Gerald flexed his will in the most powerful way he knew how. He reached for the magic that made him recognise what was his and what wasn't and pushed it to cover himself from head to toe.

He was never going to allow anything like that to happen to himself again. He'd lost a part of himself, why? Gerald processed the feeling of ownership that permeated his whole body, and vowed never to let anything interfere with him ever again. He was done being a punching bag for the world.

So when the world wavered Gerald had just enough presence of mind to exclude himself from the effect. What was his, was his. The librarian disappeared alone. She came back frowning, distracted.

"It's quite a distance to the entrance you know. Surely a man in your position would prefer to take a less strenuous route"

Gerald's jaw tightened, if the easier route involved losing his control over himself …

Abruptly, he picked a direction and started walking.

"You're not even going the right direction"

He turned and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Very well, this way."

He followed her. He felt ragged, as if someone had scooped out something inside him and had left only the connection, dangling in emptiness.

He barely knew where he was passing through.

"Was this a ritual? Or were you testing your personal shield. I have to say, it's coming up well. If it had been this strong when the squirrel offered you the brand, you'd still have your arm. Or is that the magic you practice, sacrificial magic."

Gerald scoffed as the librarian frowned in distaste.

"You think I wanted this to happen? I came here to find out, I don't know what magic it is I'm doing, or if it even is magic. I just wanted to find out why I have a car attached to my soul, and why my dog is talking to me and why it's all happening"

"Really!"

The glare Gerald turned to her was withering.

"Ok I'll humor you. There's a car connected to your soul?"

Fabiana squinted her eyes in Gerald's direction. "Oh I see that now-"

"Wait, what are you doing? Is that like some wizard's sight?"

"Yep, you claimed a car" at his blank look, Fabiana continued "you put a kind of metaphysical marker on the car, it's like putting a sign that says this thing is mine. We normally do it when we want to use something, enchant it, curse it, that sort of thing."

"Now, as for your dog, I'm not sure, but it's outside, and our wards think it's a ____ urrk"

There was a very silent pop, like unblocking your ears, and Fabiana was on the ground, clawing at the air with one hand and at her throat with the other.

"I've been listening to these people think, and there's a saying in these parts, to know is to understand and to understand is to control."

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Jenny was suddenly there, staring at Fabiana with a stare so apathetic, Gerald didn't recognize it.

"I'm your dog Gerald, but I won't be anyone else's anything."

Gerald couldn't help but stare at Fabiana, he'd never even imagined seeing someone asphyxiate.

"Don't worry about her, she's going to be fine, when she decides to never think about me again."

"We can't just do that, humans can't just decide to not think about something, we'll just think about it more."

"Just like you can't breathe fire or travel a whole mile in a single step?"

Jenny replied sardonically, it was impossible, but Gerald could read the sarcasm on her face.

As if on cue, there was a deep raspy breath that ended with a cough. He turned to see Fabiana sit up with a sigh. She'd closed her eyes and seemed woozy. When she opened them, her eyes immediately turned to Jenny.

"What a great dog, always there when her owner needs hee. Gerald must be extremely proud."

"Fabiana, are you ok?"

"Hmm! Yeah, I'm perfectly fine, just felt a bit dizzy. It's quite ok, sometimes, in places this old, there's a little more in the magic than just the power."

"So, I assume you didn't actually buy the car."

"No, I … uh … I saw it on the street and …"

"You must be quite talented, it was an accidental expression? Oh, but now the insurance company is coming after you isn't it? Are they asking for compensation? 5 years of service? 10?"

"No, someone came in and asked for me to come to their offices tomorrow then I'd get the car."

"Really? Which insurance company?"

"Mantis insurance, the ones with the jingles-"

"Of course, it's Mantis. They want you for the covenant."

"The what?"

"Where the Magi decide who's going to be the next …"

Rightly, Fabiana had recognized the confusion on his face.

"You really are new. So some people, the real traditional types, like to call people like you Magi. And every so often, once a particular set of heavenly bodies align a particular way, they select a board, a committee that decides the direction the people of the Magi will head towards in the next few years, or decades. That is the covenant."

"They just select a committee, they elect them? Why would they need me?"

"No it's complicated, it's a little bit like the most powerful parties assign themselves seats and the upstarts remove them, by any means necessary. Mantis think they're big enough to deserve a seat on the board. They've been gathering special people, other Magi, as a show of force against the other contenders."

"So I'm expected to fight, for mantis?"

"You almost certainly will, but it might not be that bad. Only the real powerful types are going to take the field. You will probably be there just to round out the numbers. Unless Mantis really angers the other contenders, no one is going to expend the effort necessary to destroy the cannon fodder. The last covenant only had about 300 casualties. And of those, almost 200 were caused by two rival drug cartels duking it out."

"That's a good outcome?"

"You don't have to go, just give up the car."

Gerald considered it again, but now that he was finally getting somewhere, something in him still chafed at being forced to give up something of his own.

"Is there magical armour I could get, something to protect me?"

"You have a fantastic ritual shield right there, there are other things, but enchantments are best worn with the express approval of the owner. After all if someone manages to enchant something, it's because it is as deep a part of them as their arms or legs. If you just by a shield enchantment, you might find yourself facing off against the person who enchanted your armour, and you can't force a hand to stab itself."

In the maze that was the dungeon below the library, Gerald had gotten lost, several times, but he could now hear the quiet hubbub he'd associated with libraries.

"One last thing, is there a book, I can borrow, about elementary enchantments. The basics, I'd like to learn about them."

Fabiana looked at his missing arm.

"I suppose you know the consequences of messing with the Books in the library."

Seemingly at random, she reached into a stack, Gerald had hardly been paying attention, but he was sure those had been geography books.

She turned and offered it to him. "Gerald, the library has lent you this book, you will return it in 30 days, following which there will be a reminder, and then punishment. Do you accept this responsibility?"

He was loathe to agree, but it was either this or go in completely unprepared the next morning. He chose to accept the agreement. As he expected, magic first approached his missing arm, the primary arm and then approached his other one. This time though, the magic skittered of the magical skin he'd layered onto the top of his own.

He was able to recognise the foreign magic and reject any influence it had on his body. As a result the brand that appeared to represent the agreement seemed like a sticker he could peel off at will. Fabiana didn't seeme to realise anything was different so he picked the book and stepped outside, relieved.

He tried to leave the same way he'd come, but he immediately came across a problem, he'd have to let down his protection to work the magic as he did with the street walker spell.

There was a note of resentment in his voice as he turned to Jenny and said, "you know she'd promised me a cup of tea, before you did whatever you did to mess with her head."

Jenny just tilted her head and asked, "If you'd like some tea, we could always get you some of your own."

Gerald sighed deeply. He'd had enough of unforeseen consequences for today, he'd just take the bus home.