spray was still metres and metres below us but the sheer driving force behind the sound made it feel like the rock itself should be shaking.
The second set of stairs was recessed into the actual cliff as opposed to attached to the side of it. There were symbols carved into the slate. Parts of spells that I half remembered from my mother’s teaching but nothing that I’d specifically learnt. Not really important. Showy, but not all that powerful. The real protective magics didn’t advertise themselves.
“What are those?” Ali asked as we walked down. Ever curious despite all that she’d seen.
“Drawings mostly. To scare away mortals no doubt. Don’t worry.” I felt Ali relax at my words. For all that she’d seen me do she still trusted me implicitly and I wasn’t going to prove her wrong to if I could help it. Honour was something my late mother had instilled in me since before I could clearly remember. Honour meant that when you gave someone your protection you damn well kept your word. Even if you really wanted them to know how to use a knife if the worst should happen.
The symbols were getting more obvious and more gruesome as we continued. Ironically they also had less and less to do with actual spells. The glow was less here. Whoever was setting up shop hadn’t expected anyone with power to come knocking. The feel from beneath us was getting stronger though. There were older spells down here and the further down we went the stronger they felt. I really, really wanted to avoid the lowest levels of the place. Since nobody had come up from there in years I might actually get away with staying near the top. There wasn’t likely to be anything down there stupid enough to catch the attention of the Covenant.
“Why?” Ali asked. I got the feeling it was a rhetorical question. It had taken me a while to get used to Ali’s way of thinking through things out loud. “It’s a lot of effort for something that just looks scary.”
I laughed. “If you think this is a lot of effort you haven’t met enough witches. And the vampyre are worse. Pretentious lot the Covenant are but real power isn’t quite so obvious. The Covenant looks just like any other building until it just doesn’t any more. Do you feel any uneasiness or undue fear? Do you want to turn away for no real reason?”
“No.”
“Then there’s no real power here. The spells on our home are stronger.” It took me by surprise to realise that I called it our home instead of mine but Ali had been there near enough six months now, making the place her home too. Rearranging my furniture and playing guide and donor when I had a job. She just nodded at my statement. Ali had no real idea of what power was. I knew she’d had a tough life but I was still halfway convinced she wasn’t prepared for what was going to come next. My coming here was aggressive, overly so, and it was likely to stir up all sorts of trouble. Less than poking at the Covenant but still...
A metal door was fixed into the rock at the bottom of the stairs. There were lights dotted about the railing but I was seeing by the soft pulsation of magic layered into the wood. The magic here was older than most of the showy stuff further up but it was more powerful. Most of it was concerned with keeping the whole Cliffside from falling into the ocean so I didn’t do more than identify that it wouldn’t hurt us. My own magic wasn’t quite up to replacing wayward spells and I didn’t want us to fall quite that far.
The door was cold under my palm with a rough texture I couldn’t see. It swung open easily and without a squeak. Another thing that was more show than defence. A squeak announced visitors but a silent door was more likely to give confidence to people coming for business. Ali whispered that there was a small step into the room before I tripped into it and I gave her a smile. The last time we’d been in the Lowe rs she’d seen me use my power and hurt Carlo. I wasn’t ashamed
The second set of stairs was recessed into the actual cliff as opposed to attached to the side of it. There were symbols carved into the slate. Parts of spells that I half remembered from my mother’s teaching but nothing that I’d specifically learnt. Not really important. Showy, but not all that powerful. The real protective magics didn’t advertise themselves.
“What are those?” Ali asked as we walked down. Ever curious despite all that she’d seen.
“Drawings mostly. To scare away mortals no doubt. Don’t worry.” I felt Ali relax at my words. For all that she’d seen me do she still trusted me implicitly and I wasn’t going to prove her wrong to if I could help it. Honour was something my late mother had instilled in me since before I could clearly remember. Honour meant that when you gave someone your protection you damn well kept your word. Even if you really wanted them to know how to use a knife if the worst should happen.
The symbols were getting more obvious and more gruesome as we continued. Ironically they also had less and less to do with actual spells. The glow was less here. Whoever was setting up shop hadn’t expected anyone with power to come knocking. The feel from beneath us was getting stronger though. There were older spells down here and the further down we went the stronger they felt. I really, really wanted to avoid the lowest levels of the place. Since nobody had come up from there in years I might actually get away with staying near the top. There wasn’t likely to be anything down there stupid enough to catch the attention of the Covenant.
“Why?” Ali asked. I got the feeling it was a rhetorical question. It had taken me a while to get used to Ali’s way of thinking through things out loud. “It’s a lot of effort for something that just looks scary.”
I laughed. “If you think this is a lot of effort you haven’t met enough witches. And the vampyre are worse. Pretentious lot the Covenant are but real power isn’t quite so obvious. The Covenant looks just like any other building until it just doesn’t any more. Do you feel any uneasiness or undue fear? Do you want to turn away for no real reason?”
“No.”
“Then there’s no real power here. The spells on our home are stronger.” It took me by surprise to realise that I called it our home instead of mine but Ali had been there near enough six months now, making the place her home too. Rearranging my furniture and playing guide and donor when I had a job. She just nodded at my statement. Ali had no real idea of what power was. I knew she’d had a tough life but I was still halfway convinced she wasn’t prepared for what was going to come next. My coming here was aggressive, overly so, and it was likely to stir up all sorts of trouble. Less than poking at the Covenant but still...
A metal door was fixed into the rock at the bottom of the stairs. There were lights dotted about the railing but I was seeing by the soft pulsation of magic layered into the wood. The magic here was older than most of the showy stuff further up but it was more powerful. Most of it was concerned with keeping the whole Cliffside from falling into the ocean so I didn’t do more than identify that it wouldn’t hurt us. My own magic wasn’t quite up to replacing wayward spells and I didn’t want us to fall quite that far.
The door was cold under my palm with a rough texture I couldn’t see. It swung open easily and without a squeak. Another thing that was more show than defence. A squeak announced visitors but a silent door was more likely to give confidence to people coming for business. Ali whispered that there was a small step into the room before I tripped into it and I gave her a smile. The last time we’d been in the Lowe rs she’d seen me use my power and hurt Carlo. I wasn’t ashamed
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