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"Sort of," Viva replied. "Some can form a magic bubble that makes them invisible for a time."
"That sounds like a handy skill," Slade said. "Can you do that?"
She sighed. "No. I tried a few times when I was a kid. It's not a common ability anyway. The closest I can come is…" She glanced toward me.
"You can trust me," Slade said.
"Can we?" I asked. "That's what someone would say when they can't be trusted."
He frowned and pushed his glasses up again. "I suppose so, but you really can. I'm as loyal as you are."
I wasn't sure if he was sayinghewas loyal, or Iwasn't, but it was all we had right now. We were stuck out here. If we couldn't rely on each other, then we were fucked anyway.
I nodded to Viva. Not that she needed my permission. From the expression on her face, she was thinking the same thing.
She gave me a lingering, but unreadable look, then turned to Slade.
"I can create a shield, of sorts, that deflects—" She hesitated for a beat. "Everything which has been thrown at it so far."
"Could it have deflected the dragon?" Slade asked. He could have been accusing, but there was no hint of it in his tone. He just seemed curious.
"The first attack," Viva replied. "But I couldn't sustain it for long, or cover everyone else."
"You could have saved yourself," Slade pointed out. "Let the dragon get his fill eating the rest of us." He seemed to get some kind of macabre pleasure from the idea.
"You first next time," I told him.
He flashed me a smile, then looked back to Viva.
She looked thoughtful. "I don't think I could watch you all be eaten. Not like that, anyway."
Slade chuckled.
I walked with my back to them for a while so she couldn’t see the half tent in my pants.
"That's admirable," Slade was saying. "How many other people can you protect at one time?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "I've never had to look out for anyone but myself before."
My heart skipped. Did that mean what I thought it meant? That now she had people she cared about? She could be talking about Knox, but I hoped to Hades I was included in that. I didn't expect bonus points for saving her life. I was doing what anyone else would have done. Including killing her attacker. I hadn't stopped to think she might like me more because of it. Now I thought about it, I would save her life a million times if I thought it would help.
"The witches wouldn't have looked after you either," I said with a grunt. I glanced over my shoulder. "You have us now."
She averted her gaze.
Shit. Had I said something wrong? Apparently I overstepped some kind of line. Was I wrong to try to reassure her that we had her back? I couldn't rule out the possibility that she didn't believe me. Why should she? I hadn't saved her life for at least three hours. I needed to up my game.
"I'd feel better if there were more bushes along here," Slade remarked.
"Whose fault is that?" I asked. This was still under the purview of the Watcher.
"Nature," he replied. "Nothing grows here, no matter how hard we try."
"That's weird," Viva said.
"How so?" I asked.
"In the outside world, if something won't grow, there's often an issue with the soil, or the lack of rain. I'm no scientist, but this looks like good soil." She kicked the dirt as she walked.
