We followed Stoll and Adler to The Lucky Apple. “This will tell us if they used magic to get in?” Adler asked as he led us to the back door in an alley. “Will it show what spell they used, or if they picked the lock?” “All it will show is if magic was used on the door in the last two years.” “You used magic on it when you lived here, didn’t you?” Roy asked. “Not this door. It’s new. And I tried not to cast in public. But I did occasionally use the back door and my glamour would have left a trace. Residual magic dissipates over time. After two years, there’s not enough to detect.” I glanced at the dumpster. “Is it too close?” Roy asked, seeing where I looked. I looked again, judging the distance. Any iron was too close, but its interference should be minimal. It was a smaller dumpster. “I think it’ll be okay.” I cast the spell. A blast of energy burst from the door and knocked me across the alley and onto my backside. Roy was next to me in seconds. “Are you okay? What happened?” “I’m fine. The door is warded against magic.” I got up and approached the door. I braced myself and cast a spell I knew to unlock doors. There was a smaller blast that pushed me back, but only a step. “It’s related to the strength of the spell.” “But this means they didn’t use magic, right?” Adler asked. “They didn’t use elf magic, which we knew. It may not be warded against human magic,” I reasoned. “Or it may have been cast after they broke in,” a voice behind us said. We turned to find an older woman. “This is Detective Jiu and Mr. Reilly. They’re from Sandlake and are helping us with the investigation. Mrs. Hermes owns The Lucky Apple.” “And you’re a mage?” I asked. Mrs. Hermes shook her head. “I know someone who is. She could smell the magic as soon as she came near the place. She said it was like nothing she’d ever encountered.” “Human casters are rare and their abilities can vary. It’s not surprising that your friend didn’t recognize it.” Mrs. Hermes’s eyes narrowed. “Where were you the other night?” “Out of town with an alibi.” “Mr. Reilly had nothing to do with the theft,” Adler assured the woman. “Who is the woman who cast the spell? Roy asked before I could. “She’d rather remain unknown,” Mrs. Hermes insisted. “How about you talk to her and call me?” I suggested. “I’ll talk to the mage I know. He’d like to remain unknown too.” She took my card. “I’ll talk to her, but I make no promises.” I nodded. “I understand.” “Is there anything else you need to do here?” Stoll asked. I shook my head. “No. There’s nothing I can do with this spell.” “Were you talking about Kat?” Roy asked on the way back to the station. “No, a human. I wouldn’t trust Kat around human mages. Let’s keep her out of this.” “She wouldn’t be around the mage. She’d be online.” “Kat is Unseelie. It’s her very nature to cause trouble. And they like to exploit human mages.” “But she’d be on a computer, not face to face.” “Roy, she’s not like me. She’s good with computers. She could probably hack the thing. I know a human mage I can talk to.” “Okay.” “And, Roy, it would be best if Kat didn’t learn about the mage I know either. Like I said, it would be a big temptation for her.” Roy nodded. “I try to avoid talking to Kat. She’s fun to hang around with, but she’s too intent on getting even for any perceived wrong.” “It’s their nature to get revenge.” “Are you saying that you, as a Seelie, never wanted revenge?” Of course I did. And sometimes I got it too. But that was for major things, like when the Unseelie took me prisoner.” “What about when the army did it?” “Maybe a little. But that was different. The humans did it out of fear and wanting to protect the world from the unknown. The Unseelie were being vicious.” “Can I ask what happened?” “I was part of a detachment patrolling the border between the two courts. We were attacked and beaten by a group of Unseelie redcaps. I was only in my twenties so I was pretty young. They kept me alive thinking they could get information out of me the easiest. The others were slaughtered while I was made to watch. They made a phantasm of me, killed it, and left it with the bodies.” “Why?” “So everyone would think I was dead too. Then I wouldn’t hold out for a rescue.” “But obviously there was one. You’re here.” “No, there wasn’t. I escaped by myself. It wasn’t until I was in Seelie lands that I found help.” “How did you escape and what did they want with you?” “Another time, maybe. We’re here.” And I was glad. It was a time I didn’t like to remember. *** When we got back to the motel, Roy settled down with a book and I went for a walk and called the chief. “Is Gillman giving you problems?” Thompson guessed. “I haven’t heard from him recently. I needed to talk to you about something else.” “This doesn’t sound good.” “I don’t think you’re going to like it, but it may help with the case.” “And what is it?” “It appears there is a human mage in the group of thieves. I didn’t think about it until after I cast in the first two places. The place I hadn’t cast at, someone else had. The woman who owned the place asked a friend to protect it with magic after the break-in. She said there had been magic and it wasn’t like anything she’d encountered before. I thought we could talk to her, but the owner won’t tell us who she is. She doesn’t want people to know about her.” “So you want me to talk to her? You think she’ll talk to another mage?” “The owner is going to see if she’d be willing to talk online. That way, both of you can remain anonymous.” “That might work. I’m willing if she is. I’d like you with me. You know more about magic than I do.” “My knowledge of human magic isn’t what it could be.” “Is there any way Connie could join us? She knows a lot.” “She knows what I do. She’s a phantasm I created.” “She must spend a lot of time in the library then. The few times I’ve talked with her, she’s taught me stuff.” “I’ll join you. If there’s a problem, I can open a passage and we can include her.” “That would work. Let me know what’s happening.” “I will.”