"Wait, what?" Corwin gasped. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"I didn't think it was that big of a deal!" Simon yelped, and then he looked away, mumbling out the side of his mouth.
"And besides, you see how big he is? If I ratted him out, he'd beat me up and hang me by my toes."
"You should be worried about ME beating you to a pulp and hanging you by your fingernails to the chapel bell tower!" Corwin growled, throwing an exaggerated punch at Simon.
Connor frowned. "Who else would he go to for help with this book?"
Simon scratched his head. "I have no idea who Tory would go to for help. He's not exactly a warm and fuzzy confidant."
"I think I know." I spoke up. I'd been keeping quiet because I was hoping Simon would have more information which could help, but if he was stumped, I couldn't keep silent.
Dean Blackstone looked up at me, his eyes sharp and filled with hope. "Well, don't dawdle all day, girl. Tell us what you know!"
"Tory has two older cousins who graduated from the Academy several years before I did," I began.
"Their names are Kara and Karla Françesca. They are twins as well and I think, in the same graduating class as you guys."
I looked at the twins. "I'm not sure if you remember them, but they're tall and thin," and beautiful, I mentally added.
"Oh man!" Connor whistled. "I didn't know they had a younger cousin. I remember meeting Kara once. She was a beauty!"
"Oh, you didn't have classes with them?"
Connor shook his head. "No. We were in different divisions and different subject areas, and during our eighth through eleventh years, we were taken away by Uncle Blackstone and trained in other areas of magik and governance.
"Governance?" Simon scoffed.
Connor gave him a condescending look. "Some of us have to pick up the slack. You see how hard Nana works? Magus Asada was also training her in the Governance area."
"And here I thought I was just visiting her every Monday to make sure she was doing okay since she never left the Bamboo Grove."
He turned back to Me. "She was training you, Nana. In any case, we didn't actually come back to the Academy until our final year, and then we never really talked to anybody much. Classes on top of our work were too intense."
Corwin nodded. "All the guys in our class had a crush on them; at least that was what I remember. But I don't think those girls gave anybody the time of day. Does anybody know what happened to them after graduation?"
Dean Blackstone nodded. "The girls are the oldest daughters of one of the leading Mage families. After they graduated, their family took them out of the Topaz community, ostensibly to take advanced training in magik of a different sort."
"I believe they were slated to be part of the up-and-coming heads of command. Since Tory is their cousin, it would make sense that he will be traveling to meet up with them."
I had a sudden seizure of the spirit, a palpitation of the heart which almost took my breath away.
If I, a mage with a serious magikal debility, were to stand next to a couple of goddesses like Kara and Karla, I would be rendered effectively invisible.
But I steeled myself and resolved to not let anyone around me make me feel inferior. How I felt about myself and how I was treated by the students around me did not have to match.
"I think I can find Tory." I said, drawing myself up to my full height.
"How?" Corwin asked.
"I have a plan, but I'll need everyone's help."
"Oh Lordy, I don't think I can handle another one of Nana's magikal machinations." Simon gagged a dry heave. "I can still taste the dust in the back of my throat!"
"So how do you plan to find this boy, Tory?" Dean Blackstone asked, ignoring Simon's outburst.
"Well, there's the high-tech, high-magik way...and there's the low-tech, no-magik way, which just happens to be my forte!" I beamed with what I hoped was a bright smile.
It was something I dealt with all my life. I specialized in low-tech, no-magik methods because quite often they were the only options available to me.
"If I can locate just a little bit of a trail, I can have some scouts search for their whereabouts."
"A trail? Like a breadcrumb trail?" Simon asked.
"Scouts? What scouts?" Corwin asked simultaneously.
I shook my head and replied. "Like a scent trail, or a visual trail. Even without magik, we can still find people as long as our senses are acute enough."
"Yeah but who's got the nose of a dog or the sight of a bird of prey?"
I turned to Corwin. "I have a few furred and feathered friends I can call on for scouting help. If that doesn't work, we can also call for Magus Asada and ask her for help with an augury."
Simon chewed on his lip as he contemplated the thought. "I have never seen Magus Asada step foot outside her bamboo forest, and I don't know of any other Augurer."
I eyed Simon. "You're lucky she didn't sprout horns on your head for what you did to her koi. She removed their bioluminescence, but they were very upset."
"Eh, who cares. They're just fish." Simon said off-handedly.
I gasped.
He raised his eyebrows at my shocked expression.
"They're not just fish, you idiot!" I scowled at his clueless face. "They're Magus Asada's pets and they're super smart! Next time you decide to mess with other people's pets, think about who you're messing with."
"Kim Asada is a stubborn old fool." Dean Blackstone grumbled, his eyes distant and unfathomable. It seemed as if there was an old connection between old Blackstone and the Magus.
