Page 18 of Reluctant Wizard

“Oh!” he looked that direction and still detected no one. But a Hanneil wizard could see through a psychic manipulation that he could not. “Silly me. I don’t remember seeing him around before.”

She shrugged. “New hire. Replaced Beck, who retired.”

“Striking,” Cillian commented, fishing for any physical details she might give.

“Want me to introduce you? He’s handsome with all that golden hair and those bulging pecs, but I’d have to warn you that he’s got a rep for being unkind to his lovers.”

“Thanks, but no,” Cillian answered with a dry laugh. “Not at all my type.”

“That’s what I thought. Though you might seriously consider going with beefy, arrogant, and male. Better than going doe-eyed over a student,” she said with significantly arched brows. “You should know there’s gossip about you and Alise Elal.”

“Phel,” he corrected. “Wizard Alise is House Phel now,” he explained in the face of Raya’s bafflement. “And I’m surprised you listen to gossip. I’ve simply been assisting Alise with an independent study requiring deep research in the archives, at Provost Uriel’s behest, I might add.”

“I didn’t say I was listening,” she replied with a shrug.

“Just repeating.”

“Warning a friend,” she corrected. “I know all about your white knight tendencies, Cillian, remember?”

He flushed, in irritation and embarrassment. Old friends knew too much about you at times. “Szarina was a different story.”

“Was she?” Raya nodded in the direction Alise had gone. “Pretty, waifish wizardlings have always been your weakness. But you can’t save this one any more than you could save Szarina. And Alise Elal—Phel,” she corrected with a sigh when he started to interrupt. “Even if you could somehow rescue her from the pit she’s dug for herself, she wouldn’t thank you for it. She’s not going to reward you for your service to her. Or, if it occurred to her, she might make you House Elal archivist, where you’d probably get paid even less than you are now—but she’s never going to make a low-level Harahel wizard her consort.” She snickered. “Imagine you as Lord Elal, even in name only.”

Cillian was remembering why his friendship with Raya had tapered off. “As I said,” he replied with stiff formality, “I have no designs on Alise. She is my advisee only.”

“Yes, well, a word to the wise—let her go her own way. She’s meddling in dangerous waters and this ‘research project’ of hers is not looked upon favorably by any number of powerful entities.”

Cillian’s neck prickled. He looked again in the direction of the invisible Gordon Hanneil. “Entities like House Hanneil?” he inquired mildly.

“Any number of powerful entities,” Raya repeated with slow emphasis. Then she softened, smiling. “We’ve been friends a long time, so know that I’m only thinking of your best interests. This is not an arena for a wizard like you. Stick to the books and the baking. That’s where you shine and you’ll be the happier for it.”

“So noted,” he said.

“Aww, don’t be like that.” Her smile turned inviting. “You know I always appreciated your baking. Especially breakfast in bed. That was the upside of your dalliance with Szarina—she taught you well.”

He made himself laugh, as if pleased. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Do. You know where to find me. We always had a good time together.”

He thought that was highly debatable, but he might need Raya for more information, so he kissed her cheek. “Nice to catch up.”

“Yes, and—Hey!” She fastened her attention on a pair of wizards with their heads together. “I hear what you’re thinking and not in my cafeteria.”

Grateful for the reprieve, Cillian ducked away while Raya was preoccupied, gathered his things, and headed for the library. The archives might be mysteriously missing reams of information on House Phel, but they contained certain information without a doubt. That included the personal profiles of every Convocation citizen.

This Gordon Hanneil would have to appear on the rolls to have been hired as a Convocation Academy proctor. He might be using his psychic magic to obscure his presence from some eyes and not others, but other Hanneil wizards like Raya knew of him and so he must exist on paper.

Cillian would use all his considerable skills and wizardry to find out everything there was to know about Gordon Hanneil who was unkind to his lovers. Cillian might not be white knight material, and he’d never be the hero of anyone’s story, but he could do this for Alise. Gordon Hanneil had terrified Alise and Cillian would find out why.

And put a stop to it.

~10~

Alise practically fled to her first class of the day, slamming through the doors with an urgent sense of reprieve that was especially ironic given that the class was her least favorite one of all: Alchemical Mathematics. Ugh.

She also quickly realized her error in judgment in fleeing the dining hall so abruptly, besides the spectacle she’d made of herself, acting like a crazy person upset by a wizard no one else could see, and leaving her breakfast uneaten. She’d left the dining hall far too early and arrived in her classroom well ahead of anyone else. She was alone.

She spun around to correct the situation and wait in the relative safety of the corridor. But she was trapped.

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