Rafe frowned. “I don’t get it. Your parents are that protective?”
“Well, yes,” Maia said.
“And why is that?”
“They think I’m too young to be flying off with humans and getting into trouble.”
“Too young? How old are you, Maia?” Rafe asked.
“I turned two just before I received the summoning from Tess, but two is the age of consent among my people,” Maia added hastily.
“I see. My apologies to your parents. I hadn’t realized you were so young,” Rafe said.
“It doesn’t matter, Rafe. Maia’s old enough, that’s all that matters,” I added.
“Yes, they couldn’t keep me home, but I did have to explain or I would never hear the end of it,” Maia said.
Rafe waved a hand in dismissal. “That’s okay, Maia. It’s not your fault. As for getting Tess out of there, that’s okay too. I would prefer you get her away from any immediate danger until she can assess the situation and determine whether it’s safe for her to interact with whomever attacks us.”
“Bullshit!” I exclaimed.
“Excuse me?”
“I will not run away when you’re attacked. We’re partners. I will stand with you no matter what.”
“Yes, of course you are, I just meant that–”
“I know what you meant!” I snapped. “You meant that I’m too helpless to fight unless I’ve had time to think about the risks involved. Well, that ain’t gonna happen. I’m your apprentice, not some woman that has to be protected.”
“Whoa there. I didn’t mean–”
“Yes, Rafe, what did you mean?” I demanded.
“Damn it, Tess. I’m supposed to protect my apprentice, not the other way around,” Rafe grumbled.
“Is this just about you losing your powers?” I asked, somewhat mollified now that he seemed remorseful.
“No, yes, hell, I don’t know. I just don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Ah, aren’t you sweet,” I said, changing my tone to what I thought would sound appreciative. I wasn’t angry with him, not really. I just didn’t want him thinking he could order me away from a fight. I wasn’t made that way and he had to understand it.
“Yeah, that’s me all right, Mr. Sweetie. Ah, by the way, thanks for rescuing me, again.”
“Hey, what are partners for, although you do seem to be making a habit out of it,” I added and tried to hide my grin.
“You’d better not be laughing. I’m not going to be like this forever and I have a long memory.”
“Awe, did I offend the big bad Wanderer?”
“No, just don’t forget who’s the boss,” Rafe said.
“Of course not,” I replied and saluted.
Rafe turned away; I know it was to avoid my seeing him roll his eyes at me.
“Hey, Boss. How did they manage to knock you off Beast? Was it some kind of magic spell?”
“No–it seems like it was some sort of enhanced Taser.”
“Whoa,” I said, realizing that I could have been caught just as easily. “Another way for mundanes to get to us.”
“No,” Rafe answered. “The thing would never have worked on me except that I didn’t have my shield and the protective spell on my leathers disappeared with the black goo. You were never in any danger.”
I blew out the breath I’d been holding. Having my mentor magically crippled was going to be a big problem. “What did those guys want with you anyway? I thought Biers said the government would stay away from you.”
“I don’t know. I was nearly convinced that they didn’t think they would be capturing me and figured I had to be someone else. Either that or they aren’t telling Biers everything.”
“So, do we report this to Biers and let her find out?” I asked.
“Maybe, it might help us determine if we really want to get involved with these government weenies.”
We talked a little longer before our conversation wandered off on tangents having nothing to do with business. Eventually, we both grew quiet. Every once in a while, I studied Rafe. He was flying slightly ahead of me now and I could watch him without his noticing my attention. He appeared to be lost in thought. I decided it’d be best to leave him be. He had a lot to think about and didn’t need me interrupting his thoughts with questions that he probably couldn’t answer anyway.
I thought ahead to his plan to drop in on Cris Ronue, the Wiccan who had helped him out last fall when he first went up against Rowle. I had only been half joking when I called her his snuggle bunny. I wasn’t concerned about Rafe meeting up with Cris, regardless of how close they’d become in a very short time. Rafe and I were definitely not exclusive, not anything like that. We just enjoyed a physical relationship that helped to ease the stress of our constant training. If he felt like warming her bed while we were visiting, that was okay by me. I knew that we’d not be there long and as soon as we hit the road again, it would once again just be the two of us. Or would it?
If we managed to get Alex away from Rowle, then there’d be three of us. I’d slept, well mostly engaged in carnal play, with both the father and the son. The last time I was with Alex, I’d still been a newbie Wanderer and Rafe had let Alex join in our training secessions a few times. The training always involved a lot of meshing–the joining of auras, thoughts, and emotions. After a few hours of that closeness, I had found I had a serious itch that needed scratching. Rafe had allowed Alex and me to sooth our mutual itches without interference. I think it was because he was a little hung up on the fact that he was supposed to be training me and
