“Or it might be one of the Greater Air Elementals that has been coerced in the past and is not pleased to see an Air Master about that might think about coercing it again.” Rosa set about gathering the few things she would need for her warding. Giselle didn’t need anything more than a bit of incense, which she got out of a little box and started burning.

“I hadn’t thought of that. I hope that is what it is,” she said, sitting herself down at the table and composing herself so that she could concentrate on building her wards. “If it is, well, it will see I am no threat eventually, and go away.”

Building the wards was one of the first things that Mother had taught her once they had really started in on her lessons, but Mother had warned her not to use them unless she actually needed to. “Merely putting up wards signals to other Air Masters and all Air Elementals that there is an Air Mage there,” she had said. “Not putting them up is often safer than doing so, if you are not planning on working any magic. Doing nothing at all keeps you invisible unless something is looking for you.”

Well, something had not only been looking for her, it had found her. So, wards it is. She breathed in the scent of the incense, and pulled in the energy of the Air and infused the incense with it, willing it to protect her from every sort of magical attack. Once the air was saturated with scent and magic, she gently compacted it all, “pushing” it away from herself and infusing it into the porous walls and floor and ceiling of the vardo, and creating invisible walls of scent and power over the windows and across the chimney vent. She left nothing to chance, and when she was absolutely sure she had every possible entrance blocked, she set it all in place with a final burst of power and opened her eyes.

Rosa had her eyes closed, and Giselle felt the pulsing of golden Earth Magic about her still. So she remained quiet, to keep from disturbing Rosa’s concentration, until her friend exhaled and sent a final pulse of magic of her own radiating out into the vardo walls.

“Well!” Rosa said, opening her eyes with a smile. “That’s that. If anything manages to see past what we’ve done, I will catch it and eat it.”

Giselle chuckled. “And speaking of eating . . .” She reached over her head and brought out a box of marzipan formed and colored into the most delightful shapes of fruits. “Look what I have!”

“Oh . . . marzipan . . .” Rosa licked her lips. “I really think though, just to be sure, I should test it first. You know. Just to be safe.”