No use complaining now, I suppose. I volunteered for this. Jason only wanted me to read and translate specific passages in specific books, and I suspect that if I had stuck to that, there would be no such 'mark' upon me.
'I only mention this, because you should know certain things,' the old man continued, with an expression of gentle concern. 'Master Jason has collected some powerful enemies, as all who traffic in Magick eventually must.' He chuckled, then, his concern softening. 'Even so inoffensive a creature as myself can collect enemies, I fear. But if these enemies become aware of your association with Jason, they will seek to use you against him.'
'How?' she asked, suspiciously. Now what is he at? Does he think to offer himself as my ' protector'-for a cost? Tales of evil Chinese 'white slavers' flashed through her mind for a moment.
'Nothing coercive, at least, not in all likelihood,' the old man said soothingly. 'No wise Magician exposes his powers too much before the multitudes; when people, especially handsome young women, are suddenly missing, the police begin to look suspiciously about.' He shrugged. 'And at any rate, cooperation is much more easily obtained with charm, tact, persuasion and ...' He paused, and raised one eyebrow. '... and gifts? You should know that this may befall you, and you should be wary of men with glib tongues and blandishments. Be even warier of those who offer you much for what seems to be very trifling information. If Jason has taken you even a little into his confidence, what you know already could conceivably harm him.'
She flushed, and shook her head a little. 'I doubt that anyone is likely to think of me as anything other than insignificant,' she replied crisply. 'What I am doing is mere translation; if I have been reading certain texts, it is only to assist my own ability to translate. Mr. Cameron could certainly hire another translator at any time, and with very little effort on his part.' She strove to control her blushes. 'Quite frankly, although I have seen just enough to make me a believer in the power of Magick, I very much doubt that Mr. Cameron has 'taken me into his confidence' at all.'
Master Pao gave her an oblique glance, but said nothing. His hands, however, continued to fly among the drawers and boxes of his herbs, until at last he had made up a fourth packet, this one wrapped carefully in red paper.
'Here, in the blue, is the replication of your previous recipe,' he said, pushing the packet across to her. 'When you look to run short, you need only have an order sent to me, and I will send another supply.' He pushed the second packet, wrapped in green, across the counter to stand beside the first. 'Here is the recipe that I would recommend for those same complaints. Try it, and see if you find it superior.' The third packet, in white, joined the other two. 'And here are the herbs you asked for an increase in stamina. Now-these will not act precisely as you requested. They will not keep you awake when you need slumber.' 'What will they do, then?' she asked, both a trifle disappointed and a trifle annoyed.
His face took on the expression of a stern teacher. 'They will do much better than forcing you to stay wakeful. Such medicines are dangerous, and easily abused, and I do not prescribe them unless there is no other choice. This recipe must be drunk faithfully at every meal and at bedtime, and it will enable you to have a full night's sleep in only four hours' time.' He chuckled again at her reaction, a bitten-off exclamation of pleasure.
'I could wish I'd had such a wonder long ago!' she exclaimed. 'I have never been able to function on less than eight hours of sleep! This is wonderful!' She reached for the packet; he held his hand on it, keeping her from snatching it up immediately.
'There is, as in all such things, a price to be paid,' he warned her. 'Your sleep will be-compressed, as it were. This will mean certain changes in your dreams, which may be unpleasant changes if you are not used to recalling your dreams. Your dreams will become very vivid, and very intense, impossible to forget. They may be very disturbing, and possibly-possibly you will see things that will cause you unease. And although you will only require four hours of slumber, you must have that time; you will fall asleep over your books if you attempt to stay wakeful for more than thirty-six hours. The final price, however, is one, I think, no woman would quarrel over.' He actually winked at her. 'You will find that you use energy as if you were exercising heavily. You will be very hungry, and you should assuage that hunger without fear of gaining weight. As the natives of the North say, 'Sleep is food, and food is sleep.' And you should do without this prescription when you are taking the herbs in the blue or green packet. They do not mix well together.'
She nodded solemnly, and picked up all three packets. 'I understand-but what, exactly, do you mean when you say that my dreams will be disturbing?'
He stroked his long moustache and beard for a moment, as if he was taking great care in choosing his words. 'Several of these herbs are known among the people of India for what is called 'opening the third eye.' They enable one to see the Unseen, the past, or what is yet to be. If you have any such abilities slumbering within you, they may well awake at the touch of these medicines, and you may not like the result. It is a hard thing to see the future; many find such knowledge a burden too great to bear.'
For a moment, a chill lay across her shoulders, as if a cold shadow fell there. Then she laughed, if a trifle uneasily. 'I doubt that I will have any such difficulties, Master Pao,' she replied, with emphasis intended to convince herself as much as him. 'I fear that I am as prosaic as a loaf of bread, and as psychically aware as a paving- stone.'
Once again, he bestowed an oblique glance upon her. 'You give yourself too little credit,' he said. Then he shook his head, and passed over the last, red-wrapped packet. 'This, however, is not for you. It is for Jason-if you can get him to take it. He is that most dangerous of patients, the ones who prefer to diagnose and dose their own ailments. He needs these medicines-I know what he is doing to himself, in part, at least, and he is as a wolf who is so intent on the hunt that he will run until he collapses.'
She accepted the third packet dubiously. 'I have no idea how I could ever get him to take medicine. I cannot possibly promise anything.'
'I know that. I also know that you are more likely to try than that wretched creature du Mond,' Master Pao said, with a touch of irritation in his voice as he mentioned the secretary's name. 'If you have the opportunity, I beg
