Page 30 of At the Mercy of Midnight
Amelia stopped to take a breath and looked over to him. Silas was nodding contemplatively.
“What are some of yours?”
“We should test the limits, do a distance test,” Silas said without missing a beat. “See if putting great distance between us might limit or break the bond. I’ve also considered tests to the blades itself, so we might understand them better. Firstly,material composition tests. We should confirm they are cut from the Monoliths, and then test how they interact with other materials.”
Amelia listened with rapt attention, taken by the air of competence he exuded as he spoke.
“Then I wonder how it would react to other things,” he continued. “I think the magic or the bond was triggered by our blood on the blades. So would it react to other fluids, or blood from other creatures, like animals?”
“That could be risky,” Amelia pondered, cringing as she imagined becoming bonded to a pig or some other such animal.
Silas nodded. “Yes, fastidious research is needed before some tests, but discoveries and understanding don’t come from nowhere or by taking no risks.”
Amelia sighed and gestured for him to continue.
“We’ve been talking about tests forusat midnight, tying us to objects or standing behind different materials,” Silas said. “I propose the addition of tests to the blades themselves. Their location when midnight hits, if separating them by a great distance makes a difference or placing them behind different materials that could block the magical bond.”
Amelia shifted closer and sat on the edge of the bed beside him. “We have some long days and nights ahead of us,” she said morosely. “Clearly we won’t be sleeping through the night unless we can stop this midnight pull.”
He chuckled softly. “It’ll be like we have a child, keeping us up at night.”
Amelia sent him a bland look. “What a miraculous conception that would be.”
Silas’ eyes crinkled as his smile deepened before it faded away. He glanced down to his wristwatch. “There’s not long left until midnight,” he said, meeting her eyes again. “Where do you want to start tonight?”
Amelia sighed, trepidation weighing on her. She could recall vividly the pain of the pull to Silas from the night before. It felt like her entire being had been split apart and sewn roughly back together by a beginner seamstress with a blunt needle.
She swallowed nervously. “I think we start small tonight. Perhaps being away from the Rift will change it, or hopefully stop it from happening again. Let’s just…stand on opposite sides of the room and see what happens. Let it be a starting point for our research and subsequent tests.”
He nodded once, his usual easy expression pinched.
Amelia shifted on the bed and turned her body to face him. For a fleeting moment, she allowed their show of rare agreement to permit herself a vulnerable query.
“What happened to you at midnight last night?” Her gaze dropped, fidgeting with her nails. “What did you feel during the pull?”
She heard his exhale through his nose before he answered. “It…was horrible. Hurt like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”
Amelia glanced up and found herself nodding, brows narrowing. She couldn’t help the relief that surged, her shoulders sagging on a sigh.
Silas’ face shifted, morphing with a small smile. “Are you relieved that it hurt me?”
Her eyes widened. “What? No!” Amelia said, shocked. “I just…it was the same for me. I guess it’s nice to know I wasn’t alone in it.”
His smile faded and he searched her eyes. “Well, don’t forget that. You aren’t alone in this.”
Her lips parted, struck by the desire to say something in return, perhaps find the words to describe the odd rise of emotion his words brought out.
Amelia turned away, keeping silent.
“Only a few minutes,” he murmured, standing to move over to the chipped window frame. He glanced out the fogged-up glass before he turned to face her.
Amelia pushed herself from the bed and walked to the opposite side of the room, turning until they were looking at each other.
Nervous energy skittered over her skin.
The arcane lamp pulsed, casting flickering shadows along the walls of the cramped room. The only sound was the distant wind whistling through the trees outside, and the slight creaking of the walls as it buffeted the sides of the lodge.
She swallowed. “Sounds like it might storm outside,” Amelia offered quietly to fill the silence.
