Page 85 of Runaway Magic
The seemingly ever-present smile on Jack’s face faded and Fourteen finally caught a glimpse of the warrior inside. An annoyingly cheerful attitude wasn’t the only thing the man had going for him, and it was a relief to see.
Jack’s voice wasn’t cold, but it had lost the childlike wonder it had contained moments ago when he said, “No need to nag, I’m nearly done.”
Done? As far as Fourteen could tell, Jack had done nothing, everything still hurt the same as before, and any healing he’d undergone in the last few minutes was due entirely to Fourteen’s own enhancements.
Then the world seemed to tilt twenty degrees, and Fourteen felt a buildup of pressure in his head. It was like his brain was expanding, but his skull had chosen to remain the same size.
Jack had lied. It fucking hurt. Somehow Fourteen wasn’t surprised.
It was okay though. It wouldn’t be difficult to show his dissatisfaction through violence once he was done with whatever the hell Jack had just done to Fourteen.
Before the pain grew to intolerable levels, he felt something in his head pop, and a cooling sensation flowed through his body, easing pain as it went.
“Okay, done.” Jack opened his eyes, let go of Fourteen’s hand, and stepped back with an expectant look on his face. “Better, yes?”
Fourteen’s eyelid twitched in irritation. He performed a quick self-diagnostic and was surprised to discover that it showed all of his injuries to be healed. Even a stint in Storage couldn’t have fixed him as quickly. Jack may have lied about the pain, but his results were undeniable
Fourteen decided to cancel the violence.
…For now.
“Better. Yes.” Fourteen agreed finally and then frowned. His surroundings appeared different than they had before Jack had healed him. Everything seemed sharper and more vibrant. The walls of his prison pulsed with a subtle light they hadn’t had earlier. He blinked rapidly, but the effect continued.
“I, uh, also tinkered with your sight while I was in there. I thought it would be a good idea if you could see magic—just for a little while!” The big man said hastily. “Probably. Anyway, you’ll need every advantage you can get this evening.”
Fourteen felt dizzy as his eyes tried to make sense of the kaleidoscope of colors emanating from Jack’s body. He didn’t like surprises, nor did he feel confident that seeing magic qualified as an advantage—it was far more likely to distract him than help. “My eyes worked fine the way they were,” he growled. “If you have any more upgrades, you can keep them to yourself.”
“You’re going to need them to get out of here, so stop giving me death glares. Let me do my job, okay?”
“Upgrades? Jack,..” Adelle said, warning flashing in her eyes. She had an orangeness about her that quivered and leapt as she spoke.
“Seriously, Adelle, we have some leeway. I slowed time down in here, didn’t you notice?”
“Great, so Marshall has twice as long before he goes and gets himself killed, very comforting,” she snapped, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What are you planning?” The orange light around her twitched like an angry cat’s tail.
“Don’t worry, this is going to be awesome. I can actually do the first part alone, just let me… ouch!” Jack snatched his hand back and stuck his injured finger in his mouth. “Why did you slap my hand away?”
“Why were you groping me?” Fourteen wasn’t about to allow someone he barely knew to touch him without permission, no matter what he was selling. Especially if merely looking at the man made Fourteen want to heave.
Jack smacked his forehead, and small rainbows splashed out from between his fingers, “Right, right, trust issues. There was a whole mess of them in that captivating brain of yours. Sorry, I get carried away sometimes.”
Adelle tapped her foot impatiently and cleared her throat before making ahurry the fuck upmotion with her hand. Fourteen tried to ignore the way the color around her writhed, but he failed miserably.
Fourteen was finding it difficult to focus at minimum levels, let alone well enough to fight. Desperately, he reached for one of the cold places inside his head, trying to find his equilibrium. The effect was instantaneous; the conditioning wrapped around him and allowed him enough space to process the new information his eyes were giving him.
Now he could attend to the situation at hand.
Jack gave Adelle the stink-eye for her impatience and continued, saying to Fourteen, “Can I touch your clothes? I need to examine them to see what part of you I can attach my spell to. Your shield makes this sort of thing tricky.”
“Please say yes before we all die of old age,” Adelle pleaded. Her eyes turned toward the battle raging overhead. The orange around her was little more than an irritant for Fourteen now.
The part of Fourteen that wasn’t wrapped in cold screamed in protest. Allowing Jack to touch his hand was one thing, but to be poked and prodded like a specimen was another. And for what? Another magical surprise that may or may not distract him while he was trying to fight? He hated this. Everything about the situation he was in either pissed him off, scared him, or made him feel out of control.
But Fourteen couldn’t do this alone. Harper had most likely fucked off by now because he’d only agreed to stay long enough to be a distraction. Fourteen needed these damned guardians to get him out of this stupid pit, and Cym didn’t have the time for him to indulge his fears right now. Fourteen had no choice.
He gritted his teeth and ground out, “Just do it.”
Fourteen watched with barely leashed tension as Jack put a hand on his chest armor. Jack’s body froze the moment his fingers contacted the material.
