pte

, I imagined it was summertime and that outside it was warm as well as light. I knew however that bright cloudless days usually meant that th

d be ready, the bulk of it being knocked out before I left, I still had to finish the unique, stand-out piece they wanted for their lobby. The drawings had been approved, materials ordered and work begun. In fact the only reason I f

an clothes made me feel better about being awake. I headed into the living room and found Sean seated on the couch reading through the new li

b Winston's head before taking a seat in the living roo

n I ran out, " Sean said, frowning a

g have you concerned?" I gestur

ce you've been taking jobs since we were kids and I always thought it was cool that you

rather than the claw marks left behind by some shadow creature craving the taste of his blood. I knew he sometimes still had nightmares abo

h you was a nifty trick, " I countered, pretending I d

and sailed through his bar exams. His one magical talent meant that when he argued in court, everyone agreed with him, including the opposition, jury and judge. Essentially, he was a law

as unable to convince them to let him continue. He switched to contract work instead and when our grandfather became sick, began putting in more time with me at the shop, eventually the two of us running it together. While Sean still

s are quite stric

" I said

and all of the other bits are put on top of it, you can't even tell it's there. Yet the c

strictions left too many without even the possibility of shields even beyond the actual cost of paying the person installing them. In addition, since they couldn't be seen once they were installed, what did it matter who owned the property? His a

they can get people to move to the suburbs." The restrictions always

pay scale?" he a

room and then they had people come in to test it until the shield broke. How long it takes to break and what force it takes to break it, determine your sh

"You do realize that according to this, the only reas

question must be the sole property of a member of the magical community, in good standing, in order to be eligible for shield placement. If the building in question is a multi-unit dwelling, each unit must be occupied by members of the magical community o

ssed, " he

least that one doesn't anyway, regardles

alist's dupe?" Sean asked lett

a good family who wants his current apartment shielded des

t James would change that?" Sea

could get James to bend

urse h

want to pay fo

ons booklet and then back up at me. "You do realize that we live in a multi-unit property, not owned by a member

create shields. I can shield away to my heart's content if I or one of my family members lives here, regardless of who owns the building or whether or not they are considered to b

re auction. We're already older than most of the people in this building. When Mark spilled his charcoal, he apologized to me, ca

city where residents lived their entire adult lives, ours wasn't one of them. It tended to attract people in their twenties who only stayed a few years at best. Sean and I moved in when we were both still in uni

ack of the regulations booklet. "And you thin

house, manmade lake, two tennis courts, a guest house, a two story dog house and p

ith a frown. "Wait, a

Labradoodle, deserves only t

ensing our attention, he lifted his head up and looked around. He wagged his stump of a tail when he saw us lo

estimate for whatever house you buy. You'll owe the Commission their fifteen percent. I'll waive my fee." Sean frowned at me. I sighed dramatically. "If you prefe

from his eyes. "But what about all of the people

stice, my much younger self wanted an argument where I could fight for what was right or at least have my points of contention validated. Instead, I more or less got an indulgent smile, a pat on the head and a 'don't worry your pretty l

some compensation for the work I did, Bradford's comment about providing shields to people who really needed them stung. While I loved dogs, I knew there were a host of people

nd gloom for tonight. What do you say to ordering pizza? We could veg out with

room. I filed the invoice in the folder with the rest and made a determined effort to put all thoughts of shields out of my mind until a later, but unspecified, date. I emptied my clothes fr