A/N: Thank you "blue flies" for reviewing my last chapter! It means a lot
to me *sniff*! Anyways...here's another one!
***Trycos's View***
Holding the strange letter in his hands, he stepped over the threshold into his room, remembering to close the door firmly behind him, and sat gingerly down onto one of the couches that he had rematerialized. He turned the envelope over and over in his hands, trying to sense any sort of tracking spell or curse, but it was Gift free. Trycos frowned and leaned back in his seat, somewhat unnerved. Not by the letter itself, but by the fact that someone would actually want to be writing to him in such an odd manner.
After about five minutes, he slowly opened the back of the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. A grin lit his face as he read it and when he was done he read it over a second time just to make sure that he understood the situation. They needed his help now? Hmm...What an...uncomfortable situation they must be in now...He leaned back in his chair again and closed his eyes, the letter still in his hands. But now, what should he do? Should he accept, or decline? And if he accepted, what would he ask for that they themselves could provide? His grin turned into a wide malicious smile. Yes, he would accept, if only to play with their minds again...maybe he would even go along with what they had in mind, just for laughs.
A piece of parchment and a fancy feathered quill appeared on a small table next to the couch. He picked it up and began to write his response.
***Phi, Alex, and Tom's View***
It was in the middle of the afternoon on the second day that they were back at the Palace, and that morning they had written the letter, but all three of them were already anxious for a response. Tom shook his head, "This is ridiculous...even with our own modern post system it usually takes about two days for a letter to arrive..."
Phi yawned and leaned her back up against Alex's who was staring blankly out the window. She had just woken up from a short nap but was still feeling tired, probably because of the time change from when they left Trycos's room and entered back into the real world, "Ya, well, maybe their mail is more efficient here, I mean it is hand delivered so maybe it gets there faster or something..."
Alex just nodded, not really paying attention to what they were saying. Something outside had just caught his eye. It looked like a bird, maybe a leaf...no, definently a piece of paper and it was floating on a light breeze over the Palace wall, around the corner of the building and around the courtyard. He stared as the paper was swept up by a strange wind current and reeled back as it smacked right onto their window.
Phi made a squeaking noise and grabbed onto Alex's arm to keep from falling off the bed and all the movement made Tom jump. Alex blinked at the strange paper and realized that it had something written on it in some form of fancy calligraphy: Thomas, Alexander, and Phiona. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He walked over to the window, opened it, and carefully reached outside and grabbed the paper. Tom's eyebrows rose and Phi blinked at the envelope before muttering, "Showoff..."
Alex opened the letter and read it out loud, "I would be most interested to hear what you have to say. I am sure we can manage to find...something...that you have that I would be interested in. I shall meet you in my alley tonight at midnight. Do not even think about bringing any guards...you already know that they will not do you any good... Trycos"
Tom took the letter and frowned, "Well he certainly sounds cheery..."
"And that's not a good thing..." Alex went back to sit on the bed and for some reason found himself wrapping his arms around Phi. Something about the way Trycos had written the line about finding something that he would be interested in had sent a cold shiver running down his spine and he began to wonder if the "something" was really a someone.
Phi didn't seem to mind the comfort of someone's touch and snuggled back into him, "Tom, are we really going to do this? It seems to me that meeting an insane man in a dark alleyway is just asking for trouble..."
Actually, Tom had been thinking along the same lines, but he didn't want Alex or Phi to know that he was worried. He felt that they needed him right now to be sure of himself, and if he expressed his worries to them, it might just make them even more uneasy, "Well, I'm almost positive that he won't try any of his mind control tricks on us again, seeing how well they worked last time, and with you and Alex there, we will probably be able to overpower him strength wise if he tries anything funny..." His voice trailed off as it often did when he was thinking hard about something.
Alex pulled Phi a little closer, "What's the matter Tom? We all know that you are thinking about something so spit it out."
Tom sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit that he had picked up from Alex, "I was just thinking that it would be a lot better if we were able to tell someone where we were going before we went through with this....you know, in case anything were to happen."
"But there is no one we could tell! We couldn't tell Kel, Esmond, Owen, Alanna, or George because they would try to stop us and would probably succeed in doing so!"
