kissing the Prioress's ruby ring, he remained on one knee with his head bowed until the Prioress finally allowed him to rise.
She was now sitting at ease on the divan in the corner of the room, and she motioned Grimm towards a cushioned stool at its side.
'Welcome, good mage. It is always a pleasure to receive a visit from our thaumaturgic brethren. What may I do for you?'
Grimm found the old woman's harsh voice irritating in the extreme, but he kept his expression calm. 'Reverend Mother, I am Questor Grimm. I have come about one of your nuns, a girl named Madeleine.'
'Ah, yes, a sweet young thing,' the Prioress crackled. 'She told me that she was seeing some handsome young Questor. Such relations are not forbidden to our Sisters, as long as they keep to the bounds of propriety, so you have no need to ask my blessing.'
No doubt, Lizaveta was trying to sound maternal and soothing, but Grimm found her voice repulsive to his sensitive ears.
'Are you aware that Sister Madeleine is a witch?' he asked.
If the Prioress was shocked at the question, she hid it well.
'Several of my flock are practitioners of Geomancy, Lord Mage,' she said. 'So long as they are used only in devotion to our cause, the Order's Regulations do not proscribe such arts.'
Grimm laid Redeemer on the floor beside him and folded his hands across his stomach, the fingers interlaced.
'Reverend Mother,' he said, his voice stern, 'I am now aware that Sister Madeleine was using her magic in order to infatuate me, to make me dependent on her, so I would obey her every whim. She also cast a spell on a fellow Questor, to fox his mind. Do your Regulations have anything to say about that?'
His tone was rather brusquer than he had intended, but he was fuming with anger at Madeleine's acts and at his own foolishness. 'I was on the point of becoming some drooling, love-struck fool before I managed to extricate myself.'
The Reverend Mother's mouth compressed into a thin slit and her eyes narrowed.
'Indeed, Questor Grimm?' she hissed. 'Such actions will not be tolerated by the Order; the girl will be taught the error of her sinful ways, I assure you.'
Grimm bowed his head. 'Thank you, Reverend Mother. I entrust her to your justice and commend her into your hands.'
Lizaveta's face twisted into a hideous mask of pure fury. 'Oh, yes, Questor, she will rue the day she was born; make no mistake about that. Please accept my personal apology on behalf of the Sisters of Divine Mercy, and you may rest assured that such wicked acts will receive their just deserts.'
Grimm stood and gave a fluent, respectful bow.
'Thank you, Reverend Mother. I feel sure you will ensure that justice is done. The girl is a menace.'
Lizaveta fumed inside, but she kept her tone calm, almost sweet, as she addressed the terrified girl lying spread-eagled before her.
'Well, dear Sister, it would appear that things have not gone quite according to plan.'
A muffled voice came from the floor. 'It was your plan, Reverend Mother.'
Lizaveta leapt to her feet and screamed at the hapless Madeleine, 'How dare you talk back to me, you incompetent little slut? Apologise at once!'
'I apologise with all my heart, Reverend Mother,' Madeleine responded. 'I intended no disrespect.'
Lizaveta grunted. 'A simple enough task, or so it seemed to me,' she hissed. 'You said he was ready to eat out of the palm of your hand. What went wrong?'
'I don't know, Reverend Mother,' Madeleine cried, lifting her head from the carpet. 'At one moment, he was a babbling, inanely grinning fool, the next, he was clear-headed and angry. It wasn't my fault, Reverend Mother. It must have been some Questor magic.'
'Don't presume to talk to me about Questors, girl. I gave birth to one, the mage who is now Grimm Afelnor's own Prelate! This was no Questor magic of which I have ever heard. A Questor cannot cast a spell on his own brain, did you not realise that? No, this must be due to incompetence on your part!'
'Reverend Mother, I know that spell as well as my own name. It was working-'
'And then it stopped working!' Lizaveta snapped. 'By the Names, girl, you will come to regret this ineptitude. By the time I have finished with you, you will know what discipline is! You may survive or you may not, but either way you will learn the meaning of true contrition.'
The Prioress of the Sisters of Divine Mercy snatched up a stout rod and strode towards the trembling body of Madeleine.
'What do you say, Sister?'
'Forgive me, Reverend Mother,' the nun whispered, her face ashen. 'Show me, I beg you, the error of my ways…'
Dalquist, sitting with Grimm in the bar, whistled in disbelief at the younger mage's revelations.
'Who would have thought you could escape a witch ensorcellment with the aid of spells to ward of drunkenness?' he said, shaking his head. 'I guess Madeleine made a bad mistake in trying to get the better of a Guild Questor.'
A dark look flitted over his face. 'I hope the Order's punishments aren't too severe, though. I'd hate to think she'd be badly hurt, even after what she's done.'
Grimm laughed, taking a draught of ale from his glass.
'I don't want that, either,' he said, 'but the Sisters of Divine Mercy don't sound too severe if they allow the nuns to mingle with members of the opposite sex and wear Secular clothes. I'd imagine the worst Madeleine will get is a tongue-lashing and a long prayer session.
'Even so, I'll bet Madeleine must be kicking herself every time she tries to work out what happened. Books on Guild magic never talk about lowly spells like those for relieving inebriation! I bet that girl will be kicking herself for the next year or more.'
Lizaveta kicked the prostrate, bloodstained form once more, without response. 'Girls these days,' she said, 'have no stamina or endurance.' Using her scrying-crystal, she summoned a pair of trusted Sisters to remove the corpse in a large laundry-bag. Two further nuns entered and began to scrub the red-stained floor.
The Prioress watched the women labouring to restore the pristine whiteness of the carpet and her thoughts turned to young Afelnor.
This youth was not as broad-shouldered and muscular as Loras had been, but she recognised the immense power behind his dark eyes. She had been a fool to think that she would be able to control such a potent Questor with such hasty preparation. Without trying to match wills with Grimm, she had realised that, alone, she would not have stood a chance. It might take a little more effort to bend him to her will than she had imagined, but she thought that the challenge might be worthwhile. Wiping a drop of blood from her brow, she smiled. She was patient, and she could wait. Without doubt, another opportunity would assert itself to avenge her further against the man who had refused her advances so long ago.
Chapter 20: The Last Day
Grimm felt in fine humour the next morning. This was to be his last day at High Lodge, and he felt far from