He turned back to me. "You do have an affinity for animals. We knew that, even at a very young age. You say you can track them through olfactory means?"
"Yes." I nodded and replied. "I call my little ground-level scent trackers to nose out the smell, and then once we have a general idea in which direction Tory has gone, I call in all my sight scouts to seek them from the air."
"Ah!" Blackstone exclaimed as he rubbed his balding pate. "That's what the old hag Asada meant when she said you were an animal whisperer. I thought she was joking, but it seems I owe her an apology."
He squinted at me. "Pray tell, how do you control more than one animal at a time? As I recall, all the Commands having to do with faunal control are strictly one-on-one Commands."
"I don't. I have no control over any animal. I just ask them for help, and since it's just a request, I ask all of them at the same time. It's not an intensive command that can only be performed on one animal at a time."
Blackstone blinked. "How do you get them to do what you want if you have no control over them?" He asked.
I scratched my ear, not sure if I had been doing it wrong all these years, or if I was perhaps missing something important.
"I—er…I don't use Commands on them. I just ask them—nicely?" I hesitantly replied.
The mages looked at me as if I'd given them a bad answer.
I gave a nervous chuckle, not sure what they were looking for. "Well—you know how it goes. I just place a suggestion in their heads and hope that they will take the time out to help me."
I looked around. They didn't seem to be too convinced. "In return, I give them some food that I know they'd like, and then I promise more if they can come back with whatever I ask them for."
"I think it's more like a bribe than a Command…" I trailed off miserably. I had no power to command. If I did, I'd be a First Class Thaumaturge, not a disabled mage.
All I had ever done was ask nicely.
"Bribe?" Corwin grounded out as he narrowed his eyes at me.
"We are MAGES. We don't bribe—or pray—or supplicate for what we need. We have the power to COMMAND, at will, all of nature. That's why they're called Commands and not prayers, or mantras!"
He paused and raised up a finger. "I know you have the power to command. I've seen you do it with my own eyes!"
I blushed, wondering exactly what he saw.
His face inscrutable. "That orangutan did everything you commanded him to do with joy! What did you offer that orange ape in the dining hall to make him so besotted with you?"
"Tarzan?" I asked with a big grin. "He just wants my friendship."
"Smart ape." Connor said, poking his elbow at Corwin.
"And I know Nana can talk to the animals. I've seen her with her bats." Simon interjected.
"And don't forget Max." Connor laughed. "That dog is crazy about Nana."
"Max! Is he still at Professor Blackstone's house? Can you bring him here?" I asked.
Connor turned to me, eyes sparkling. "Sure! He loves to go on adventure outings."
Blackstone nodded. "That sounds like a decent plan. I will leave this issue in your capable hands. Go find the boy and the staff primates, and do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to assist you."
"Do we contact you in the usual manner?" Corwin asked.
Blackstone nodded. "It has always been the case that in times of strife, not a single mobile phone will work, but water—water always works."
I nodded. "That's what Magus Asada told me. If I needed to contact her, I was supposed to use water."
He turned to me. "Yes. If high tech does not work, revert to high magik. Go to any source of still water and use the Scrying Command. If I am near my scrying glass or any liquids, I will be able to talk to you. Now," he looked back at Simon.
"The Osiris boys are in charge of this mission. They have been trained to be able to handle situations such as these, so the two of you try to follow their leads. They will protect you from harm."
I swallowed a lump that suddenly formed in my throat. Something about the way he spoke to us warned me that this was a mission that would take us into dangerous territory. My life was about to take a drastic left turn.
Blackstone hovered to Simon and place his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"I have been talking to your mother. She knows you will be with the Osiris twins and Nana Imara. Be sure to call her when you are able. Don't trust the phones. Scrying is the only way you will be able to make contact with her."
Simon nodded, his eyes large with awe.
Then Blackstone looked at me with something akin a desperate hope.
"You are more powerful than you think, but your powers depend on your closest allies. Do not lose faith in your men," he indicated towards the twins with his cudgel, "but more importantly, do not lose faith in yourself."
"My men?" I repeated.
"Yes. Your men are your staunchest allies, and your strongest protectors. They are your ultimate source of power, and they will see you through all that is to come."
I chanced a glance at the twins. Their eyes held an intensity that shook me. Blackstone had made it very clear to everyone that I was their charge and in their protective care. This meant they would be my guardians for the duration of this mission.
I turned back to Blackstone. "When do you want us to leave?"
"You must leave as soon as possible. Do not remain in Topaz for a minute longer than necessary. Report to me when you are able."
He touched his nose and dissipated into the air, merging with the dust motes streaming through the windows.