A thoughtful look appeared on Phi's face, "There is one person who we could make promise not to tell unless something happened, and we could trust him to keep the promise..."
"And who would that be?"
***
Devic was sitting amidst a foot high stack of books when Phi ran over to him, "Devic, I need to ask you a favor!"
"Umm...What is it?" Devic looked around and realized that most of the other pages were staring at him. He scowled at them and turned back to Phi, "Will it cause me to risk my life and or personal injury?"
"Noo...not really..."
"...Okay...So, what do you want me to do?"
Phi glanced around anxiously and pulled up another chair next to Devic so that she could speak quietly and only he would hear, "Well, here's the thing. First you need to promise that you will not tell anyone what I am about to tell you unless...something happens."
Devic's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the words "something happens", "Fine...I will not tell..."
"Okay, um..." Phi glanced around one more time as if expecting to find one of the knights hovering over her shoulder listening to what she was saying, "We are going to go talk to Trycos again tonight..."
Devic's jaw dropped and he slipped out of his chair, attracting even more strange looks. As he crawled back up onto the desk, he turned to Phi with a strange look in his eyes, "...You are going to what?!"
Phi motioned for him to lower his voice, "We need to go and talk to Trycos tonight. We are going to meet him in his alley-way at midnight."
"Well then I am going to go with you!"
"No you're not Devic!"
"Then why did you tell me?!"
"Because if something happens then...someone will know where we are and will be able to come help..."
Devic scowled, "How am I supposed to keep that a secret? Fine...I'll try...You three are suicidal, that's what you are..."
Phi stood up, gave him a big bear hug and hurried back out of the library. Devic turned around to see about twenty five pairs of eyes staring at him, "Oh, get back to your work!"
***Twenty-minutes 'till Midnight...***
"Alex, Alex, wake up...We need to go!"
Alex rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed, yawning softly. Tom was already wide-awake and alert, and Phi cracked open their door and motioned for them to come out, "Come on..."
Alex shook his head, trying to wake himself up completely and threw on a black overcoat. Phi had a long draping cape thing with a hood on it and Tom was just wearing dark clothes. Alex sighed and struggled to his feet. He would have to be 100% alert for this, he wasn't going to let anything bad happen to anyone this time...except for maybe Trycos...
The three slinked outside into the hallway and down the corridor until they came upon the large set of stairs. Tom turned to the others, "All right. If either of you wants to turn back, go ahead and do so now, after this, I don't think that there will be another good point in time for us to turn around..." Phi and Alex shook their heads and they continued down the stairs and out of the Palace. A soft, drifting snow had begun to fall and Alex pulled his coat a little tighter around his shoulders to keep the breeze from blowing in.
The full moon lit their way as they continued through the Palace gate and down the main street until they at last reached the alleyway. And there was Trycos, standing half in shadows, looming silently over the street, half-invisible to the average passer-by. The man smiled and motioned for them to step closer, a small smile playing on his face, "Ahh...So you all actually made it. I was sure at least one of you would loose your courage and not show, but it seems that I have underestimated you again. Would you care to come in?"
Tom stared at the man and answered back stiffly, "No thank you, we are fine where we are."
"I thought you might say that...So, what would you three now be needing my help for...obviously to do something that no one else can, otherwise, you wouldn't be asking me. My, my, it must be hard for you...So much hatred and distrust..." As he said this, Phi felt a slight tickling in the back of her mind and knew that Trycos was prodding again.
Tom must have felt it too because he glared at the man, "Enough. Although you probably already know why we are here, I should probably tell you anyway. After you hurt Numair, he has been unable to move from his bed." Trycos's eyebrow rose but he did not interrupt. "However, he is the only one we knew of that can open up a transdimensional gateway so we can get back home to our world. But then we realized that there was someone else who knew how to open it...you."
"Indeed I know how..." Trycos took a step closer to them and began to walk up to Tom, "You know, the two of us aren't so very different...Both brilliant, talented, devoted to what we do, and our choice in self mutilation..." Trycos's arm reached out and grabbed Tom's hand before he had time to react. Trycos grinned and turned Tom's hand over so his palm was showing, and also where his burn scar was from the last adventure they had had in Tortall, "That must have hurt a lot..."
