Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
His gaze was stuck on Dave, and his fingers were white from gripping the cane.
“I think we can abide by those rules. I’ll explain more in the presence of the others.” He offered a stiff bow. “I am Arthur, your host for this evening. And you are Jessie…Ironheart, is that correct? That is your magical name?”
“Yes, given to me by our pack turned convocation.”
He nodded as though he knew all about that, turning just a little to offer Austin a bow as well. “And this is Austin Steele? The local shifter pack seems all aflutter with the news of your arrival.”
Now it was Austin’s turn to stare, and I wondered if we would ever get out of this entryway.
The man shriveled a little where he stood, not able to withstand an alpha shifter’s notice.
“That is my name, yes,” Austin growled. “I wasn’t aware you had any dealings with the local shifter pack.”
“We don’t,” and the guy looked relieved to admit it. “They have been gracious in how they do business, and they stick to their defined area. We’ve seen no reason to…influence any of their business strategies. We are not enemies of the shifters, Mr. Steele. We are merely cutthroat business people. We’d seek to compete with any magical species in our area. We go head to head with Dicks constantly. It’s the nature of a free market. I’m sure you understand, being a successful businessman yourself.”
“I do. As I’m sure you understand, should the local pack be physically threatened, my people will join their forces and terminate the threat.”
I nearly tapped my foot in response to the lengthy stare-off this time. Yes, it was a threat. There’ll probably be plenty more. Let’s move this along.
“Then we understand each other. Please, follow—” The man gestured toward the doorway from which he’d just come, but Austin interrupted him.
“Forgive me for my ignorance, but is it customary for hosts to use magic to conceal their people when the guests are not afforded the same privilege?”
The man’s eyebrows lifted. “Not typically, no. But this is not a typical situation. You are dangerous and, as Jessie has stipulated, have had some problems with mages in the past. You also gave my man a big scare yesterday, from which he has not yet recovered. I thought it wise to boost my safety.”
Stupid! I hadn’t sent out a feeler spell, taking what I saw for granted and trusting him to be a proper host. That was a good way to get myself and my people killed.
I did so now, easily finding the four people standing at the edges of the room. My ability to detect them meant the potion they used had been created by someone on a lower power level. Austin had clearly felt their presence, and a glance back earned me a nod from Tristan. He could see them.
“They’ve got weapons trained on Alpha Steele, Broken Sue, Missus Smith, and me,” Tristan said. “Crossbows with arrows that won’t do anything to me or Missus Smith and wouldn’t do much to slow Broken Sue or the alpha down. That is, if those mages managed to hit us, which is highly unlikely, given the amount of shaking two of the four are doing.”
“They don’t think I’m as dangerous as you guys?” Cyra asked, outraged. “Why, because I’m short? That’s heightism!”
“It seems you could’ve proven the ward doesn’t work on you all along,” Arthur said, lowering his arm. “It also means you disobeyed the rules.”
“You’re misinformed,” I told him, peeling off my gloves because they were really annoying and I wasn’t sure how doing magic would work with them. If this kicked off, I wanted to be ready. “While, yes, my revealing potion would have been plenty powerful enough to get through that ward, none of us took it. Good shifters can feel presences. That’s what Austin did. Tristan, however, doesn’t need a potion to see through magic. He is immune to even the most powerful invisibility potions, mine included. The fact that you tried to hide your magic and gain the upper hand puts me off, to put it mildly.”
He watched me pull out the pocket watch and then stuff the gloves into the dress pocket. The pocket wasn’t big enough to hold them both, though. Nor could I put the watch back into the stuffed pocket.
“Dang it,” I muttered.
Austin held out his hand, his gaze never leaving Arthur.
“Thanks,” I murmured, handing off the gloves. “So, Arthur, what happens now? Should we peacefully leave, or would you like to see what happens when mages shoot silver-tipped arrows at my team?”
Arthur licked his lips nervously. “I can see your point about my people. Given your accomplishments against Momar’s organization, I should’ve realized the rumors were true and your power would far exceed my own. Forgive me. I was simply trying to instill confidence in my other guests by having a ready defense against a potentially dangerous adversary. Many of them were too scared to attend this dinner unless I took measures to ensure their safety.”