Chapter 7 #2
“Working on it,” Niamh said. “For low-level mages, I don’t think it’ll be too hard.” Nessa stepped into the sitting room as the door opened for Sue and Aurora. “Keeping them from taking Momar’s or the Guild’s jobs, though, might take a little work.”
“They’d be afraid to say no,” Tristan said. “We have to make them afraid to say yes.”
Niamh didn’t glance at me, and that was very telling. I was learning to read her.
I leveled a finger at her. “We will be speaking about this. Do not go off and do what Tristan is suggesting without our talking about it first.”
“Oops,” Tristan said with a grin.
“What are you wearing?” Nessa asked me.
“Where’s Al—Austin?” Sue asked, he and Aurora waiting for Nessa to clear out of the way.
“Take your seats, if you please,” Mr. Tom said from behind them.
Nessa looked at my outfit and didn’t budge.
She wore a tailored blazer with a textured pattern over a satin-type cream top, faux-leather pants, and a cream belt with gold accents.
Gold jewelry draped down her neck and circled her fingers, with a gold watch inlaid with diamonds to match.
Cream heels poked out of the straight-legged pants.
“What are you wearing?” I asked. “That’s not casual.”
“I said stylish casual. That’s very casual.” Her gaze turned to Tristan, who’d tensed. “What?”
I pointed at Niamh. “That is very casual. This…”
My words drifted away as I took in the newcomers.
Sue did have on casual attire, but he somehow made it seem sophisticated and hot. How? I had no idea. It was knit, for God’s sake. It looked like something a young and hip Mr. Rogers would wear. It wasn’t dressier than my outfit, he just looked hotter in it.
Aurora, though, had also understood something else from Nessa’s “casual” criterion.
She wore a loose-fitting, gray sweater thing with big, brownish buttons at the side where it slipped off the shoulder.
It flowed over tight white pants that ended in light pink heels.
I had no idea how that outfit even worked, but it totally did, especially with her hair pulled from one side of her head and over to the other, tumbling down in a loose wave over her shoulder.
Her blush-pink heels had brown dust on them, and I called that a win. Mine were at least clean.
“This is dressy casual.” I pointed at myself. “That is, like, the height of fashion, I guess, but if you wanted me to look actually fashionable, you really should’ve helped me. I can’t put an outfit together like that. It defies logic. I have no idea how it works even though it does.”
“Ye should know that,” Niamh told Nessa. “She’s never been fashionable before today. What did ye expect, like?”
“Not runway fashionable, no.” I put my hands on my hips. “I can dress nice. I’m very good at luncheon attire, for example.”
“What’s up?” I heard Austin say from the stairs.
Tristan rose, and I stood up with him, coming around the coffee table as the others cleared away.
“We’ve got a problem.” Sue explained the call he’d gotten and what he and Aurora had found when they got there. He mentioned Aurora’s figuring out how to track the invisible enemy to the tire tracks.
“Any idea what kind of vehicle?” Austin said, his tone hard.
“No. A car of some kind,” Aurora said. “No idea beyond that. We can get someone out who might know tires.”
“Gus at the auto shop,” Niamh said. “I’ll give him a call. He owes me a favor, whether he remembers it or not.”
“We can pay him. We don’t need work for favors,” I told her.
“Nonsense. I’m owed a favor. I’ve been waiting all this time to collect.”
“Don’t waste time on the past,” Sue told her.
“What am I,” she shot back, “a novice? Mind yer business.”
Austin sighted in on Nessa. “I agree with them. I know it’s bad timing, but—”
“No time like the present,” she said in a chipper tone.
“And other clichés and stuff,” Tristan murmured.
She ignored him but couldn’t hide the blush.
“I’ll shadow her,” Tristan said. “I can organize the gargoyles from there. If we see someone, I can have a gargoyle grab them.”
“No.” Sebastian met Austin and Sue at the base of the stairs before backing up toward the darkened sitting room across the way, making space so we could all file in with him.
“You’ll need me. There is only one of them.
I haven’t seen any indication that a single person can outdo me, not that he’d potentially sacrifice one of his best for this type of thing.
I’ll go to the bar with Niamh. If something happens, I’m right there. Don’t engage until I can neutralize.”
“Potion?” Nessa asked.
Sebastian shook his head. “What’s the point?
If our revealing potion can’t detect them, then a vanishing potion won’t be enough power.
They’ll see you, see the distortion of a powerful potion, and know you’re trying to sneak around.
Anyone intelligent will assume you’re not downtown to spy on our own people.
They’ll know we found their entrance point. ”
She nodded and excused herself around Austin, jogging up the stairs to get changed.
The door swung open, and I belatedly realized Aljoe and his sisters were here. I hadn’t noticed them walking up. Behind them, chatting, was Fred.
“Honestly, this is the best place to— Oh wow, what’s going on here?
” Fred smiled as she pushed through the others to get inside.
She looked everyone over. “Look at you guys! Very fancy. I should’ve worn my forest-green blazer with the yellow pinstripes.
It sounds garish, I know, but it is actually very cool.
I get lots of compliments. And you guys don’t care about nakedness, so I wouldn’t even have to wear a shirt under it. ”
“Fred, we’ve got work to do.” Niamh emerged from the sitting room. “Do you have your laptop?”
“Always.” She pulled her satchel around to show it.
“We need to hack into the cell towers and see if we can spot anyone who’s not from the area.”
“Easy.” She looked Niamh over. “Did you miss the note about dress code, or are you crashing the party?”
“I’ll give you two guesses, and you’ll only need one,” Mr. Tom said from the hallway somewhere.
“Nice.” Fred nodded with a smile. “I’m glad I was invited to crash. That would’ve been real fun. But hey, this is fun, too. Where do you want to set up shop?”
“The bar.” Niamh headed for the door.
“Your office. Got it.” Fred bobbed her upper body, bowing to everyone.
Her smile increased when she got to Aljoe.
She turned to his sisters and hooked a thumb his way.
“Trustworthy guy, this guy. He got me out of the woods a time or two. Be careful about those basajunk. They are real practical jokers.”
Aljoe started to chuckle helplessly.
“So.” Fred gave them a thumbs-up. “Hope to chat to you soon.” She pointed at their eyes. “I can see the twinkle. I know you’re in there.” She winked at them. “I know shifter code now—”
“C’mon, Fred,” Niamh yelled from the walkway.
“Okay. See ya.” Fred gave them a salute and jogged out the door.
Ulric and Jasper hurried around the corner and onto the stairs in purple muumuus. They looked around at everyone gathered.
“Hey, guys,” Ulric said, spotting Tristan. “We were told to check in. Where do you want us and do we need the muumuus?”
“Take ’em just in case,” Tristan said, and motioned for the door. “One of you grab Sebastian. Get airborne. Wait for me up there.”
“I got him.” Jasper reached the bottom of the stairs, scooting by Austin and Sue to stand in front of Sebastian. “I’m your ride, buddy. Will you hold my muumuu?”
“Wait, what about Edgar?” Aurora asked. “He should go, right?”
“Yes, someone—”
“Right here, bestie,” Edgar interrupted from behind Sebastian.
“Oh God, no!” Sebastian jolted forward in surprise. Magic flung from his hand and zipped past Sue, who barely reacted, ducking out of the way. The jet hit the wall and plaster rained down. Sebastian tripped and skidded across the floor on his face.