“Yeah.” Cheyenne nodded, slowed her pacing, and set her hands on the back of the couch. “Yeah, okay. That’s the most important thing right now.”
“Yes, it is.”
“All right.” Persh’al clapped his hands and headed toward them from Ember’s room. “Definitely diggers, so we’ll have to build the base around structural reinforcements and add extra repulsion layers on top of that. Maybe throw up a few good system-wide shocks just for fun. You know, boom.” He mimed an explosion with his empty hand as he dropped the drawstring bag back into the duffel bag.
“You’re still talking about wards, right?”
Persh’al winked at Cheyenne and grinned. “You’d be surprised how much wards and firewalls have in common, kid.”
A loud, tuneless humming came from the other side of the bathroom door. All heads turned in that direction.
Persh’al grimaced. “How long has she been in there?”
“Pretty much the whole time.” Cheyenne closed her eyes and walked around the side of the couch to slump down onto it again.
“Hmm. That’s not gonna be fun.” The troll nodded at Corian. “We can get started whenever you’re ready.”
“Great.” The nightstalker pushed out of the recliner, casting a final wary glance at the bathroom door.
“Hold on.” Ember reached toward him. “I wanna know what you meant by ‘more complicated.’”
“And you will. We’ll make time for that conversation later, Ember. Just not right now.” Corian grabbed his box of supplies off the coffee table as Persh’al squatted in front of the duffel bag and took out handfuls of whatever he needed to cast their multi-layered wards.
The fae shot Cheyenne an irritated glance and shook her head. “So, what? We’re just supposed to sit here and watch them reinforce the structural whatever?”
“I guess so. I’m kinda hoping I learn something.”
“Then you better pay attention, kid.” Persh’al placed different-colored stones two feet apart along the wall of windows. “We work fast.”
Almost an hour later, Persh’al withdrew the O’gúl hornet’s web from the hardened leather case and held it up to the light. “Man, I’ve always wanted to use one of these.”
“Well, you know, I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.” Cheyenne smirked when he glanced at her.
“I’m sure that special occasion had nothing to do with finding someone who knows what to do with it,” Corian added.
She stared at him and blinked slowly. “Of course not.”
“All right, here we go. Ready to amp up the power grid, goblin?”
Lumil scowled at Persh’al and raised her hands. In one, she held the telescope-looking thing, and a bundle of twisted wires flashing a multitude of different colors dangled from the other. “I feel like a circus clown.”
“Not too far off.” Persh’al chuckled and returned his attention to the hornet’s web. The rare ingredient turned slowly at the end of the twine he held, the red and black threads of the web glinting in the light. “You’re just grounding the power.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Okay, so come on. Up.”
Rolling her eyes, Lumil raised her nameless items until they hung on either side of her face.
“Perfect.” Persh’al looked at Cheyenne and wiggled his neon-orange eyebrows. “The finishing touch, kid, then we’ll be outta your hair. For tonight, anyway.”
Corian pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time.
Squinting at the Ogúl hornet’s web, Persh’al lifted it until it spun in front of his face and muttered an incantation under his breath. Then he flicked his finger against the center of the web. A bright red light flashed from the dangling circle of woven threads, followed by a loud crack. The wards they’d placed around the apartment showed as layers of shimmering light, wavering one on top of the other along every wall, doorframe, and window.
When the light died seconds later, Persh’al chuckled. “Exactly how I imagined it. Now we just gotta find a good place to—oh. That’ll work.” He hooked the top of looped twine over an extending curl of the wrought-iron rail surrounding the mini-loft, then stepped back to take in the finished product. “I like it.”
“Not conspicuous at all,” Cheyenne muttered.
“It doesn’t matter. No one’s stepping into this apartment unless either of you explicitly invites them in.” Corian wagged his finger back and forth between Cheyenne and Ember. “And I highly recommend that you don’t hand out invitations for a while.”
“What about you guys?”
“We built the wards, kid.” Persh’al spread his arms as he headed toward his duffel bag on the other side of the room. “That’s an extended membership. Plus, none of us is driving all the way out here from DC to knock on your front door. Why do you think we keep a nightstalker around? Hey, give me those things, will ya? You look like someone’s failed sculpture attempt.”
Lumil glared at him and tossed both items at his chest. Persh’al caught them and stuffed his tools gently into the duffel bag. “As long as that web’s hanging in one piece right there, these wards’ll hold forever, theoretically.”
“Let’s hope we don’t need them forever.” Cheyenne handed Corian his re-packed cardboard box as he passed her to join Lumil and Persh’al.
“I don’t think you will. But this is a good start, and the wards will hold.” He nodded at her and tucked the box under his arm.
“Hey, before you go,” Cheyenne rubbed the back of her neck and scanned the top of the wall of windows behind them. “Is there any kinda spell that checks for hidden tech like cameras or tiny microphones?”
Corian’s silver eyes narrowed.
“The paranoia’s finally gettin’ to you, huh?” Persh’al smirked.
“No.” She raised her eyebrows at him and offered a tight, sarcastic smile. “This apartment was a demo before we moved in. I just wanna make sure no one’s watching the old-fashioned way, either.”
Ember shot her a questioning glance, and the halfling shrugged.
“Yeah, okay.” Persh’al sniffed and stood behind his duffel bag. He closed his eyes, lifted his hand in front of him like he was about to throw an invisible frisbee, and twisted his fingers in quick succession. Then he snapped his wrist and made a throwing motion before
