Page 57 of Grave Situation

Then grab hold of his ankle and yank him off his feet, dangling him midair. His yelp is absolutely delightful, but not as much as the way his hands scrabble toward the ground, that’s about eight inches out of reach. “Put me down!” he shrieks.

“But you asked me to do something magic,” I protest. “I need to prove I’m a mage, remember? Actually…” I tap a finger against my lips. “You wanted me to prove I’m Talon Silverbright, not just any old mage. In that case, I should do this from a greater height. That’s what I’m known for at the academy—hanging people over the chasm.”

Scar draws his sword and points it at me. “Put him down.”

I scoff. “Sheathe that now, before I take it away from you and melt it into scrap.” Just because I can, and they’ve annoyed me, Igive Blond a bit of a shake. He squeaks, and something falls out of his pocket. Scar seems indecisive, so I give his sword a light tug and am rewarded when he hurriedly sheathes it. “Are we quite convinced?”

“Yes!” Blond screams. “Yes, you’re him!”

Scar nods, and I flip Blond right side up and set him gently on his feet. I even telekinetically pick up whatever it was that fell from his pocket and float it to him. He snatches it from the air, red-faced and panting, and shoves it away. Not even a thank-you. I resist the urge to cluck my tongue and chide his manners.

“Let’s begin again, shall we?” I offer magnanimously. “I’m Talon Silverbright. I believe you were looking for me?”

There’s a moment of silence, broken only by the sound of Blond’s panting as he slowly regains his composure. Finally, Scar unclenches his jaw and says, “Mage Silverbright, I’m Sergeant Pim, and this is Clem. We’re here to escort you and your companions to the king’s palace.”

“I suppose we have to. Though I did think there’d be more of you.”

Another pause while they try to decide how to respond. I guess humor isn’t one of the things these soldiers are selected for.

“The rest of the squad—eight men—is waiting outside the village. We didn’t want to cause a ruckus,” Sergeant Pim volunteers at last.

“That’s very considerate of you. I’m sure the villagers appreciate it. My sister, Tavia, has probably already found your men, since she’s not back yet.”

They go on sudden alert. “Sister?” Clem asks. “A woman? Found the men?”

I really, really hope he’s not thinking what I think he is. “Yes. You were told one of us was a rider, correct? That we have a dragon with us?”

From the way Clem pales, I’m guessing hewasthinking lascivious thoughts about my sister and is now regretting them as he realizes she’s not a mere damsel. Riders are known to be very open about sex, but they’ll also cut you for the slightest insult.

“We were told,” Pim says neutrally. “We didn’t realize it was your sister.”

I smile. “You’ll adore her. And Leicht, the dragon. He’s delightful. Ask if you can pet him. So… shall we leave after lunch?”

Tia’s spittingmad when she gets back to the inn half an hour later. I warned her telepathically that I’d spoken to the sergeant and that he and Clem weren’t my biggest fans, but I left out the details.

“You hung him upside down by the ankle?” she hisses as she joins me and Jaimin at a table in the dining room.

“What?” Jaimin asks. “You actually do that? I thought it was a rumor!”

I preen a little. It seems word of my work has spread to the Academy of Healers too.

“Talon!” Tia snaps.

“What?” I whine. “They asked me to prove that I was me. How else was I supposed to do that?”

“Oh, I don’t know, what about a fucking mage light? Or something else small and harmless that wouldn’t antagonize thearmed soldierswe’ll be sleeping next to!”

Huh. That’s… a good point. “I’ll apologize,” I promise. “And I’ll make it up to him. Do you think he’d want some of this roastchicken?” It’s really excellent. I didn’t wait for Tia’s arrival to start eating.

She huffs and shakes her head, then looks down at her plate. “Is this the hen that farmer gave Jaimin for healing his wife’s gout?”

I immediately gag.

“We don’t ask those questions,” Jaimin tells her placidly, lifting another forkful of chicken to his mouth. “Apparently Talon can’t eat meat when he has to associate it with a living animal.”

“This is a random chicken,” I inform my sister. “Completely random chicken that I never met while it was alive.”

She picks up her fork. “You’re deranged. Also, did you really tell them they should ask to pet Leicht?”

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