Tom pulled his hand back and stared at Trycos, slightly unnerved. Alex stepped forward, coming between Tom and the man, "Oh, come off it. You two are nothing alike. For one, you're insane, and Tom's not! Now are you going to help us or not?!"
Trycos took a step back and folded his arms over his chest, obviously amused by Alex's outburst. Tom however, had seemed to recover and you could almost hear his mind buzzing with thoughts as Trycos said, "Perhaps I will, but maybe I will not...It all depends on the...pay I receive for my services..."
This was the moment Alex had been dreading but as he looked into Trycos's eyes he realized that the man knew it, "Fine, what do you want?"
"Well, the man stepped forward again and circled around the group slowly, "It does get...lonely stuck in that room all by myself...I would...love to have someone to share it with me..."
Phi stiffened and glared at Trycos. He was talking about her! "I don't think so!"
Trycos stepped closer to her and she felt Alex tense up behind her, "Why not? You could have anything, anything you want...even immortality."
"I'd rather die then be stuck with you for eternity!"
Trycos smiled and stepped away, knowing the entire time that that was going to be the answer. He just wanted to bother Alex. "Very well...I am a man of very few material needs however, and I can't think of anything that interests me enough to transport you back home..."
Tom thought desperately to himself. There had to be something that this guy wanted! They had to get home, but maybe if they traded him for something smaller than his services, it would work out, "Well if you won't take us back home, can you at least tell us how to cure Numair?"
"What?" The man laughed, "Why would I want to do that? That annoying bugger got what he deserved...No, I don't think I will..."
Phi was getting frustrated, "There has to be something you would be willing to trade for that?! I mean, come on, all you have to do is just tell us how to change him back!"
Trycos turned to her, "You are right, that is all I would have to do. But tell me," he lowered his voice so that she had to lean in to hear him, "Why would I want to?" Phi gapped at him, speechless. Why would he want to? There was no reason for him to do so, "Then again, maybe I could be...persuaded..." He lifted his hand up and reached out to touch Phi's face.
Alex narrowed his eyes and pulled Phi back, "I don't think so...we'll find another way."
Trycos straightened up and smiled. He was enjoying himself, and things were just getting better by the second, "There is no other way boy! Haven't you realized that by now? Are you really that stupid?"
Alex's grip on Phi's arm became tighter and she squeezed his hand, trying to calm him. She knew that his temper usually was the thing that got him into a lot of fights in high school and she was sure that a fight with Trycos wouldn't turn out well. Tom remained silent through all of this, taking in everything that was said, and suddenly he understood everything. Trycos didn't really like Phi, he just was trying to get Alex to come at him so that he could probably do the same to Alex as he did to Numair.
It seemed that Phi understood what was going on too. She stepped away from Alex and looked Trycos straight in the eye, "Fine. Whatever...Just promise that you will tell us what we want to know after this..."
Trycos looked momentarily surprised, a look that Tom had never seen on his face before, but the man quickly hid it with a smirk, "Okay, I promise..." He reached up, put his arm around Phi's shoulders and kissed her. Alex lunged forward but Tom managed to hold him back as Phi pushed away, looking sick. Trycos had a strange look in his eyes for a moment, but then he returned back to his normal self, "Very well, let's see, to return the spying mage back to his normal, bothersome self, all you have to do is convince him that there is no pain."
Tom's jaw dropped and Phi began to scrub violently at her mouth as if trying to rid herself of his taste, "You mean it was just another illusion?!"
Trycos's grin widened, "Yes, and if I may say so myself, a very good one at that...Did all of you really believe that I would be able to cast such a strong spell in such a short time? It would be an impossible feat, although I feel very honored that you thought I could do such a thing..." He then turned on his heels and disappeared into the alleyway. Alex tried to dive after him, but he collided shoulder first into a brick wall that appeared where the opening of the alley was a second ago and he bounced off it, and landed next to Tom, who gave him a hand up.
Phi spit onto the ground, "Ugh...That had to be the most disgusting thing I have ever done in my life!"
Tom pulled Alex up and away from the area and grabbed hold of Phi's sleeve, "Yes, but now we know how to cure Numair..."
