Eight of Hearts: The Vision - Book 2

Chapter 39

Jonas stared into the fire as the others made preparations for sleep. He was tired; now that he had finally dealt with James, his tension had drained away. There were still many things left unresolved, but for the moment he was satisfied. He had expected James to argue when he demanded he hand over the Rift Blade, but he should have realized James doesn't operate like that. And of course, James was too honest for it to be an act; he might have handed the blade over to anyone if he thought they needed it more than him. And that was exactly why Jonas had to act, before James did something heroically stupid and irreversible.

Jonas absently stroked the dark, shimmering surface of the rift blade with his fingertips, barely aware of the tingling sensation the blade's power gave off. He had miscalculated with Flora, he had to admit; he had failed to send her somewhere safe, and had likely damaged the other's trust in him by the attempt. But he could afford to give her a second chance. It was possible that he could find a use for her, if she really had begun to show signs of magical proficiency.

But magic was difficult to control, and even harder to master. His experience with Rune magic was a good indicator of that fact. Flora could very well become a danger to everyone without someone to guide her in its use. For Jonas, that had been Holmes's journal, which he still kept close as a reference. But unless they found someone to teach Flora, he might be forced to send her away again, for everyone's safety.

Jonas was drifting on the edge of falling asleep where he sat when a voice spoke, snapping him out of his daze.

"Aren't you going to sleep soon? That rock probably won't be very comfortable."

Jonas blinked to clear his vision as he looked up to see who had spoken. "I'm keeping first watch," he lied, offering a polite smile even as he instinctively tightened his grip on the Rift blade.

James nodded without speaking as he closed the distance and sat down next to Jonas. "Right; now that we've already been attacked once here, we have to stay alert." Folding his hands together, he stared into the dancing flames, his eyes going distant and unfocused.

Jonas watched him a moment, then allowed himself to relax again, deciding James wasn't just trying to find an opening to take the blade back. But it was also clear by his behavior that James wasn't just here to hang out either.

"What's up?" Jonas asked.

James glanced over at him as though he had forgotten he was there, then smiled. "Oh, um...I guess I just wanted to thank you. You know, for taking that burden from me. I really...never wanted it to start with. And I'm glad to hand it over to someone I can trust."

Jonas eyed James with growing suspicion. "Why are you saying that now?" he asked, trying not to let his reservations show.

James looked away, his face reddening in the light of the fire. "Sorry, I probably should have said it while the others were around, but I didn't want them to see..." he cleared his throat, "...to see how relieved I was. That blade is awesome, right? It's the key to getting through whatever those wise men chose us for. But I'll be honest, I don't want that kind of power. It feels like cheating, or like a crutch that I'm going to become too dependent on. You know once we get everything back to normal, and we go back to living our lives, I won't be able to just portal around willy-nilly. I'll have to walk or drive or take the bus. Power like that doesn't fit in our old world, so I'd rather not become too reliant on it now."

Jonas waited for a moment to be sure James was done. Then he nodded and said, "We should always keep in mind what the end goal is. I'm glad you understand why I did what I did."

James smiled appreciatively, and Jonas once again felt a twinge of distrust. James was just too nice.

"I'm going to get some sleep; wake me in a couple hours and I'll take over guard duty."