“Do you want me to change it?” Tess asked as she dropped her own saddlebags onto the back of an over-stuffed chair. She took off her crossbow and laid it on the table before dropping heavily into the chair. She leaned her head against the back of the chair and stared up at the ceiling.
“Of course not. I can stand your snoring just as well from the same bed as from across the room.”
Tess sat up and gave me a look of derision. “I do not snore.”
“Not too loudly. I think it’s kinda cute,” I said, bending to remove my boots.
A cushion bounced off the back of my head, almost triggering my shield. I looked up and grinned at Tess.
“Watch yourself,” she said. “Just because you’re the mentor, doesn’t mean you can get away with everything.”
I pushed off my boots and started undressing. “Dibs on the shower.”
“Uh-uh, after the day I’ve had?” Tess said as she rushed to get her own boots off.
It became a race, but I had a head start. I was out of my chair and headed toward the bathroom before she had her underwear off.
Halfway across the room, I stumbled against something on the floor and fell forward. I reflexively triggered my shield, and it caught me before my face smashed into the carpet. A second later, Tess, threw her bra toward the bed, stepped over me and rushed into the bathroom.
“You minx,” I said. “You tripped me with a shield.”
“You wanted me to practice,” she said as she stepped out of her panties and tossed them at me.
I caught them as I regained my feet.
She shut the bathroom door. A few seconds later, I heard the shower starting.
I considered being a good loser and fixing us a couple of drinks while I waited for her to finish. Then I realized that our race and the sight of her bouncing posterior stepping over me had changed my opinion about sleeping.
I tried the bathroom door. It was unlocked.
I grinned to myself and stepped inside, closing the door behind me.
* * *
We slept late, until nearly noon. I awoke to find Tess already in the bathroom and obviously taking another shower. I couldn’t blame her; the vigorous sex had left both of us gamey and a little sticky. I climbed out of bed and made coffee in the single cup coffee maker. Tess had been thoughtful enough to fill two cups with water before claiming the bathroom. When the first was done, I set the maker up for another and sat down to enjoy mine.
When I heard the shower stop, I activated the coffee maker and sat back down to wait. The bathroom door opened a few minutes later. Tess appeared, already dressed in her leather pants and a sports bra.
She retrieved the cup of coffee, sat down in the chair next to me, and started pulling on her boots. “Thanks for the coffee, the bathroom’s all yours.”
“You’re welcome,” I said and retreated to the bath with my underwear clutched in my hand.
When I came out, Tess had finished dressing and was standing in front of the windows, gazing out at a brightly lit day.
“What are we doing today?” she asked, turning. The bright window backlit her silhouette.
“We’re going to keep moving. We’ll stop somewhere long enough for you to get a little practice and then move again until we decide where to stop for the night,” I said as I pulled on my leathers.
“Are we still headed toward Colorado Springs?”
“More or less. There doesn’t seem to be any rush, at least Verðandi hasn’t pushed the summonings on us, but that’s our final destination for now. If it gets urgent, I’m sure Verðandi will notify us. Right now I’m more concerned with your training and avoiding whoever thinks they need to bump us off.”
“You have some of Abrams’ hair. Can’t you cast that locator spell to on her?” Tess asked.
I pulled on my boots and grinned at her. “Yeah, I can find her, and if they’ve picked her up, I can find them.”
“Then what’s stopping us? Let’s go get them,” Tess said.
“Bloodthirsty much? I thought you didn’t want me killing any more of them than necessary.”
“I don’t,” Tess said with a wave of her hands. “But I don’t want them trying to blow us up either. I’d rather you persuade them as to the folly of their ways on your own terms rather than waiting for them to get up the nerve to come after us again.”
“Good point, but anything I do proactively will also endanger you. I’m trying to be protective of my Apprentice.”
Her hands started waving before she decided what she wanted to say. “Protective, I can appreciate, but as you’ve said before, you can’t let people attack us without retribution. It’ll give them the idea they can come after us anytime they want.”
I finished tying my boot laces and stood up. “You’re right, but I want to give them a chance to realize their mistake. They have Abrams and whoever escaped in that second helicopter to let them know just how badly they fucked up when they came after us. If they have any sense, they won’t make a second attempt.”
“And if they don’t have any sense, the next time they’ll be more prepared,” Tess argued.
I shrugged. “True, but whoever sicced them on us only provided a little magical defense to counter mine. They’ve seen what little use their weapons and those lame ass shields were. Unless they can get someone to augment their magic capabilities, they must realize they don’t have a prayer of getting past our defenses.”
“But what if they do?
I shrugged again. “That’s why they pay us the big bucks.”
I’d said it as a joke, but Tess only frowned. Then I remembered; I had used that line on her before. She knew there was no money in the Wanderer business and Verðandi wasn’t the kind to pay a salary.
“We’ll be fine,” I said. “You concentrate on learning
