Dangerous, Diabolical
2.4

The goblin referred to this particular type of glamour as a void, as unless I removed the magic over it, it was impossible for anyone to see, smell, or touch it. It was like a folded pocket in space and time holding my valuables out of sight.

Throwing open a dresser drawer I called “This is going to take a while!“. The next drawer down was thrown open.

“How long is a while?” He responded, shuffling about the other side of the door.

Erm.. “until I’ve found something!”Duh. His footsteps retreated, lingered near the couch, and then trampled back towards the kitchen. That’s where the pop of the fridge door revealed his snooping.

It was impossible to concentrate on my search a tell-the clink of plates revealed Ortwin pulling the plate cupboard open. I’d have to ask David for a week off of work just to clean everything he’d touched at this rate.

All I could do was grit my teeth. Playing a weak creature with substandard hearing was rapidly becoming a hindrance. He probably thought he was being sneaky.

Wait until I was hunting him through the Forest, I’d show him sneaky.

Throwing my things around with a bit more force than necessary the the suitable contenders were narrowed down, only the purest and most flawless stones were viable conduits. They’d pass magic through much better than their imprecise counterparts.

Once there was a handful of suitable contenders I nudged the piles back into tighter piles, and promptly closed the void with the mental note to tidy later. Or next week.

Clutching them, bursting into the living room, Leofstan sat on my sofa again. Instead of looking mildly guilty for plundering through my stuff, his brow was furrowed and he’d taken on a pale hue. For a moment he didn’t even register I was there. Had he found something he shouldn’t? I didn’t recall any body parts in the fridge.

“Will... these be okay?” I asked, watching for any signs he was about to unleash his mojo attack towards me. My claws grew close to breaking the surface just in case he sprang. There wasn’t a plan if he did that speed thing again, so I might just have to burn the house down just in case.

No answer was forthcoming. The man just sat there, so I moved to place the jewellery on the table to later avoid handing them over personally. This metal clang seemed to jog him into thought. He blinked up at me, running a hand through his soft brown hair, and I caught myself watching the strands fall back into place. “The amulet’s?” I prompted.

For a moment he just looked at them. Some colour returned to his cheeks and the shift back to a councilman occurred like a flipped switch. His shoulders rolled and stiffened, face becoming calculating and aware. When he picked the first one up, it was juggled between his fingers, before being raised into a strand of sunlight. Finally, a small magic burst was pressed through, testing. He repeated the action with a few more of them, setting each one down gently. One by one, he returned to pick them up before shaking his head. One particular necklace he paused to cradle.

“These,” he continued to shake his head slowly, “are perfect.” disbelief flooded his voice. Of course they were. Now it was my turn to smirk.

“Perfect?” I asked, trying to act like it was a complete surprise.

He turned the necklace he cradled over again a few times. When he spoke, it was slow as if he’d rehearsed the sentence a few times. “You do realise if you sold these, you could buy a lot of things for your home.” Softly, he placed the gem down, resting his hand on the beat-up coffee table by the necklaces. His fingers twitched as if to touch them again.

“What would I want house things for?” I cocked my head to the side, a bit too defensively. The movement broke the realms of what was a normal twitch.

Suddenly his posture stiffened, face very guarded, and I realised that my head gesture was a tad too sharp for a human. Like a dog trying to catch a sound better, it wasn’t a natural movement.

Leofstan took a deep breath, nibbling his lip a second as if undecided on how to proceed. He seemed to come to some sort of decision, and that wasn’t to focus on me, but my house.

“Your cupboards are empty, you have no food, your furniture is crumbling and your garden is overgrown.” His voice was calm, a matter of fact. I looked around, assessing the room. A shopping trip was long overdue but unnecessary, as I enjoyed the fresh stuff better. My jaw clenched. The way I liked to live had nothing to do with him. He didn’t even know me.

My tone was low “I don’t like that tinned stuff they sell on the shelves. I work at a shop, every day is grocery day.” He didn’t reply so I continued. “Plus what other furniture would I need?“.

