"All right, we're done." Ariom lifted the cover off the scanning device and reached in to undo the straps fastening Thenio's leg to the padded table inside.

As soon as he was free, Thenio sat up and started massaging his calf muscles. In order to do a detailed scan of his magic circuit, the machine was set up to stimulate the circuit with tiny pulses of magic power. It didn't exactly hurt, but it gave him an uncomfortable, twitchy sensation that made it difficult to hold still during the procedure. That was why the part being scanned had to be strapped down.

"How many more do we have left?" Thenio asked, wriggling his leg around to try to make the feeling go away a little faster.

Ariom glanced at a checklist that was sitting on the small table next to the scanning machine. "Just your arms. I think we'll split those into two sessions—front and back. So it will take a couple more days. There's no need to rush things."

He had told Thenio that he normally did magic circuit analyses for his clients in a single day with just short breaks in between sessions, but they'd been spacing Thenio's scans out over several days to avoid giving him too much magic stimulation at once. He appreciated that, but at the same time, he was starting to wish they could just get it all over with already....

"We'll leave it here for today," Ariom said, checking the clock on the lab room wall. "Mideis will be here in about an hour. We should get ready."

"Oh. Right." Thenio slid off the examination table. "I'll go change." He was currently wearing thin clothing that was specifically designed to not interfere with the magic scans. It wasn't really appropriate for receiving guests.

Ariom nodded. "Meet me in the kitchen when you're done. I'll help you set up the refreshment cart."

Today was Thenio's first time acting as Ariom's assistant during a client meeting. It wasn't really a hard job. All he had to do was help serve the refreshments and then keep an eye on Iggy while Ariom spoke with their visitor. In theory, he was also supposed to be available in case Ariom needed him to do any miscellaneous tasks during the meeting, like taking notes or fetching something from the library or workroom. But since he wasn't very familiar with things yet, he was mostly just observing for today.

They had done a practice session yesterday, with Bero and Humerus pretending to be guests. And Ariom had said that their prospective client—Inspector Mideis Jidarin—was an acquaintance of his and would be understanding if Thenio made any mistakes. But he was still an inspector for the Kafron Royal Guard, and Thenio couldn't help feeling nervous about interacting with him, even if it was just a matter of giving a polite greeting and handing out snacks.

Iggy, who had been napping in the dragon box outside the lab room, stuck his head out as Thenio went by.

"Is Thenio's test all done?" he asked, blinking sleepily.

"Yeah, it is." Thenio bent down and picked up the little dragon. "We need to get ready for company now. I'm going upstairs to change clothes. Do you want to come with me?"

"Okay." Iggy yawned, showing off his teeth, and then laid his head on Thenio's shoulder.

He always seemed to have a hard time waking up from his afternoon naps.

Thenio carried the dragon up to his bedroom and put him down on the window seat with a snack stick and a brightly colored patchwork ball to help him finish waking up. Iggy and Humerus had gotten in the habit of spending an hour or two in Thenio's room in the evenings while he read to them or drew in his sketchbook, and almost before he realized it, there were a couple of dragon-sized cushions lying around and a small stash of toys and snacks in a box on one of the shelves.

By the time Thenio had changed, Iggy was alert enough to ride on his shoulder as they went downstairs. Thenio dropped him off at the kitchen dragon box, and he trotted over to the climbing tower on one side and jumped up to sit on one of the platforms. The tower was next to a window that looked into the kitchen, so Iggy could sit and watch the food preparations without getting in the way.

Ariom had already gotten out the snack cart and was just finishing bringing things out of the pantry.

"Go ahead and set everything up on the cart," he told Thenio. "Like I showed you yesterday."

Thenio nodded and began arranging things. He stacked the little decorative biscuits into neat rows on a platter and poured the seasoned fruit juice into a pitcher that was enchanted to keep it warm. Ariom had said that it was common for wizards to serve magic spiced drinks to visiting clients, mostly as a way to show off. But he never did, since his enchantment tailoring work required analyzing a client's magic, and consuming spiced food beforehand would disrupt the process. This was convenient, since Bero had declared such foods completely off-limits for Thenio for the time being.

