“What did you do if you needed to get in touch with one of the other Wanderers?”
“The few times that was necessary, Verðandi arranged a meeting with whichever one needed my help.”
“Oh, well now that you have a phone, I can show you how useful they can be.”
Rafe looked at me skeptically. “I doubt I’ll have much use for one, other than calling you if we get separated.”
“Not even to call Cris?” I asked with a sly grin. I wasn’t sure how close he’d gotten, but she had saved his life in the weeks before he had acquired an apprentice.
He looked confused for a moment. “Cris? Why would I call her? It may be years before I see her again and it’s in her best interest to let her live her life without me mucking it up.”
Even as he finished rejecting my idea, I could see his face change. He was actually thinking about it. I knew he had to have formed some kind of connection with her. A woman doesn’t make the kind of sacrifice Rafe described without there being more there than just a roll in the hay. He actually had feelings for her. I realized that I was feeling something too. Could I actually be jealous that Rafe had feelings for another woman? No, that wasn’t possible. I knew my place with Rafe, and it wasn’t as some lover except in the strictly physical sense.
He caught my smile and shook his head. “It’s not possible. I’ve told you the dangers of getting too close with anyone. Contacting Cris unnecessarily would increase her risk. No, I won’t have another Laura. She was my one mistake.”
I leaned toward him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “I understand, Rafe.”
He gave me a look like he was going to scuff my head as if I were a child, then his expression softened, and his face broke into a grin. “You know, I’m beginning to enjoy having an apprentice.”
I put a hand on his stomach and gave him a small circular belly rub. “Just beginning?”
He laughed. “I’m an old dog who will need some patience dealing with a cocky young apprentice. Come on, I’ll tell Joe we’re leaving, and we’ll get a move on. Get into your leathers.”
Old dog my ass, I thought with a grin. The only thing old about Rafe was his outlook on the benefits of modern technology.
Rafe had insisted we wear our leathers anytime there was a threat, and since the mercs had tried to end us, he decided that we were always going to be under threat of attack by some damn nasty or the other. I followed Rafe back into Joe’s cabin, and while he was talking with Joe, I went back to the guest room and slipped into my leathers. I was glad the days were getting cooler. Wearing full black leathers in the Colorado sun was warming. It wasn’t like summer or anything. The temperature changes didn’t seem to bother either of us, and Rafe had confirmed that it was a Wanderer trait. Just like the cold only bothered us mildly, I felt warm in the leathers, but I wasn’t sweating as hard as I would have expected.
When I was dressed, the only part of me that wasn’t covered in a spelled suit of leather was my head. I kinda wondered why Rafe didn’t insist I wear a spelled helmet. I mean, if you’re going to be armored against fire, impact, and magic, why wouldn’t you want your head covered too?
When Rafe came into the bedroom to don his own leathers, I asked him.
He shrugged. “It’s a personal preference. I like to be able to see what’s around me in a fight and I don’t want part of my vision blocked by the sides of a helmet’s face shield. I’ll happily spell your helmet if you want.”
“No, that’s alright. I feel pretty safe now that I have that shield spell tattoo. I just thought it seemed odd that you wore armor everywhere but on your head.”
He slipped on his jacket and gloves, having already had his pants and boots on. “That’s logical. I guess I could get us a couple of leather caps and spell them in a way that would cover our heads and faces. Of course, it’ll never be as effective as a shield. The leather is in case someone takes a pot-shot at us when we’re not expecting it, and it’s also to keep our clothes from being shredded like yours were last week.”
“Well, I know you’re not going to let anyone get a free shot at us again, so I’m not too worried.” I remembered the time well. It was one of our first practice sessions, and Rafe had been showing me a technique outside of a circle. I grinned when I thought of how Beast had admonished him for training outside a circle.
“What?” Rafe asked.
“Nothing, just remembering something funny,” I said.
“Care to share?”
“No, you wouldn’t appreciate the humor as much as I do,” I replied and walked out of the bedroom, humming to myself as I went. I heard Rafe close on my heels.
I stopped to say goodbye to Joe.
“Are you two planning on being back for supper?” Joe asked.
I turned toward Rafe, and he shrugged. “Don’t know. We should get in another training secession as soon as we identify the location of the problem.”
“You know there’s plenty of room behind the cabin,” Joe said.
“I know,” Rafe hesitated. “Look, Joe, we’ve been having a lot of unusual interest in our well-being.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, and it might not be safe for you if they track us here. I’m not sure how they keep finding us, but it could be dangerous for us to be here for long.”
“My cabin is as well shielded as anyone can make it.”
“I know, Joe. I just hate risking your sanctuary just so we can be comfortable. We can find a motel or camp out,” Rafe said.
“I won’t hear of it. You’ll sleep here whether you train
