The better to see you, my dear

I'd forgotten how fast this one goes to the deep end. Mostly because while Hugh is an unforgettable heavy weight, everything in my recollection got eclipsed by the second half. Except the bit on the Order chapter. That was a doozy of epic proportions.

Bits to remark on: Curran smashed Erra's ward with brute force alone, but Hugh couldn't get past Kate's even when he's a natural magic prodigy. Scary, huh?. I bet that one stuck to his craw.

Dessandra was awesome. Lonesco's reaction to her way of relating to Kate (everyone's way of relating to Kate, really) was priceless too.

Are you always this informal?

And Ghastek, his story, his stated price and Kate's cryptic response

"You survived, didn't you?"