don’t know how you knew.”
    â€œWell, I knew something was here,” said Elfwyn. “Because when I came to my grandmother’s cottage to visit you last year, she told me where the Wanderers had found you. And I went to look for the place. And there was the ward spell, of course, I noticed that. And—well, the Bonemaster asked me a lot of questions. I’m sorry.”
    â€œIt’s not your fault,” said Jinx. Except that you insisted on being at the Bonemaster’s house to begin with, he didn’t add. “The Bonemaster’s really good at asking questions. He’s gotten stuff out of me whenever I’ve talked to him, and I don’t even have a curse on me. He makes me tell him things I didn’t even know I knew.”
    Jinx said this to make her feel better, but he could see it wasn’t working. The fact was, the Bonemaster finding the portal was a disaster. And Elfwyn knew it.
    â€œAre you good at—I mean, I wonder if ward spells are something you’re good at,” said Jinx.
    â€œSo-so,” said Elfwyn. “He didn’t really want me to learn them, so I had to work it out on my own. I can see what you’ve done here. It’s really strong, but it doesn’t have enough exclusions.”
    â€œYeah,” said Jinx. “I know.”
    They worked on the ward together. They told it to keep anybody, anybody at all, from passing through.
    Once again Jinx found that the Urwald’s lifeforce wasn’t all there. When he tried to pull power into the spell, something pulled back.
    He didn’t tell Elfwyn this.
    Instead he explained how the KnIP portal worked, and he was rather