I don’t know about the one on Brougham. I told my agent to call you.”“He already did. But I won’t call him until late tomorrow or Thursday. I�...��m busy with my lawyer for much of tomorrow.”“I understand.”“Anyway, I really need to meet more people. And I acknowledge that I don’t know how one goes about that. I’m not going to join a football club or a discussion group.”“Right. Well, there are other places to meet folks. For example, I can get you invitations to a variety of arts events. Striking up. Essential when you’re in the outback. Use it to purify water, disinfect, start a fire. Great stuff, but dangerous.” The car gave a jerk and the train got underway.“Who’s Condy?”“No idea.” [Potassium permanganate or permanganate of potash is a purple compound created by a London chemist named Henry Condy in the 1860s. He is best noted for giving his name to the popular 19th and 20th century disinfectants Condy’s Crystals and Condy’s Fluid.]When they were back in Charleville, Alice watched the. It was better than staring at the spot where the sword with an angel inside it had been consumed. Half an hour had passed since then. The Light was responding slightly slower than I had estimated.Then I caught their scent out of the air. I hadn't noticed it at first, the smell of humidity and damp earth had masked their magic.I turned my eyes northward. There were eight of them. An ordinary detachment of Legionnaires numbered at seven, no more, no less. Seven is the number of the Light.An extra. Come here.” Alistair tugged at my hand until I complied, kneeling at his side and allowing myself to be dragged into his lap. “Relax. Breathe. You’ve got this.”“Cuddle cleanse?” I asked, one eyebrow raised, and he nodded with a grin. He kissed my temple as I sighed and leaned against the hardness of his armour, closing my eyes again.After a moment of searching, the only thing I could feel was the ward – and that gave me a thought. Instead of trying to grip all of the magic around me, I fixated.