Snippet Time!
To celebrate a very good work day and give the Team Thero people a glimpse, I present this snippet from Casket of Souls. Seregil and Alec drag Thero to the theater, then out to dinner with the actors.
They repaired to a local tavern that everyone else seemed to be familiar with and the host saw to them personally. Thero found himself seated between the auburn-haired beauty, Merina, and the young woman named Tanni, who’d played the wizard’s daughter on stage-another inconsistency, that was, since wizards were always barren. But he soon forgot about such things, as both of them were quite charming and flirtatious. It wasn’t lost on him, however, how often Atre looked his way or made an effort to engage him in conversation. Brader, on the other hand, seemed quite modest and reticent for an actor. Atre fit the mold perfectly, ruling the conversation, though charmingly. A very charismatic fellow, this one.
“I’m fascinated by Skalan magic!” the actor enthused over dessert. “Is it true that your powers come from having some other blood mixed with yours somehow? Aurënfaie, I believe?”
“Yes,” Thero replied, rather surprised at the question. Anyone should know that.
“Atre hasn’t been in Skala very long,” Alec explained. “He’s from the northlands, like me. No one knows much about the south there.”
“I see.”
“What sort of magic do you practice, my lord?” asked Van, the younger of the two little boys.
“Perhaps Lord Thero would favor us with a demonstration?” said Seregil, giving him a wink.
Thero smiled at the boy as he and his brother and little sister watched him with big eyes. He’d come to like amusing children during the long days in Aurënen with Klia.
“Let’s see.” Cupping his hands over a left over slice of bread, he concentrated on the form of a rabbit, then released it to hop around the table and sniff at the delighted children’s fingers. Then he levitated the dessert plates, sending them into a complex swirling dance above their heads.
“Those are my best dishes!” the tavern keeper called out nervously, but the rest of the crowd erupted into applause. He brought the plates down again, carefully placing each back in its original place.
“How clever!” Merina exclaimed, boldly kissing him on the cheek. Brader, her husband, didn’t seem particularly surprised.
“Do another!” the little girl cried excitedly.
“Now, Ela, don’t pester our guest,” Brader chided.
“One more,” said Thero, aware that many around the room were watching to see what he’d do next. If he wasn’t careful, he’d develop a reputation for frivolity. “May I have a strand of your golden hair, miss?” he asked, meaning to turn it into a golden ring for her.
Brader clasped his daughter’s hand as she went to pull out a strand. “That’s enough now. We don’t want to tax his patience.”
“My friend is still superstitious after all our time in the south,” Atre apologized for him. Smiling, he plucked a black strand of his own and handed it to Thero across the table. “Here, you can use this.”
With everyone looking on . . . he wrapped it around the tip of his little finger, then hid it behind his other hand and murmured the spell. The hair transformed into a tiny obsidian ring, which he took from his fingertip and presented to Ela with a flourish.
They repaired to a local tavern that everyone else seemed to be familiar with and the host saw to them personally. Thero found himself seated between the auburn-haired beauty, Merina, and the young woman named Tanni, who’d played the wizard’s daughter on stage-another inconsistency, that was, since wizards were always barren. But he soon forgot about such things, as both of them were quite charming and flirtatious. It wasn’t lost on him, however, how often Atre looked his way or made an effort to engage him in conversation. Brader, on the other hand, seemed quite modest and reticent for an actor. Atre fit the mold perfectly, ruling the conversation, though charmingly. A very charismatic fellow, this one.
“I’m fascinated by Skalan magic!” the actor enthused over dessert. “Is it true that your powers come from having some other blood mixed with yours somehow? Aurënfaie, I believe?”
“Yes,” Thero replied, rather surprised at the question. Anyone should know that.
“Atre hasn’t been in Skala very long,” Alec explained. “He’s from the northlands, like me. No one knows much about the south there.”
“I see.”
“What sort of magic do you practice, my lord?” asked Van, the younger of the two little boys.
“Perhaps Lord Thero would favor us with a demonstration?” said Seregil, giving him a wink.
Thero smiled at the boy as he and his brother and little sister watched him with big eyes. He’d come to like amusing children during the long days in Aurënen with Klia.
“Let’s see.” Cupping his hands over a left over slice of bread, he concentrated on the form of a rabbit, then released it to hop around the table and sniff at the delighted children’s fingers. Then he levitated the dessert plates, sending them into a complex swirling dance above their heads.
“Those are my best dishes!” the tavern keeper called out nervously, but the rest of the crowd erupted into applause. He brought the plates down again, carefully placing each back in its original place.
“How clever!” Merina exclaimed, boldly kissing him on the cheek. Brader, her husband, didn’t seem particularly surprised.
“Do another!” the little girl cried excitedly.
“Now, Ela, don’t pester our guest,” Brader chided.
“One more,” said Thero, aware that many around the room were watching to see what he’d do next. If he wasn’t careful, he’d develop a reputation for frivolity. “May I have a strand of your golden hair, miss?” he asked, meaning to turn it into a golden ring for her.
Brader clasped his daughter’s hand as she went to pull out a strand. “That’s enough now. We don’t want to tax his patience.”
“My friend is still superstitious after all our time in the south,” Atre apologized for him. Smiling, he plucked a black strand of his own and handed it to Thero across the table. “Here, you can use this.”
With everyone looking on . . . he wrapped it around the tip of his little finger, then hid it behind his other hand and murmured the spell. The hair transformed into a tiny obsidian ring, which he took from his fingertip and presented to Ela with a flourish.