said. “We’ve been assuming one agency or another must be after Alton after all he’s done.”
“He didn’t threaten me with either arrest or harm, even though he was angry,” Irenee continued. “I think we were under the same time constraints because he didn’t argue when I suggested he leave first. He simply left. I finished up and heard the guard try the door right on schedule. It was still locked, so he didn’t come in. If Mr. Mysterious thought to waylay me in the hall, the guard must have chased him away because there was nobody there when I came out to go to the auction.”
“Very puzzling.” Fergus stroked his beard. “You’re sure he’s not a practitioner.”
“I don’t think so. He used an electronic gadget to open the wall safe, and he didn’t know how to handle the spells in the one in the floor. He was actually going to touch it before I stopped him. No practitioner expecting magic protection would have done so, whether or not they could see a spell glow.”
Fergus leaned back in his chair. “He didn’t take anything—not from either safe. He only copied some drives and put them back. Interesting. Is there anything else you haven’t told us?”
Oh, damn. Might as well make light of it. She smiled and said, “He was good-looking and wasn’t happy when I pointed him out to Uncle Dylan. Is that what you mean?”
“How good-looking?” Annette asked.
“Very, in an 1-can-take-care-of-myself way.”
“I’m really puzzled by his ability to see a spell glow,” Fergus said. “Did you get the idea he could also see your spell aura?”
“I don’t think so. From what he said, I didn’t glow after I cancelled invisibility, and he didn’t mention my shining when I dispelled and unlocked the safe.”
“Interesting. The talent to see a spell aura around the casting person’s body is common among family members. The talent to see the aura of a nonrelated person is much rarer. To see spells glowing without casting a spell to do so is extremely rare. Only a couple of people on this continent can do it, and I know both. Neither of them is this fellow. He seems to be able to see spells, not auras, yet he doesn’t know what they are.”
“Seeing either takes more than a simple sensitivity to magic,” Irenee’s father said.
“Yes,” Fergus agreed. “It’s even more curious that he actually saw through Irenee’s invisibility spell. I would have expected him to see the shell of bending light, not her inside it. We’ll have to find out how he did it He stroked his beard again and stared into space. “I wonder...”
“You have a look in your eye like you’re about to pull a rabbit out of a hat.” Glynnis shook her finger at him. “Come on, give. What do you think he is?”
“I’m not going to speculate until after I’ve met the man. I will go so far to state unequivocally that he’ll be showing up soon. We’ll find out who he is, and he’ll find out who Irenee is, and he’ll come looking for her.” Fergus sat back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face.
“Oh, no, I didn’t think of that,” Irenee moaned. “What am I supposed to do with him when he finds me?”
“Bring him to me. I’ll take care of him,” Fergus said.
“And me,” her father added with a frown. “I’d like to meet a man who’s impervious to your spells.”
Irenee refrained from rolling her eyes at her father’s statement. There he was, being overly protective again. Her whole family—mother, father, brother—had always protected her to the point she wanted to scream—she assumed because her level was so much below theirs. The problem was, it didn’t stop when she shot up in level and abilities. Indeed, her parents’ reaction to her becoming a Sword had been close to dismay. Oh, they were proud, too, but she could tell they didn’t like the idea of her being a frontline fighter.
However, she was a Sword, no matter what, and she knew her father, as a Defender himself,
“He didn’t threaten me with either arrest or harm, even though he was angry,” Irenee continued. “I think we were under the same time constraints because he didn’t argue when I suggested he leave first. He simply left. I finished up and heard the guard try the door right on schedule. It was still locked, so he didn’t come in. If Mr. Mysterious thought to waylay me in the hall, the guard must have chased him away because there was nobody there when I came out to go to the auction.”
“Very puzzling.” Fergus stroked his beard. “You’re sure he’s not a practitioner.”
“I don’t think so. He used an electronic gadget to open the wall safe, and he didn’t know how to handle the spells in the one in the floor. He was actually going to touch it before I stopped him. No practitioner expecting magic protection would have done so, whether or not they could see a spell glow.”
Fergus leaned back in his chair. “He didn’t take anything—not from either safe. He only copied some drives and put them back. Interesting. Is there anything else you haven’t told us?”
Oh, damn. Might as well make light of it. She smiled and said, “He was good-looking and wasn’t happy when I pointed him out to Uncle Dylan. Is that what you mean?”
“How good-looking?” Annette asked.
“Very, in an 1-can-take-care-of-myself way.”
“I’m really puzzled by his ability to see a spell glow,” Fergus said. “Did you get the idea he could also see your spell aura?”
“I don’t think so. From what he said, I didn’t glow after I cancelled invisibility, and he didn’t mention my shining when I dispelled and unlocked the safe.”
“Interesting. The talent to see a spell aura around the casting person’s body is common among family members. The talent to see the aura of a nonrelated person is much rarer. To see spells glowing without casting a spell to do so is extremely rare. Only a couple of people on this continent can do it, and I know both. Neither of them is this fellow. He seems to be able to see spells, not auras, yet he doesn’t know what they are.”
“Seeing either takes more than a simple sensitivity to magic,” Irenee’s father said.
“Yes,” Fergus agreed. “It’s even more curious that he actually saw through Irenee’s invisibility spell. I would have expected him to see the shell of bending light, not her inside it. We’ll have to find out how he did it He stroked his beard again and stared into space. “I wonder...”
“You have a look in your eye like you’re about to pull a rabbit out of a hat.” Glynnis shook her finger at him. “Come on, give. What do you think he is?”
“I’m not going to speculate until after I’ve met the man. I will go so far to state unequivocally that he’ll be showing up soon. We’ll find out who he is, and he’ll find out who Irenee is, and he’ll come looking for her.” Fergus sat back in his chair with a satisfied look on his face.
“Oh, no, I didn’t think of that,” Irenee moaned. “What am I supposed to do with him when he finds me?”
“Bring him to me. I’ll take care of him,” Fergus said.
“And me,” her father added with a frown. “I’d like to meet a man who’s impervious to your spells.”
Irenee refrained from rolling her eyes at her father’s statement. There he was, being overly protective again. Her whole family—mother, father, brother—had always protected her to the point she wanted to scream—she assumed because her level was so much below theirs. The problem was, it didn’t stop when she shot up in level and abilities. Indeed, her parents’ reaction to her becoming a Sword had been close to dismay. Oh, they were proud, too, but she could tell they didn’t like the idea of her being a frontline fighter.
However, she was a Sword, no matter what, and she knew her father, as a Defender himself,
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