Rotating his neck, Vaughn stepped away from the tree and readjusted the front of his jacket. He observed Izzy in silence as she paced back and forth, checking her watch. After a few moments, he finally spoke up. "If you'd kindly remove your trinket from my wrist, I can give you the answer you're looking for. I'm practically impotent with this thing," he said, tugging on the metal cuff.
Something that sounded like a cross between a snort and a laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "You know they make little blue pills for that, right?"
"Excuse me?" Vaughn asked.
Ignoring him, Izzy walked towards me. The sudden shift in her mercurial mood was apparent as her eyes danced in the electronic glow of her watch. "Glad to see you've still got …show more content…
Then, absolutely."
Great. I suddenly felt like the unluckiest woman in the world. For now, it looked like I just needed to roll with it and try to gather as much info as I could along the way. Starting with whatever it was that Vaughn was doing. "Ok, teach. Break it down in layman's terms. What's he doing?"
A look of determination crossed her features. "To give you the full details about Vaughn and the Devrak's would take forever. So, lets just say that the ritual he's performing should give us a clue as to who or what could've left their grubby little energy imprints all over my wards as they disabled them." She paused. "Make sense?"
"In a weird, fantasy role-playing sort of way, sure. But if that's the case, then are you trying to tell me that Vaughn's a wizard or warlock of some kind?
Izzy chuckled. "Don't let him hear you call him that." Glancing in his direction, she rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. She stopped abruptly and laughed once more before a huge grin spread across her face. "You know what? Forget I said it. Go ahead and ask him that. I'd LOVE to see the look on his face."
"Same old Izzy," I …show more content…
"A VERY binding and well thought out Oath that will protect us from any wrong doing. Let's just say, that if he breaks it, he's in for a world of hurt. Mentally, physically, and legally."
A gentle breeze sifted its way through the forest and stirred both the leaves above us and the discarded ones at our feet. In the distance, tiny specks of light faded in and out between the trees and flitted through the air. The lights twisted and tumbled in lazy patterns as they slowly headed in our direction.
"Wow... It's been a long time since I've seen any of those," I whispered.
"Seen what?"
I pointed in their direction. "Fireflies. I can't remember the last time I even saw one, let alone that many."
As they danced their way towards us, their numbers increased. The tiny motes seemingly appeared out of thin air - almost as if they were being pulled out of the ground, trees and air around us. Their relaxed pace disappeared as the various groups merged and headed our way with renewed purpose.
Quickly glancing over at Izzy, I asked, "Is Vaughn doing that?"
"Doing what? I don't see anything."
"Seriously? They're all over the place." I stepped forward and held out my hand. Most of the lights floated closer to Vaughn, but a few strayed from their path and circled around my fingertips. They were beautiful.
Something that sounded like a cross between a snort and a laugh escaped me before I could stop it. "You know they make little blue pills for that, right?"
"Excuse me?" Vaughn asked.
Ignoring him, Izzy walked towards me. The sudden shift in her mercurial mood was apparent as her eyes danced in the electronic glow of her watch. "Glad to see you've still got …show more content…
Then, absolutely."
Great. I suddenly felt like the unluckiest woman in the world. For now, it looked like I just needed to roll with it and try to gather as much info as I could along the way. Starting with whatever it was that Vaughn was doing. "Ok, teach. Break it down in layman's terms. What's he doing?"
A look of determination crossed her features. "To give you the full details about Vaughn and the Devrak's would take forever. So, lets just say that the ritual he's performing should give us a clue as to who or what could've left their grubby little energy imprints all over my wards as they disabled them." She paused. "Make sense?"
"In a weird, fantasy role-playing sort of way, sure. But if that's the case, then are you trying to tell me that Vaughn's a wizard or warlock of some kind?
Izzy chuckled. "Don't let him hear you call him that." Glancing in his direction, she rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. She stopped abruptly and laughed once more before a huge grin spread across her face. "You know what? Forget I said it. Go ahead and ask him that. I'd LOVE to see the look on his face."
"Same old Izzy," I …show more content…
"A VERY binding and well thought out Oath that will protect us from any wrong doing. Let's just say, that if he breaks it, he's in for a world of hurt. Mentally, physically, and legally."
A gentle breeze sifted its way through the forest and stirred both the leaves above us and the discarded ones at our feet. In the distance, tiny specks of light faded in and out between the trees and flitted through the air. The lights twisted and tumbled in lazy patterns as they slowly headed in our direction.
"Wow... It's been a long time since I've seen any of those," I whispered.
"Seen what?"
I pointed in their direction. "Fireflies. I can't remember the last time I even saw one, let alone that many."
As they danced their way towards us, their numbers increased. The tiny motes seemingly appeared out of thin air - almost as if they were being pulled out of the ground, trees and air around us. Their relaxed pace disappeared as the various groups merged and headed our way with renewed purpose.
Quickly glancing over at Izzy, I asked, "Is Vaughn doing that?"
"Doing what? I don't see anything."
"Seriously? They're all over the place." I stepped forward and held out my hand. Most of the lights floated closer to Vaughn, but a few strayed from their path and circled around my fingertips. They were beautiful.