Smoke and Mirrors - 26

“Now Aidan,” Jared replied, “don’t allow your hatred of dark elves blind you. Mordollwen has been my friend, and at one time much more, for longer than I care to think about. She may have her faults but she’s basically a good woman.”

“Basically? And just what faults do I have?” Mor asked scathingly.

“Don’t start listing them,” Daniel muttered. “We’ll be here all night.”

Jared and Mor both shot looks at him, one amused, the other annoyed.

Daniel looked back at her innocently, winking at the two other men. “You are practically perfect in every way.”

“Good answer,” Mor told him. “Now back to the business at hand. You’re plan worked perfectly my dear.” She smiled at Jared.

“Thanks to our friend here. Without him things might have turned out quite differently.”

“Might have?” Aidan arched one dark eyebrow. “It seems to me that that creature would have had you two under his control as well if I hadn’t been here.”

“Typical of a…” Mor studied him momentarily, “a sun elf to be so egotistical.”

“Not ego, truth, dark elf,” Aidan growled.

“Alright, both of you grow up and behave like adults.” Jared looked between them severely. “It took all of us to pull this off.”

“But without…” Aidan began.

“We could have done it without…” Mor started to say.

Jared ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “What I’d give right now to know a silencing spell.”

Chuckling, Daniel hugged him. “We could always go home and let them fight it out between themselves. By the time the dust died down Mor would be looking for a new home and…Okay, bad idea. She’d probably want to move in with us and that is so not happening.”

“Aww Daniel, you don’t love me,” Mor pouted.

“From a distance I love you, but up close and sharing the bathroom, no way in hell.”

While the others were trading joking insults, Aidan had lowered the nahual’s dead body to the floor. Retrieving his cord, the elf muttered a spell and the body vanished. With that done Aidan looked at the others. “Now, just out of curiosity, where did you hide the wand?”