“Oh careful. You may get hurt.” Penny chuckled at the ridiculousness of that given what they had just gone through. The fan appeared to be a normal bone-and-lace accessory, but Penny indicated a small panel with tiny buttons and levers. “I modified it with a few tricks. There are times when a girl must have fashionable accessories and can’t carry a gun or a knife.”
Kate looked at Penny’s leather apron and stained face. “You’re not exactly dressed for the opera.”
“Well, sometimes I just get hot.”
Kate laughed. “I love you, dear.”
Chapter 11
Simon stared at Kate.
“Did you hear me?” Kate’s face beamed with excitement.
“Yes.” He stifled his fury at Ash’s malevolent interference. He would have loved to have seen Kate take the manipulative necromancer to task. “I’m just taken aback by it all. You’ve had a productive night.”
“Jealous?” she teased, and plowed ahead with her practical theorizing. “There is some risk, to be sure. No magic is foolproof, but—”
“Risk? That’s an understatement. I’m sorry, Kate. It’s unwise to say the least.”
“I’m not using the full spell. Only a part of it.”
“And the part where I drain your blood dry?” Simon crossed his arms and regarded her.
“Oh please. We just need enough of my blood to forge a connection between us.” Kate turned and headed for the laboratory. “Come with me.”
“You believe this conglomeration you found in the key will allow me to collect aether?” He was struggling to understand her alchemical theories and rapid thought process.
“The conglomeration makes everything possible. I’ll create a special ink using the conglomeration mixed with my blood. I’ll use that ink to create your new tattoo. That tattoo should spark a reconnection to the aether. Just as it did for the key.”
“Just how much blood?” His eyes narrowed.
“Barely a vial. I draw more than that from Imogen on a weekly basis.”
Simon stopped in the hallway. “It’s still blood magic, Kate. It’s Ash’s magic.”
Kate grunted with frustration and turned back toward him. “Ash didn’t get where she is by being an idiot. She was right that blood is the path back to aether. And the blood of someone who loves you is more powerful in its essence. However, the difference between us and Ash is that she’s a glutton, wasteful. Her original spell worked by converting blood into a new substance, but how you use it defines it. Ash uses necromancy to achieve her effect. I don’t intend to do that. I’ll be using your own scribing and my alchemy to do the deed. The blood aspect is only a small piece of a larger new spell that I’ve crafted.”
“Then why is it dangerous?”
Kate smiled dismissively. “Because the blood will forge a bond between us. The spell will use my blood, or more accurately my essence, to reconnect you. You will actually be using me as a conduit to draw energy into you. Once you absorb enough aether, your own link to magic will be restored, and you will need to break the connection between us.”
“Or?” Simon’s face was stern.
“Or you could drain my life.”
“If you die because of me, then I will be no better than Ash.”
Kate’s chin lifted. “Then don’t let me die.”
He drew a deep breath. “Your confidence in me is bracing.”
“Simon, stop hesitating. There is no time for doubt. You know as well as I that our best hope of defeating Gaios is your inscription abilities. We know he’s out there somewhere seeking the Stone. How can you even stand to wait another minute? We’re running out of time. All of Britain is running out of time.”
Kate had him and he knew it. If Gaios had only been stalking Ash, Simon would’ve been able to walk away from this proposal. With the whole nation at stake, neither of them had a choice. And as Kate so often proved there were ways to circumvent blockades. How long before Gaios found a way to his goal with or without the Stone?
Simon stared into her eyes that were fired by determination and hope. How could one not feed off that energy and not believe in her? “No time to waste then.”
Kate exhaled the breath she had been holding; her argument finally won. She took his hand and led him down the hall to her laboratory. Malcolm, Nick, and Penny stood just outside as if waiting all along.
“So you’re going through with it then?” Nick asked, stifling a yawn. It was early for him.
“It’s foolproof.” Simon’s face was set in stone.
Malcolm regarded him, “You’re content using blood magic?”
“We’re not going through all that again,” Kate countered in exasperation.
Simon shrugged with mock helplessness. “She has gone to a great deal of trouble after all. It would be a shame to stop now.”
“As always, you’re too glib by half,” the Scotsman muttered. “This is why I hate magic. It’s too damn murky.”
Kate forged on into her domain. Nick and Penny followed her into the laboratory. But Simon lingered outside near Malcolm. His voice dropped to a mere whisper.
“Malcolm, if things go awry and Kate is in danger … you need to take me out of the equation. Do you understand?”
Malcolm’s dark eyes lifted. “Why not ask Barker? He’s your best mate.”