In the few minutes before Alice arrived, Tia was able to pack away all of her magical accouterment. She was especially cautious about leaving any trace, even checking the floor under and around the table.

“Better safe than sorry,” she said when Aaron raised a questioning brow at her. “Alice’s expertise is mostly with oneiromancy — her dream magic — but she’s not totally untrained in other forms of magic.”

Aaron was grateful Tia was taking Baby Bear’s secrecy so seriously, but he had to put it out of his mind when the intercom panel at his front door buzzed and the screen lit up, showing Alice standing out on the stoop.

When he got to the panel, he paused.

“Is there any way to check if someone is using magic to trick this thing?” he asked Tia over his shoulder.

“Not really,” Tia said with a shrug.

Aaron swallowed hard. His hand jerked away from the button that would open the front door of the building to whomever it was standing outside.

It’s Alice, of course, he told himself. I mean, it’s almost certainly Alice. And… and she’ll have to pass the security people on her way upstairs too, right?

But what if it wasn’t Alice? What if…

Aaron suddenly found himself wishing he had a weapon. Why hadn’t they given him a pair of kama to take with him, just in case something happened? Or maybe left that knife with him. What had Tia called it? A reaver’s blade?

It seemed like a massive oversight to leave him almost entirely defenseless. Now, here he was with a stranger at the door and all he had was a wand he still struggled to use properly.

The layout of his apartment sprang into his mind. How fast could he get to his bedroom, out the window, and up the fire escape? Was there anything he could do, short of a no-holds-barred brawl, that would slow down an assassin? If he had to run, should he stop to grab Bear?

If Baby Bear was really that tough and hidden in his closet, he could probably let him stay hidden there until he could come back for him. He’d only do that if he had no choice, though. He wasn’t comfortable with the idea of abandoning his oldest and best friend just to gain a few seconds on an intruder.

Tia was with him, too, and that wasn’t nothing. She was pretty good at magic, as far as he knew. Was she any good at combat magic? None of the delvers seemed to rely very heavily on combat magic, so maybe it was really rare or not particularly effective. How quickly could Tia do that severing spell she’d tried to use on Baby Bear’s fur?

I won’t leave her or Baby Bear behind if I can help it, he thought. That means I’ll have to stand and fight.

That familiar, unwanted cold had begun to creep over his innards. Muscles were taut, but not too tense. He was in his home, so he had the advantage. All he had to do was press the buzzer and let whomever it was into the building.

Yet his finger hovered, just an inch away from the button, his eyes locked on the person who appeared to be Alice on the monitor. It was too soon — too soon! — for another life-or-death fight. Why couldn’t he just have some time to rest, for fuck’s sake? Why couldn’t they just leave him be?

Tia walked up beside him and Aaron managed to stop himself from flinching at her sudden presence, but only just.

“What’s the hold up?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”

She looked at the screen, then at Aaron. She blinked once, slowly.

A comforting hand fell on Aaron’s shoulder. Gently. So gently he almost couldn’t feel it. He suppressed the conflicting instincts to lean into that soothing touch and recoil from the potential threat that came with any kind of physical contact.

That’s just your nerves talking, he admonished himself. Tia’s not a threat. And that’s probably Alice down there, even if you can’t know that.

“It’s okay,” Tia said, softly, and pressed the admittance button. The person on the stoop, probably Alice, opened the door and stepped into the building. “I should’ve been more clear — if someone disguised or hidden got all the way up to the door and touched the buzzer, either our people would have known seven steps earlier or the stranger would be concealed by magic beyond even our best enchantments’ ability to detect.”

Aaron nodded, to show he understood, but he remained standing stock still.

Misunderstanding or not, it had been a stark reminder of the repeated attempts on his life over the past several days. He hadn’t been so on edge in a very long time, perhaps ever, and it was just as easy for the threat to crash back into his consciousness as it was for him to get distracted from it.

I need to take all this training more seriously than anything I’ve ever done, he realized. If I don’t, I’m as good as dead.

