thought seeing an old student would be like this. “Your hair must show a little white by now,” he said more quickly than he would have liked.
“More than a little,” she said, stepping away. “Will you tell me how you recognized me through your door?”
“With my natural sight gone, my spellwright’s vision now pierces the mundane world to see magical text. Through the door, I recognized your compound appositives.”
“You still remember my prose style?”
He shrugged. “I also heard your name among the Astrophell delegates; I was expecting to run into you sooner or later. This turns out to be sooner indeed.”
“Magister, I want to talk about—”
“Please, call me Agwu,” he interrupted. “Or Shannon—it’s what my friends use when they have trouble with a Northern first name.”
“I don’t think I can,” she said and then giggled. “Do you remember catching me and the other acolytes out of bed? How can I call you Shannon remembering that?”
He joined his laugh to hers and walked back to his chair. “I had nearly forgotten. What were you little monsters sneaking into the academy? A pair of muddy pigs? Please, take a seat.”
“Pigs? In Astrophell?” she asked. Her chair creaked. “It was only one, very clean, goat.”
“Whatever it was, you certainly can call me Shannon now that you may carry a grand wizard’s staff.” He settled into his chair.
“Well then, Shannon, I bring word of your granddaughter.”
Shannon’s stomach tightened. Her tone was still playful, but her words marked the end of pleasantries, the beginning of politics.
“You do?” he said, forcing his smile to neither broaden nor wilt.
Amadi cleared her throat. “She married a wealthy Ixonian merchant last year.”
“Wonderful,” he heard himself say. “What else can you tell me?”
“Little more, I’m afraid. I’ve the merchant’s name written down somewhere.” She paused. “Forgive me. It must be difficult discussing the life exile took away.”
Shannon waved away her comment. “Bah, it was no exile; I accepted this position. Besides, wizards swear off family for a reason. In the beginning, it was difficult getting only fragmented news of my son. But now I’ve promising research and dedicated students. We are discovering such fascinating things. Just this morning I received permission to begin casting my primary research spell.”
Amadi’s chair creaked. “And you’re content with such a…calm life?”
Shannon raised his eyebrows. So she suspected that he still harbored political ambitions? That might be dangerous, especially if she were reporting back to Astrophell.
“Amadi, sometimes it feels as if another author lived that bustling career in the North. Starhaven is a smaller academy, and we’re so very far from civilization. But here…” He made a show of running his gaze across his books. “Here I enjoy a slower life.”
When she did not reply, he changed the subject. “I just moved into new quarters above the Bolide Garden. Janitorial is renovating the gardens; it’s not much now, heaps of dirt and clay, but it will be beautiful. I could show you.”
Amadi’s chair creaked again. “Some Astrophell wizards have been quoting your ‘Complaint to the Long Council.’”
His grin faded. “It was my best speech.”
“Many still find it inspiring.”
“I am glad to hear it, but that life is over. There’s no use baiting my appetite for it. I stay clear of Starhaven’s intrigue. As a researcher, I can’t be completely apolitical. But because of my past, the provost and his officers are happy to leave me out of most entanglements.”
Amadi said nothing. The parchment on the table began to crinkle, likely from a breeze coming through the window.
“But never mind me,” Shannon said. “How have you spent the past four decades? Studying diplomacy perhaps? Is that where this talk of my past comes from?”
“My hood has a purple lining.”
“A sentinel? Yes, you must be wonderful.”
She cleared her throat importantly. “I command Astrophell’s lead sentinel expeditions. In fact, I led the delegation down here. I even have a personal secretary: a young Ixonian named Kale—only a lesser wizard, but bright and capable.”
“Pardon the observation, but it seems odd that Astrophell should send sentinels to our convocation.”
“The journey from the North was long. And heaven only knows why our order ever occupied this gargantuan stronghold out in the middle of nowhere. Granted, it makes a fine sight from the Westernmost Road—the highest tower spiring up from the mountainside to dwarf the peaks behind.”
Shannon rested his elbows on the table and steepled his fingers. “But Amadi, why should Astrophell send sentinels with its delegation?”
“The diplomats needed protection.”
“I see.”
“Shannon, is this room safe from prying ears?”
He nodded. “Quite safe. Do