confession.
He looked at me. “Gnatho,” he said.
I shook my head. “No,” I said. “You.”
He frowned. “Don’t be silly,” he said.
“It was you.”
“Ridiculous. Look, I can prove it. I don’t have clearance for restricted alchemical data. But Gnatho does.”
I nodded. “That’s right, he does. So you asked him to get the data for you. He was happy to oblige. After all, he’s your friend.”
“You’re wrong.”
“Genseric had to find the natural. You’re hopeless at that sort of thing; Gnatho’s very good at it. If you’d been able to, you’d have done it yourself. But you had to leave it to Genseric.”
He took a deep breath. “You’re wrong,” he said. “But assuming you were right, what would you intend to do about it?”
I looked at him. “Absolutely nothing,” I said. “No, I tell a lie. I’d withdraw my name for the chair. Just as you’re going to do.”
“And let Gnatho—”
Oh, the scorn in those words. He’d have hit me if he’d been able. He’s always looked down on Gnatho and me, just because we’re from the Mesoge.
“He’s a fine scholar,” I said. “Besides, I never wanted the stupid job anyway.”
The boy from Riens duly turned up and was assigned to a house. He’s settled in remarkably well, far better than I did. Mind you, I didn’t have an influential senior member of Faculty looking out for me, like he has. He could go far, given encouragement. I hope he does, for the honor of the Old Country.
I’m glad I didn’t get the chair. If I had, I wouldn’t have had the time for a new line of research, which I have high hopes for. It concerns the use of strong acids for disposing of the mortal remains of revenants. Fire doesn’t work, we know, because fire leaves ashes; but if you eat the substance away so there’s absolutely nothing left— Well, we’ll see.
He’ll be back, my father used to say, like a pig to its muck. I gather he said it the day I left home. Well. We’ll see about that, too.
Megan Lindholm
Books by Megan Lindholm include the fantasy novels Wizard of the Pigeons, Harpy’s Flight, The Windsingers, The Limbreth Gate, Luck of the Wheels, The Reindeer People, Wolf’s Brother, and Cloven Hooves, the science fiction novel Alien Earth, and, with Steven Brust, the collaborative novel The Gypsy. Lindholm also writes as New York Times bestseller Robin Hobb, one of the most popular writers in fantasy today, having sold over one million copies of her work in paperback. As Robin Hobb, she’s perhaps best known for her epic fantasy Farseer series, including Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin’s Quest, as well as the four fantasy series related to it: the Liveship Traders series, consisting of Ship of Magic, The Mad Ship, and Ship of Destiny; the Tawny Man series, made up of Fool’s Errand, The Golden Fool, and Fool’s Fate; the Rain Wilds Chronicles, consisting of Dragon Keeper, Dragon Haven, City of Dragons, and Blood of Dragons; and the Fitz and the Fool trilogy, made up of Fool’s Assassin, Fool’s Quest, and Assassin’s Fate. She’s also the author of the Soldier Son series, composed of Shaman’s Crossing, Forest Mage, and Renegade’s Magic. As Megan Lindholm, her most recent book is a “collaborative” collection with Robin Hobb, The Inheritance & Other Stories.
Doing a favor for an old friend is always a risky business, full of potential disappointments and pitfalls, especially when the old friend is someone you haven’t seen or spoken to for decades after an acrimonious breakup—someone who once betrayed you, someone you know better than to trust. And especially in a case where dangerous magic is involved.
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