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I again felt that strange chill over being so ensnared.

Released at last, I stood up and stretched. "Can I have some of that?"

I wanted to celebrate, and after weeks of good behavior, I realized I could safely drink here. Funny that the safest place for me now would be in a gentry's keep.

He held up the decanter. There was probably only one glass left. He eyed it askance for a moment and then took off his shirt. Perplexed, I watched him walk over to the door and stick his head out.

"Yes, sire?" I heard a voice say.

"We need more wine!" declared Dorian in a booming voice. "Lady Markham and I have a lot more to do tonight."

"Right away, your majesty!"

"Hurry, man. You have no idea how demanding she is. I can barely keep her satisfied as it is."

I heard boots running on the stone floor. Dorian shut the door and turned to me.

"Your wine will be here shortly, and my prowess will no doubt be proclaimed throughout the castle."

I rolled my eyes at his show. "So did I pass the test?"

"Hmm?"

"You said I had to make progress in magic before we could go get Jasmine."

"Oh. That. Well, this wasn't exactly progress."

"The hell it wasn't."

He sat next to me on the bed. "You found the water. Now you have to do something with it. Your enemies won't be impressed when you inform them there's a lake just over the next hill."

I sighed. Great. "So what's the next step?"

"Next you make the water come to you."

"Huh. Well. That at least sounds more exciting."

"Not really. Mostly we do exactly the same thing except you just sit around and try to make it move."

"You're the most boring teacher ever."

He grinned and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, just as a knock sounded at the door. "It all depends on what you want me to teach you."

Chapter Twenty-Two

I didn't give Lara all the details the next day, only that I'd just broken up with a guy.

"Ice cream," she advised me through the phone. "Lots of ice cream. And tequila. That's the key."

"I can't do a lot of drinking right now."

"Hmm. Well, maybe get one of those liqueur-flavored ice creams. Like with Kahlúa or Irish cream."

"Any other hot tips?"

"Chick flicks."

"Good God. I'm disconnecting right now."

"Well, then, try this." She sounded huffy. "I just got a call from a guy who thinks there's a troll in his basement. Seems like beating one of those up would be therapeutic."

"Lara's full of shit," Tim told me later when I recounted the phone call. "Why do women turn to ice cream? It makes them fat, then they hate themselves and start going on and on about how they'll never find anybody, blah, blah. It's stupid. Now, if you've got some peyote squirreled away, that'd be a different matter...."

"No," I said. "No peyote. Not after what happened last time."

He made a face. "All right, then. My best advice? Don't call him. He's probably going through all sorts of regret and guilt. You call him, he'll feel smothered and put up his defenses. Let him stew for a while, and he'll call you."

"I don't want him to call."

"Sure, Eug."

I ended up taking down the troll later that day, but it didn't really do much for me. Neither did the Kiss puzzle I put together that night. With my doldrums growing, I was only too happy when my next lesson with Dorian came the following day.

Considering his fascination with human things and novelty in general, I thought he'd like eating out somewhere. I didn't know why I bothered; we probably should have gone straight to the lesson. Maybe I felt guilty about the sex thing. Maybe I was lonely.

After a quick drive, I arrived at the Catalina Lodge, a prissy hotel about a mile or so from Catalina State Park. I parked in a remote spot, hopefully away from watchful eyes, and sat down on the ground with crossed legs. The ring sat beside me on the asphalt. Slipping on my sunglasses, I leaned against the car and waited.

My timing couldn't have been more perfect. A few minutes later, I felt the pressure and tingling, and then Dorian materialized beside me. He'd left the robes and cloaks at home, wearing dark pants and a blousy, sage-colored shirt that looked only moderately out of place. He squinted up at the bright sunlight and then noticed me on the ground.

"Isn't it ever cloudy in this infernal place?"

I straightened up, and he offered