Bero and Humerus were currently out visiting one of Bero's old friends from when he had worked in Kamari as a doctor. He'd said that as long as he was hanging out in the capital for a while, he might as well take the opportunity to do some things he never had time for during his normal visits.

Thenio was a little concerned about Bero taking so much time away from his farm. He and Humerus had already been staying with them for more than a week. But when he'd asked about it, Bero had casually dismissed his worries, saying that it was a good chance for his lazy apprentices to have to get along without him. And his daughter was also a master-rank necromancer and spectral beast expert, apparently. She helped run the farm and was in charge whenever Bero wasn't around.

"How do you know a Royal Guard inspector, anyway?" Thenio asked as he arranged some small fish pastries in a warming basket. These were snacks for familiars. He could see Iggy eyeing them with great interest from the other side of the window. "Have you worked for the Royal Guard before?"

Ariom, who was standing on the side supervising Thenio's work, nodded. "They've hired me as a consultant a few times. Mideis handles cases involving Pre-War artifacts. Smuggling, forgeries, theft...that kind of thing. But I originally met him through a Pre-War Era research group at the Royal Academy. I attend most of their meetings, and Mideis shows up occasionally when he has the time."

"Is that what this job is about? Something to do with artifacts?"

"No, it's...." Ariom paused. "Actually, I'm not sure. Something to do with analyzing enchantments, but I don't know the details. That's what Mideis is coming here to talk about. I just know it's part of an investigation that the Royal Guard and Magic Corps are working on together." He scowled. "I really don't want to have anything to do with something that the military is involved in, but I promised I'd at least listen to their request. It was part of a deal I made with that con artist who calls himself a general in order to get approved to be your guardian."

"Huh?" Thenio froze in the middle of placing a set of porcelain cups on the snack cart. "You're doing this...because of me?"

"Well...basically, yes." Ariom looked away, his expression uncomfortable. "It's not really a big deal. General Obarin did me a favor by recommending me to the Stability Center, so I'm doing him a favor in return. And it's just listening to their proposal. He said I didn't have to take on the job if I don't want to."

Thenio swallowed and looked down at the cups he was holding, not sure what to say.

There was a moment of awkward silence.

Ariom cleared his throat. "Well, it looks like you've pretty much got it. I'm going to go check the reception room. Just bring the cart there when you're done. Come on, Iggy. You can help light the fire."

He left the kitchen, pausing briefly to collect Iggy from the dragon box, and retreated in the direction of the reception room. Thenio watched them go, feeling a little bemused.

Maybe this was the real reason Bero had started going out to visit friends. He knew his nephew and the new assistant needed to learn how to talk to each other without him around....

Thenio shook his head and finished putting the rest of the tableware onto the cart. Then he checked everything over to make sure it looked right before pushing the cart out into the hall and toward the other wing of the house.

Despite feeling a little anxious about the upcoming meeting, Thenio was glad to finally have a real job to do, even a small one like this. He hadn't felt like much of a magic assistant so far.

The reception room was basically just a larger and more formal version of the parlor at Thenio's house. It had a high ceiling with a wrought iron chandelier hanging in the middle of it, equipped with enchanted candles that used light magic, rather than fire, so they never burned down. Tall, arched windows looked out onto the garden. And one wall had a stately stone mantle and a large fireplace, with two sofas and a table arranged in front of it.

When Thenio entered the room, Ariom and Iggy were next to the fireplace. Ariom seemed to have just finished arranging a pile of logs and kindling on the grate.

"All right, little guy," he said, straightening up. "Go ahead."

"Mmm! Okay!"

Iggy went eagerly up to the hearth, where he paused, took a deep breath, and then spit out a shower of orange sparks onto the waiting kindling. He repeated the process a couple of times and then peered intently into the fireplace, his tail twitching.

There was a moment of silence.

