“Would you like me to sequester it? I know of a rather effective little Etruscan binding spell I picked up in my travels.”
“No, I’d like you to open it and tell me what you see.”
“Probably best not to open it.”
“How so?”
His elegant eyebrows rose. “Is this a joke?”
“Not hardly.”
“Why in the world would you want to open”—he inclined his head toward the box—“that?”
“Do you know a fellow named Tristan Dupree?”
“Of course.”
“You do?” I had assumed Aidan knew of Tristan Dupree. I just hadn’t expected him to admit it.
“How is Dupree doing these days?”
“Seems like his old self.” In fact, Tristan looked exactly as he had when our paths crossed more than a decade ago. Exactly. “Anyway, he says I stole something from him.”
“Did he?”
“Do you know what it is? He said it was a bleeg, or something like that? I didn’t quite catch it. I wondered if he was trying to say ‘bag,’ and maybe referring to the Satchel you had me watch over?”
Aidan sighed. “It’s not the Satchel.”
“Then what is it?”
“Lily, Lily, Lily. When will you listen to me? Have I not been nagging you to study your craft more intensively?”
“Just tell me what it is, Aidan.”
Aidan rose, pulled a fat volume off the bookshelf, flipped it open, and handed it to me, pointing to a passage on one page.
“I would guess Tristan was referring to a beag.”
I read:Old Englishbeag, referring most often to circular jewelry such as rings, bracelets, necklaces; also garlands, collars, crowns; might include shackles and coils, or precious objects in general. From the Proto-Germanicbaugaz(bow or ring); from the Proto-Indo-Europeanbewg(to bend). Cognatebaugin some German dialects (ring, collar), or Icelandicbaugur(circle). Relative ofbagel.
“Tristan thinks I stole his bagel?”
Aidan smiled. “More likely a ring.”
“Or it says here it could be a collar, a garland, or a crown. Any precious object, really.” I blew out a frustrated breath. “Could I ask you something?”
“That’s why you’re here.”
“Why do magical folks have to be so gol-durned nonspecific? Why do they always have to talk in riddles?Why can’t they just say what it is they want, inmodernEnglish? I’d take Spanish, or Nahuatl, for that matter.”
“That would take all the fun out of it.”
“Not for me. I get plenty of fun with my vintage clothes. Going out to dinner, hanging out with my friends...”
“If you’re asking seriously, I would say it’s because the flow of power we tap into is primordial, beyond language. We are interpreting symbols and sensations, which don’t lend themselves to specific meanings.”
“Huh. I never thought of that. Good point. Anyway, so what does ‘beag’ tell us?”
