Page 14 of Reluctant Wizard

No, it wasn’t. Not by a long shot, especially as it was hardly news. Hanneil had very few allies, particularly since the wars after which House Hanneil was sanctioned and stripped of many of their most lucrative trademarks and placed under extreme restrictions to prevent them from exercising psychic control on unwitting Convocation citizens of any stripe. Not only did Hanneil have almost no allies:furr they had almost all enemies.

“All right,” Alise said. “Message delivered. Can I go now?”

“That’s not all,” Courtney snapped.

Alise tried to look politely interested, though she had to stifle a yawn. Then she reconsidered. Why should she? Unleashing the jaw-cracking yawn, she waited.

Wizard Courtney really hated that Alise didn’t beg for her precious messages, which gave Alise a bit more petty satisfaction. Finally the Ariel wizard bit out an exasperated huff. “House Ariel has received word of… tampering with the wizard–familiar bond.”

Alise forced herself not to show any indication of her suddenly alert interest, and precipitously dropping stomach. Instead she feigned confusion, even as her heart rate accelerated. The snake flicked a forking tongue at her—possibly detecting her tension and informing its wizard.

“Tampering…” Alise shook her head in what she hoped was a convincing show of puzzlement. “Is that even possible? The wizard–familiar bond is eternal, unbreakable except via death.”

Courtney scrutinized her closely. “What if I told you we had evidence it had been done?”

“I’d wonder how House Ariel had come by such evidence and why the entire Convocation doesn’t know about such an alarming development. I am only a humble student of Convocation Academy, but I’d have to wonder what stake Ariel has in the matter. I don’t know of any connection between House Ariel trademarks and the magic that creates the wizard–familiar bond.”

That last wasn’t entirely true. The origins of the enchantment that created that bond remained shrouded in mystery and obscure history. Even the oldest texts referred to the wizard–familiar bond being a well-established phenomenon. However, from what her family at House Phel very carefully hadn’t said, Alise had gathered that when wizards learned to invoke the magic upon graduation from Convocation Academy, it was accompanied by a geas of some sort. Even the wizards who seemed to want to discuss it couldn’t and didn’t.

Further, it made sense that binding animals to a wizard would be much the same as binding a human familiar to one. Especially knowing House Ariel was so vitally interested.

Courtney remained unmoved by Alise’s implicit and accusatory question, watching Alise intently. “I’m sure you’re aware that there is a great deal of overlap between Elal and Ariel areas of expertise. Though our trademarks and areas of business vary extensively, both houses select for wizards with strong MP scores in psychic magic.”

“Though with very different subgroup strengths,” Alise pointed out. She refused to be baited. “For example, I can’t wrest away control of your animals any more than you could take over my warrior spirit. And neither of us can read or control minds.”

Courtney smiled grimly. “You might not have the ability, young Elal,” she said, ignoring Alise’s previous correction, “but another wizard of your house very well might. There is something fishy going on and you are hip-deep in it.”

“As I indicated previously,” Alise said with dignity, “I no longer have a connection with House Elal. Whatever the house of my birth may or may not be doing, it has nothing to do with me.”

“Doesn’t it?” Courtney smiled grimly. “Your own mother, Lady Elal, a familiar, was somehow separated from her wizard master, your father, Lord Elal. It seems you are intimately connected to the question.”

Alise covered her alarm—and the wave of grief—by snorting. “Wizard Ariel,” she said in a tone of excessive patience, “I know everyone’s stations and titles in my immediate family. You needn’t reiterate them.”

Her face darkened with an angry flush. “What do you know about the situation? Where is Lady Elal?”

Was her father behind this in some way? And odd that the news of her mother’s passing hadn’t reached House Ariel. Though she supposed no one at House Phel had reason to advertise it. “Maman passed away,” she informed the Ariel wizard with quiet dignity, allowing her grief to show. “I’ll thank you to mention her with due respect.”

Definitely shocked her there. “I’m sorry for your loss,” Courtney murmured, the snake’s tongue flicking rapidly and the tiger’s tail tip tapping. Clearly the wizard couldn’t wait to report that news.

“Thank you.” Alise waited, glancing toward her destination pointedly.

“We are aware that Iliana Ariel has been hiding out at House Phel,” Courtney said, which might have sounded like a non-sequitur to most people, but made perfect sense to Alise. Iliana had been one of the familiars Alise had helped to escape Convocation Academy with her familiar-lover, Han.

Alise only raised her brows. What Courtney expected her to say to that, she didn’t know. Except that it had sounded like a threat and Alise had stomached enough of those for one day, also.

“Keep your head down and your fingers out of dangerous pies, student wizard,” Courtney advised, shaking her head. “You are being closely watched.” Abruptly, she brought her cloak up in a sweeping motion to cover her face. Smoke and shadows billowed up in a wave and, when the haze cleared, she and her animals were gone.

At last, Alise allowed herself to roll her eyes for the theatrics, then continued on her lonesome way. No longer full of self-recrimination, she brewed up her own personal strategy. Try to intimidate her, would they? Warn her off by threatening her peace of mind, her friends?

Well, she might no longer claim Elal as her house affiliation, but Alise had been born an Elal and the blood of the most powerful wizards in the Convocation ran hot in her veins. No one tangled with an Elal and came out the better for it.

Alise had plans to make.

~8~

Despite her exhaustion, the late hour, and the siren call of her bed, Alise didn’t succumb to the temptation of sleep. Locking the door and adding her own privacy seal of earth elementals to hold it securely shut, she surveyed her little room. The first step in taking control of her fate was to eliminate the possibility of being spied upon in her own place. Fortunately, that could be taken care of, if not easily, then with a bit of focused effort.

In the past she hadn’t bothered. Now, the stakes had ratcheted to the highest level. Wizard Ariel had hinted that House Elal was working with House Ariel, and certainly Alise’s father was no friend of House Phel, so removing any Elal spirit spies made eminent sense.

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