Nim sat on the floor in front of his mirror again. He was getting ready to scry Joanne. As promised, he had told Pt’this about it this time. He had also given his friend his drawing stuff to hold. He was becoming too dependent on it. He needed to be able to do this without help. He needed it for his magical energy, but he shouldn’t need it for emotional support. Taking a deep breath, he cast the spell. This time, she was sitting at a desk, writing. He watched her a moment. Her head was tilted such that he only saw her profile, but even that was beautiful. “Hello,” he said. She jumped a little and looked up. “Nim!” She smiled. He saw a bruise on her cheek. “What happened?” He asked. She touched the bruise. “The husband of one of the women staying at the shelter tried to force her to come home. He thought if he hit me, I’d let him do it. He won’t make that mistake anymore.” She smiled slightly. “Are you okay?” “I’m fine. It’s just a bruise. He’s got a dislocated shoulder and jail time.” “Jail time?” He asked not understanding. “He was arrested.” “Like prison?” “Exactly.” “But, you’re okay?” “I’m fine. What about you? Usually, you scry me sooner. I was getting worried.” “I had to go to Baj-tisk for a few days to meet with the High Council. I just got back today.” “You don’t have a mirror in Baj-tisk?” She teased. “No, I don’t. I don’t like how I look. Why would I have something to remind me?” He had borrowed a mirror when he’d been Ann’s mentor but had returned it when she disappeared. “You have a mirror here,” she pointed out. “It came with the room. I also wanted to wait a little longer to make sure I was fully recovered from last time.” “Are you?” “I am. We wouldn’t be talking today if I wasn’t.” “You’re not drawing today,” she observed. “No, I’m not. I need to do this without that.” “But if it helps.” “It’s an addiction,” he said. “An addiction?” She obviously thought he was exaggerating. “Magical energy is just that, energy. It builds and us, makes us able to cast more powerful spells, but it affects us other ways too. It’s like too much caffeine. We can get jittery, unable to sleep, hyperactive. So, as our magic starts to develop as young ones, strong mages, like dragons and some elves, will find something to counterbalance it, something to soothe us. The problem is we become addicted to that activity. We become dependent on it. We need it to relax, to sleep, sometimes just to focus. Each of us is different. For me it’s drawing, for Pt’this it’s sex.” “For Ann it’s whiskey?” Joanne guessed. Nim smiled. “You’d think that, but no. She drinks for other reasons, but she’s not addicted to it. She actually has no true addiction. The only relief she gets is casting spells.” “That doesn’t seem good.” “It’s not. That’s why she doesn’t sleep. She may find an addiction someday, something that will help, but so far, she’s been unsuccessful. “Drawing helps me relax, so I can open up more, tell you more things that I normally wouldn’t be comfortable talking about. The problem is, I don’t feel changes in my magical energies so well. I don’t always realize I’m getting too drained.” “And that’s why you fainted?” “I didn’t faint. That was a wizard’s trance. If your magic level gets too low, you lose consciousness and get trapped in the worst nightmare of your life. You can only wake if someone gives you more energy.” “Sounds dangerous.” Joanne frowned. “It is. If no one’s there to help you, eventually, you’ll die.” “So if Pt’this hadn’t come in...” “I could’ve died.” Nim finished, nodding. She grew pale. “If this is so dangerous, should we be doing it at all?” He smiled at her concern. “It would take a while to kill me. Likely someone would notice me missing before it’s too late. It’s worth the risk to keep talking with you. If I don’t draw, I’ll be able to keep better track of my levels, and this time, I told Pt’this I was scrying you tonight so he can come and check on me later.” She relaxed a little. “Okay good. How are you doing now?” “Pretty good. Don’t worry. I’m usually very good about not going into a trance. That was only my second time.” “What happened the first time?” “My mentor wanted me to know what one was like so she put me in one.” “That seems cruel.” The image flickered. “She wasn’t always easy. But I don’t want to talk about that today.” “Oh, I just remembered.” She shuffled through the papers on her desk. “Who is Tomin Mishtan?” “Where did you hear that?” Nim grew worried. “After we talked the last time, I got a phone call. The caller wouldn’t say who he was, but he asked if I knew Tomin Mishtan. At first, I thought it was a prank and hung up, but then I realized he had an accent similar to yours.” “What did he look like?” “I don’t know. It was a phone call.” “What’s a phone call?” “Oh, sorry.” She showed him a phone. “This is a phone. It’s complicated, but I guess you could think of it like scrying but only with sound. You connect to other phones. You listen here and talk here.” She pointed to places on the phone with holes in it. “There’s no way to find out who it was?” He asked. Joanne shook her head. “No. What’s wrong?” “Tomin Mishtan is a name Pt’this went by years ago, but no one has called him that in five hundred years. I can’t think of any who might still call him that. Those around today know better.” “He doesn’t like it?” Nim shook his head. “That’s why he burned me. I was trying to help him and called him that.” “So it makes no sense that someone should be calling me looking for him.” “Right.” “Should I be worried if he calls again?” “I don’t know. Did he seem threatening?” “No, but I hung up rather quickly.” “He can’t do anything to you over the phone can he?” “No, unless he can cast spells. Can he do that?” “I wouldn’t think so. You can’t cast through scrying.” “What if he comes here?” “I guess do the same thing you would if anyone else came. You have roommates so you should be safe.” “Actually, everyone’s gone for the summer. I’m alone for the next month or so.” “I wish I could come and stay with you.” “You think he’s dangerous?” “I don’t know. I’m just overprotective. Besides, it would give me a chance to see you,” he said with a grin. She smiled at that too. “I probably should end this. I don’t want to get too drained. I got a lot of teasing from the last time.” He turned a little red. “I’m sorry.” “It’s not your fault. I was the one not paying attention.” “I’m sure my lack of wardrobe didn’t help.” He smiled, and the image flickered. “It was worth it.” “I’m glad. Talk to you soon?” He nodded. “In a few days.” He ended the spell. He wasn’t sure what to do. If Mishtali or Nor’than were contacting Joanne, likely, it was his fault. He was the one who went there, and he was the one who was scrying her. So, he was the one who drew their attention. If she were in danger and got hurt, he’d never forgive himself. But, was she in danger?” ‘Pt’this?’ He called. No answer. ‘Pt’this?’ This time he received a growl. ‘Sorry.’ Likely he was with Sapphire. They could be all night. ‘Ann?’ ‘Go away, Copper.’ ‘Drepal?’ She was the one who called him Copper. She never used anyone’s name. ‘I said go away.’ ‘I need Ann’s help.’ ‘She’s not here.’ ‘When she is, please?’ ‘I’ll tell Pretty Boy.’ ‘Thank you.’ There was one thing he could do. He had seen it in the immortal’s spellbook. He started gathering the supplies.