The Ravenwood Arms

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and slowly I breathed into it pushing power out with my breath in a steady stream. I expanded the mass so that it spilled past my hands, growing ever wider until the soap bubble was the size of a beach ball and hollow inside, now truly a bubble instead of a blob. Steadily it grew, f

bubble draped the insides of the walls, clinging to support beams and exposed wiring like a shimmering, almost solid liquid. It flowed around ceiling joists and fit snuggl

sed for a moment settling itself. The rainbows became brighter, shimmering along its surface in shivering waves. It grew brighter and brighter until it flashed blindingly white and disappeared. Although the shield could no longer be seen in its entirety, even by me, who still felt it, I knew the others woul

e sprawling edifices; after all they were the ones most able to meet the fee the Commission set for my work. My only skill in the magical community may have been setting shield

the lar

e lake, tennis courts, dog house, what seemed like miles of winding pathways and this final piece, the guest house. I wasn't quite sure how the construction of the dog's house came to be f

the doggie door and sit in the center of the space while being watched by a very curious and somewhat puzzled Labradoodle, named Swizzle Stick, but at least the dog's relatively large size meant tha

is was my last bit of work for this particular estate. I knew from experience, that the owners would be keen to

asting spells of any sort was well beyond my ability. I couldn't do anything showy; I could just create shields. It disappointed me when I was younger. Knowing some of the things that lur

ayer protections on their house to keep the nasty things away so they didn't have to fight them, always made those I worked for somewhat uncomfort

d day at

t mind. It meant that I got to spend my time with the construction crew instead of forced into uncomfortable small talk with the family. The small talk I left to my handler. He didn't seem to mind it, well, with them anyway. He wasn't fond of small talk with me. I wasn't importa

eone was blowing bubbles in the construction site earlier and a few of the bubbles splattered on the support beams. I knew these last remnants woul

though I had yet to learn what his specialty entailed. He never volunteered and I never asked. It was considered rude to pry into such things and as he was frequently the nicest on site to me, I wanted to kee

us owners on any site except at a distance when they came to inspect the property and check on the progress. Now, they would be even less likely to put in an a

I never heard him called anything other than just plain Davis. There was never a Mister attached to the front of it

tossed an old mud brown Carhartt jacket over the t-shirt. Light spilled from the open door into the night. As my work was finished, I snapped off the light as I closed the door behind me and walked over to Davis. His breath puffed white i

st of the crews left for the day around five. Despite working with him before, I wasn't certain how he felt about standi

me shiver. I realized my coat was still in the car. When the sun was s

ponded. His arm moved and I saw he w

into a Styrofoam cup and handed it to me. I wrapped my hands around it for war

usual ones, " Davis said as we tu

could always leap out of the shadows and my skills generally involved shielding until someone stronger came to do away with the bad things. Malak tended to act more as a delivery man. He b

ndered if he'd bother coming

d out to be weak, I figured the contractor liked me well enough to at least hit any monsters over the head with a handy piece of scrap wood, or at least attempt to. I wasn't certain the shadow creatures could actually be hit. With the exception of their eyes

didn't seem to mind the extended silence between his questi

u could shield tennis

though I think there may be some sort of residual effect as the shield didn't fade from view as well as the othe

the owne

y from behind my eyes. It didn't go far, I could still feel it lurkin

had to be out

alak's car, or at least the car he rented, came into view. The gray sedan looked like smoke in the shadowy half-light, as insubstantial as the creatures Malak was there to protect me from. Insid

lked around to the passenger's side of the vehicle. Malak straightened and pressed the

ld me. His voice was a neutral tone, his face a blank

up truck was parked. I slipped into the passenger's se

e gate closed and locked once we were gone. I shrugged, ignoring Malak's comment. The two men rarely spoke unless it was absolutely necessary as they seemed to have an innate dislike of each other. M

s certain Malak feared Davis' sheer physical strength too much to utter most of his comments where they could be overheard. While both men were the same six foot four height

money would be

of the Commission's private planes waited. As he drove, Malak complained about the late hour, he complained about Davis, he complained about being forced to go to a construction site in the first place. Apparently, such things

out it. His assignment was, however, beyond my paygrade. The Commission lined up the shielding jobs and offered the ones they thought I was suitable fo

on they took fifteen

assistance in ferrying it to the plane. The keys to the rental car were passed to the single attendant at the small building serving as both airport and traffic control. I threw my empty cup into the trashcan and followed Malak onto the plane. The luggage w

anyway." The momentary buzz of caffeine was quickly wearing off and I yawned hugely, my jaw popping. I closed my eyes as