His brows furrowed further and he leant on his knees, “What about a TV? A desk? A table and chairs?” This time our gazes locked and he stood. This was truly a challenge. His face was still, his shoulders wide and large to impress. I tried to keep my breathing steady, my magic was forcing its way in its attempt to shroud the air against an imminent attack. “The council can help you with these things if you’re struggling.”

“My house is fine.” It came out dangerously close to a growl.

Nostrils flaring, he met my stare, clenching his jaw. Mirroring the gesture I offered no further comment. It was none of his business. He’d come rudely barraging into my home and then insulted it.

Likewise, he finally had nothing else to say on the matter. As earlier the persona of Leofstan Ortwin was switched and retreated into the corporate mask. Inhaling deep breaths he returned to sitting before the gems. Stiffly picking up the emerald necklace, his other hand remained clenched.

“I’m going to set this as a direct link to myself, if it senses you’re in trouble it’ll alert me and I’ll get there, or send help as soon as possible.” He placed it on his palm, and like all magic casting, the air shimmered whilst he mumbled an incantation under his breath. I’d seen plenty of spells cast without the use of magic words, but the folk with a lot of power to channel seemed to fare better with some kind of spoken focus.

Before I could use my senses to detect what he was doing the spell was cast and the enchanted necklace held out to me. It looked the same, except for the extra glimmer when caught in a stream of light. After taking the gem in my hands, I felt the call of the run, soft mossy dens. His magic tasted of the Earth in the back of my throat.

He picked up a red stone. “I’m going to place a warning charm on this one, if it gets hot, that’s me activating it to say be on alert.” Again, he was already done before I could even get a look into how he did it. He was as efficient as a factory line. When I took hold of this one it felt like fighting, the echo of horns clashing in the dawn.

“Okay, last one.” He picked up the blue gemmed necklace, studying it. “I’m going to place a shield on this in case of a magical attack. I can’t tell you how many attacks it will prevent, it completely depends upon the strength of them. When the stone shatters, dispose of it.” I nodded.

He paused. “You might want to step back for this one.” Came the warning.

Ortwin didn’t need to tell me twice. This time, I braced myself to read for magical energy, then completely forgot to as my jaw fell open. He began to glow, the ground around him drawing into a rune. The air felt like rain, I could taste thunderstorms on my lips, feeling the ghost of damp fur against my cheeks. I sighed, suddenly filled with the urge for a rainy night hunt. The glow receded into him and he passed the jewel over. It was still warm as I held it in my hands.

A shield huh? I’d enjoy trying to figure out how he’d done it. My true skin was thick enough to deflect nearly all magical bombardments, but I appreciated that not many other people could withstand the same. The sorcerer didn’t know it was wasted energy, in any case, he merely looked like the equivalent of stretching before a workout. I didn’t doubt for a second he could fire more spells out before breakfast.

“Right Miss Doukas keep those on you. If anything happens you should have a warning and some protection until I get there. These are council property and we will react if misused.”

“And if nothing happens?” I asked, dangling all three side by side in the sunlight, admiring the shimmering air.

The tone of the conversation shifted as he couldn’t hide the laughter in his voice.

“Just don’t sell the first one keyed to me, that would be very embarrassing to turn up thinking I was saving you, and it was a fire-breathing dragon instead.” Chuckling he patted his legs in a sign of impending departure. I just smiled wanly.

“Fancy that,” I commented dryly as he stood. His laughter died as he saw my expression.

“Don’t worry, one hasn’t been sighted in nearly fifty years. If they’re not already extinct they will be soon. You’re perfectly safe.” His tone was very reassuring.

Passing me a business card as he went towards the door, “Call me if there’s anything you’re worrying about in the meantime, the council is here for you.”

I opened the door for him, breathing the fresh air in, trying not to look relieved. He opened his mouth as if to say something else, but I interjected.

“I don’t have a phone.” Splurged out of my mouth quickly, before I then slammed the door narrowly missing his nose by a hair, and leaving any response in his mouth.

Air fresheners needed to go on the shopping list pronto.

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