Chapter 14

"What was that about?" Amber asked as we walked back down the path. "Why all the drama with the contract and everything? Couldn't you just make them do what you wanted?"

"I don't know why I did it. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I didn't want to mess with their minds if I could avoid it."

"I think you were too soft on them. After what they did to their daughter, they deserved a lot worse than a broken television. Especially when they can so easily afford to replace it."

"I believe in letting people hang themselves. I've given them more than enough rope to make knots with, if they should dare to break the agreement."

"But what about Kristine?" Amber asked. "If you're using her as the bait to get her parents to violate their agreement, doesn't that put her at risk?"

"I wouldn't worry about that." A voice said from beside us. We both jumped, and I turned to face the man who spoke, twisting time to a stop. It was Al'Karab.

"You startled me!" I told him, relaxing.

"Sorry." He muttered. "I was most curious about that whole incident." He told me, gesturing back towards the house. "What made you think about using a contract to enforce your will?" He asked.

"I don't really know." I told him.

"Perfect instinctive knowledge." He muttered. I recognized it as part of my wish, and couldn't help but smile. "A contract like the one you made is how Powers work binding agreements between themselves and mortals they interact with. " He said aloud. "The contract you wrote up will be enforced by your power, even if you are not actually there to take action."

"Really?" I asked. "That's better than I could have hoped. Maybe it even turned out for the best, then. Certainly I could have done a lot worse in wording that contract."

"Yes." Al'Karab said. He seemed troubled.

"Something bothering you?" I asked.

"More than something. Everything. Your wishes, your powers, they aren't connected to anything. I can't see how they work." He admitted his confusion.

"What do you mean? You granted my wishes, how can you not know how they work?"

"I granted you the powers you demanded in your wish, but every time you use your powers you should be drawing the energy to perform them from me. You aren't. You have been using your powers freely, but the energy used to make them work is coming from somewhere else. It doesn't make any sense!" He was frustrated, and it showed.

"Is this a problem?" I asked.

"I don't know." He sighed. "It could be. What if you're drawing power from something that is actually hurting you? What if the reason you aren't drawing from me is because something or someone has interrupted the link between us and is feeding you a magical poison?"

"Kabal?" I asked, my voice turning cold.

"Again, I don't know. But I think it's safe to assume not. Kabal doesn't have the subtlety required for something like that."

I was worried about suddenly losing my powers. "Does this mean that I have to worry about suddenly not being able to use my powers? That could be really bad if it happened at the wrong time. The angels proved that when they prevented me from using them in a fight against an armed assailant, let alone a battle with another Power."

"I don't have any answers, just a warning to be careful." He told me.

"Thanks." I said sullenly. We said goodbye and he vanished to wherever-it-is-he-goes, leaving me standing there on the sidewalk. I released the flow of time and put my arm around a shocked Amber.

"Who was that?" She asked, glancing around warily.

"An old friend." I told her. "He couldn't stay to chat." I explained.

"I'll never get used to the weird stuff that happens around you." She told me with a shake of her head. I brushed her hair away from her face and gave her a kiss. It was electrifying. I felt as though all of my nerves were awash in sensation, and her soft moan told me she felt the same. She broke away after almost a minute. "That was nice." She said weakly, barely able to stand.