Darkness enveloped me in a warm embrace. I was comfortable but I felt like I shouldn’t be. Off in the distance I could see a bright light. Something looked familiar about it, but it was a fleeting feeling. I looked on until a face seemed to pop against the other fires. I remembered as I bolted upright in bed. Soft silky sheets of lavender fell away from me. It was the fire I had seen every night for months but this time they were distant, why?

When I saw the room I thought i was still asleep. I sat in a bed the size of my whole room back home. The room beyond the bed was indistinct looking through the transparent veil that fell around the bed. I looked down, relieved I was still in my clothes from before. My coat was on a table just past the thin barrier and my were boots beside that. Lynda had come for me so this place must belong to her. It was obvious what had happened when I thought things through, she had wards and I had not. Though it was perfect the wards had kept some distance between me and that vast presence.

I moved to get up but i heard footsteps approaching, I turned to see Lynda parting the veil. She was wearing a little black dress that hugged her curves. She must have seen me looking because of the smile that spread over her sharp face. Her smile was much warmer than the few I had already seen so far.

She crawled over and settled down next to me before she spoke. “You had us all worried the way you passed out.” Her voice was smooth and nearly musical.

“I’m, ah yeah, I must have exhausted myself after throwing around so much power.” I said, feeling nervous at her close proximity. I could feel the heat radiating off of her so was so close. She seemed to be wearing a sweet perfume that filled my awareness. I met her expectant golden eyes and she held my gaze.

I broke eye contact as she spoke, “You were throwing around a lot of power before I arrived. From what I heard they just broke right in. How does anyone just break into the home of a wizard, hmm?”

I looked down shame was probably on my face. “I didn’t have any wards.” I said. The words burned me to say. My lack of preparation had nearly gotten myself and my closest friends killed. “I let the memory of my magic fade. I was attacked earlier this morning and reflexively used magic to defend myself.” I could feel my cheeks burn as she looked on.

“So you called me knowing how unprepared they had caught you?” She said, her words free of the skorn I thought was necessary. “You did fight quite well. I only saw the last moment of it but the restraint to not strike blindly when you friend was in danger shows good judgment on your part.”

I nodded, “I went to college for those kinds of physics. Magic means I can bend the rules when I’m throwing lightning but it saves mana if I’m working with my medium and not against it.”

“Oh an academic, so surprising given the way most wizards tend to lock themselves up in a tower and spend decades on research.”

I rolled my eyes at the playful jab. Deliberately changing the subject I asked, “So how long was I out?”

“Only three hours. Pretty quick turn around for how much mana you used, at least relative to how much I sensed from you when I met you.”

I nodded, “How are my friends?”

She softened at my question, “They are out of danger here. Your friend has a very deep puncture but nothing particularly important was hit. A few weeks without specialized treatment and he would be fine, but I promised safety and only half delivered so I’ll have a specialist see him soon.”

I could feel a weight lifting from my shoulders as I thanked her. I had to ask but I was not sure how to parse the question gently. I spent a few minutes floundering in the silence before I just abandoned the cautious approach, “So why are you so determined to have me work for you?”

Her smile gave way to rich laughter, “You should have asked that days ago, but I understand now that you couldn’t understand what I meant. Here let me say it plainly, I am fairly new to this city. I am looking to gather talents and resources like my family has done for generations. I have a few specialized talents but none like a full wizard. They tend to either get snatched up early or stick with their masters.”

The mention of masters reminded me of my own master. The pang of guilt I felt was soon going to be something I would have to explain to my friends. I focused on Lynda’s words to help my ignore the rising shame. “What I want is someone of suffentent magical skill to join me as I build my future here.”

“That’s going to be difficult.” I hedged. “Since I have been cut off from my Grimoire for a few years now.”

The smile slipped from her face and an expression of shock took its place. “You mean what I saw was you fighting without your greatest tool?”

I nodded. A Grimoire is what separated a wizard from a mage. It was more than a place to record spells and magical theory, it was tied to its owner, it was a place to store mana as well as a means of offloading effort on the wizard by running power through things like runes and circles.

A slow predatory grin split her face. “I really hit the jackpot with you, didn’t I?