Dangerous, Diabolical

Forcing down a cynical laugh I could only manage to be able to nod, my chest heaved with deep breaths to try and remain in control.

“I can understand so much magic use can be unsettling, please understand this was against my better judgement,” he held his hand out towards me, “please accept my apology, I’m not usually sent to help the lower categorised species in the field. I tend to forget you’re not used to magic.” His hand was still out. Was I meant to touch it?

Studying it, I could see he had long, slender fingers, much like the rest of his frame. The soft residue of magic pulsed around him, the human guise slipping further away as the tendrils of magic use snaked into the air. He had an old watch on his wrist, hidden by a cuffed sleeve. It was just a handshake.

Not meeting his eyes I clenched and unclenched my fist before lifting it to shake, relieved to see my claws had obediently remained shafted. I wasn’t sure I’d remain in control of my instincts if he met my gaze again. The last thing I needed was for my instincts to feel like he was challenging me in my territory, so I stared resolutely at the floor.

Leofstan’s hand was cool, thankfully not clammy. I’d expected his skin to be as soft since he was a suited man giving the appearance of early 30s but was surprised to find it hard and calloused.

After meeting the suitable hand-holding quota, I let go quickly, pressing the hand behind my back, and resting it against the counter in an attempt to look natural. It tingled from the magical residue and the desire to wash it became insistent. Still avoiding his eyes I surveilled from the edges of my vision, keeping him in the fringes. He stepped back again, giving me some room as if I was about to dart out of the room. He wouldn’t be far off. The silence in the room grew awkwardly quiet, and the stretch in time was drenching all of my items in his scent even more. Time to get him moving.

“So you said something about concerning news?” I inquired. Even with the window open it was getting stuffy. Leofstan cleared his throat.

“Yes, unfortunately, I have to tell you that we have lost several members of our community over the last couple of months.” I tried not to look too interested in the thought of dead bodies.

“We’re trying to personally assure everyone that we’re doing the best we can to protect all of you and that we are already following leads that should bring an end to these murders.”

Murders? Here? I hadn’t seen any. Was he sure? I hope he didn’t mean any in the woods. We were careful on hunts not to leave any bodies that could turn up ‘murdered’.

He continued, “I’m also at liberty to offer extra steps for those such as yourself with low magical abilities, as we believe one of the main links between victims is they all had a small inclination without the power to defend themselves.”

Interesting, so they were looking for a predator then. One who enjoyed an easy hunt. I tried not to beam at him as I realised the death of the average Joe the night before wasn’t even close to a priority for the council, even if it was of interest.

Thanks, Mr Murderer I thought gleefully. Nothing killing somebody couldn’t solve.

“I noticed you don’t have any protection wards on your house. I am here to personally offer this service for you free of charge, as well as a selection of amulets’ that should ensure your continued safety.” That made me look up sharply. He was serious. House wards used a lot of mojo, not to mention the caster would have undertaken years of training to not blow the entire property up.

House wards were something I should be able to do, packing more than enough magic for it, but I’d never had anyone teach me anything beyond the basic glamours and the odd wind trick. The fire was all trial and error. But amulets? I tried not to whistle in appreciation. This guy was gonna throw out a free house ward and then amulets on top? No wonder he smelt of sorcery, how much punch was he packing? How many people would he be visiting today to offer the same?

The problem however was if I let him protect my house, despite having the best chances of surviving a nuclear bomb, the land would retain the scent of him permanently. It could be a waste of time too; if someone was stupid enough to break into my house I’d just hunt them down and eat them myself.

“I’d rather not mess with the house, I’d have no idea what to do about dispelling the wards for the next tenant. I’d rather not have to petition the council for help again.” Liar. I knew from experience if I just forced enough power into them they exploded. However, he nodded as if he understood. Great, smell avoided.

“Okay in that case I will prepare a few amulets.” A few? I’d make a nice bit of gold selling those. I’d only ever had one before, and I’d pulled the magic apart trying to understand how it had been done, if I could convince him to do it enough times I might be able to learn the spell.

“I won’t say no to those.” My voice held a tint of glee. He grinned boyishly at that, he knew full well only an idiot wouldn’t take that offer. His smile was kind of mischievous, if a little lopsided, and his eyes crinkled at the edges. The serious council persona morphed into your best friend convincing you to have an extra pint at the bar. For a moment, I think if he asked, I would’ve gotten shots too.

Still grinning he asked, “Do you have any stoned jewellery?“. I pondered the question, not willing to part with any of my inventory, and felt a smirk grow at the thought of the alternative.

“Will you give me some if I say no?” If he was giving out freebie everything else I wouldn’t want to pass on the opportunity. Free gold? This was getting better by the minute, maybe the smell wasn’t such a bad trade-off.

There was no such luck.

“I’m afraid not,” I didn’t try to hide my crestfallen expression, “but I can arrange for something in the post.” Hmmm, interesting. “I’m not sure how long that would take and leaving any civilian unprotected is irresponsible. We would need to arrange house protection until they arrived.” Was that a glint of humour in his eyes? Maybe he had a lot of people trying to con jewellery out of the council. Or he liked the idea of housewards instead.

“Fine.” I conceded. Having the house warded would be like holding a party for every official to snoop. “Wait here a second, and I’ll go dig some out.” As I walked past him, I held my breath, hoping he wouldn’t notice. It wasn’t until reaching my room, and the door was closed behind me, that I could finally inhale deeply from the air which held only a taint of him. Much better. It was one of those smells where you weren’t sure if it was just stuck in your nose or still lingering about.

Spending the majority of my time asleep in this room had allowed the scent of me to sink deep into every crevice, not to mention this was one room in which I did use a tad of magic. It would take a long time for another smell to dominate it.

The magic in question was a convoluted glamour spell that I once traded a goblin some dragon scales for lessons. On a scale of diamonds to gold, dragon scales were somewhere between priceless and almost myth. It was well worth the trade, mastering the spell had meant consuming vast amounts of power to create the illusion. Joyously once cast it was almost completely undetectable.

I could see straight into the strong glamour, as it was my spell and I’d used it to hide a LOT. The councilman’s badge was a simple glamour, easy to spot, but the ones I could create? I practically hummed with happiness as my room appeared true under my scrutiny. Nearly every surface was converted into something shiny, piles of shimmering chains had a home on the dressers. The floor was organised into bars and coin piles. The odd statue peaked out and in the far corner was a set of armour in a pure gold leaf covering. I practically vibrated with happiness.

Now, all that was left to find was what pieces of jewellery was I least attached to.