Nim sat on the floor. He had his drawing board, and a stack of parchment Ann had given him since he was running low. It was a nicer quality than what he could get in Bisfip. He hated to use it for what he was doing today. Most likely it would end up being mostly scribbles or worse, that man from his nightmares. He was not going to be able to work on the image of Joanne he had been working on recently. Andy was going to sit with him today and keep an eye on him. He would need all the help he could get today. He cast the spell. Jo was propped up on her bed reading. It was the first time he scried her that she was what he considered fully clothed. She wore clothes similar to what Andy normally wore but obviously cut for a woman’s figure. He could see the strap from the charm around her neck. He started to draw what he saw. “You look very beautiful tonight,” he said. She jumped as usual. He hated that he kept startling her. “Thank you,” she said when she saw him. “You look nice too. I see you’re drawing tonight.” He nodded. “Andy’s here to keep an eye on me.” “Hi Joanne,” Andy called. He was sitting out of sight at Nim’s desk. “Hi Andy,” Joanne called back. “I can keep an eye on you,” she offered. Nim guessed she didn’t want a chaperone. “It’s okay,” Andy said. “You can tell her.” “He can see my magic level. It’s safer this way.” She nodded. “What are you drawing?” “You.” “Can I see?” “I just started.” “What about the other one you were working on? The one you showed me before.” “I finished that a while ago. Do you want to see?” “Of course.” He smiled and retrieved the picture. “Oh wow. That’s amazing.” “Thank you.” He blushed. “What about what you’ve been working on since?” He shook his head. “That one’s not done yet.” The image flickered. She raised an eyebrow. He didn’t notice. “Will you show me when it’s finished?” “Maybe.” “Why do you need to draw today? What serious, unpleasant conversation are we having today?” She was learning. “I want to tell you why I’m a loner,” he said. “You already told me that, at the wedding, remember?” “I told you why I was a hermit, not about before. “People who are born with the potential to be mages usually can’t use it until they are getting close to puberty. For dragons, that’s around a hundred years old. I was twenty when mine developed. My magic, I mean, not puberty.” He turned red. “I basically was still a baby. Because of my abilities, my parents couldn’t shield me. Because I was so young, they couldn’t teach me control. They found a mentor who could, and I was sent to live with her away from Baj-tisk. She wasn’t a dragon, however. She was an immortal. “Didn’t you say the immortals were trouble?” “Some are. She wasn’t.” “What you said the last time, she seemed pretty cruel.” “At times she was. She had to be. But she wasn’t evil. All mentors are harsh. Magic is dangerous. If you don’t learn it properly, you can do a lot of damage, hurt, or even kill a lot of people.” “Were you harsh with Ann?” He nodded. “I had to be.” “But you two are friends now.” “She’s experienced worse, but it’s not my place to discuss that.” Joanne nodded. “So, I grew up as the apprentice of an immortal. She raised me. I barely saw my parents. I didn’t see other children, so I didn’t know I was different. I didn’t know that other children lived with their parents. It wasn’t until I returned to Baj-tisk to start school that I found out. The other kids had grown up together. They all knew each other. I didn’t understand that. “I also could do things they couldn’t. I could already fly and breathe fire and cast spells. At first, they were impressed. They accepted me even though I was different, and they thought I spoke funny. “I spoke the language of the immortals better than I did Dragon. The other kids all spoke Dragon so I tried to also but sometimes I didn’t know a word and would use the Immortal word instead. They thought I was making up words, but they were nice, and they helped me learn. Their parents thought I was a bit odd but harmless. When I talked about my mentor, they thought I was referring to a sister. “It wasn’t until one day I cast a spell using Immortal rather than Dragon that anyone learned the truth. “I suppose I was lucky my family wasn’t banished. My parents appealed to the Council and explained why they had needed an immortal. The Council accepted their reasoning. “Unfortunately, not everyone agreed. Some felt all immortals were evil and couldn’t be trusted and neither could I. Parents encouraged their children not to have anything to do with me. “The only ones that