A Life Less Ordinary by Christopher Nuttall Page A

any idea just how...interesting that makes you?”
    I caught myself before I could lean forward and kiss his lips. His voice just sent shivers of lust down my spine. I was certain now that I was being manipulated, yet that didn’t make resisting it any easier. And if he was scared to say her name out loud...if she was who she claimed to be, she would be able to hear her name spoken, wherever she was. Someone so powerful had to daunt the entire magical community.
    “And your Master is one of the most famous magicians in the world,” Cardonel continued. “You’re going to be something remarkable if you don’t kill yourself first. You’re going to be really special.”
    He was still leaning forward until I leaned back, angrily. Whatever I was feeling, whatever the cause of it, I wasn’t going to allow those feelings to push me into doing something that I would regret. I still wanted to start panting for him, or worse, yet now I understood it better I could control it. Or so I told myself.
    “But you need to ask yourself a question,” Cardonel said, apparently unbothered by my unspoken refusal to get hot and sweaty with him. “What is your master, really?”
    I looked up, sharply. “Why are you talking to me?”
    “Let’s just say that I have your best interests at heart,” Cardonel said, sincerely. At least he sounded sincere, but I had to remind myself that he could be using a glamour-spell to project whatever feelings he wanted to project into the air. “You’re a newcomer to a very dangerous world, one with more potential than actual training. You have to understand just where you stand.”
    “Oh,” I said. My head was a mess. I wanted to leave, now, yet something kept me in my seat. It might have been a spell of some kind, or it might just have been my curiosity. Even if I couldn’t trust Cardonel any further than I could throw him, I wanted to hear what he had to say. Or perhaps he was making me want to hear what he had to say. “And where, may I ask, do I stand?”
    “In the middle,” Cardonel said. He looked down at me. “You need to ask your master just what he is and where he stands. It won’t be long before everyone has to choose a side. I hope you choose wisely.”
    “Thank you,” I said, sourly. “And what are you going to do now?”
    He leaned forward, so close that his lips were almost brushing mine. “We could go out together,” he whispered. His voice was touching off all the glands in my body. I knew he was bad news and yet I couldn’t help a sudden surge of arousal. “I could show you strange pleasures and wonders that you would never find for yourself. We could have an evening to remember and then do it all again, and again, and again.”
    “Doubtless,” a new voice said. “However, Dizzy has her own obligations at the moment.”
    I looked up, breaking free of the near-kiss. Master Revels was standing there, leaning on his cane. His eyes were very cold as they stared at Cardonel, who flinched before he could help himself. I realised that Cardonel had been right, at least to some extent. I was caught in the middle.
    “I suggest that you find someone else to bother,” Master Revels said, calmly. “Dizzy and I have other work to do.”
    Cardonel bowed and pressed my hand, just for a moment. “I will see you for our date,” he said, and headed off into the market. He turned when he was at a safe distance and waved. “Somewhere nice and new for us both, I think.”
    Master Revels watched him stride away. “You should know better than to talk to strangers, even in the mundane world,” he said. “Here...it can be very dangerous.”
    I stared at him. There was something in his expression that I didn’t like. “Why...?”
    “Your new friend isn’t human,” Master Revels said. “Well...not completely human. Didn’t you see the ears? Your friend is a half-elf. They’re dangerous.”
    He shrugged and turned back to me. “Come on,” he said, before I could ask any more