Page 57 of The Witches Catalogue of Wanderlust Essentials (Natural Magic #2)

Chapter 32

The Porter’s Gift

“I can’t believe you came.” Zani spun around to embrace Will. “Oh, Will!” she sobbed into his shoulder. “How did you know where to find me?”

“Shhhh,” he comforted her. “I told you I’d come for you anywhere, anywhen, didn’t I?” He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I meant it then, and I still mean it now.”

“How did you know I came back to the train to–? ”

“Burnside left me a note,” Will interrupted. “He told me he was bringing you here.”

The train lurched forward, throwing Zani into Will as it fired back up.

“We should go.” Zani peeked into the corridor. “I’ll be coming out of my compartment any moment now.”

“Really?” Will smiled mischievously and craned to look over her shoulder. “I would rather like to see two of you at once!”

“Stop it, Will!” She punched him gently in the shoulder

“Don’t worry, I’m still warded!” Will suddenly held a hand out in the air, as if he were feeling the temperature. “We’re quite close to a ley line nexus here. Not too far from Versailles. Shall I take you back?”

“No!” Zani was quick to answer. “I’m not interested in going back to Versailles. I’m not interested in seeing Cosimo, either, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t, actually.” He was telling the truth. For the first time in ages, he felt the burden of jealousy had lifted. How foolish he had been to think that Zani was really in love with a vampire.

“It’s you, Will Porter. You who I thought about the whole time I was stranded in the seventeenth century. You who I–”

He heard a couple arguing in the next car and bent to peek through the glass windows separating them from the corridor. A door was open and someone was sticking their head out into the hall. Someone who looked a lot like the woman who was spinning him around now and pinning him to the wall with a spell of a kiss.

He saw stars. Actual stars. Kissing Zani was better than porting. It made him feel weightless.

After a moment, she pulled away. “It’s safe now,” she said. “But we really should get going.” Zani glanced out the window, looking up and then back at him. “Hang on,” she said, face screwed up into a question. “How did you get back in time without me?”

Will held open the small pocket of his coat and leaned forward for her to look inside. “Burnside turned me into a tooth fairy.” He thought for a moment, then cocked his own head. “But then if I had his time travel enabling tooth, how did he port here with you?”

Zani protectively patted the bag slung across her body. “Because I finally figured out who had the stone all along, Will. I finally figured out who stole it from me.” She raised her eyebrows and smiled smugly.

Understanding dawned on him more slowly than it should have. He peeked down the hallway once more and then glanced at Zani in wonder. “You mean you–”

“I mean, I was right when I said nobody could have possibly busted through my wards without doing some damage or leaving a trace of their magic behind. Nobody but me .”

Zani unclenched her fist and showed Will the key fob from Burnside.

“I know where I want to go,” she said. “Can you take me back to Burnside’s dirigible? Burnside said we can summon it with this whistle.” Zani put her lips to it, testing it to see if it made a sound. It let out a soft, gurgling chirrup. “I don’t want to blow it too hard,” she explained, “in case it’s loud. We’ve gotta get out of here, I think. We don’t want to draw any more attention.”

Will closed his hand around hers, feeling the whistle and searching for the tether. He could still feel Burnside’s presence in it, even though the older porter was gone.

Consider it a wedding present.

“I don’t think you have to blow it at all. The dirigible is close. I can take you there.” He released her hand and laid his palm against the wall, feeling the pins and needles of magic gathering the ether and drawing them toward the destination.

“Good, Will, because I have so much to tell you. So much to catch you up on.”

The wall effervesced beneath his fingers. Zani reached up to wrap her hands around his neck. But at the last minute, Will pivoted and lifted her into his arms, bridal style. He held her close as they stepped into the space between.

__

“So, what do you think we should do now?” Zani was sprawled on the velvet couch, sipping a cup of tea. Will, who had located the well-stocked galley kitchen as soon as they’d arrived, was sitting nearby enjoying a dragon fruit smoothie.

“I like the way you say we.” He grinned.

“You heard Nostradamus’s prediction. There’s no way I’m doing this alone!”

Zani had just finished telling him everything that Burnside had shown her. Will was still processing it all, mentally fitting the puzzle pieces together across both time and space. He wasn’t sure what to say.

“You want me to tell you what you should do with the stone?” he asked.

“Well, kind of. I want to hear your opinion, Will. We’re in it together, aren’t we?”

Will liked the sound of that, too.

Despite the dramatic turn of events that had brought them to the dirigible, there was something quite homey and domestic about the airship. And this time, this moment, felt special. Life was rife with possibilities, both good and bad, and knowing this only made their connection sweeter. They would face whatever came next together.

But for now, it was just the two of them floating above the clouds, outside of time, and away from the rest of the world. Will felt as if they had discovered the ultimate secret clubhouse in the dirigible. A home base with the added benefit that it could take them practically anywhere and anywhen they wanted to go.

He just needed to read through the rest of Burnside’s manual.

Will was going to miss the old porter. His only consolation was knowing that he could and would visit him again. He was already looking forward to that.

“Didn’t Burnside tell you what to do with the stone?” Will asked.

“Not exactly. When I asked him if he was planning to give the stone back to the mermaid, he said that Ondalune was expecting me .”

“It seems like the obvious choice then.” Will nodded. “I mean, it is her stone, right?”

“But…” Zani hesitated nervously. “Hear me out, Will. I promised to bring the stone to Cosimo. There wouldn’t be any stone to bring without his help. And for all my knowledge, maybe he wants to be the one to give the stone back to Ondalune. Maybe he needs to give the stone to her.”

“From what I’ve seen, he’s got no intention of returning the stone. He’s Hecate bent on destroying it, and he doesn’t seem to care who gets hurt in the process.” Will tapped his smoothie cup against a side table to get rid of air bubbles.

