average human’s Reviews > Magical Intentions > Status Update

Everything was quiet as the two of them talked in Lombardi’s office. They talked a lot from what I’d seen. A few times they had met with other people from our company, including meatheads, labbies, doctors, and administrators.
I spent the day watching as people approached the wards and were easily turned away.
“Why do we get such a mix of people coming?” Ami asked. She was getting ready to do a shift.
“My best guess, we have more than one person who really wants Shanton dead. And they put a massive bounty on his head. This means we’re going to get everyone coming after him, pushing and shoving to get their hands on him despite his being a dragon who can swallow them whole,” I replied.
“Fucking idiots.”
I nodded. “That they are.”
We watched as a young teenager approached the ward and lifted his hand, stopping inches away from the ward. His lips moved but nothing happened. He frowned and whispered something else.
“What is he doing?” someone asked.
“Trying to trick the ward into accepting him,” I said. I knew exactly what he was doing and smirked. Wasn’t going to work.
He swore before storming off. Probably needing to come up with a plan B.
“He was a cocky one, wasn’t he,” Ami said.
I nodded. “Did he really think we would make it that easy?”
“If it were any other company, it probably would have been,” Henzie said. “But we have you, and for someone who hasn’t had to do something like this before, you really did think of most everything.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling a little lame about my simple response. I didn’t know how to reply to Henzie’s compliment. Getting a compliment from someone like him was kind of a big deal.
We were so focused on the screen that it took a moment for the smell of food to register in our brains. I straightened, ignoring the slight ache in my lower back. At the entrance to the room, set up along the wall, was a small buffet. Davies shook hands with a man before nodding and patting his back. The man left and Davies turned to us with a big grin.
“Courtesy of Mr. Lombardi. He said we needed to fuel up before we ran ourselves into the ground,” Davies said.
People mumbled their appreciation as they swarmed the buffet. It wasn’t even what you would have expected, like a continental breakfast. No, it had everything. From the smell, there was bacon, potatoes, and other meats I would never eat but some of the people here would appreciate.
Coffee warmed the air, and I nearly moaned. I liked coffee, but then again, if anyone said they didn’t, they were lying. Coffee was what ran this planet, kept everyone going. We practically worshipped coffee.
I let the swarm claim their food as I kept an eye on the screens. The last thing I wanted was for there to be an attack while we were all distracted with food.
Venni approached with a huge plate of food and frowned when he noticed I was still empty handed.
“Where’s yours?” he asked.
“I’m just waiting until the others get fed.”
His frown deepened. “When was the last time you ate?”
“Yesterday. I don’t need three meals a day, Venni. Once a day is fine. I can even go longer than that.”
He placed his plate on a cabinet and turned to face me with a curious look in his dark brown eyes. He stared, and I just waited him out. As a shifter, he probably didn’t understand how a person could survive without eating at least three times a day. If I burned through my magic too quickly, I just needed a good night’s rest. Food didn’t really help.
“I’ve been wondering but didn’t want to ask in case it was too personal, but what are you?” he asked.
I understood his question. People knew I was a magic-user but that label covered anyone with the ability to use any magic. Witches, mages, dragons, leprechauns, fae, demons, mermaids, even some humans fell under that title, along with hundreds of other species.
“I’m an orphan,” I replied and he nodded, understanding what I wasn’t saying.
A lot of orphans didn’t know who they were, not if they were a newborn or infant when they were abandoned. Me, I was found in a dumpster, only a few days old. No birth mother or father around to tell them who and what I was. Everyone came to the conclusion that whatever I was, wasn’t something common or well known. They couldn’t match me up with beings because I would only have one or two abilities similar but something else that belonged to a different type. I was all over the spectrum.
The questions in Venni’s eyes put me on edge. My shoulders tightened as I waited for him to question me, to take on the challenge of figuring me out. I didn’t want him to do that. I had too many people thinking they knew what I could be, too many times my hope crashed because they were wrong. I didn’t want that here, not from any of my co-workers. I understood well enough who I was and what I was capable of doing. I didn’t want others to think they could give me answers where answers didn’t exist.
Venni proved me wrong. He didn’t question or make promises he couldn’t uphold. Instead, as if understanding my emotions, he nodded and grabbed his plate, taking in a mouth full of pasta.
When he swallowed, he finally spoke. “Just make sure you get food. Mr. Lombardi won’t be happy to learn his employees aren’t eating, especially when we’re in a high stress situation. Your body may not feel hungry, but it’ll need all the energy it can get. Don’t deny yourself when you don’t need to.”
With that, he turned and went over to another set of screens, taking his plate with him. He said something to one of the guards who replied back, pointing to the screen.
I sighed and went back to staring at the screens before me. Venni was right. I should at least eat a little bit now. Anything could happen at this point, and I didn’t want to not eat now and be unable to do so until the next day when Shanton finally left.
When everyone got their fill of food, I went over and grabbed a small plate, filling it with half a sandwich and a spoonful pasta salad. I grabbed a water bottle and went back to my station to nibble on the food.
Everything was delicious. I kept picking at the food as someone managed to slip through the wards. I chewed as I directed guards to go after the intruder and swallowed when they caught the baddie, detaining him.
The rest of the day went by peacefully. The baddies were probably realizing they were trying to break into a fortress and it wasn’t going to be that easy. They weren’t going to be able to just waltz in like they hoped. Some of them should have done their homework before even thinking about approaching us.
Lombardi made sure we had food available to us all day. This week really was all hands on deck, the only people out were for essential assignments while everyone else helped out. A dragon’s life was no joke.
Everything stayed smooth sailing until late Saturday night, when a big baddie slipped through, and we lost her.