A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan
Rule 33- If trouble knocks on your door, pretend you're not home. Trust me, it'll get tired of waiting eventually.

The next scene is pretty obvious. The house is old and has a wooden porch which has clearly seen better days. It's partially burned rather than completely destroyed though which makes it much easier to tell that fire was what did the damage. As we approach Ashton immediately nods.

"This was most definitely caused by magic. I have no doubt." He states firmly.

"I don't know if I should be happy or sad about that. But either way we're on the right track. Should we see if anyone is home?" I ring the doorbell. It's quiet for a moment then I hear shuffling footsteps and someone swearing as the door handle jiggles.

"Ah, shit. Ow. One moment, I'm trying... Can you turn the door handle for me please? It's unlocked." A male voice calls out. Uh... Okay. That's kind of weird. With a shrug directed at Ashton I reach for the handle but he beats me to it, I suspec that this is another case of him insisting for my safety. The door opens and a guy maybe ten years older than me is on the other side. I can immediately tell why he was struggling with the door. Both of his hands are completely covered in bandages.

"Sorry about that. My name is Gregory. Can I help you?" He asks warily. He seems a little frightened of us which is weird. Ashton I can understand but I'm not scary at all. A glance at Ashton tells me that he wants me to take the lead again. I decide to work off a suspicion and be honest.

"Hey, sorry to bother you. We're looking into some weird fires that have been taking place and I thought you might know something. Are... did you burn your hands?" I ask. Gergory sighs but his wariness immediately fades and he relaxes. Yes honesty was the right way to go.

"Yes! I thought no one was going to look into it. I reported it to the police but they said they didn't really have anything to go off of." He sounds a little angry.

"Well, we aren't police, but we are working with them to look into these fires. Can you tell us anything about what happened?” I ask, trying to sound approachable and accepting. If this guy saw the fae use magic he might be a little hesitant to share in case he sounds crazy.

"Well... it was pretty late and I realised there was someone trying to open my front door, or rather Tabs, my cat noticed. She was clawing at the carpet in the hall and I realised there was someone trying to open my door. I opened the door, intending to yell at the guy, threaten to call the cops, whatever. I figured it was just some drunk trying to open the wrong door or something anyway. I didn't expect... There was a guy at the door, he didn't seem big or dangerous or anything. opened the door and yelled at him to back off and my porch just... caught fire! I have no idea how, maybe the guy rigged something before messing with my door, or maybe I scared him and he dropped something. Anyway, I shoved the guy away and he ran off. I managed to put out the fire using my garden hose." He explains.

"Which is when you burned yourself." I conclude. Gregory frowns and shakes his head, but more like he's unsure than actually saying no.

"That's the weird thing. I swear I didn't touch the fire. I stayed a few metres back and I don't remember touching it. The only time I remember any pain was when I shoved the guy back. I must have hit him harder than I thought." He grumbles. Ashton's eyes widen and he opens his mouth like he wants to tell me something, but closes it again with a sideways glance at Gregory. I am guessing something about what Gregory says means something to Ashton. But since Gregory has done a fine job of explaining away the magic to himself, I don't want to ruin it. I trade numbers with Gregory and ask him to call us if he remembers anything else or if he sees the guy again. He agrees easily enough. I think he's just relieved that SOMEONE is looking into the incident. He didn't even ask who we actually are! Although that might have something to do with Ashton's presence. There is something a little imposing about him when he turns his attention to you. Even if he isn't talking. Like he's someone you probably shouldn't refuse. Then again I find it a little hard to be intimidated by him because I've seen him failing to use a toaster and I've watched him get mobbed by obsessed fangirls. Some things just ruin your ability to be scared of someone.

Ashton manages to hold his tongue until we reach the car.

"I think I know what kind of fae the assassin is!" he declares excitedly. I perk up. This sounds interesting.

"Yeah? What kind? How do you know?" I ask.

"I believe that he is an imp. There are many fae with a fire affinity, but what the human described... He burned his hands on the fae's skin when he shoved him away. He truly did not touch the fire as he believed. Imps are not known for having good control over their emotions or magic, but they are powerful. There are many types of fae that could have set the fires, but only an imp would burn hot enough to harm someone without suffering negative consequences and burns as a result of this." He reasons.

"Okay, so we learned that the assassin is a guy, probably. Also that he's an imp which is a type of fae with a fire affinity." I conclude.

"Yes, I do not believe that the assassin would have a glamour to change their gender. It would not make it easier for them to blend in and it would not assist in hiding their identity since I already do not know their identities. There would be no point and it would be more difficult to maintain. Imps can't generally maintain a glamour so I would guess that he has purchased one or that one of the other assassins cast it for him.” He decides.

"Hmm.... Does any of this information help us find him?” I ask.

“Not really, but I am hoping that if we continue following this trail of fires we will find him. It may however make it easier for me to defeat and restrain him.” he explains.

"Well that's a good thing too. There's no point finding the guy if you can't capture him.” I comment. Ashton looks a little offended.

"I can capture him either way!" He insists.

"It will just make it easier if I know more about my opponent. That is all. I did not come here to lose!" He says hotly. I place a hand on his elbow in an attempt to soothe him.

"I know that, I didn't mean to imply otherwise. I was just saying that it's useful to know more." I suddenly remember how weird Ashton gets about physical contact and pull my hand away. He didn't seem to mind, but I don't want any misunderstandings or to make him uncomfortable. That's it. Later tonight I am going to sit him down and ask him my growing list of questions. For now, I change the topic.

"Should we go to the next fire?" I ask. Ashton hesitates.

"What?" I prompt him. He sighs.

"I am wondering if it would not be more efficient to go to the scene of the most recent fire. Perhaps we can determine where the imp travelled to from there. We need to know where he is, rather than where he was.” Ashton frowns as he think it over. I suppose he isn't wrong. We could travel to a few more fires and not find more information than we have now, and in the meantime the imp could get further away or go into hiding.

"We could go to the most recent scene. If we can't find anything we can always backtrack and try the other scenes.” I remind him. Ashton agrees and after I take a moment to adjust my phone GPS, we are on our way.