actively worked magic in years, and my memory of what to do is a little foggy. My magical skills arewellas stiff as muscles get if not exercised regularly. And, the Magegift fades if not used.'
'Asss any other attribute,' the gryphon agreed. 'Asss in hunting, sswordsskill, or musssic.'
'Well, mine's creaky with disuse,' Darkwind sighed, 'And I can't re-learn everything I'd forgotten and teach Elspeth, too. It was all right ~l when she didn't know anything about mage-craft, because I could set her to work on something basic, while I practiced something else. But now-that won't work anymore.' The gryphon stopped in the middle of a lazy stretch, and blinked at him, claws still extended, back arched. 'Ssshe isss that quick?'
'She's that quick,' Darkwind told him, setting the last support firmly into the wall. 'The problem is that her people have made quite a science of mind-magic, and she's very good at it. Although she says she isn't particularly outstanding.' He snorted. 'Either it's the one and only time I've caught her being modest, or her people are frightening mindmages.
Good enough to stand equal with an Adept.'
'And in mind-magic there isss enough sssameness to give her a basssisss in true magic,' Treyvan supplied. 'Isss there alsso enough sssameness to causse her trouble?' Darkwind wedged the heavy shelf into the support- loops and eyed it critically, ignoring the question for the moment. 'How level do these have to be?' he asked. 'What are they for?'
' Booksss,' Treyvan replied, completing his stretch. 'Jussst booksss, many of them. Ssso long asss they do not fall, it iss level enough.' Books? Where is he getting books? He sighted along the shelf again. It slanted just a bit, but not enough for most people to notice. or it just might be the uneven stone floor that gave the illusion that it slanted; it was hard to tell. It would certainly do for books-wherever the gryphons had gotten them. And whatever they planned to do with them. He couldn't imagine them reading, either' Yes,' he admitted, finally. 'There is just enough that mind-magic has in common with true magic to make her ask me some really difficult questions and to occasionally get her in trouble. And that's the problemif she's asking me questions, I'm distracted from polishing my own skills. And when she gets into trouble, it's sometimes difficult to get her out again, because I am, well, rusty. I've forgotten most of the specifics.
It's more annoying than anything else at the moment, but it's going to be dangerous when facing an enemy.' And how would I explain that to her countrymen? 'I'm sorry, but I seem to have let your princess get killed. I hope you have a spare?'
'Can you not asssk anotherrr Adept to train herrr?' the gryphon asked, his crest-feathers erect with interest.
He sighed, put his back to the wall, and slid down it to sit braced against the cool stone. 'That's just the difficulty, you see. I sponsored her as Wingsib; unless I really get into trouble, she's my problem and my responsibility. We don't have that many Adepts in the first place, and, frankly, none to spare to teach Elspeth.' Besides, I can just imagine what would happen if she were to pull one of her impertinent little questions on, say, Iceshadow. And how would I explain that? 'I'm sorry, but your princess seems to have gotten a bit singed. Don't worry, truly, I'm sure everything will grow back as good as new.' Treyvan scratched meditatively for a moment, then said, 'Well, what of me?' Darkwind frowned, not understanding the gryphon's question. 'What about you)' he asked.
The gryphon coughed, and cocked his head to one side. 'It ssseemsss to me that I could train herrr. I am Masssterrr, and my ssskillssss, while not Adept-classs, arrre quite finely honed and in usssse. I am sssurely good enough to ansswer herrr quessstionsss, get her out of tanglesss, and drill you both. Anything I cannot deal with, you can sssurely anssswer, sso long as the child isss not breathing firrre down yourr neck.' His beak gaped in that familiar gryphon grin. 'Besssidess, I doubt ssshe will give me asss much backtalk asss sssshe givess you!' This was the answer to all his problems. He'd known the gryphon was some kind of mage. He'd seen it proven, and levels were largely a matter of power rather than skill, once one reached anywhere near to Master.
'Would you?' he said eagerly. 'Would you really do that?' The gryphon made a chirring sound, something between a snort and a chuckle. 'I ssssaid that I would, did I not? Of courssse I will. It will be amusssing to teach a human again.' He eyed Darkwind speculatively.
'What isss more, featherrrless sson, I sshall drrrill you asss well. I sshall assk Hydona to help me.' Darkwind suddenly had the feeling a sparrow must have when caught out in a storm. He could bluff Elspeth when he didn't know an answer or concoct a spur-of-the-moment fake that would hold until he recalled the real answer. He wouldn't be able to do that with Treyvan.
And what was more, by the glint in Treyvan's eye, the gryphon knew he'd been doing exactly that.
On the other hand, he needed the drill badly, and Treyvan was the only one likely to offer. He didn't like to go to the other mages and beg for their help; many of them were working themselves into the ground, first shielding, then trying to Heal the Heartstone. The rest, now that the rift between mages and non-mages had been dealt with, were often working the borders with the scouts. Thanks to them there were proper patrols and reasonable work shifts, and the scouts were no longer spread so thin that if one of them were ill or injured, it meant a gaping hole in their border coverage. Those holes were how Falconsbane had gotten in and out of their territory at his leisure.
But that meant there was no one Darkwind really wanted to ask to help him re-train. Except Starblade-but there were too many things between Starblade and he that had yet to be resolved. Besides, Starblade had task enough in simply being healed.
'There isss ssomething more about Elssspeth, iss there not? Treyvan asked. The gryphons' perceptiveness was a constant source of annoyance for Darkwind. It was impossible to be self-indulgent around them. 'You have feelingsss beyond the ssstrictly necesssarrry. Sssomethinghmm-perrsssonal?
He flushed. 'Not really,' he replied, more stiffly than he would have liked. 'I'm attracted to her, of course. But that would happen with any beautiful young woman that became my pupil. It's a natural occurrence in the student- teacher relationship, when both student and teacher are young, and their ages are close.' He winced at saying that; he'd sounded POMPOUS, and he'd come perilously close to babbling. But better that than have Treyvan think there was more between them.
'Of coursse,' Treyvan said blandly. Too blandly. He could hardly take exception to that. He could suspect that Treyvan was teasing him, but he could prove nothing-which was, of course, exactly what Treyvan wanted. So long as Darkwind couldn't prove a real insult, the gryphon could tease all he wanted.
Crazy gryphon. Treyvan and his sense of humor, he thought sourly. He'd laugh at his own funeral.
'Anyway,' he continued, as if Treyvan had said nothing at all, 'With you drilling her, that won't come up. I will be too busy with my learning, as will she, and I sincerely doubt she will have any interest in you as a... uhm... I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you.'
