Cursed

“Assuming I’m around to tell you. I’ll be in touch about the barghest.”

“Good to hear. Until then.” Talisid hung up.

I lowered the phone and stared down at it. The cool wind blew over me, ruffling my hair and chilling my bare arms, and I shivered.

Enchantresses use charm magic, also known as emotion magic. Men who can use it are called enchanters, but they’re rarer and it’s always seen as one of the stereotypically female branches. They can’t affect thoughts and concepts in the way a mind mage can, but they’re masters of feeling and emotion. In terms of raw power they’re on the low end of the magical scale but they have one distinctive ability: their magic is incredibly hard to detect. It’s almost impossible to tell when an enchantress is using her magic and when she’s not. The whole distinction between magical and normal is much more fuzzy for enchantresses than it is for other mages; magic for them is as natural as talking and just as easy, and they’re sometimes not aware they’re using it at all.

Mages tend to be wary of enchantresses, almost as much as they are of diviners. Our emotions are one of the most basic parts of what we are. The idea that someone can make you like or love or hate, and that there’s no way to know when they’re doing it … well, most people find it dis-turbing.

Including me. As soon as Talisid had said the word enchantress, I’d had a jolt. Right now I was running back through my memories from last night. Had I been under Meredith’s spell? Was that why I’d let her in and helped her so readily? I’d hardly even asked her any questions. A subtle urge to trust, to protect …

Or maybe it was what I would have done anyway. This is why charm magic’s such a headache. It could have been magic. Or it could have been because Meredith had needed my help and asked me for it, or because if I hadn’t acted she would have been killed right there on my shop floor, or because she was really hot and I’m single.

I shook my head and started climbing back down to the balcony. It was time to ask Meredith some questions.

The smell of frying bacon greeted me as I walked into the living room. The table was set, and Meredith was working at the kitchen unit. She looked different in the morning sunlight, but just as lovely. She turned at the sound of the opening door. “Oh, you’re up! I’ll be done in just a minute.”

“Okay,” I said, but didn’t sit down. Instead I walked over to see bacon sizzling in the frying pan, along with some mushrooms.

“Was it okay to use your kitchen?” Meredith asked. “I didn’t want to wake you.”

“No, that’s fine. Uh … where did you find all this?” My kitchen isn’t exactly what you’d call well stocked.

“Oh, I went out and got a couple of things. You don’t mind? I made some for you too.”

“Thanks.” My breakfast usually doesn’t get any more advanced than cereal. This smelt really good.

“Great!” Meredith took out a couple of mugs. “Tea or coffee? I didn’t know which you prefer so I made both.”

“Tea would be great.” I’m used to being alone in the mornings. Looking around at the warm kitchen and the smell of cooking food, it occurred to me that this was really nice. Much better than eating on my own and—

Suddenly I shook my head. What was I doing? I’d come in resolved to get some answers out of Meredith yet as soon as she’d started talking to me I’d forgotten all about it. “Look,” I said. “Don’t take this the wrong way. But I think it’s about time you explained what’s going on.”

Meredith was turned away from me so that I couldn’t see her face. She didn’t react visibly. “What do you mean?”

“I think you’ve got a pretty good idea.”

Meredith paused a second, then turned and looked at me with those big dark eyes. “What do you want to know?”

“Let’s start with the basics. Who sent that thing after you and why were you coming to my shop last night?”

Meredith hesitated. “It’s … Do you mind if we sit down?”

I sat. Meredith moved things from the counter to the table. I waited, knowing she was going to speak eventually. “I don’t know their names,” she said at last.

“How did you meet them?”

“I didn’t! I’ve never met them.”

“All right,” I said. “Why don’t you start from the beginning? How did you get involved in this?”

Meredith leant against the counter, her hands wrapped around her arms. She was staring off into the corner and seemed to have forgotten about both me and the food. “It was …” She hesitated. “It was Belthas.”

“Who’s Belthas?”

“A Light mage. With the Council.”

I didn’t recognise the name, but that wasn’t surprising. I know the names of the Junior and Senior Council and a few of the heavy hitters but I’m not well connected enough to know everyone the way Talisid does. “Same cabal?”

Meredith shook her head. “No. He came to me and wanted my help with something. We’re not partners or anything … Oh, you know.”