September 23 / Hagalsan 2

  The next day, Alboim broke with his normal routine, and summoned both of his servants to the library.

  “I take it, Lord, that Lady Elspith granted you permission to proceed?” Bennit asked.

  Alboim nodded, and quickly explained. “... And so, Aunt Elspith says I can study and practice Mom’s spoken magic, but one of you has to be with me, and able to knock me out of a trance if I have trouble with anything.”

  “Y-you want me to hit Master?” Suzsise managed to choke out at the end.

  “If it comes to it, Suzsise, you will be saving his life, not hurting him.” Bennit coaxed. “You know the Lord is not one to punish unreasonably, or at all.”

  “Aunt Elspith said it needed to be something to break my concentration before I arwa-scorch myself again.” Alboim reassured her. “Personally, Oswalt and Harralt have drilled siphoning off my etere so often I don’t think I’m in any danger, unless I try to use more magic than they let me so far. Their training will be to increase my safe capacity, and our private research will be to memorize and understand Mom’s spells.”

  Suzsise shook her head. “Master, I don’t think I can.”

  “Even if it keeps me from worse harm?” She stood still, eyes darting from Bennit to Alboim. “I do not think I can hurt you, ever.” She finally whispered, lowering her head to stare at her feet.

  “Do you trust me, Suz,” Bennit gently stroked her hair, raising her head to look at him. Since that day in the nursery. She thought. I just remember holding back tears, clutching my tail while you stood over me. You hit the other boy and knocked him over. He was collared the next day. I couldn’t have been more than four.

  She nodded. “But I… I can’t hurt the Master. Please don’t make me.”

  Bennit leaned over and whispered into Aboim’s ear. Master shook his head emphatically no. “I would rather rely on just you, then that.”

  “There will be times when I am not available, Lord, and to keep the spirit of your promise, she will need to be capable. It is either that, or I must go to the Lady and have her compel Suzsise. It is for your own good.” He folded his arms and looked Alboim in the eye. Brown eyes met blue, and did not waver.

  Alboim backed down. He slowly sat in the chair under the window, “Fine, you win. Suzsise, forgive me. I order you to hit me, as hard as you can.” He pointed to his jaw. “Right here.”

  That put her in a conundrum. She had to either disobey Alboim, or hurt him. She did not fear punishment from either of the two here, but a lifetime of ingrained habits were hard to break. Slowly, she walked up to her master, seated in the lounge chair. Still, she hesitated. “Are you sure, Master?”

  “Yes. This could save my life. Remember that.”

  Suzsise shut her eyes, and nodded. Her right hand formed a fist, and she lashed out at Alboim. The blow knocked him, chair and all, over. He lay there, dazed for several minutes before opening his eyes to a distraught Suzsise hovering over him, Bennit in the background.

  “Damn, you pack one hell of a wallop.” he said, rubbing his jaw and slowly sitting. “At least I still have all my teeth. But,” he glanced at Bennit, “soft foods only for the next few days.”

  A dejected Suzsise helped him up, then put the chair back on its feet. “And Suzsise, good job. I’m glad that I can count on you.”

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  The master praised her for hurting him.

  “Now, we do need to keep this a secret. Aunt Elspith and Dobsen know, of course, but no one else does. The hope is that I don’t have to use it, but if I do, we have the element of surprise.”

  Suzsise understood. She kneeled before Master Alboim, moving her hair aside for easy access to her collar. “I am ready, Master.”

  “Huh?” Alboim sputtered. “Ready for what?”

  “If you want it kept a secret, you should compel me to keep it secret.”

  “Hell, no!” Master stood up and gently lifted her to her feet. “You are a friend, and I will not do that to a friend.”

  Why would Master call me a friend? What is a friend?

  ~*** *** ***~

  Suzsise mulled the question all day. Being a pretend bed warmer left her with a lot of time to think. Sure, she helped with cleaning Master’s quarters, but she was no longer called upon to scrub or haul. The other cleaners at most let her care for Master’s bed and some light dusting.

  They were not friends, though she was on good terms with most of her fellow slaves. But she was one of the few copper-collared constructeds and there now existed a gulf between her and the other constructeds, while the human slaves mainly kept her at arm’s length.

  Bennit was a friend. He would sneak off from studying, pulling her into his exploits and shielding her from consequences. “How can an iron-collar disobey a silver?” he’d asked the few times they were caught. Bennit had even pulled strings to get her into the Heart.

  He’d run into her one day, just after the head maid had sent ten-year-old Suzsise sprawling. Once again, he stepped in and physically shielded her. “Only the weak bully those who cannot strike back.”

  “Keep your nose out of it. You cannot interfere with housekeeping just because of who your grandfather is!” she huffed.

  “Lord Arnulf’s butler has nothing to do with this.” He crossed his arms, glaring at the other silver-collared slave. “If you cannot correct children without sending them flying through the air, I am afraid the new Mistress’s butler has made a miscalculation. Suzsise, come with me.”

  Bennit is a friend, and more. We share everything. Even our secrets and our hopes. We trust each other. Is that what a friend is? Someone you can trust?

  ~*** *** ***~

  “I just do not understand it.” Alboim paused Mom’s lecture. The sun had set, and a westerly wind carried the tang of salt and shore from the coast less than two hundred miles away. He had watched this video a dozen times already, and translated it for the others.

  “Everything she says about forming you awra, siphoning your etere, the basics are almost exactly the same as here.” Both Suzsise and Bennit were in the practice room with him as he took a break from voice-casting. “So, why do you guys use circles and not words, or even a combination?”

  “Because we cannot, Lord.” came Bennit’s reply. The young butler shrugged eloquently. “I asked Lady Moara, and she said some attempted to use word magic following the Hero’s example. Most failed miserably, and the records of the few who managed mainly could accomplish more, faster, using circles and talismans.”

  “So is it genetic, then?” he mused. Seeing their confusion, he hastily added. “It’s not important right now. Think of it this way; a bird and a bat can both fly, but they use different approaches to doing it.”

  “Like bloodlines, then. Some noble families, Brantle, Alour, Balu, a few others, generally produce more powerful mages than other lines.” Bennit said. “Or like some dogs are meant for hunting, others for herding, others for guarding.”

  “Yes, same concept.” Alboim agreed. “But some people here could. I think that is important. Why is that?”

  “Maybe that is another matter of bloodlines. Your mother was hardly the first visitor from other worlds here, and we have traveled to many worlds ourselves over the centuries. Same with the Elves and Dwarfs. Is this question important enough to be spending training time on?” Bennit asked.

  “No, probably not. But it keeps nagging me. There may be something important there.” Alboim looked at the two. “Maybe I just wish I had someone who knew it to bounce questions off of. Mom helps, of course, but…” he broke off his train of thought. “No use crying over spilled milk.”

  Do I trust Master? That was the question, ultimately. Yes. I do. He will never hurt me, like Bennit will never hurt me. He trusts me with his biggest secrets; I should do the same.

  “Master,” she spoke for the first time that evening, “legend says that cat people could use voice magic.”