“Police work,” said Stefan, “is ninety per cent paperwork, nine per cent bullshit and one per cent horror.” — Ben Aaronovitch

Gaston did betray an abstracted quality that might have been the result of magic. But was more likely down to consuming, I suspected, a tremendous amount of recreational chemicals.

The more power something has, the less the actual facts matter.

“There’s paperwork for magic? asked Vanessa.

“Not so glamorous now, eh?” I said.