I found very little to like in this story. The magic system was interesting but underdeveloped. Other than that - the plot made no sense (why was the protagonist trusted to do the job, when it was clear he neither possessed the knowledge or the ability to see it through?), but the worst thing was how thoroughly the girl was objectified. Not only was she treated as a commodity by the basic premise (smuggling her across the occult border), but she seemed to lack any sort of brains or volition. She was treated, and acted, like a child, except for the sex (god, I hope she wasn't a child).
The "wards" make no sense. Were they keeping her hidden? Or blocking enemies? How were they ever supposed to work if they didn't protect from above? Was the problem that they were supposed to be closed circles and the narrator left the water direction open? If that's the explanation, why wasn't he told always to make closed circles? Or was he told and he was too stupid to remember?
Beyond that - in the beginning of the story, the narrator says he was given the job by a guy named Tomas who "told [him] she was the daughter of some big time mystic, but not who", and then that "her dad was gone, and [they were] all she had". Then, in the end, he says that "her father" gave him the reviving stone, and in the instructions for disposal of her body Tomas calls her his daughter. So which is it? Note that the explanation can't be that Tomas was the father, kept it a secret and the narrator found out, since he called her his daughter in a direct quote. Unless someone has an explanation for this, I feel it was just sloppy writing.
