So far, I hadn’t seen anyone disappear through one, but my desire to try grew each time I saw one appear. When a watery blue and green opening popped into existence directly in front of us, the craving to walk through grew almost unbearable.
I was about to ask Miranda if she’d be willing to go with me, but I’d stared for too long; the vortex folded in upon itself and vanished before I could get the words out.
The sheer amount of magic on display was more than I’d ever seen before, certainly more than I’d ever seen in one place. My disbelief grew as I ventured deeper into the party grounds. I couldn’t stop looking around, yet I was positive I was missing more than half of it.
If I’d been in even a slightly better mood, or significantly less worried to the point of sickness and insomnia about Alaric, Iprobably would have been running around, looking at all of the magical wonders like a kid at an amusement park.
Some of the magic was dramatic, like the vortices and the sphinx, but far more of it was subtle, and easy to miss. One chimaera held the party grounds inside in a pocket of warm, honey and flower-scented air. The flavor changed so gradually and subtly, I scarcely noticed until I suddenly realized it smelled like hot chocolate and cookies one minute, then cinnamon and tea, then new rain and pine needles, then brine and sunshine from the ocean.
Drink andhors-d’oeuvretrays floated around us without anyone holding them, moving so smoothly and unobtrusively I barely noticed them until one hovered in front of me long enough for Miranda to pluck off a flute of champagne.
Tables appeared and disappeared as we walked. Some were empty and surrounded by comfortable chairs, probably offers to sit and talk with friends. Others were filled to overflowing with multi-level plates covered in small dishes of savory and sweet, hot and cold snacks and drinks. They all vanished or moved within a minute or so, unless someone sat at one of the chairs, or stood over them to peer down at the offered treats.
It was astounding, really.
Had Forsooth done all of this? Or was this something he’d lightly designed, then set all of his postgraduate students and apprentices to work manifesting into existence?
Somehow, I doubted the latter to be true.
He seemed the type to want to do it himself.
Another vortex appeared to our left, this one filled with gold bubbles, each one containing a tiny, multi-colored flame. Excited, I turned to Miranda, who still walked beside me. Jolie had wandered to one of the tables to talk to a group of friends from her magiphysician courses.
“Hey, do you want to––” I began.
“You’re not drinking, Leda?” a different voice broke in.
I shut my mouth and glanced to my right, where Graham Strangemore stood, holding out a silver goblet filled with a smoking liquid that looked like a blue cauldron, one of Alaric’s favorites. They were strong, but I didn’t mind them. They had a bizarre initial taste, but a much better aftertaste that reminded me of blueberries.
I hadn’t really planned to drink that night.
Strangemore offered it again. “Go on. Forsooth’s drinks aren’t to be missed.”
I took it from his fingers and smiled.
What the hell.
“Thanks,” I said, taking a sip. I immediately grimaced at the bitter taste, then felt my throat relax into the aftertaste, which flowed over my tongue like a bouquet of subtle-tasting fruit. It was both markedly better and markedly worse than what they served at the Kink-Tailed Cat, a popular pub in Bonescastle.
“Wow,” I admitted. “Yeah, that’s really good. Unusual.”
Graham smiled. “Have you tried any of the vortices yet?” he asked.
I glanced to my left, about to mention the one I’d just seen, but it had closed up already and damned Miranda had abandoned me. She’d made no secret of her opinion that I should get out with more mages.
Or at leastshagmore mages.
She probably saw Graham coming and scampered.
I honestly found her dating advice baffling, especially after her little “talk” with me about not going there with Draken unless I really meant it. My understanding of Miranda had deepened in the last year I’d known her, but she could still be surprisingly difficult to read, especially when it came to certain things. Increasingly, I got the impression there was a lot I didn’t understand about her, despite how much we talked.
“So do you want to see if we can find another one?” Graham asked. “When I was talking to Rafe, he said there’s a doorway into a magical carnival over by the fountain.”
I thought about that.
Despite my nearly reluctant interest in the incredible magic on display, I had my own agenda that night. I wasn’t keen on Graham attaching himself to me for the duration, and steering where we went. I needed to be talking to people, or at least eavesdropping on people, who could actually help me learn something about Alaric.
I’d already hit the limit on what I could learn from the Valarian crowd I knew.
