The Vondish Ambassador

She was not yet thirty, and she was using magic without realizing it. She might not have heard the Calling yet, but Emmis would not have wagered a copper bit on her chances of reaching sixty.

"I see," Lar said, with a quick glance at Emmis. "Let us suppose, though, that we were to apprentice him to a less cautious warlock; what would happen if his master was Called before he turned fifteen?"

"Oh, another warlock would take him on to complete his training. It's happened, I won't deny it. But I'm safe enough."

"And if he made journeyman, and then came home to Semma, he would be less… I don't know the Ethsharitic. The danger would be less?"

"A little, yes. And his magic would be weaker, as well, though it would strengthen with use."

"Would it?"

"Oh, yes. The more magic a warlock uses, the more power he has available. It's very tempting – but yielding to temptation means the Calling, so we resist."

"Your magic – what does it do, exactly?"

"Oh, at the most basic level, warlockry is just the ability to move things without touching them. But it can be used in thousands of ways, because we also have the additional senses to let us perceive what things really are. Everything around us is made up of smaller things, of tiny particles, and we warlocks can sense where they all are, and we can see how to move some of those particles and not others. We can create heat by moving anything, even the air, against itself; we can make light by… by pushing the air inward; we don't really have the words to explain it. I can heal wounds by making the edges flow and grow back together; I can repair broken things by making the space between the pieces go away. I can cure some diseases by killing the tiny little creatures in the blood that cause them, or by drawing out poisons. But really, it's all just seeing what's there and moving it into the places and shapes I want it in."

"You can teach my grandson how to do this?"

"I can change something in his head so that he will be able to do it, yes. That only takes a moment, and then, once he can hear the power and draw upon it, I will train him to use it safely and effectively. That training will last the three years of his apprenticeship."

"And after that, he can come home to Semma?"

"Or he can stay here in Ethshar, as he pleases, yes."

"There's no reason he couldn't come home? The Council of Warlocks wouldn't object?"

"They wouldn't object. Why should they?"

"I don't know. It just seems odd that there are no warlocks in Semma."

Ishta turned up an empty palm. "It just happened that way."

"I see." Lar pushed his chair back and rose; Emmis hastily followed suit. "Thank you," Lar said, bowing.

"You're quite welcome. Will your grandson be coming to see me, then?"

"We'll need to discuss it amongst the family."

"Of course." Ishta got to her feet as well.

"Thank you again. We'll be going."

"Of course," she repeated.

A moment later Lar and Emmis were out on the street, marching back toward Arena Street. Emmis looked around, but Hagai was nowhere to be seen.

He probably got bored, Emmis thought. He had no way of knowing how long they might be in the warlock's shop.

"I think I'd like to talk to a wizard next," Lar said.

"I thought we'd be going home," Emmis said.

"Wizard first," Lar said.

Emmis looked back to see Ishta's door close, and a moment later her window went dark.

He sighed. "Wizard Street is that way," he said, pointing.

Chapter Eight

"We've passed a dozen open shops," Emmis said. "Was there something specific you're looking for?"

"Yes," Lar said. "I want a wizard who answers questions."

"You mean a seer?"

"Something like that, yes."

Emmis looked up at the signboards above the doors ahead. "TARISSA the FAIR," read the nearest, "Love Spells amp; Potions, Aphrodisiacs." The next a

They were walking east on Wizard Street. It was late enough now that most of the shops were dark, the signboards unlit. "Perhaps we should come back in the morning," Emmis suggested.

Lar shook his head. "Tonight," he said.

"Why? Why is it that important? You said you could take as long as you needed for whatever it is you're doing."

"Yes, but tomorrow someone may be following us again."

Emmis blinked. "What?"

"That Lumethan is gone – hadn't you noticed?"

"Well, yes," Emmis admitted.

"You told them I was interested in warlocks, and I wasn't talking about anything very secret with Ishta in any case, so I didn't mind him following us there. He's welcome to anything he can learn from her. What I want to ask a wizard is a little different, and I don't want the Lumethans to know about it, so when we left Ishta's shop and I saw that he was gone, I knew I want to talk to a wizard tonight, before the Lumethans come back. They won't expect me to visit two different magicians about two different things in the same night – that's why he didn't stay, I'm sure. He probably went to tell the others that they should talk to Ishta tomorrow."

"Why didn't he stay to talk to her tonight, then?" Emmis asked. "I know she put out the lamp, but he left before that. He didn't wait around to talk to her after we left."

"Because he doesn't speak Ethsharitic, remember?"

"Unless he does."

"Even if he does, he probably wants to… I don't know the Ethsharitic word. Shichak. He wants to talk to the others before he does anything."

"Confer?"

"Probably. That sounds reasonable."

"So you want to talk to a wizard while we aren't being followed. Are you sure you want me here?"

Lar turned and looked Emmis in the eye, considering. Then he said, "I may ask you to leave. We will see. And you are not to tell the Ashthasan anything about this."

Emmis nodded. "Fair enough," he said. "But I don't see many shops open here. Perhaps we should try a side-street. Or must it be a wizard? Witch Alley is just over that way." He pointed to the north.

Lar frowned. "I think a wizard would be better."

"As you please, then." Emmis sca

"What does it say?" Lar said, peering into the gloom.

"I think the name is Kolar the Sage," Emmis said. "The one with the big blue eye?"

"Ah." Lar nodded.

A moment later Emmis tried the Sage's door, only to find it locked. He hesitated, and looked up at the sign again, and then at the window.

A lantern hung on the bracket beside the sign, illuminating it, and the candle within the lantern still had an inch or two of wax remaining. Black velvet curtains were drawn behind the window, but a crystal ball stood on an iron tripod between the curtains and the glass, and glowed faintly blue.

"Maybe he just forgot to dowse the lantern," Emmis said.

"The ball is still glowing," Lar said.

"That may be permanent, not something he can turn on and off."

"Wouldn't he be careful about leaving the lantern lit, then?"

"Sir, while I understand you're impatient and want to get on with your job, and that it would be better to do it while Hagai isn't following us, it's getting late, and if this Kolar were really a powerful seer he would have known we were coming and would be ready and waiting for us."

Lar turned to stare at Emmis. "Are there really wizards who do that?"

"There are magicians who do it, certainly," Emmis said. "My mother consulted a witch once, named Sella, who did that – the minute she stepped into the shop, before she could say a word, Sella was there with her answer ready."

"Knock again," Lar said.

With a sigh, Emmis obliged.

This time, though, someone answered; they heard a voice call faintly, "I'm coming!"