questioning and felt a little sorry for the maid. Teclis was blunt to the point of being almost human, and he had a most un-elven way about him.
‘I do not care if anyone is much richer than us. I, for one, intend to be happy here.’
‘You would be happy anywhere. It is your disposition to be so, disgracefully, bright, optimistic, sunny.’
How could I not be, when I have this great city to run around? Tyrion was about to say, but he realised that would only make Teclis more bitter and envious. It came to him then, and he was astonished at his own slowness of mind, that the reason why his twin was being critical of their cousins was because he was angry at Tyrion for having his adventures but could not bring himself to say so.
Teclis was making his anger felt in other ways, unfair to their kindred and unworthy of him. Tyrion felt almost guilty for a moment, but pushed the feeling aside. He was who he was through no fault of his own, he was not going to apologise for it to his brother.
‘And it is yours to be bitter, brother,’ said Tyrion. ‘Although I can understand why...’
‘I honestly doubt that, Tyrion. You have no idea what it is like to be stuck here, knowing that out there life is going on and a great city is going about its business while you are trapped and can do nothing... nothing.’
‘I can try,’ said Tyrion weakly. And behind all the other bitterness he sensed a deeper one. Teclis had briefly enjoyed a few weeks of good health before his relapse. It was a cruel blow to him. No wonder he was angry.
‘Yes, and you do.’ Teclis said.
‘What is that book on the bedside table?’ said Tyrion to change the subject again.
‘It is a book of conjurations. Lady Malene has a whole library of such things here.’
‘You’ve visited this library then?’
‘Mara, the maid, told me of it so I had to see it.’
Tyrion could imagine his brother limping along the corridor to reach such a prize. He had gone through all of the books in their father’s house except the ones their father kept locked in his magically sealed cabinet because they were too dangerous for any but a skilled sorcerer. Tyrion could well remember his brother’s obsession with that cabinet. It looked like nothing was locked here. He supposed the spells must be harmless, otherwise they would be kept under lock and key.
‘And you... ah... borrowed this one?’
‘Yes.’
‘Does Lady Malene know?’
‘Take a look at this,’ said Teclis, going from bitter and caustic to excited in a flash. He opened the book and Tyrion saw lines of words separated by multiple straight lines marked with what looked like musical notes.
‘It looks like music with words,’ said Tyrion. ‘Is it a song?’
‘No, it’s a spell. The words are the incantation, the first line of symbols below shows right-hand gestures, the line below that left-hand gestures, the last line shows inflexion.’
‘Inflexion?’
‘It’s a sort of twist of mind that you must perform to touch the power of the spell in the right way – violent, sad, passive and so on.’
‘Like a mood?’
Teclis made a face which showed what he thought of his brother’s suggestion.
‘In a way, I suppose,’
‘They are just squiggles on a page to me.’
‘Trust me they are more than just that. Lady Malene has told me enough of the theory for me to know.’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’
An urgency came into Teclis’s voice. ‘It all just fits together. There is a unity to it and when you understand that you can do almost anything. You change your own internal state, you touch the winds of magic, you tap their power, you change your state again, and shape the forces with your mind, your words, your gestures and all the time what you are really doing is altering the world.’
‘In all honesty, I can’t say I follow you.’
‘I will show you, look. Put a chair in front of the mirror and help me to it.’
Tyrion was not sure he liked the way this was going but he did as his twin asked. It was good to see him so animated and for once not touched with bitterness. Teclis sat with the book in his hand, and then made some odd gestures, fingers rippling, hands twisting as he crooned words in an archaic version of the elvish tongue.
A chill touched Tyrion’s spine. He felt uncanny forces flow around him. He looked