remained my friends were Kartonesh and Areantor. I don’t know if Kartonesh’s parents didn’t care or if he ignored them. Areantor was my friend because Kartonesh was. Her parents didn’t approve. “I guess that’s why it hurt so much when Kar accused Mishtali of being immortal. He knew that not all the immortals caused problems. He knew what I had been through and that Pt’this, his own brother, would go through the same thing. “When I finished my apprenticeship, the Council encouraged my mentor to leave Baj-tisk. I haven’t seen her since. They assigned me a new mentor who was to correct any problems I may have learned from my old one. They wanted to make sure I wasn’t corrupted. He wasn’t much of a mentor. He never learned how different I am, of any of my unique abilities. He only wanted to make sure I didn’t use forbidden magic or immortal spells. He never learned that I already had copies of the spells translated into Dragon. He even wanted me to change my addiction, but I refused. It’s too much a part of me, and it’s a harmless activity.” Throughout the entire time he spoke, Nim didn’t once look up from his drawing. He didn’t look up once he stopped speaking either. He just kept drawing. “Please don’t just stare at me. Say something,” he finally said. “I’m sorry. I wanted to make sure you were done first.” Jo thought he was starting to look tired. “Nim,” Andy said. “I hate to interrupt, but can you come here a moment?” “Excuse me a moment.” Nim went out of where Joanne could see. She could hear Andy say something but couldn’t make it out. She did hear Nim thank him though before he sat down. She decided he didn’t look tired after all. He went back to drawing. “Thank you for telling me,” she said. “I’m sorry you had such a difficult time.” Nim didn’t look up, didn’t respond. “Can I ask you what the unique abilities you have are? You’ve mentioned them a few times.” He smiled. “I have a really good memory.” “How good?” She asked. “Eidetic,” she heard Andy say. “Really?” Joanne was impressed. Nim shrugged. “What does eidetic mean?” “It means you remember pretty much everything you see.” He nodded. “And hear. It was part of the problem when I was little. I’d hear a spell and be able to repeat it and would try to cast it. The only problem was I didn’t know what the spells were and would put too much power behind them. That’s not a good thing when you cast a lightning bolt at your parents because they wouldn’t let you have your way.” “You didn’t,” Joanne gasped. He nodded. “I did and a fireball once. Fortunately, no one was hurt. I had terrible aim.” “That’s good at least. What else makes you unique?” She asked. “My magic started when I was very young.” “You mentioned that. What else?” “I can’t tell you.” Why not?” “Because the palace walls have ears.” “Okay, perhaps sometime when you’re not at the palace?” She suggested. “Perhaps.” He nodded. He held up the drawing he had been working on. It was of her sitting on her bed reading as she had been earlier. Around the edges were smaller images of dragons and lightning bolts. There were runes and patterned designs also. Some, like the picture of her, were very nicely done, others were rough, reminding her almost of scribbles. She guessed those were what he had done when he got agitated, and he was drawing feverishly. “Wow. That’s very nice,” she said. “Though I’m going to start feeling self-conscious with you drawing me all the time.” “What? Is it another nude of her?” Andy asked. Nim turned red, and the image flickered. “Another nude?” Joanne asked, blushing herself. “You drew me nude and showed him?” “I haven’t shown him anything,” Nim said and growled Andy. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.” Andy laughed. “Notice he didn’t say there were no nudes?” “Andrew Stephen, be nice.” Joanne scolded. “May I see?” He asked. Nim held up the two drawings, and Andy came for a closer view. “Wow is right. Those are great. You could sell them.” Nim smiled but didn’t say anything. Jo noticed he didn’t blush like he normally did when complimented and wondered about that. “Guys,” Andy said. “It’s been a blast, but it’s past Nim’s bedtime. I’ll step in the hall so you two can say good night. But I’m coming back in a few minutes so behave yourselves,” he said. “Do you really have to go?” Joanne asked once Andy was gone. “I do, I’m sorry. I wish we could talk all night.” “So do I.” “No more phone calls?” He asked. “None.” “Good. I’ll talk with you again in a few days.” “I look forward to it.” “As do I.” “Good night.” “Pleasant dreams,” he said and ended the spell.