"I saw blood, that's all. My gifts are rather limited in the area of far-seeing. You should shake Dorrie's hand. Far-seeing is her strong suit."
"Thanks, but no thanks," Larry said.
He smiled. "You are not police, or you wouldn't have threatened me with the police, but you were with them earlier. Why?"
"I thought all you saw was blood," I said.
He had the grace to look embarrassed; nice to know he could be embarrassed. "A little bit more, perhaps."
"Touch clairvoyance isn't a traditional fey power."
"Our many-times-great-grandmother was the daughter of a shaman, so the story goes."
"Getting magic from both sides of the family tree," I said. "Dirty pool."
"Clairvoyance isn't magic," Larry said.
"A really good clairvoyant will make you think it is," I said. I stared at Magnus. The last clairvoyant who had touched me and seen blood had been horrified. He hadn't wanted to touch me again. He hadn't wanted me anywhere near him. Magnus didn't look horrified, and he'd offered to have sex with me. Different strokes for different folks.
"I'll take your order through to the kitchen myself, if you'll just decide what you want," he said.
Larry stared at the menu. "A salad, I guess. No dressing." He thought about it some more. "No tomatoes."
Magnus started to stand.
"Why won't you sell to Stirling?" I asked.
Magnus cocked his head to one side, smiling. "The land has been in our family for centuries. It's our land."
I looked at him and couldn't read his face. It could have been the absolute truth, or a boldfaced lie.
"So the only reason you don't want to be a millionaire is because of what... family tradition?"
The smile deepened. He leaned closer, long hair spilling forward. He whispered, and it was quiet enough that he needed to whisper. "Money is not everything, Anita. Though Stirling seems to think it is."
His face was very close, just barely far enough away for me not to complain. I could smell his aftershave, faint as if you'd have to get very near his skin to smell it, but it would be worth the effort.
"What do you want, Magnus, if it's not money?" I stared at him from too close. His long hair trailed over my hand.
"I told you what I wanted."
Even without the glamor be was trying to sweet-talk me, distract me. "What happened to the trees out by your road?" I didn't distract that easily.
He blinked long lashes. Something slid behind his eyes. "I happened."
"You cut down those trees?" Larry asked.
Magnus turned to him, and I was glad not to be staring at him from inches away. "Sadly, yes."
"Why?" I asked.
He straightened up, suddenly businesslike. "I got drunk and went on a little rampage." He shrugged. "Embarrassing, isn't it?"
"That's one word for it," I said.
"I'll go get your food. One na**d salad coming up."
"You remember what I'm getting?" I asked.