“Uh oh,” Duncan Laird said. “It only does that when it senses an overload of magical power. The spell circle was right. You do have a most unusual energy signature. It’s going to take a lot of work to harness your power, but when we do …” He gave me a frankly appraising look that made me blush from the tips of my toes to the roots of my hair, “… you’re going to be magnificent! But,” he added, “I can’t start your training on the front porch.”

He lifted an expectant eyebrow and I realized I was standing with both arms spread across the doorway, hands gripping the doorframe, effectively barring his entry. “Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, letting go of the doorframe and stepping to one side. “Please come in.”

Duncan Laird smiled and stepped over the lintel, closing the door behind him. The change in air flow puffed the curtains out in the library.

“It’s an old house,” I said, apologizing for the noise. “Come in …”

I was going to lead him into the parlor but, drawn by the breeze from the open windows, he was already heading for the library. “I love old houses,” he said, running his long elegant fingers over my books. Thank goodness I’d just dusted. I caught a glimpse of Ralph scurrying behind the backs of the books and hoped Duncan Laird hadn’t seen him. “They have their own power. This one feels …”, he paused and lifted his head, his long aquiline nose creasing as he sniffed the air, “charged. Something has been going on in this room.”

“I was just doing some spring cleaning,” I said. “I hadn’t used this room much recently so I dusted …”

“You’ve been banishing more than dust,” he said, laying his satchel down on the sideboard and removing from it a device that looked like a pocket watch. When he opened it, though, I saw it was no ordinary pocket watch. Its face had three circles on it, each filled with a different symbol and an arrow inside it. Two of the arrows were spinning in opposite directions; the third was pointing straight up and trembling. “You’ve been banishing a presence.” He looked up from the device, keen blue eyes burning into mine with a force that was strangely compelling. Although the last thing I wanted to do was tell this stranger about my romantic troubles, that’s exactly what I ended up doing.

“That would be Liam, my ex.” I was trying for a light tone, but the words came out angry and bitter. “He deceived me!” I didn’t realize how angry I was until the words came out. The anger rippled from me in a palpable wave. The back door, which I’d left open while cleaning, slammed.

“Ah.” His blue eyes widened and swept around the room and then back to me. “Let me guess, an incubus?”