Nim sat on his bed this time as he prepared to contact Joanne. He could hear Pt’this and Sapphire next door. The dragon had returned a short time ago and went straight to their room. This was the first time Nim had been able to hear them, and it was a bit distracting, made doubly so by the fact that some of the sounds were from pain. Pt’this wasn’t ready to come back, and he certainly wasn’t ready for physical contact of that level. But, they were leaving in the morning, and they hadn’t seen each other in a week, so he did his best to ignore them. He scried Joanne. She too was on her bed, reading yet again. As usual, she jumped when he greeted her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s okay. Having a heart attack every three days can’t be that bad for me right?” She said with a gleam. “I hope not.” “He called again,” Joanne said. “This time, at work.” “What did he say?” “He was asking about people if I could help him find them. Here, I recorded it, listen.” She picked up a small device and did something with it, and it started making sound. He could hear Joanne talking with some man. He didn’t recognize the voice but maybe Pt’this would. “Can you stop that? I’d like Pt’this to hear it too.” She did something, and the sound stopped. “I’ll be right back.” He hurried to the door. He didn’t call telepathically because he knew Pt’this’s telepathy was poor right after shedding. He returned moments later with Pt’this. Joanne started the recording from the beginning. Pt’this and Nim both listened without comment to the whole thing. Pt’this shook his head. “I don’t recognize the voice.” “Neither do I,” Nim said. “But you see what I mean, how he has an accent like Nim’s rather than Ann and Sapphire, or the rest of you dragons,” Joanne said. “My accent?” It caused him to pause. He hadn’t thought about that the last time Joanne mentioned the caller’s accent. He had just assumed she had meant an accent from Torthoc. They weren’t all that different, but he did have a different accent from the others. One of the results of being raised by an immortal was having an immortal accent. He looked at Pt’this. Pt’this nodded. “But when was he ever called Death Wish or Living Night?” “You’re the historian,” Nim said. “I’ve never heard of him referred to as either.” “And The Living Night was never called Death Wish, was he?” Pt’this shook his head. “He would have been furious. I only know of one Death Wish, but she’s too young.” “Maybe we should ask her,” Nim suggested. “I’m not waking her tonight.” Pt’this was adamant. “So, this doesn’t help?” Joanne looked disappointed. “It might, we just have to consult with someone. She’s just not a pleasant person so we’d like to wait until morning,” Nim explained. “Who are those others he mentioned?” “I’m Tomin Mishtan, Thailyn is Ann’s birth father. But I don’t know who Dentrias is,” Pt’this said. “That would be me,” Nim said softly. “That was the name my parents gave me.” “You go by your apprentice name?” Pt’this was surprised. He and Ann were not unique in hating the nicknames their mentors had chosen. Most apprentices did. “It was the name I was raised with. I went by it for a hundred and eighty years. I was used to it.” Nim shrugged. “I haven’t gone by Dentrias since I was given the name Nimitinas. I don’t know anyone who might know it.” “Ann has a way of finding things out,” Pt’this mused. “But even she needs a source. I don’t think there are any records of my name change. When I came back for school, everyone just assumed Nimitinas was my birth name. My other mentor would have given me a new one if he’d known.” “We’ll talk to Ann in the morning too,” Pt’this said. “Agreed. She had a difficult day.” “What happened? Is everything okay?” Joanne asked. “Oh, just more trouble from her brother,” Nim said. They had been trying to remove the spell on Remtani. They had to take off the charm, and he had broken the bonds they had used to restrain him and attacked Ann, breaking her arm, before and anyone could stop him. It had taken both Nim and Andy to pull him off her. He had stabbed Nim in the arm in the process. It had been his burned arm, so Nim hadn’t felt anything. Shunati, fortunately, was able to heal them both. “I thought they were getting along?” Joanne asked. “They were. It’s being handled.” The spell was drained, the charm was returned, and Remtani was staying in the barracks until they left. “I need to get going. I need to get this shirt off before it rubs me raw. Goodnight, you two. Nim, don’t drain yourself too much,” Pt’this said. “Goodnight,” Joanne said. “Don’t let Sapphire rub you raw either,” Nim said with a smile. Pt’this growled, but his smile told a different story. “Is he okay?” Joanne asked. “He shed recently. It just takes a while.” Nim shrugged. “You don’t think I should worry, do you?” Nim shook his head. “I think he just is trying to get information about us. What would you tell the women at your shelter to do?” Joanne frowned and nodded. “I’m sorry this is happening. My scrying you has probably caught his attention,” Nim said stepping close to the mirror. “It’s okay. He hasn’t done anything. It’s not like I’m going to ask you to stop scrying me,” she said. “But I’m going to have to,” Nim said. “What? No.” “I’m leaving Menthanla tomorrow and won’t be back for a few weeks at least. I need to conserve my magic. I can’t be draining myself like this while we’re on the road.” “What about when you get where you’re going?” “I don’t know if that would be a good idea. I promise we will talk again as soon as possible.” She nodded. “I’m going to miss you,” she said. “I’m going to miss you too. Maybe, if I’m not scrying you, this guy will give up.” “Maybe.” “Next time we talk, I’ll show you that picture I’ve been working on,” he offered. “Are you trying to appease me with a picture?” “Just trying to give you something to look forward to.” “I look forward to talking with you.” “So do I. I love you,” he said. It wasn’t so much the revelation itself that surprise Joanne as the fact that he said it first and he didn’t need his drawing stuff. He had looked her right in the eye and said it.” “I love you too,” she said. “Goodnight then.” “Wait,” Joanne called. “What?” “Andy was right. You never denied drawing me nude.” “No, I never denied that.” He wore the same smile he had when Andy had mentioned selling his drawings. “Did you?” “Would you like me to?” She hesitated. “We’ll talk about this again next time,” he said. “Goodnight.” “Goodnight.” And then he ended the spell. He wished he could tell her what was happening, but he was under orders not to discuss it with anyone else. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to see her while he was there. They talked about staying at an inn so as not to involve the boarders. Emeton was still debating if Nim should even visit her if they chose that option. He didn’t want to get her hopes up or worry her if he couldn’t see her.