Free Monster Baiter (An Obscure Magic Book 6) by Viola Grace Page A

chairs. It was downright cozy now.
    The journal welcomed her touch, and she opened it, focusing on information on demon magic, and when the page settled in front of her, she started reading.
     
    Three hours later, she rubbed at her eyes and stretched. It was going to take a few ingredients she didn’t have, but she would be able to break through the exterior enchantments. It was a good thing she had a license to purchase the rarer ingredients. That stuff was controlled in many cities, including her own.
    Magnus had gone quiet after the first hour. That was probably when she had stopped reading out loud. He had nothing to comment on.
    She went inside, got a notepad and pen and returned to the back yard. Time to make a shopping list.
    Delwin brought her some lemonade and some small sandwiches.
    “It’s lunchtime. You need to stay fuelled up.”
    “Thanks, Delwin. You don’t have to do all this.” She took the lemonade and sipped at it. “But it is very much appreciated.”
    He smiled. “I am enjoying it. You very obviously need someone to assist you at home. Now, you just need to find one to help you on the job.”
    She sighed. “Well, I had an offer today.” It slipped out before she could stop it.
    Delwin sat across from her. “Who was it? A dashing guild officer?”
    She made a face. “Sort of. An old acquaintance.”
    “Really? Can I ask who?”
    Sophy was saved by an arrival on her property. In the far corner of the yard—the only place warded for transport arrival—a large figure took shape before the light faded.
    “Oh. I appear to have a visitor.”
    Delwin was staring at the man, and he sighed. “Oh, if only he was here for me.”
    She gave him a grin and walked over to the corner where her guest was pinned in the heavy warding. “Hello.”
    He smiled. “Hello. You are taller than you seemed through the lenses.”
    The voice made her shiver and coming out of the mouth of a man who looked like he would have an easier time swinging a sword than driving a car, she suddenly realized she had been backed into a corner. “Magnus.”
    He grinned. His long, dark hair was shaggy and slid forward when he bent his head toward her. His jaw was broad, the blade of his nose was arched and the nostrils flared. It was a serious nose above some very mobile lips. They were currently curved in a smile.
    “Sophia DeMonstre. I am here to assist you, as you are my guardian.” He inclined his head.
    She wrinkled her nose and let him loose from his confinement.
    “Pleased to meet you, Magnus. I am still working on that research but was about to go out to get some supplies.”
    He was wearing contemporary clothing, and he was wearing it well. The jeans and obscenely faithful t-shirt were something she wanted to enjoy looking at, so she decided to avoid them instead.
    Sophia returned to her table and made the notes, flipping the pages back and forth until she was sure that she had listed every ingredient that she didn’t already have at home.
    “May I come with you?” Magnus was into her lemonade and sandwiches.
    “Yes. I don’t trust you around Delwin. He seems to want to climb you like a stripper pole.”
    Magnus looked toward the merman, and he smiled. “Well, I must say that he is extremely attractive but, sadly, not my type.”
    Delwin blushed and scuttled inside, bringing out another lemonade with a smile. “Here you go, sir.”
    Sophia muttered, “Magnus, his name is Magnus, and according to the Mage Guild, he did something very bad.”
    Magnus smiled. “According to them. I did something unacceptable by their standards, and my sentence was the amber. Well, until a woman asked for me to be freed who had not had intimate knowledge of my body.”
    Sophia snorted. “I have never licked my GPS. Not once. Oh, and I gripped my phone but never fondled.”
    Delwin smiled, “Where is he going to sleep? I vote my room.”
    Magnus inclined his head. “I can make myself a shelter out here. I am used to living rough,