Jo sat with Nim, Andy, and Ann waiting for John to wait. They were his friends here. He knew them. Having friendly, familiar faces would help. Jo was also there to do a psych evaluation to the best of her abilities. How bad would he be? Did he really need a deathwatch? The wound on John’s side was closed. The eta-vie poisoning was treated. The potions were out of his system and his sleep was now natural. It wasn’t long before he woke up. He looked around. “Shades, you all look like somebody died.” “You implied you needed a deathwatch,” Ann explained. “And that you hid your injury from me reinforces that.” “So, you four are going to sit around and watch me for the next several days?” He frowned. “Us, my parents, my aunts and uncles, my grandparents, a few friends,” Ann confirmed. John frowned. He’d spent too much time pretending to be human to growl, but Jo could tell he wanted to. He wasn’t happy about this. “Tell us what happened,” she requested. “I told Ann,” he grumbled. “Tell all of us,” Jo insisted. He turned away. She nodded to Andy. He and John had been the closest. “John, right now, we’ve got a problem,” Andy told him. “You told the daughter of a federal agent who you are and where you’re from. With all the talk of terrorism, do you think they’ll just ignore that gate? Jo’s family owns that club. What’s going to happen to them? When they come here with their copper bullets and their bombs, what will happen to the Baj-tisk and the elves? We need you to tell us so we know what kind of threat we’re dealing with.” John shook his head. “I didn’t tell her about the gate. I told her an explosion knocked me here, and you came by magic. She didn’t believe that and I couldn’t show her otherwise. Shades, I couldn’t even cast a spell shield to stop her dad from shooting me.” “Did you lead her dad to the gate?” Jo asked. “No, I lost him before going to it.” “Did you show her what you are?” Andy asked. John shook his head. “She wouldn’t believe me. I was going to take her out of the city to show her when her dad showed up to arrest me. I don’t think she’ll tell him. Without proof, he wouldn’t believe her. She didn’t even believe it.” “When Cramda told my parents Nim was a dragon, they thought he meant a gang,” Jo said. “It didn’t help that he told them I was a murderer,” Nim frowned. “Laz?” John asked. He turned back to look at them. “That was an accident. He had no business attacking your mentor.” “I also killed Cramda’s son,” Nim said softly. “Son?” A spark of life showed briefly in John’s eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly. “Do you remember that crossbreed that went insane?” “Wait, the little boy that fought him was you? I thought that was an immortal.” “That was the idea. Chapado wanted Cramda to think that too. Unfortunately, when he hit me with the lightning bolt, I went mad-dragon and changed.” “How did you even beat the boy? No offense, Nim, but you’re not that strong of a mage.” “No, I’m not. I used Chapado’s magic.” John frowned. “Wait, are you saying…?” Nim nodded. “I’m an Augmenter. But not as strong as Andy,” John looked surprised. “You’re an Augmenter too? And you’re a white wyrm.” He looked at Ann. “A white dragon,” she corrected. “And you.” He looked at Jo. “I’m a quarter Chinese,” she told him as if he didn’t know. He grinned. “What you see is what you get.” She smiled. “That’s a lie. You were my student long enough for me to know that tiny package likes to dislocate shoulders.” Jo blushed. “She did it to a man almost my size, recently.” Nim beamed with pride. Just then, Lamdi came in. “Hi, I’m Lamdi, one of the healers here.” She took John’s hand. “The bullet wound is all healed and your eta-vie poisoning is countered. Physically, all you need is rest. If you still have your vial, you can change without problems, but not in here. You won’t fit through the door and Master Shunati will get mad if you break the bed.” She winked as she said the last part. “What would you like for breakfast?” John frowned. “I’m not hungry.” “Yes, you are. You just don’t want to eat, but you need to. You went through some serious healing last night.” She leaned in close. “Master Shunati doesn’t like losing patients. He’ll order you force-fed. Ask Ann what that’s like.” John raised an eyebrow at Ann. She frowned. “It’s not pleasant.” John sighed. “What are my choices?” Lamdi shrugged. “Pretty much anything.” “We’re out of Froot Loops,” Andy said. John did a double-take. “No Froot Loops?” “Sorry. We’ve been out for seven years now,” Andy explained. While he didn’t normally eat them for breakfast, Jo knew John loved Froot Loops and would snack on them. “Whatever’s made is fine. I’ve learned to eat a lot over the years.” Lamdi glanced at Ann who nodded a little. Drepal was awake and deciding if John was telling the truth or not. In this case, he was. “I’ll be back later, after class to check on you. Mila is on duty. She’s retired, but the others needed to rest. Don’t give her any trouble.” With that, Lamdi left. John frowned. “How old is she?” “She’s thirteen. Her healing started as a baby. She’s quite skilled. She’s been an apprentice for five years now,” Nim said. “I think the only reason she hasn’t been released is her age. Most people wouldn’t trust a child healing them on her own, but say she is apprenticed to one of the most powerful healers around and they’re impressed.” They talked until breakfast came and John ate. Then, he wanted to sleep again. Pt’this came next. “Am I needed?” He asked. “Definitely.” Jo nodded. “He’s almost as bad as you were,” Nim added. They went and met with Remtani and Shunati in the potions room. “Well?” Remtani asked. “He didn’t compromise