Strong Heart - 10
***"So you're saying that as long as you can keep speaking, this apartment is impenetrable?" Jo raised a thick black eyebrow at Tobias. "Short of a dragon, anyway."
"A dragon?" The faint crease reappeared on Tobias' brow. "I've never heard any dragon legends that involve them attacking cities."
"I know men that fought in the Imperial army. They say something powerful enough to topple an Imperator is a dragon - famine, the army, the frightened mob..." Jo waved it away. "Just answer."
"Not indefinitely, but if I had a little tea to sip on, I know I could keep spell-casting for longer than anyone around here could afford to keep causing trouble."
"What about axes? Would your 'don't break' and bolt-strengthening spells hold up against axe blows?"
"Um, if I was right there, casting against it, I could probably resist them..." The young man stared off into unseen space.
"But?"
"Oh, I was just thinking of a way to reinforce the door against cuts with a ward, too, instead of me standing behind it and shouting a spell." He glanced over at the dye pots. "Some of those dyes have a trace of mineral in them."
"So..." Jo sipped her tea to hide her scrutiny of the magician. She didn't want to distract him from this new idea.
"Warriors block cuts with a metal shield, right? Metal braced, anyway?"
"You want to turn the door into a shield?" Jo frowned. "You can do that?"
"I think so. I mean, I haven't done it before and it isn't any standard spell I've read, but if I traced the pattern of metal in a shield on the door with mineral dye, that would work really well to anchor a shield-ward." Tobias hummed to himself as he stared at the door. "Probably better than that simple reinforcing ward, even though it's a bit more complicated. No point in trying to remove the old ward... I wonder if I should layer them or try - "
"Later!" Jo grinned at Tobias' startled expression, and the faint flush that crept up his face. "You sound like a war brother of mine who was always coming up with crazy raiding plans. Figure out your spell this afternoon, and when you close up for the night, I'll describe some shield designs for you. Deal?"
"Yes, thank you." Tobias managed a smile despite his blush. He glanced at the door again, then the shutters, and frowned. "You really want to just sit it out in here?"
"Little gods, yes. During the day I can growl 'em off, but in the evening they'll be drunk and outnumber me. Much less fun to deal with." Yellow-brown eyes narrowed. "You're not saying I'm shirking, are you?"
"No! That's not what I meant at all!"
Ah, there's that belated survival instinct kicking in after all. Jo fought hard to keep the smirk off her face.
"Good." She scowled at him, and then at her empty cup. "Do your cousin a favor and brew up a cup of that jasmine for her before you trade places again. I'm going back out to make faces at anyone trying to harass her."
"As you say, Honored Jo." Tobias rolled his eyes as he started turning away, freezing when he caught the mercenary's glare at him. She held it for a moment, but then broke into a grin and waved him off.
Jo stood, still grinning as Tobias' faint sigh followed her up and to the door. Stepping back outside, she reclaimed her stool against the apartment wall.
"Your cousin has the least cautious tongue of any magician I've ever met," Jo observed as she settled back onto her seat.
Chana turned so quickly that the mercenary actually heard the young woman's back crack. "What did he say?"
"Nothing worrisome," Jo reassured her with a smile. "Perhaps it's simply that I've only ever met magicians in passing before, and then they always seemed to be born dried up old prunes."
"Oh. Perhaps," she agreed with a faint smile of relief.
"I'll be napping back here, Honored Chana, so I can stay awake most of the night. Have Yakob poke me if my snoring starts driving off customers."
That got a wider smile from Chana; the warm, gentle one that Jo had seen before.
"I see. I pray it will not come to that, Honored Jo, but if I must, I will."
Jo grinned in acknowledgment as she tipped her head back against the wall.
Pray that I'll need this sleep, because tonight will be so boring I won't stay awake otherwise. The mercenary sighed. Here's hoping the little gods grant such a kindness.
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