“There you two are.” Evariste crossed the front yard, pausing to study the rather beaten-updummy.
He looked different than he had thatmorning.
To begin with, his short blonde hair was long, now—illusion or alteration magic—and gathered in a silky ponytail at the nape of his neck. Instead of robes, he had on black trousers and a sort of sleeveless, leather jerkin that was ornately etched with gold symbols with a stylized heart and wings emblazoned over the heart. Arm guards, knee-high boots, and the red sash tied round his waist all looked far more serviceable than his usual pricyclothes.
Angelique tilted her head. “Are we goingsomewhere?”
“Yes!” Evariste beamed as he crouched down in front of Angelique and tapped the tip of her nose. “I was just coming to tell you: we leave for Baris tomorrowmorning.”
Angelique shifted so she was in a kneeling position rather than sprawled on the ground. “On Conclavebusiness?”
“Yes—and I thought I’d have you practice granting boons while we were visiting.” Evariste scratched Roland under the chin. “And your assistant is welcome to come, aswell.”
“Really? Roland can come with us?” Angeliqueasked.
“Yes, he’s old enough now; I don’t think we have to worry about someone attempting to steal him. He’d be able to outmaneuver them,” Evaristesaid.
“Excuse me!” Roland scrambled out of Angelique’s arms, then looked at his mussed fur with horror. He glared at Angelique, then sat down facing Evariste. “No one asked me ifIwould like to come toBaris!”
“Wouldn’t you?” Angeliqueasked.
“No!” Rolandyowled.
Angelique frowned. “Whynot?”
“It’s a desert country—do you know what sand would do to my beautiful fur?” Roland shivered inhorror.
“There’s only one desert in the country—it has a lot of coastal land, too,” Evaristesaid.
Roland sniffed. “Regardless, I want to befar awayif Angelique is taking on assignmentsagain.”
Angelique glared at the cat. “I fixed the marionette, eventually. I just happened to discover I am highly susceptible topuppets.”
“What you mean to say is you are afraid of them,” Rolandsnorted.
“You would have been too if you saw the puppet—it was troubling,” Angeliquesaid.
“Angel did well with the Duke’s clothes,” Evaristesaid.
Roland twitched his tail. “Both of you told me how she broke her concentration for a moment, and the duke found himself giving his birthday speech to his guestsinhis birthdaysuit!”
“I dropped it for just a few seconds,” Angelique said, though she was not nearly as emphatic in her defense. (Mostly because she had done it on purpose. The duke, it turned out, was a greedy, unlikeable man who was used to abusing the power that came with his position. Angelique had judged—at the moment—that it was hermoral dutyto see the troll brought down a peg ortwo.)
“The duke never said anything to us about it,” Evariste said. “And you recast the spell at lightning speed—I think even I would have been hard-pressed to weave it faster than you did.” Evariste smiled proudly, as if Angelique leaving a duke stark naked except for his drawers—even for a short length of time—was only a smallmatter.
Angelique faked a wince. “However, I believe all the party guests noticed.”Which was the point, ofcourse.
“I was impressed,” Evariste said, as unflappable as ever. “I thought you’d only manage to keep the outfit up for an hour or so. It was quite impressive you lasted the entire night—a true testament to your abilities, as most apprentices wouldn’t have lasted even halfthat.”
Angelique gaped at her master.That little sneak! He set meup!
Roland twitched his whiskers. “You gave her an assignment you believed she wouldfail?”
Angelique had to forcibly click her teeth shut from adding a hearty sound of agreement to the cat’squestion.
“Angelique needs to explore her boundaries.” Evariste winked. “And I must give her a chance to grow—like a bird helping its chickfly.”
Puss looked back and forth between Evariste and Angelique. “The both of you have an unhealthy obsession withpoultry.”