“Hey,” Tia said. “Grab a soda or something and go sit down, okay? I forgot how tough the past week must have been for you, especially with how cool you’ve been about everything. I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

Aaron put a smile on his face, even if it was strained. It helped to hear that Tia thought he’d been ‘cool’ about everything, even if he had a hard time accepting that.

“I’m fine,” he said. “Really. I’m a little on edge, but that’s not exactly outside the norm for me. I manage well enough when shit gets real.”

“You shouldn’t have to just manage, Aaron,” Tia said. “You should be able to-”

She was interrupted by a soft knocking at the door.

“Okay, well you should check this out, at least,” she said, pressing a button on the intercom. “You can swap the camera view and the security teams get the same feeds.”

The image of the stoop changed to an image of the hallway, with his door in the foreground. Alice was standing there, radiant and perfect, with a big cloth bag hanging off one shoulder.

“Better not keep Alice waiting,” Aaron said.

He cleared the locks and pulled the door open.

“Hi there,” Alice said, wiggling the fingers on one hand in greeting.

With the door open, the power of her glamour rolled over Aaron like a warm ocean breeze; a breeze with the lifting power of a tornado. It practically washed his fear and tension away and replaced it with something else, something that wasn’t desire but wasn’t far from it.

He coughed once to clear his throat. “Come in,” he croaked. “Thanks for coming.”

Stop saying ‘come,’ you hooting jackhole! Aaron mentally shouted at himself.

Tia rolled her eyes and walked to the fridge while Alice glanced demurely at the floor as she stepped into the apartment.

“You want something to drink, Alice?” Tia asked. “Aaron’s got six different kinds of soda because he didn’t know which one he’d like the most with his new dragon tongue.”

“You’ve got a new tongue?” Alice asked.

“Same old tongue, same as it always was,” he said. “And, uh, it was Tia over there who ordered those sodas the other day. I know what I like.”

Shut up, Aaron, he winced. Don’t talk about your tongue, either. And definitely don’t say outlandish shit like, ‘I know what I like.’ What the fuck is wrong with you?

“I’ll have a glass of whatever cola you have, if that’s alright,” Alice said to Tia, her eyes sweeping the communal area. “This is really a lovely apartment. It will be quite nice once it’s got a more personal touch.”

“Uh, yeah,” Aaron said.

Smooth.

Aaron was keenly aware the glamour was influencing his thoughts and he was fighting against it, but he was even more keenly aware he still had mounds of new clothes arrayed across the couch in the living room. Not to mention the boxes of other stuff from his shopping trip he still hadn’t managed to get fully unpackaged and set up.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

He knew the clothes were brand new and that he hadn’t had a ton of spare time to do more than a single load of laundry since he bought everything, but Alice wouldn’t know that. It probably just looked like he was a lazy fucking degenerate slob who couldn’t be bothered to keep his shit clean.

Which isn’t all that far from the truth, Aaron lamented. But I don’t want her to know that! I need to find a way to cover my ass on this a little.

“I talked with the gang about remodeling the place,” he said. “I’m not sure how we’re going to handle that and it’s been so hectic that getting everything organized has been a nightmare.”

“If ‘the gang’ refers to your primary security detail, I did hear something about that,” Alice replied. “They sent word to Barrett so we could sort out the logistics. Since you’re going to be away for several days to explore the Well and the echoes, we’re planning to handle everything then.”

“Any chance they could put a washer and dryer in here while they’re at it?” Aaron joked.

“Absolutely. Where would you like them installed?”

Aaron blinked a little too slowly but otherwise managed to suppress the urge to physically cringe at himself.

Of course that’s something the Drakon can do, he thought. And of course I tossed it out there like some entitled jackass. Backpedal and bail!

“I can go without, really. Nobody has to go to all that trouble,” he said. “I don’t mind going down to the basement, I’ve just been a little swamped.”

“It won’t be any trouble at all. Our people are very capable.”