the gate. There still could be issues in the future,” Ann reported. “He didn’t lie about anything.” “And how is he emotionally?” Shunati asked. “He’s not doing good. We need to keep an eye on him,” Jo told them. Shunati nodded. “I’ll post the schedule Ann made.” “I’ll send out the notices,” Ann said. “And I’ll send more guards to the gate,” Remtani added. *** Thailyn sighed. It was his day on duty at the palace. It was his first since Shintanillic was brought in. Mila had taken his last shift since he’d been up so late in surgery. “What’s wrong?” Pisha asked, putting her arms around him. “Nothing,” he told her. “Didn’t you tell me you don’t keep things from your mate?” “We’re not mates.” “Not yet. Talk to me.” “Tani and I didn’t get along. I think he hated me more than Kar did.” “Didn’t you say he was helping you?” “He was, but not because he was a friend. He just thought the council was wrong in backing out of the war.” “You saved his life.” “That’s my job.” “It still has to mean something.” “Perhaps.” She kissed him. “You handled Howip. You can handle him.” Thailyn nodded and headed to work. At the palace, he entered Shintanillic’s room. Tercala was there working on his studies while Tani, no he wanted to go by John, slept. Tercala looked up and nodded. Thailyn nodded back. He took John’s hand to check him. Physically, he was doing good and could get up. Emotionally, he was a mess. That was to be expected. The others reported he was trying to act normal. That was usually a good sign. John opened his eyes. “Thailyn?” John nodded. “I heard you were missing.” “I went back to Tricon.” He wasn’t going into the whole story now. “But you came back.” “My family’s here. And I hear I have you to thank for helping rescue my dad.” John shrugged. “I didn’t do much.” “You pulled my son from a burning building.” “Andy’s your son? He’s a dragon? No, I met his dad.” “No, he married a dragon. Ann’s my daughter. She didn’t tell you?” “The last time I asked, she didn’t want to talk about it.” Thailyn nodded. “Things were a little difficult back then with Nor’than having my dad.” “Thailyn, I want to apologize for how I treated you when you first came. It wasn’t that I agreed with Kar or we shouldn’t have outsiders. I just thought you were an arrogant son of a… um, a cur. Later, I realized what seemed like bragging was just you trying to help. You did what you could when you needed to. It’s just you could do so much, more than I’d ever seen. I’m sorry.” Thailyn nodded. “It’s in the past. It was a bad time for everyone. Five hundred years is a long time to hold a grudge, even for me. “So you know my daughter and her husband, and you met my brother,” he gestured to Tercala. John glanced at him in surprise. “Actually, he was sleeping when I came in,” Tercala explained. “John, this is my little brother, Tercala.” “Call me Wyrm,” Tercala insisted. “Don’t call him Wyrm. Tercala, this is John. From what I hear, he’s the one that taught Andy karate.” John shook his head. “Andy knew karate when we met. I did teach it and Andy came in to sign up for class, but he was quite good already. I just helped him a little bit.” “Maybe you can help him now, too. There’s no reason to stay in bed. You’re fully healed. If you feel up to it, you can move about.” “Maybe later.” Thailyn nodded. “When you’re ready. Also, when you feel up to it, we can heal your magic so you can cast again.” “How can you heal my magic? It’s been five hundred years.” “We healed my dad’s and Andy’s and he was born there. Do you know what kind of damage that much copper does to developing magic? It even worked on my mom and she’d been collared for six hundred years. You might lose a little control, but you should regain all of your strength.” John looked intrigued. “And what does it entail?” “Draining you to a trance and then reviving you right away.” “You want to put me in a trance?” John looked skeptical. Thailyn couldn’t blame him. Wizard’s trances were a terrible experience. “Ann and Andy are a good team. My mom said she barely saw anything. Ann was just shunted so if you want her to revive you, you’ll have to wait until that’s healed. But my parents, Tercala, Nim, or Pt’this could help.” “Ann was shunted and is transporting already?” John looked surprised. “She’s a white dragon. She and Ter make my dad look weak. Oh, and how do you feel about immortals?” John shrugged. “As long as they aren’t trying to kill me, it’s not a big deal. Nim’s mentor seemed nice enough. Why?” “Nim’s mentor and her sister are here. They offered to help with your death watch, but we won’t include them if you don’t want.” “Thailyn, I don’t need a death watch. I’m fine.” “Do you know what Jo told me ‘I’m fine’ means? There’s something wrong and I’m trying to hide it.” John smiled. “That sounds like Jo.” “What sounds like me?” Jo asked as she came in with Kory. “Your definition of fine,” Thailyn explained. “That you’re trying to hide a problem? Yep. That’s what it means here.” She turned to Tercala. “I’m relieving you so you can get to class. Nim said it’s okay if you’re a little late if you need to eat first.” “He did?” Jo shrugged. “I say he did.” “I’ll tell him.” Tercala gathered his things and left. “I’ve got a couple of other patients to check on. Call me if there’s a problem,” Thailyn excused himself. “Oh, and Jo, he hasn’t eaten yet.” Jo nodded. “Okay, we’ll get that taken care of.” “Is that Kory?” John asked. “He looks bigger than last time.” Jo laughed. “That’s because he’s trying to catch up with Dad. Do you want to hold him?” John’s face lit up. “Please.” Jo gave him Kory and then sent a page for breakfast and coffee. A moment later, Nim and Bacna entered.