Lirael could see the magic of it, the way she had with the magic in the portal, and she took a step back from it instinctively. It didn't seem to do anything obvious that she could see, though. She might have felt a bit less nervous, perhaps, but she didn't attribute that to the magic.

"What was that?" she asked, frowning and looking down at her wrist stump, as if she were examining the hand that wasn't there.