"I did it!" Iggy crowed suddenly, hopping up and down with excitement. "The fire's going! I did it!" He turned his head and noticed Thenio watching. "Thenio, look! I started the fire!"

"Well done." Thenio smiled at him. "That's really impressive."

Iggy puffed out his chest and waved his tail at the praise.

Trying not to laugh, Thenio moved the cart to its designated spot on the side of the room and went over to admire the dragon's handiwork. The kindling was already ablaze, and the flames were quickly spreading onto the larger pieces of wood. More quickly than they should have, really. The logs were probably treated with some kind of alchemical solution that made them burn more easily.

"How does he use fire magic like that?" Thenio asked, looking at Ariom. "Does he know how to convert his magic like you do?"

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Ariom shook his head. "His control isn't good enough for that yet. But he's naturally able to produce a small amount of fire magic. Probably because he was originally supposed to have a flare affinity."

The three of them stood and watched the fire for a few minutes. Then a chime sounded from the entrance hall.

"That must be Mideis," Ariom said, sliding the fireplace screen in front of the burning logs. "Let's go out to meet him."

They went to the entrance hall, with Ariom leading the way and Thenio following behind him and carrying Iggy. When they reached the front door, Ariom touched a panel set into the wall on one side of it. An image appeared on the panel of a solemn-looking black golem carriage with the crest of the Royal Guard painted on the side. There seemed to be two men sitting inside. Ariom frowned a little when he saw that, but he still activated the control to open the gate.

"I guess he brought an assistant or something?" Thenio asked uncertainly.

"Something like that." Ariom opened the door and stepped outside.

The carriage was coming up the driveway toward them. They watched silently while it pulled around and parked near the steps leading up to the front door. The two men got out, and one of them reached back in to pick something up. When he turned around, Thenio could see a smallish, dark-colored magic beast in his arms.

But what really caught Thenio's attention was the creature that jumped out of the carriage right after that and followed along beside the two men as they walked to the door.

It was an enormous shaggy hound dog. It looked like its head would come up to Thenio's chest, and its coat was mottled red and black, like clotted blood. As they drew nearer, it met Thenio's gaze and stared back at him with an oddly mournful expression, its eerie, pale yellow eyes peering out through a shroud of long fur.

It was probably some kind of storm hound. Thenio had seen pictures of them in books. But he hadn't realized they were quite that big...or that creepy-looking....

The man next to the hound seemed to notice Thenio's unease. "Don't mind Kino here," he said, reaching out to pat the dog's back. His voice was soft and rather gravelly. "He looks fierce, but he's very gentle...to anyone who isn't a criminal." The man bore an odd resemblance to his dog, with a long mop of grizzled black hair that framed a similar brooding expression.

Ariom was looking at him with a faint scowl. "You didn't tell me you were bringing the vice-captain with you."

"I didn't know!" the other man protested, giving his companion a sideways look. "He just showed up in my office as I was getting ready to leave and announced he was coming with me."

This man was tall and slender, with a bookish air about him. The magic beast he was carrying resembled a cat, but it was very long and thin and had unusually large ears. Its dark brown fur was short and glossy, like satin. Its eyes were a light orange with vertical pupils, and it, too, was staring at Thenio.

"I'm sorry for the imposition," the man Ariom had called the vice-captain said, still with the same quiet, rough voice. "I'm the supervisor for this case. General Obarin said there was a good chance you wouldn't take the job. But we do need help, so I thought it was only fitting that I come ask you myself." He glanced at his dog. "If Kino's size is a problem, he can wait outside."

Ariom gave a small sigh. "No, it's fine. But both of you need to agree not to use any magic while you're here." He gave a nod in Thenio's direction. "My assistant is very sensitive to ambient magic power. I spoke to Mideis about this already."

"The chaos morph." The vice-captain's gaze moved to Thenio, and he nodded. "I've heard about him. I understand. We'll be careful." He patted Kino again, and the dog also nodded to show he understood.