Aaron tried to smile and ignore Tia smirking at him from the dinette, where she had sat down with three glasses of soda.

“The guest bathroom is the best place for it,” she offered.

“Sure, the- the guest bathroom would be perfection.”

Aaron did wince at that. Smoooooth. Your brain is very functional and you word so goodly! Idiot.

Alice graced him with a small smile and a flutter of eyelashes. “I’ll pass word along to Barrett. You should return from your adventure in the Well to an entirely new apartment. If anything is less than total perfection, let your security detail know and we’ll have people sort it out immediately.”

“I appreciate all that, really, but, uh… isn’t everyone supposed to be on lockdown because of all the attacks?” Aaron asked. “I do not want people being put at risk just to make my apartment a little more fancy.”

Tia blew air out through her teeth. “Pfft. All those mooks are looking for drakus who are new in town, so it won’t be nearly as much of a threat for locals. But more than that, the main reason we’re going into siege mode is that we don’t have the right talent distribution locally to make sure everyone can get around safely.”

“Tia’s absolutely right,” Alice said. “Not only would the décor be managed by drakus who are established in the City, but they’ll have help moving unnoticed by an elite task force of the Society of the Spear.”

“With an assist from the Order of the Eye,” Tia added.

Aaron thought the Society of the Spear was the umbrella term for the various Orders that answered to Barrett, but he couldn’t remember which S-word summarized what the Order of the Eye did. It was probably under Mallory, otherwise Tia wouldn’t have made the distinction.

Even with all those precautions, Aaron couldn’t help but think of how many potential problems could arise from taking those risks. People’s lives would be in danger and for what? Something as frivolous as his comfort? It didn’t sit right with him.

As he looked at the two young women, Aaron felt like he could see the future. If he knuckled down on this issue — even with all the assurances Alice and Tia were trying to give him — it might make him look obstinate, even churlish. It would be ungrateful.

Perhaps worst of all, it would be insulting. Alice and Tia knew more about this situation and the magic new world Aaron found himself in. Wouldn’t it be the worst kind of arrogance to assume his ill-informed opinion should carry more weight than theirs?

He was worried for those drakus who would face the risk and that was understandable. His fear, however, didn’t make his ignorance somehow authoritative. It would be best if he just kept his mouth shut here and was grateful for the efforts being made on his behalf.

Thank God we’re not talking about this on Twitter, he thought. Otherwise I’d probably never shut the hell up.

“Okay then,” he said. “Like I said, I appreciate it. I don’t know if that can be passed along to the people who are doing all this for me or what. Should I at least, like, leave a tip or something?”

Alice smiled at him and Tia burst fully into laughter.

“I guess not,” Aaron said, chagrined.

“We take care of our people,” Alice assured him. “Speaking of taking care of our people, let’s get down to business. It’s late and you probably want to sleep soon, so let’s set up some additional protective measures against any potential hostile oneiromancy.”

Alice let her simple cloth tote slip from her shoulder and set it on a chair at the dinette table. She took a sip from the glass of soda Tia had poured for her, then plunged her arms into the bag.

From its depths she removed several wooden boxes. Each of them could have fit in the tote easily enough, but wouldn’t have left much room to spare. There were far too many for the tote to be anything but a dimensional storage. After she set the last one down, Alice flipped their lids open one at a time.

Each box had wooden drawers that could be lifted out, supported by hinged metal arms. They reminded Aaron of boxes he’d seen that were used for storing hobby and crafts stuff, or maybe something like fishing tackle.

The drawers themselves held a variety of items that Aaron could only describe as bric-a-brac or curious, though he suspected they were more than they appeared at first glance. He noted that each drawer was dedicated to a single specific item, though the items varied in design and material.

“Are you a follower of any of the Abrahamic faiths?” Alice asked casually.

Aaron shook his head. “Not really. I’m agnostic, at best. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Some magics are so deeply connected with a specific faith — particularly to an individual’s devotion — that they won’t really do anything for someone who doesn’t hold that faith,” Alice explained.

