"Yes," I said. "And I see what he's thinking." I looked at Paul and McDonald--or James, I guess I should think of him as now--to include them in my explanation. "The first one is a variation on the basic location I spell I use to, say, find someone's lost wedding ring."

McDonald--yeah, he was going to be that in my head forever--frowned. "You actually use simple magic like that?"

I frowned at him. "Of course. It's kind of my magical bread and butter. I can make, oh, $250, for less than an hour's work." It occurred to me as I spoke that $250 an hour was probably chump change to him. For me, though, it was a quarter of a month's rent in my tiny apartment.

He waved at me....

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