territory and I don’t want them to attack me.”
“Right.” Henry raised an eyebrow at me. “I wondered why I smelled faerie blood.”
“It’s me, do you need to ask?” I asked, slightly uncomfortable. It was difficult to explain away illicit activity to a shifter with acute senses. Shifters didn’t have any argument with the faeries, but after our flat had nearly burned down the other week, the Cavanaugh family had been asking every time anything remotely suspicious came near the building.
“Just wondering…” He frowned. “There’s that scent again. Was a shifter in here?”
Oh, crap. The Mage Lord. Apparently he smelled like the most powerful form of shifter possible. I didn’t smell anything beyond the tang of the ingredients Isabel had used to make the illusion spell.
“No,” I said. “It might be from all the spells we were doing. We’re looking into… uh, a possible faerie drug.” I didn’t see the harm in telling him. The shifters didn’t mix with the half-faeries any more than the witches or mages did.
Isabel eyed me suspiciously, but didn’t say anything. “Did the spell I put on the roof work?” she asked Henry instead. While they discussed the rain-proof spell—there’d been a hole in the roof for months, and the landlord had never bothered doing anything about it—I occupied myself staving off George’s questions and keeping him away from the spell circles.
“You’re very pretty,” George said.
“Thanks, but this isn’t me. It’s a magical disguise.”
“Still pretty. Like the elf lady.”
I frowned. “Elf lady?”
“I sometimes see her on the corner of our road.”
Crap. “What does she look like?”
“Pretty.”
Hmm. Kids made up stories, but when it came to the faeries, caution won out. “Never talk to her,” I said. “Don’t speak to any stranger you don’t know.”
“I know that,” said George.
I watched him uneasily. Sure, I knew I’d drawn the faeries’ attention—and then some—when I’d closed the veil, but most of them didn’t keep a close eye on humans. My magic wasn’t obtrusive unless I was fighting, and besides, our house was now warded so thoroughly, any hostile faerie who came near would burn to a crisp.
When the Cavanaughs left, I turned to Isabel. “I already want to take this thing off.”
“Shifter scent?” she asked me. “That’s three times now he’s noticed it around the flat. Faeries, I get, but super-powered shifters? Unless there’s a client I don’t know about or Larsen’s finally shifted, the only powerful supernatural who’s been here is the Mage Lord.”
“Remember I told you he’s part shifter?”
“Oh yeah.” She frowned. “You said he was quarter-blooded.”
“I don’t know the details,” I said. “Don’t think he’s on friendly terms with that side of the family. He can’t shift into a full animal form, only partially. I’ve seen him do it when fighting.”
“Damn.” She blinked. “I knew he was powerful, but shifters are… volatile. Dangerous.”
Dangerous. Yeah. Too bad common sense didn’t always function the way it was supposed to when I was around the Mage Lord.
“Don’t worry, he’s perfectly in control.” Aside from the time the faeries had unleashed magic on him and made him lose it and attack me. But Isabel had been unconscious for that part. “Anyway. Time to put this to the test.” I put on a show of confidence, even twirling on the spot when I passed the hall mirror just to see what faerie-me looked like. Isabel snorted.
“You could start a new career as a ballet dancer. Half-faeries who go into the arts earn a fortune.”
“No thanks,” I said. “I’ve got a couple of hours, right?”
“Yep. Be careful.”
“Always am.”
I heard her say something like, that’s what I’m scared of, as I left the building.
CHAPTER SIX
Walking through town as a half-faerie was… not what I’d
“Right.” Henry raised an eyebrow at me. “I wondered why I smelled faerie blood.”
“It’s me, do you need to ask?” I asked, slightly uncomfortable. It was difficult to explain away illicit activity to a shifter with acute senses. Shifters didn’t have any argument with the faeries, but after our flat had nearly burned down the other week, the Cavanaugh family had been asking every time anything remotely suspicious came near the building.
“Just wondering…” He frowned. “There’s that scent again. Was a shifter in here?”
Oh, crap. The Mage Lord. Apparently he smelled like the most powerful form of shifter possible. I didn’t smell anything beyond the tang of the ingredients Isabel had used to make the illusion spell.
“No,” I said. “It might be from all the spells we were doing. We’re looking into… uh, a possible faerie drug.” I didn’t see the harm in telling him. The shifters didn’t mix with the half-faeries any more than the witches or mages did.
Isabel eyed me suspiciously, but didn’t say anything. “Did the spell I put on the roof work?” she asked Henry instead. While they discussed the rain-proof spell—there’d been a hole in the roof for months, and the landlord had never bothered doing anything about it—I occupied myself staving off George’s questions and keeping him away from the spell circles.
“You’re very pretty,” George said.
“Thanks, but this isn’t me. It’s a magical disguise.”
“Still pretty. Like the elf lady.”
I frowned. “Elf lady?”
“I sometimes see her on the corner of our road.”
Crap. “What does she look like?”
“Pretty.”
Hmm. Kids made up stories, but when it came to the faeries, caution won out. “Never talk to her,” I said. “Don’t speak to any stranger you don’t know.”
“I know that,” said George.
I watched him uneasily. Sure, I knew I’d drawn the faeries’ attention—and then some—when I’d closed the veil, but most of them didn’t keep a close eye on humans. My magic wasn’t obtrusive unless I was fighting, and besides, our house was now warded so thoroughly, any hostile faerie who came near would burn to a crisp.
When the Cavanaughs left, I turned to Isabel. “I already want to take this thing off.”
“Shifter scent?” she asked me. “That’s three times now he’s noticed it around the flat. Faeries, I get, but super-powered shifters? Unless there’s a client I don’t know about or Larsen’s finally shifted, the only powerful supernatural who’s been here is the Mage Lord.”
“Remember I told you he’s part shifter?”
“Oh yeah.” She frowned. “You said he was quarter-blooded.”
“I don’t know the details,” I said. “Don’t think he’s on friendly terms with that side of the family. He can’t shift into a full animal form, only partially. I’ve seen him do it when fighting.”
“Damn.” She blinked. “I knew he was powerful, but shifters are… volatile. Dangerous.”
Dangerous. Yeah. Too bad common sense didn’t always function the way it was supposed to when I was around the Mage Lord.
“Don’t worry, he’s perfectly in control.” Aside from the time the faeries had unleashed magic on him and made him lose it and attack me. But Isabel had been unconscious for that part. “Anyway. Time to put this to the test.” I put on a show of confidence, even twirling on the spot when I passed the hall mirror just to see what faerie-me looked like. Isabel snorted.
“You could start a new career as a ballet dancer. Half-faeries who go into the arts earn a fortune.”
“No thanks,” I said. “I’ve got a couple of hours, right?”
“Yep. Be careful.”
“Always am.”
I heard her say something like, that’s what I’m scared of, as I left the building.
CHAPTER SIX
Walking through town as a half-faerie was… not what I’d
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