"All right, then. I guess I should make introductions." Ariom looked back at Thenio and Iggy. "You've met Iggy before. This is Thenio Iterune, my new magic assistant. Thenio, this is Mideis Jidarin, Royal Guard Inspector, and his familiar, Amisi. She's a taua, a species that's native to the Pabas Islands. They're quite rare, so you might not have heard of them before. And this is Garem Ranior, Royal Guard Vice-Captain and head of the Demon Crimes Division, and his familiar, Kino. Kino is a Bloodwind, a breed of storm hound that's specialized in tracking."

Demon Crimes? Thenio's eyebrows went up a little when he heard those words. Did that mean this case involved demons? Why would they need an enchanter for that?

"Why don't we go inside? Then we'll explain everything." Mideis said pleasantly.

Thenio started a little at hearing a response to his unasked question, but he calmed down when he remembered that these two were detectives and were probably used to paying close attention to people's facial expressions. Mideis had probably noticed his puzzled look and guessed what he was wondering about.

Ariom led the group inside. When their guests were seated on one of the sofas in the reception room, Thenio put Iggy down on the other sofa and began serving the refreshments, while Ariom excused himself briefly to go get something for Kino. They hadn't anticipated feeding such a large familiar when they were getting the snacks ready.

Thenio felt a little uneasy about Ariom leaving him alone with the guests, even if it was just for a few minutes. And it didn't make him feel any better when he realized they could probably tell he was nervous. He did his best to focus on serving the food in the way Ariom and Bero had taught him. It had helped that he'd seen the maids at Aunt Suliya's house do the same thing quite a few times before, so he was already familiar with the overall process.

First he pulled the cart over next to the sofa and placed the platters of biscuits and little cakes on the table within easy reach. Then he placed two cups on saucers and poured the warm fruit juice into them before handing them to Mideis and Garem.

"Thank you." Mideis gave him an encouraging smile as he took his juice. "You're new at this, aren't you? You're doing fine. There's no need to be nervous. We're not the kind of fussy nobles who get offended over every little thing. Just think of this as a rehearsal for the real thing, all right?"

"Ah...thank you. I appreciate that." Thenio was still slightly unnerved by how well Mideis seemed to be able to read his expressions, but the reassurance helped him relax a little.

He also felt more comfortable once he'd finished serving the humans and moved on to the familiars.

"We have meat pies and cut fruit," he told Amisi, putting a small wooden tray on the sofa for her to use as a table. "Do you want some of both? Or just one of them?"

"Both." She was still staring at him unblinkingly. "And I'll have the chicken broth to drink, please."

"Huh?" He hadn't even said anything about drinks yet.... "Oh, you must have smelled it. All right. Just a minute."

Thenio put a few fish and beef pastries and some fruit chunks on a plate and poured some warm chicken broth into a bowl. Then he set the plate and bowl on Amisi's tray.

"There you go. Let me know if you want more of anything, all right? We have plenty."

While he was serving up Amisi's food, Ariom came back into the room, carrying a tray with a full-sized meat pie, a plate of sliced fruit, and a large bowl of chicken broth.

"Here. Is this all right?" he asked, setting the tray down in front of Kino, who was sitting on the floor next to the sofa.

The dog nodded silently and started eating the pie in a surprisingly dainty manner, considering his large size and untidy appearance. Thenio watched him for a moment, impressed, and then turned to Iggy.

"What would you like to eat, Iggy?"

"Fish pie!" Iggy said, waving his tail enthusiastically. "And fruit juice!"

"Iggy...ask politely, please," Ariom chided him gently as he went to sit on the sofa next to the little dragon.

"Oh." Iggy's ears drooped a little. "Um...can I have fish pie and fruit juice? Please?"

"Very good." Ariom patted his back, which made his ears perk up a little.

Thenio gave Iggy a tray with a plate of fish pies and a bowl of fruit juice. Then he poured a cup of juice for Ariom and another one for himself. Finally, he was able to sit down on Iggy's other side and let out a small sigh of relief. He was still supposed to watch to see if anyone's drink needed refilling and to give the familiars more snacks if they asked for them, but otherwise his job was basically finished now.

