Ruzi swung himself up on the next branch and sighed. It was good to get off the ground. He made his way to as close to the end of the branch as would hold his weight and jumped to the next tree, catching a hold of a branch and pulling himself up. Growing up, he learned most people didn’t think to look up when looking for the little boy they chased from their garbage, so that’s the way he usually went. He’d gotten quite good at climbing anything, trees, walls, statues. When he had to go out, he often traveled on rooftop. What he hadn’t understood at the time was, he was developing an addiction to it. Being up high or climbing became a relief, not only from angry people, but from his magic buildup. It wasn’t until he started working with Nim that he realized what had happened. He was going to have to change it. There was still a possibility he would go blind. That would make climbing more dangerous. And if he couldn’t tell how high he was, it didn’t help. Besides, chances were good, once he was older, he wouldn’t be able to do it so well. He was contemplating which branch to go to next when he heard voices. He stopped to listen. He wasn’t supposed to eavesdrop, but too often people stopped to talk below the tree he was in. Quietly, he made his way down the tree so he could hear. It was the council and that healer that had checked them all. He cast a spell so he could understand them. “What do you think?” Shilish asked. “Can we trust Mishtali? He was their prisoner for five hundred years. That can do things to a man.” “I don’t see signs of that,” Trellen said. “I knew Mishtali better than you all did. He’s changed, but he’s harder now, more dependent on his values and those haven’t changed.” “Thailyn confirms the story,” Somin said. “And while I think Thailyn will say and do what he needs to protect his children, I don’t see him putting his mate in harm’s way.” “I disagree. Thailyn has always been trouble. He’ll protect his family, but at what cost to those around? Twice he’s abandoned patients for family.” “What if we use the white dragons? If the legends are true, either one would be stronger than an immortal. We could use them as weapons.” Shilish smiled. “Use Dentrias’s grandchildren to control them? That could work.” Ruzi frowned. He tried to remember that spell that mimicked telepathy so he could warn the others. “I don’t think it will work,” Junvas said. “Why?” Shilish asked. “The little girl said we can’t hurt her. She didn’t tell us not to hurt Ann. She told us we couldn’t. I don’t think she meant it as a command but as a warning. She said Ann was strong and we couldn’t hurt her.” “If the legends are correct, she would be stronger than immortals,” Fiormi agreed. “It took a black and silver working with an Augmenter to beat back the immortals. Denny’s grandson is an Augmenter, but Mishtali would fight to protect either Ann or his son. And there is no silver. In addition, we’d be facing two white wyrms. They both have human blood. They’d be less affected by the poison metals.” “Agreed. And it’s likely that Nim is an Augmenter,” Junvas added. “He is,” Somin confirmed. “And there are others. And aside from the humans, there isn’t a weak mage in the group. I say we let them leave and hope they never come back.” Don’t worry, we won’t, Ruzi thought as they continued out of his hearing. He climbed higher into the tree and headed back to the huts. He didn’t see Trellen glance back at him. “I’ve got a better idea, something to guarantee they stay away peacefully.” *** Trellen returned one last time. The group was wary after Ruzi’s warning. It was understandable. He knew they had been overheard, but he pretended the conversation never happened. Instead, he made a proposal that shocked them all. The council had decided to make Mishtali and ambassador to the Baj-tisk. With Ann’s help, he could scry to make reports or act on their behalf. Mishtali agreed. He knew it was Trellen’s way to help him while the council wanted him gone. *** Mishtali had Tercala bring them back so he could learn to use the taki-sphere. While Tercala was enrolled in the college, Mishtali still saw it as his responsibility to see to his magic training. The education he had received from Cramda had been incomplete and Mishtali was correcting that. They all went their separate ways. There was plenty for them to catch up on and the shades would be coming soon. They needed to be ready for that.