Chapter XXXIII

“Huh,” Carrot said as she raised the magical device.

It wasn’t much more than a piece of paper wrapped around a wooden dowel, but Iris called it a magical device, and she was the expert here. Carrot had watched as she pulled out some thick , vellum-like paper wrapped into a small bundle from her purse, then said that she needed some wood to make her plan work.

The wood had been sourced from a nearby hardware store. They had considered buying a broom or something and maybe a saw, but Carrot had asked the nice older man working there if they had something in the dimensions that Iris had indicated, and he was kind enough to cut a dowel into the right size and shape for them using a table saw in the back. 

So they had returned to the cafe, and Iris had written out a bunch of small markings on the paper. They were drawn precisely, but didn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason to them. 

“I can kinda feel the magic in it,” Carrot said as she weighted the dowel. It was just wood and paper glued together, but magic clung to it in a strange, unfamiliar way. “Is this like, ah, what do you call those Japanese paper tags?”

“Ofuda,” Iris said. “And this isn’t like that. Though there are some magical schools that use them. They’re somewhat similar to how we, that is the Ulvent, attach enchantments and magical effects onto an item, though it’s different.”

‘Oh, so it’s not the same at all?” Carrot asked.

Iris hesitated, then shook her head. “In practice it’s similar. To be clear, the ofuda that practitioners make are superior. This isn’t what the Ulvent style of magic is for. When it comes to making something like this, it’s like comparing a fencer and a butcher. Both cut meat, but there’s a world of difference in the details.”

“And in this example, are you the fencer or the butcher?” Silas asked. 

Iris gave him a flat stare that was very close to being a glare.

Carrot giggled to try and dissipate some of the tension. “Ah, so, what is this, exactly?”

Iris refocused. “That, is a daemon beacon.”

“Ohhh,” Carrot said. “How does it work?”

“It needs to be charged first, by emptying a large amount of magical energy into it. The wooden dowel is good for that. It’s an awful material for storing magical energy. So it’ll leak out. The tag had conduits and enchantments to help make the magical energy disperse relatively slowly, and in a way that will call to every daemon in the area.”

“Neat!” Carrot said. “And you made it so fast.”

Iris rolled her eyes. “It’s a bauble. One of the first things I ever learned how to make, actually. My grandfather showed me. We have more complex ones around our properties, just in case. They make for good bait at the centre of a trap, which is how I want to use this one.”

“What’s the plan, then?” Silas asked.

Iris pointed to the beacon. “We set that down somewhere semi-public. A park, intersection, I think there’s a walkable square with a few old shops that usually has a good number of people at it. If we chuck that into the area it’ll pull the daemons that way.”

“Veto,” Carrot said. She placed the beacon down, then crossed her arms into an X in the air before her. “We don’t want to hurt people. We’re here to help.”

“Agreed, though for different reasons,” Silas said. “Magic is meant to be kept secret. Having daemons attack civilians, and attracting them towards civilians, is asking for trouble. They’ll take pictures, some might get away and remember the incident. And we won’t be able to help because that would be using magic in full view of normal people.”

“Also it’ll hurt people, right?” Carrot asked him.

“Yes, that too.”

“Magical Society’s constant need to remain secretive is stupid,” Iris said.

Silas shrugged. “Maybe. There are good reasons for it.”

“Cowardice isn’t a good reason for anything,” Iris said.

“You say that knowing that if the secret did come out, the Ulvent would be some of the people in the best position there is,” Silas replied.

“Why is that?” Carrot asked.

Iris smiled. “Our magic is infused into items. That means that anyone can use it. Well, almost anyone. We could make things that can be used by anyone. But we’re getting off topic. The beacon will have a limited range. It can’t be more than a mile or so from the office you think the Master’s hiding in.”

“I don’t think that. I just think that the office has a high concentration of magic,” Silas said. “As for your beacon, I think I saw a garage a block over, while I was going around. It looked abandoned. I peeked through a window, and the interior was empty.”

“That could work,” Iris said. “So, two teams. One with the beacon, the other near the office.”

“Two?” Carrot asked. “Why not work together?”

“Do you have training to work with others?” Iris asked.

“Ah, no?”

“Then you’d be a liability more than a help in a flight. Besides, there are three of us. We can at least form two teams and take on two groups of them. We have phones to stay in touch with each other as well. We’ll be fine.”

“So, two of us at the office, one at the garage?” Silas asked. “I take it you’re volunteering for the garage?”

Iris paused, then nodded. Carrot admired how confident she seemed, she would have been nervous in her place. 

“Me and you, Silas? At the office, I mean?” Carrot asked, just to be sure.

“That would be for the best. If it’s actually being used as an office, we’re going to want more than one person to look things over. We probably don’t want to just... stick around. That’ll be waiting for trouble. Perhaps a little too literally.”

Iris hummed, then gestured to the beacon. “Do you mind charging that, Carrot? It should be relatively simple, just press some magic into it.”

“Can’t do it on your own?” Silas asked.

Iris glared back. “I’ll have you know, that while wizards have their spells, we are far better at this than you. However, when it comes to the tactical expenditure of resources, this makes more sense. Carrot will have you to support her, or do as near as you can in that regard. I’ll be solo.”

“Makes sense to me,” Carrot said. She had a whole heap of magic to use and... actually, that gave her an idea. “Can I use any sort of magic for this?”

“Any sort? I mean, yes? Magic is magic.”

“Neat!” Carrot replied. She focused on the dowel, poking it with her senses. It wasn’t long before she found a sort of aperture in the page wrapped around it. Pushing a bit of magic into it felt strange, the magic slipping out of her grasp and into the wood.

So, she pushed, then pushed a bit more, specifically looking for the more tainted and still a little icky-feeling magic that she’d pulled from daemons recently.

She had been cycling through it, cleaning the magic as best she could, and yet there seemed to be a bit of a sticky film to it. Like an oily sheen in otherwise clean water. The little device that Iris had made didn’t seem to care about that at all, and accepted anything she gave it.

Then the wood started to smoke and Iris jumped. “Whoa! Not too much,” she said. “You’ll burn out the enchantments.”

“Sorry,” Carrot said. “But I barely even started?”

“Yeah? Well... it’s cheap wood, maybe? Look, that’s enough, it’ll do.” Carrot shrugged and handed the beacon over for Iris to inspect it. She slid it into her purse, then stood. “So, are we going to do this?”

“Are you in a hurry?” Silas asked.

Carrot raised a hand. “I might be? I do have dinner with mom tonight. Oh, by the way, Iris, if you want to come, that would be nice!”

“Uh, I’ll see?” Iris said. “But yeah, I’d rather get this over with. Besides, the beacon won’t last forever.”

Carrot scrambled to get up as both Silas and Iris headed for the door. She caught up with them just outside where Iris was already starting to move. “Wait! Are we going to the garage first?”

“Might as well. We should all know there it is, at least,” Silas said.

“Tch, right, fine,” Iris said. “Lead on, wizard boy.”

“Boy?” Silas muttered as he started ahead. “I’m old enough to be... okay, so not your father, I don’t think. I hope. God, I’m getting old, aren’t I?”

Carrot politely pretended not to hear his muttering. She was... feeling a little weird about all of this. Excited, but not as excited as maybe she ought to be, considering what they were in for. 

***