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The prince nodded. “Indeed. No one will see past my illusion. Your ears appear rounded.”
“Are you wearing glamours?” The general’s brows drew together, his aura increasing with what I could only assume was awe or curiosity.
“Illusion masks.” The prince crossed his arms. “It’s a specialty of my affinity.”
“I see.” The general stroked his chin. “Major Fieldstone has told me of your powerful and unusual magic. Tell me, have you ever considered joining our?—”
“No,” we all replied in unison.
The general’s mouth snapped shut.
Bavar leaned closer to General McCloy and whispered, “I already asked. I’m afraid that’s not an option they’re willing to consider at this time.”
The general inclined his head, then waved toward the door. “In that case, I’ve had my staff in contact with the Fire Wolf. He’s currently in Chicago. We shall give you portal keys for your transfer, and considering the strength of your magic, I would advise that you all take a potion we’ve readied for you that will counteract any fae lands withdrawals. Now, if you would...” He gestured to the door, and a moment of buzzing energy filled me.
We were one step closer to finding the warlock and revealing the Solis king for who he really was. With any luck, come nightfall, we’d have the warlock in sight.
The portal keytook us to an area in the land of Chicago that Bavar and General McCloy called the Gold Coast. According to them, the Fire Wolf was currently having lunch with two individuals but had agreed to meet us in one hour’s time. And since our reasons for being here would involve possibly finding a warlock the SF hadn’t even known existed, the generalhad stated the SF would cover all of the Fire Wolf’s hiring fees.
“So no more rulibs will be needed from the castle vaults?” I said to Norivun just after we materialized in an alleyway.
“Probably for the best.” My mate shrugged. He glanced around, and his aura rose as he inspected our whereabouts. “My father has probably sealed access to my accounts. Of course, I have other accounts he’s unaware of that I could withdraw rulibs from if needed, but it’s best to conserve our funds in case we need them later.”
Steam rose around us, and a rotting scent filled the air. A large green bin filled with overflowing trash stood next to us.
We’d been instructed to materialize in this precise location due to its proximity to the hunter and the ability to conceal us from the humans. It wasn’t an area I would have chosen to inhabit, though.
“This place is entirely foul.” Nish waved a hand over his nose. “They don’t even properly dispose of their waste.” He sneered at the bin, and my nose wrinkled.
Its stench truly was horrid.
“I take it we head that way?” Ryder nodded toward the alleyway’s opening.
A street ran perpendicular to where we’d materialized. Strange-looking creations flew past on the road and seemed to resemble metal boxes on wheels. They were loud and smelly but moved quickly.
“How strange,” I murmured as I studied them further and also waved the air away in front of my nose. When that didn’t deter from the stench, I called upon just enough of my air affinity to create a weak Shield around my face, blocking the fumes.
“Ah, those must be the cars we were warned of!” Haxil elbowed me, and I slowly smiled as I studied them.
The odd-looking vehicles, which we’d been told were the normal form of transportation for the humans since they didn’t have wings, magic carpets, or mistphasing abilities, were of different shapes and sizes. I was in agreement with Nish, though. They were rather repugnant in their stench, much like the rubbish bin near us, but to have created such a thing when one had no magic was truly remarkable.
“They must be clever, these humans,” I surmised, “to have invented such a thing in a magicless state.”
Haxil canted his head. “I was thinking the same.”
“Now, remember,” Nish said sternly, “we’re not to stare at anything. General McCloy said humans don’t look twice at cars.”
I sighed. All I wanted to do was stare.
Norivun prowled closer to the alleyway’s mouth, his guards flanking him. “The Fire Wolf is supposed to be meeting us at a salopas on the corner. Try to blend in.”
Initially, when the prince had glamoured all of us, our hair color had remained the same. Silver locks had still covered all of their heads, while mine had remainedblack. However, when the general explained that such coloring was oftentimes only seen on the elderly population of this realm, and he’d recommended we adapt more earthly coloring, the prince had complied.
As a result, the prince had midnight locks similar in shade to mine while Sandus’s hair was a color the species here calledblond. Haxil and Ryder both had brown hair that looked entirely drab and reminded me of domal dung, and Nish, of course, had insisted on something else entirely.
When one of the SF staff had said that some humans colored their hair to appear the same shade as a Nolus fairy, the surly guard had insisted on bright blue. Of the six of us, his coloring was the most cheerful. The irony wasn’t lost on any of us.
We reached the end of the alleyway and emerged near the street.