She lifted out a shelf that was filled with small tiles. Made of porcelain, clay, metal, or wood, they were about six inches long, an inch wide, and half and inch thick. Some were very simple and plain and others ornate, but all of them had a few characters placed on them, running vertically, from an alphabet Aaron knew he knew but couldn’t identify.

Alice lifted one out of a drawer and held it up for Aaron to inspect. “This, for example, is a mezuzah, an ancient charm that contains passages from the Torah. It will do little good to anyone with little or no devotion to it.”

“What about crosses and crucifixes?”

“Actually, it’s ideal that Tia’s here,” Alice said, turning to the other woman. “I was going to ask you to join us so I could get your insight on a couple things and this is one of them. I’m inclined to say they have the same limitation, but you’re much better studied on cultural trends and their impact on expectation.”

Tia hummed thoughtfully. “I think you can leave them out, especially if it’s any form of a Christian cross. Christian tradition mostly holds that the cross is just a reminder of God and Christ that can bolster the bearer’s faith; it doesn’t have any inherent power.”

Alice nodded and continued sorting out the drawers with things she wouldn’t need. There were a few of them, including some that held various crosses. One drawer seemed to give her particular trouble. She kept adding it to the pile of discarded symbols then taking it off. Eventually, Aaron’s curiosity got the better of him and he took a closer look at the drawer.

It was one of the more colorful and eclectic of the collections that Aaron had seen, so far. The drawer had a number of ornaments and statues, made of different materials and decorated differently, but they all depicted roughly the same thing — an open hand with a single eye in the center of the palm.

A few were shaped like a human’s hand — a thumb and four fingers — but most of them were almost like paws. They had three fingers of the same length in the middle and the fingers on the end — what would be the thumb and pinky — were both much shorter, barely reaching the first ‘knuckle’ of the central fingers.

Still, once Aaron realized they were supposed to be hands, it was obvious.

Tia craned her neck and looked into the container, as well. “You could include that, I think. Muslims and Jews might think of it as the Hand of Fatima or Hand of Miriam, but this particular symbol has roots going back a long while and was spread all over the ancient world back in the day, by either the Phoenicians or the Sumerians.”

“Are you sure?” Alice asked, biting her lip hesitantly (and causing Aaron’s stomach to do a somersault).

“There’s a lot of overlap between thaumaturgy and theurgy, so you’re not wrong to give this stuff serious consideration because it totally can screw with expectation,” Tia replied. “In this case, though, I’d definitely include it. The hamsa is a sigil etched deep into the aether; deep enough the coarse edges of history haven’t blurred those lines much.”

Aaron had learned that symbols had a kind of power, with things like simple runes making it easier to perform magic. He knew this intellectually and he also put a lot of stock in the things Tia was teaching him. More importantly, he was powerfully motivated — stupid and fanciful as it might be — not to come across as a jerk to these two gorgeous women.

And yet…

And yet, as he looked over the drawers of idols, talismans, and charms, an entire life of sarcasm and skepticism was propelling him towards a response he didn’t want to make.

There was absolutely zero chance that trying to look like he was so cool he was above it all was the socially intelligent thing to do here.

And yet…

“Not to be a cynic,” Aaron started, unable to clamp his stupid mouth shut now that it was flapping. “But this all seems a little… gift shop gimmicky.”

Smooth, he thought once more. So smooth it’s got a V on the end. Smoove.

Aaron couldn’t do anything but stand there, waiting to see Alice’s and Tia’s opinions of him disintegrating in real time. And it was coming, no doubt about it. The best he could do was try to think of ways to play it off in hopes he could salvage something out of the situation.

On the upside, it had taken three entire days to shove his foot in his mouth so hard he was kicking his own ass from the inside. It could’ve been a lot sooner, especially with how much time he’d spent with Tia.

Ah, well… that was over; it was nice while it lasted. All that was left to sit through the fallout.