“I guess. That sounds a little stuffy, but yes.”
“And you admit to bringing me here?”
“I didn’t have much of a choice.”
He crossed his arms. “I don’t trust magic users. How do I know you haven’t brought me here against my will? You say the warlock altered my mind, but what if it was you who did this?”
“Why would I want to tamper with your mind?”
He glanced at my ears. “You are elven?”
“Half.”
“There is little difference.”
“There is to me.”
“Regardless, I can only assume you must be working with the elves to take the throne from me and to give power to the elven queen.”
Frustration built inside me. Stupid Jeven and his stupid spell. I would kill him if I wasn’t fairly certain he was already dead. “Let’s get something straight,” I said. “I am not working with the elves. To be honest, I hate almost all of them. I have no desire to remove you from the throne, nor did I take you here against your will. We came here by accident, and I fully intend to get us back to Faythander as soon as I possibly can. At the moment, my magic is being uncooperative, but as soon as it returns, I will open a portal and transport us both back.”
“You can get me back to Danegeld?”
“Yes.”
“You are sure of this?”
“Positive, but as I said, I’ll have to get my magic back first.”
“And then you shall return me to Danegeld?”
I nodded. Kull worked his jaw back and forth, the way he did when something was distracting him.
“I don’t trust you,” he mumbled. “I’ve never trusted magic users.”
“This time, you don’t have any other choice. This is not Faythander. If you want to survive here, you’ll have to follow my lead. You’ll have to trust me.”
“You’ve hardly given me any reason to trust you. You admit to bringing me here, and now you claim that you cannot return me to Danegeld when I wish it—that your magic, which was most likely working before we arrived here—is now not functioning. How could I possibly believe such tales? Let alone trust you?”
I gripped the sword, feeling its weight heavy in my hands. He was right; I hadn’t given him any reason to trust me. Maybe a peace offering was in order. “Here,” I said, holding out the sword, resting the blade atop my palm. “Take this as a sign of my trust.”
He scoffed. “I’ve already got a sword.” He tapped Gnat Biter’s hilt. “Plus, trust is earned, not bought. You will not be buying my trust, Magic User.”
Fine. We were playing that way now, were we? If so, then I could play, too. “Listen,” I hissed. “I’ve had a very long day. We were nearly killed by Regaymor. We stole a lousy sword that we can’t even use, and now we’re stuck back on Earth without my magic. I am not in the mood for babysitting cranky Wults. You want to get snippy with me? You can stay right here on this beach for all I care. Good luck getting back to Danegeld on your own. It’s a long way back to Faythander.”
I stomped toward the seawall, leaving him behind. He trotted after me. When I reached the staircase, I grabbed the railing, but Kull caught up with me and pulled my hand.
“Wait,” he said. “Don’t leave yet.”
I rounded on him. “What?” I demanded.
“I will follow you,” he said, “because I have no other choice. This is an unfamiliar city, and I know better than to try and navigate it without a guide. But be warned, Magic User, I will be wary of you.”
“Fine. Be wary. Let’s go.” I marched up the stairs, barely keeping my anger in check. Magic User? Was that what I was to him now? I knew Kull wasn’t in his right mind, that it was just the curse making him act that way, but that was hardly an excuse to act like a jerk. What if I wasn’t able to reverse the spell? What then? Did it mean Kull would be like this forever?
I tried not to let it get to me, but that thought made me feel sick inside.
Stupid, stupid, stupid Jeven.
We climbed up the staircase leading to the top of the seawall, then made our way to the nearest crosswalk and waited for the light to change. A few people walked past, some with curious glances at our strange clothes. I did my best to ignore them.
Kull gawked at the cars speeding past, at the buildings looming in the distance, the historic hotels, the restaurants, the snow-cone stand on the corner with its bright rainbow-striped awning and balloons bobbing in the wind. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the sword, and I almost wanted the chance to use the thing.
The crosswalk sign lit up, and we made it across the street, down the road, and to the drive leading to my apartment building. Cracked asphalt crunched underfoot as we rounded the corner and made it across the parking lot. When we reached the main level, I saw the staircase leading up to my floor, but when I grabbed the railing, Kull lagged behind me.
“Something wrong?” I asked him.
“You live in this fortress?”
“Technically, it’s an apartment building, not a fortress. I could see how you’d be confused with the iron bars on the windows and such. To answer the rest of the question—yes, I live here.” I eyed him, confused about something. “You’ve been here before. Do you remember?”
“No.”
“Do you remember any of your visits to Earth?”
“I…” He rubbed his head. “Some of them. I had a memory charm and came to America once, but… I don’t remember much…” His voice drifted and he said no more.
It seemed that any of his memories involving me, and any of the places we’d been together, had either been altered or stripped away completely. I stored that information for later as I turned away from him and climbed the stairs. When I reached the landing, I found my key
