"Wha… what?" Raymond sputtered out, then let out a growling snarl. "Who the brimstone does he think he is?"

Siobhan let out a sigh. "I can tell you that he definitely is a high-ranking mage. Probably focusing on Wind and Earth magic, with the transport spell. I could barely sense any of his magic. But in his magic circle, he had six focus points."

"Which means what?" Savannah asked, looking confused.

"Which means a long explanation of what I understand of human magic." Siobhan sighed as she kicked off her sneakers. "Anyway, it's almost moonrise. Don't you need to get to the park, Ray?"

"It would be nice, yes, but after all that, I'm not sure how I feel about leaving you alone."

"You're fine, Ray," Savannah said. "I'll stay here. I've got tricks up my sleeve. You go change and enjoy romping around with the other wolves or whatever you do. Yeah?"

"Werewolves do not romp, thank you. We run."

"Yeah, yeah, semantics."

Ray eventually left, grumbling all the way. Savannah let out a sigh and shrugged off her jacket.

"Now that the angsty man wolf has left, I'm going to tackle that pile of dirty dishes in there."

"We're out of dish soap."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I brought some. While I'm doing that, tell me this long-winded explanation of human magic." Savannah dragged over a foot stool so she could reach the sink easier, and started stacking the piled-up dishes.

Siobhan figured there was no talking her out of it, so she sat down at the table and started explaining. What she knew was mostly limited to reading old textbooks from Sinead and children's books found at sales. Almost every species had inherent magic within them, and could use it to activate magic crystals and charms. Any human (and various other species, but focusing on humans for the sake of discussion) that possessed inherent magic usually had an affinity for one of the 6 elemental magics: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Plant or Lightning. The mage would begin learning to summon and control their affinity magic. Once that was mastered, they would usually learn some basic spells in the other elemental categories. Their power in those categories would usually be much weaker than that in their affinity elemental magic.

But, some mages, for whatever reason, were able to use multiple elemental categories without any problem. Whether it was a matter of intellect, inherent magical ability or something else, Siobhan didn't know. She did know that it usually required years of study and practice. Those types of mages usually got better-paying jobs and had more money.

Savannah had used some of her inherent goblin magic to activate the magic crystal in the sink faucet, and water poured into the sink. She tossed in several soap chips from a belt pouch and watched the bubbles form. "All right, so that's a general idea. How do you know he's high-ranking based on his magic circle?"

A magic circle was required of every mage. It was a way of controlling the output of magic, and a focusing technique to help the mage cast the desired spell. It would be drawn when the mage's affinity was officially designated, and then redrawn for every elemental that was added. Once the mage had memorized it, the circle would appear on the ground, encircling the mage when they cast magic.

"That guy had six points on his magic circle. Six is a ridiculous amount, from what I know. Like the mages working for the government might have six. The mages in town, y'know, the ones who supply the charms at shops? They probably only have two or maybe three, if like they work for Rasheed’s."

Savannah paused in scrubbing a plate to turn to Siobhan. "That doesn't make sense. If he's a high-level mage, why would he be a researcher at the University? Wouldn't they want him working in the government or something?"

Siobhan buried her face in her hands. "I don't know. Really and truly. I've got a feeling that no matter what I do, things are going to get more complicated. But… I want to know the truth. I owe Sinead that much at least."

Savannah set the plate in the drainer, and turned to see Siobhan more clearly. "Okay. So that's an explanation of that. However, what does it mean that your magic is leaking?" When Siobhan hesitated, Savannah went on to say, "Look, I know you've only known me for a couple years. You probably see me more as Ray's friend than yours. But… I'm a goblin. Most humans distrust me. You don't. To me, that makes you family, if not a really good friend. So, whatever you tell me, I can keep my mouth shut. If you want to tell me, you can; if not, no hard feelings."

"It's not a matter of distrust or friendship," Siobhan said after hesitating. "It's more like the only person to know is my sister and, to some extent, that Tim guy. So telling anyone else just leaves me feeling baffled." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Basically, my magic is not under control. It started happening right after puberty set in, and got worse after my mom died. In rural Wales, where I grew up, there was some amount of privacy due to distance, but there also wasn't really any way to figure out how to control my magic. So Sinead decided to sell the family farm and come to the Colonies, and we wound up in New Amsterdam after immigration. Sinead decided to go to the University to figure out how to keep control of my magic." She raised her hand to gesture to the silver bracelets on her wrists. "Silver acts as a magic catalyst, and depending on how it's used, can either amplify or nullify magic."

She smiled. "Or at least that's what Sinead told me. A lot of it involves theories and stuff that makes my head swim. So that's the very pared-down version that makes sense to me. I hope it makes sense to you."

"It does, actually." Savannah sighed. "Answers a few questions, too. Tell ya what. You start looking through all that stuff he gave you, I'll work on cleaning."

"You don't have to."

"I like cleaning. Ray is a slob and you're rarely home. Consider it a thanks."