“My sincerest apologies,” Nariel says. “I’m not one for exhibitionism, so I’m afraid I’ll have to find some other way to satisfy you.”
Did he mean that to sound so suggestive? Probably.
Seamus snorts again. “Can you really cloak us?”
“I can.”
Seamus looks at me, and I nod. Nariel held that cloak throughout the flight without a twitch. He isreallygood at stealth magic.
I wonder if there are other kinds he’s better at.
Seamus shrugs. “Then we’re all right. I’ve never known Sierra to work with anyone, is all. A spirit, eh?”
I would have, if anyone had been willing.
I don’t say this.
Seamus starts walking at a brisk clip, and I skip a couple steps to catch up, frowning.
“Never met any spirits in Ireland?” I ask. Tracking down spirits was never my focus, but Seamus has always been autilitarian kind of guy—anyone who can get the job done, he’ll work with.
That’s another reason I asked Letty to contact Seamus. Of the few wizards I’ve met who live in the UK—barring one immigrant who can’t afford to get in trouble with the government—let us say I am unconvinced, given their attitudes, that discrimination against spirits would not be a problem. I don’t have time to deal with that variety of bullshit right now.
“Of course I have. None who sold cloaking as a skill though, and this isn’t the kind of job I want surprises on. Let’s get to the car.”
Probably because they weren’t powerful enough to cloak at the level of a fallen angel, but if he’s taking Nariel’s power in stride I’m certainly not going to fight about it.
“How much did Letty tell you, exactly?” I ask.
“You really want to do this before we get in the car?”
Nariel’s magic flexes, and just like that we’re cloaked. Seamus whirls to stare at him.
“You’re not invisible, just unremarkable and muffled,” Nariel says. “No one will walk into you.”
Seamus stares for another moment and then says, “Speak for yourself.”
Nariel flashes an appreciative grin and nods in acknowledgement.
Satisfied, Seamus starts walking again. “Letty said you need a driver to Stonehenge at night for a big spell that’ll piss off High Earth.”
“That’s it?”
“What else did I need to know? You’re pissing off mages, you’re getting up the king’s arse.”
I take a breath, somewhere between amused and exasperated and nervous. What if he balks at the rest?
Better to know before the shit hits the fan.
“That may have been enough to get you here, but there are some other details you should know.”
“So start talking.”
“High Earth’s claim that Low Earth can’t hold magic safely is a lie.”
“Shocked to hear that, Sierra. Greedy gobshites lying to the people they steal from? Tell me something I can’t guess.”
Well okay then. “I can anchor magic in Low Earth again so we can do magic here.”