When he looked up, he saw Mideis give him another encouraging smile and a small nod. Really. That guy was amazingly perceptive.

"It's been a while since I've seen you in person," Mideis said, turning to look at Ariom. "The last research meeting I went to was...what? Four months ago?" He sighed. "Work's been busy lately.... Has anything interesting come up in the last few meetings?"

Ariom shrugged. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Things keep trickling in from that excavation project in Eskya, but there haven't been any major discoveries so far. Just more tiny pieces that we hope will add up to something eventually. I didn't attend the last meeting, though. I probably won't make it to the next one, either." He glanced over at Thenio. "I've been a little busy lately myself."

Thenio looked down and fidgeted a little with the cup in his hands.

"Well, that's fine, isn't it?" Mideis said with a smile. "I think saving someone's life is far more important than analyzing some old rubble. Those artifacts have been sitting around for the past four hundred years. They can sit a little longer if they need to."

"I'm not sure if it's more or less convincing when someone who spends all his time analyzing Pre-War artifacts says something like that..." Garem said drily, swirling the juice around in his cup.

"Hey, I set the artifacts aside when I need to," Mideis protested. "Aren't I working on a case that doesn't involve artifacts right now?"

"Well, they're not technically artifacts...but...." Garem paused, glancing at Ariom. "Maybe you should just go ahead and explain everything."

"Ah. Right." Mideis held up his hand. There was a shimmer in the air above it, and a stack of papers appeared. "These are—" He suddenly broke off and looked at Thenio with alarm. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot. Is using enough magic to activate the space pocket a problem for him?"

Ariom shook his head. "That much is fine. I was mostly worried about Kino's wind magic. He can put out quite a lot of power when he's smelling a new place."

"True. But still, I'm sorry. I should be more careful...." Mideis cleared his throat, looking awkward. "Well, as I was starting to say, these are diagrams of the enchantments we want you to help us analyze. Partial diagrams, at least. We haven't been able to get complete ones yet because...well. Take a look. You'll understand."

He handed the papers across the table to Ariom, who took the stack and started flipping through them. After he got a few pages in, he stopped, and Thenio could see his eyes widen in surprise.

"Is this...flesh enchantments? But why are they...?" Ariom continued turning the pages, his expression growing darker the more he saw.

"What is it?" Iggy was distracted from his fish pies and looked up at Ariom curiously. "Is there something wrong with those pictures?" Without waiting for a response, the little dragon jumped up onto Ariom's shoulder and craned his neck to look at the papers. "Oh," he said after a pause. "They're pictures to go onto people? But how come there are so many pieces missing?"

"Are you really sure you want him to look at those...?" Mideis asked, looking a little taken aback.

Ariom glanced up at him. "He's a dragon, not a human child. If he'd been born in a wild flock, he'd already be hunting and eating small animals by now. He won't be traumatized by something like this." He looked back down at the paper in his hand. "Well. These are just diagrams, after all. I probably won't show him the actual pictures...assuming you have any."

"We do." Garem said quietly. "And as you've guessed, they're not pretty."

Ariom reached up to pat Iggy. "You remember how you were worrying about Thenio's magic getting scared and turning him into fireworks?"

"I do!" Iggy put his ears back, looking concerned. "But that won't happen to Thenio, right? We'll stop it, right?"

"Right." Ariom stroked the little dragon's back soothingly. "But that's what happened to the people these diagrams came from. They turned into fireworks."

An uncomfortable silence followed these words.

"Oh," Iggy said. He looked back down at the papers Ariom was holding. "I don't think people make good fireworks."

"No. I don't think they do either," Ariom agreed. He looked back at Mideis. "Where did these come from? Who exactly is going around inscribing explosive enchantment matrices onto people? And why?"

"That's what we want to find out," Garem said. His voice sounded even rougher than usual. "Especially why."

"We don't know exactly who, either," Mideis added. "But we do have a general idea." He looked between Ariom and Thenio. "How much do you know about the Order of the Ravener?"