mouth. There was enough kick in that one bite to send a first tier mage sky-high on magic. She set it back down on the plate, and Logan tossed it into his mouth.
“How can you eat that?” she asked him.
“Delicious.” He grabbed another.
She shook her head in disbelief. “You’re like a black hole for magic.”
“Intriguing,” Daisy said, watching him eat the brownies. “No one’s ever finished more than one.” She turned her scientific eye on Alex. “You’re acting strangely normal.”
“I’m a magic dud.”
“Hmm.” She picked up the nearest brownie and gave it a sniff. “Smells normal. Tell me more about your dragon illusion, Alex.”
“Right. So it was big. And it was a pretty complex illusion, covering all five senses. It had everyone fooled.”
“Except Alex,” Logan said between bites. “The fire didn’t just look real. It felt hot too. And I could smell things burning.”
“Sounds like a really good illusion.” Daisy waved her hand above the metal pieces, and they began to spin. A soft, silver hum buzzed from them. “Yes, the enchantment in this metal is strong. First tier alone wouldn’t cut it to see through an illusion like that. Only the most powerful first tier mages—I’d guess a fraction of a percent— could do it.”
Alex could feel Logan watching her. She silenced the panicking voices in her head and tried to keep her mind on the metal pieces.
“Could you put the pieces together to make the object it once was?” she asked Daisy.
“Of course I can.” She swirled her finger around, and the pieces spun faster. There was a flash of light, then a metal ball the size of an orange was floating where the pieces had just been. “Here it is.”
“What is it?” Alex asked her.
“I don’t recognize this object.”
That was saying a lot. Daisy was the city’s expert on magical objects. It took something really bizarre to stump her.
“Oh, no.”
Alex turned to look at Logan. He was staring at the object. His face was even more unreadable than usual, which meant whatever emotions he was trying to hide must have been pretty strong.
“You recognize this?” she asked him.
“The object, no. But the symbol…” He brushed his finger across the subtle engraving on the side of the ball. “That is the symbol of the Convictionites. They’re the ones behind this. They’re the ones who are after the Orbs.”
“Convictionites?”
“They’re like…well, a cult, I suppose you could call it. Though they like to refer to themselves as a secret society. Or a kingdom. The organization is made up exclusively of humans. It’s an old cult. They’ve known about the existence of supernaturals for centuries, long before the rest of the world found out.”
“I take it they aren’t friendly to the idea of living in a world with magic?” Alex asked.
“No, they distrust it. And since they knew about magic long before the rest of the human population, they’ve had some time to find ways to fight it.”
“Why do they want the orbs?”
“I don’t know.”
“Gaelyn says the Orbs are made with powerful magic,” Alex said. “So why would the Convictionites want them? That doesn’t sound like the behavior of people who hate magic.”
“Their logo is printed on this magical object,” Daisy pointed out.
“I can’t explain that,” said Logan.
“It’s been too long of a day for me to try to explain anything.” Alex stood up from the sofa, stretching out her arms. “It’s getting late. I’m going home now. Thanks, Daisy.” She snatched up the object and slid it into the largest of her pouches. “I’ll chat with Gaelyn about this, then we can start again tomorrow.”
“You’re going to have to drive him home,” Daisy called out to her.
Alex turned around. “He looks fine.”
“I healed him, yes, but his body has undergone a severe trauma. That bullet took a chip out of his femur. Not only am I surprised he didn’t pass out, I’m shocked he
“How can you eat that?” she asked him.
“Delicious.” He grabbed another.
She shook her head in disbelief. “You’re like a black hole for magic.”
“Intriguing,” Daisy said, watching him eat the brownies. “No one’s ever finished more than one.” She turned her scientific eye on Alex. “You’re acting strangely normal.”
“I’m a magic dud.”
“Hmm.” She picked up the nearest brownie and gave it a sniff. “Smells normal. Tell me more about your dragon illusion, Alex.”
“Right. So it was big. And it was a pretty complex illusion, covering all five senses. It had everyone fooled.”
“Except Alex,” Logan said between bites. “The fire didn’t just look real. It felt hot too. And I could smell things burning.”
“Sounds like a really good illusion.” Daisy waved her hand above the metal pieces, and they began to spin. A soft, silver hum buzzed from them. “Yes, the enchantment in this metal is strong. First tier alone wouldn’t cut it to see through an illusion like that. Only the most powerful first tier mages—I’d guess a fraction of a percent— could do it.”
Alex could feel Logan watching her. She silenced the panicking voices in her head and tried to keep her mind on the metal pieces.
“Could you put the pieces together to make the object it once was?” she asked Daisy.
“Of course I can.” She swirled her finger around, and the pieces spun faster. There was a flash of light, then a metal ball the size of an orange was floating where the pieces had just been. “Here it is.”
“What is it?” Alex asked her.
“I don’t recognize this object.”
That was saying a lot. Daisy was the city’s expert on magical objects. It took something really bizarre to stump her.
“Oh, no.”
Alex turned to look at Logan. He was staring at the object. His face was even more unreadable than usual, which meant whatever emotions he was trying to hide must have been pretty strong.
“You recognize this?” she asked him.
“The object, no. But the symbol…” He brushed his finger across the subtle engraving on the side of the ball. “That is the symbol of the Convictionites. They’re the ones behind this. They’re the ones who are after the Orbs.”
“Convictionites?”
“They’re like…well, a cult, I suppose you could call it. Though they like to refer to themselves as a secret society. Or a kingdom. The organization is made up exclusively of humans. It’s an old cult. They’ve known about the existence of supernaturals for centuries, long before the rest of the world found out.”
“I take it they aren’t friendly to the idea of living in a world with magic?” Alex asked.
“No, they distrust it. And since they knew about magic long before the rest of the human population, they’ve had some time to find ways to fight it.”
“Why do they want the orbs?”
“I don’t know.”
“Gaelyn says the Orbs are made with powerful magic,” Alex said. “So why would the Convictionites want them? That doesn’t sound like the behavior of people who hate magic.”
“Their logo is printed on this magical object,” Daisy pointed out.
“I can’t explain that,” said Logan.
“It’s been too long of a day for me to try to explain anything.” Alex stood up from the sofa, stretching out her arms. “It’s getting late. I’m going home now. Thanks, Daisy.” She snatched up the object and slid it into the largest of her pouches. “I’ll chat with Gaelyn about this, then we can start again tomorrow.”
“You’re going to have to drive him home,” Daisy called out to her.
Alex turned around. “He looks fine.”
“I healed him, yes, but his body has undergone a severe trauma. That bullet took a chip out of his femur. Not only am I surprised he didn’t pass out, I’m shocked he
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