“That doesn’t feel right.” Zani frowned. “I think he cares, in his way. I just wish we could ask Amrita what to do.”

“You already know what she’d say.” Will ran a hand over his forehead and brushed back his hair. He stifled a yawn. He really needed to sleep. The last three ports had taken a lot out of him.

“She would say that she has sixteen existential crises of her own to deal with before breakfast and that we should figure it out ourselves?” Zani guessed.

“Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!” Will tapped his nose. “And then she would say she has faith and confidence in us.”

“That vote of confidence should feel so much better than it actually does. Why don’t I feel qualified yet?” Zani groaned, and flipped to her stomach on the couch. She yawned as she held her head up. “You just made me yawn, Will.”

“I’m sorry.” He slurped the last of his smoothie and joined her on the sofa, rubbing her shoulders.

“My grateful gods, William Porter, why haven’t you been giving me back rubs nonstop from the moment I met you?”

“Because you never asked me to?” He blushed when she groaned with pleasure. If he’d known she would react this way, he would have offered sooner.

“Your hands are magical.” She hummed happily as she flopped forward, resting her head on her forearms.

“So I’ve been told,” Will said.

He didn’t bother arguing with her that this was just an Ordinary talent. He knew he used some of the same skills for working out knots of tension that he used for untangling ley lines. Both activities required a certain level of sensitivity and focus that Will had in spades. But this awareness, this ability to connect and untangle complex relationships, wasn’t something Will had been born with. It had taken effort to learn and grow his abilities to connect through time, space, and touch. He still believed it all hinged on the ability to pay close attention to the natural world around him and the beings in it. One needn’t be genetically blessed with magic to notice and appreciate its presence all around them.

With one hand, Zani reached into her bag on the floor beside her and carefully drew out the bloodstone. She held it up and examined it as Will continued to work his magic.

“You’re not afraid of the curse?” Will asked.

“Not especially,” Zani answered, tossing it back on top of the satchel. “I don’t want anything from this stone, so it doesn’t need to take anything from me. Plus, there’s my rather excellent warding skills protecting me.”

“Do my ears deceive me? Are you saying I was right?” Will teased. He could feel the tension in her muscles releasing as he worked them. It was so satisfying to tackle another knot.

“You know what?” Zani conceded. “I do think you are right, Will. Curses require complicity. You have to believe in them in order for them to work. If anything, I think the stone has brought me good luck. I mean, after all, it’s brought us together.” She buried her head in her arms again. “Awkward alchemy! That sounded awfully cheesy.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Will leaned forward to brush a light kiss on the nape of her neck, enjoying the slight shiver this produced. “And I’m with Minerva and Zephyr. I like cheese.” He paused for a moment. “Just the same, I’ll be happy to hand that thing off.”

“It’s very strange holding the weight of the world in your hand like this.” Zani picked up the amulet again and rotated it, admiring the way it caught the light with peculiar flashes of blue fire that peeked out from beneath the stone’s dark red color. “It’s just such a huge responsibility. I’m not sure I’m ready for it.”

“You act like it’s a child.” Will shook his head.

“Oh, come now, it’s nothing that serious,” Zani said.

“Sure. It’s just a small natural entity with the potential to untether all the ley lines and usher in an era of unprecedented darkness and despair.” Will stopped massaging and stretched.

“Or…” Zani said, “it could be healed and bring everyone back together.” She rolled over and propped herself up to face him. “Don’t stop that massage now,” she complained. “It was just getting good.”

“Fine. Give me your feet,” Will ordered. “I have to warn you, this part might be extra blissful. You’ve been warned. Brace yourself.”

“Let me just put the baby down first,” Zani said, tucking the stone safely back into the hidden pocket in her satchel.

They readjusted their positions so that Zani was lying on her back with her feet on Will’s lap.

“Oh, William, you’ve been holding out on me.” Zani sighed in pleasure, then giggled a bit.

Nobody else ever called him William. Not since he was a child, always getting in trouble. He loved the way Zani said it. His full name, on her lips, sounded like praise. Like the shorter version wasn’t quite enough to hold her full esteem.

Zani giggled again.

“You’re ticklish!” Will grinned.

“I’ll never admit it.” She stoically bit back a laugh.

“You know,” Will said while kneading the ball of her foot, “that stone really is a bit like a child. Think about it.”

Zani propped herself up on her elbows again. “How so?”

“A single child can change the world. They move through time.” He drew an infinity symbol with his index finger against the arch of her foot. “Every moment of their lives is fraught with potential, for both good and bad. Sometimes we think we can see the possibilities that exist for them as clear as day, like items on a menu. Sometimes it’s so complicated we can’t even fathom what the choices are.”

“How does anyone become a parent?” Zani vented. “It’s such a huge responsibility! I keep thinking of Ondalune’s parents, finding her on the beach like that and taking her in, without any hesitation. Weren’t they scared?”

“Terrified, I’d imagine,” Will said. He lowered himself to lie beside Zani on the couch.

“I’m glad I’m not Amrita Berman.” Zani yawned again, speaking sleepily. “I’d hate to have to save the world sixteen times before breakfast.”

“I think that’s the actual definition of being a parent.” Will pulled a cushion under his head and curled up against her. “You know what they say—save a life and you’ve saved the world.”

“Maybe I could be a parent someday, Will,” Zani murmured, already drifting off to sleep in his embrace. “But given the number of orphans out there, I think I’d want to adopt. Do you think you’d be okay with that?”

Will drew her closer against his chest and kissed the back of her head. He thought his heart might explode.

“I would love that, Zani,” he whispered. “I would love that a lot.” He thought for a second. “But we might want to start with a cat.”

“Perfect.” She sighed contentedly. “We’ll figure out how to save the world tomorrow. So long as we do it together.”