"That cheating, lying...that wasn't a fair trade! I can't believe Phi had to...with him!...just for...!"
Tom shook his head as Alex continued to rant on, "Ya, me neither, now let's get home and get some sleep. We can cure Numair in the morning after he's had a night's rest"
By the time they got back to the Palace, Alex had finally stopped cursing at Trycos after he used up all the Tortallian, English, and Spanish swear words he could think of and Phi had stopped scrubbing her mouth. Tom sighed as they began to climb up the stairs and stumbled into his room. Why did it seem that when they came to Tortall, they never got a decent night of sleep? He walked inside and flopped down onto the bed falling asleep almost instantly. Alex stopped in front of his door and looked uncomfortably at Phi for a while.
She looked down at her feet and grinned, "You know, Trycos only kissed me to bug you..."
"I know..." Alex sighed and Phi looked up at him, "I guess I kind of overreacted a bit..."
She smiled and put her arms around his shoulders, "No, not really..."
He blinked and pulled her closer as they kissed. Phi pulled her head away gently and rested it on his shoulder, "I just hope the next time someone wants to kiss me, it will be you..."
He blinked as she walked away and went into her room. He stood there for a moment, ran his fingers through his hair and walked back into his own room, making sure to throw a sheet on Tom before collapsing on his own bed and dozing off.
A/N: Come on people, I want reviews! Honestly...My last story was getting twice as much response as this one is...maybe I'm losing my touch? Or maybe fewer people are reading it because it is a sequel...hmm...maybe...
***Trycos's View***
Holding the strange letter in his hands, he stepped over the threshold into his room, remembering to close the door firmly behind him, and sat gingerly down onto one of the couches that he had rematerialized. He turned the envelope over and over in his hands, trying to sense any sort of tracking spell or curse, but it was Gift free. Trycos frowned and leaned back in his seat, somewhat unnerved. Not by the letter itself, but by the fact that someone would actually want to be writing to him in such an odd manner.
After about five minutes, he slowly opened the back of the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. A grin lit his face as he read it and when he was done he read it over a second time just to make sure that he understood the situation. They needed his help now? Hmm...What an...uncomfortable situation they must be in now...He leaned back in his chair again and closed his eyes, the letter still in his hands. But now, what should he do? Should he accept, or decline? And if he accepted, what would he ask for that they themselves could provide? His grin turned into a wide malicious smile. Yes, he would accept, if only to play with their minds again...maybe he would even go along with what they had in mind, just for laughs.
A piece of parchment and a fancy feathered quill appeared on a small table next to the couch. He picked it up and began to write his response.
***Phi, Alex, and Tom's View***
It was in the middle of the afternoon on the second day that they were back at the Palace, and that morning they had written the letter, but all three of them were already anxious for a response. Tom shook his head, "This is ridiculous...even with our own modern post system it usually takes about two days for a letter to arrive..."
Phi yawned and leaned her back up against Alex's who was staring blankly out the window. She had just woken up from a short nap but was still feeling tired, probably because of the time change from when they left Trycos's room and entered back into the real world, "Ya, well, maybe their mail is more efficient here, I mean it is hand delivered so maybe it gets there faster or something..."
Alex just nodded, not really paying attention to what they were saying. Something outside had just caught his eye. It looked like a bird, maybe a leaf...no, definently a piece of paper and it was floating on a light breeze over the Palace wall, around the corner of the building and around the courtyard. He stared as the paper was swept up by a strange wind current and reeled back as it smacked right onto their window.
Phi made a squeaking noise and grabbed onto Alex's arm to keep from falling off the bed and all the movement made Tom jump. Alex blinked at the strange paper and realized that it had something written on it in some form of fancy calligraphy: Thomas, Alexander, and Phiona. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" He walked over to the window, opened it, and carefully reached outside and grabbed the paper. Tom's eyebrows rose and Phi blinked at the envelope before muttering, "Showoff..."
Alex opened the letter and read it out loud, "I would be most interested to hear what you have to say. I am sure we can manage to find...something...that you have that I would be interested in. I shall meet you in my alley tonight at midnight. Do not even think about bringing any guards...you already know that they will not do you any good... Trycos"
Tom took the letter and frowned, "Well he certainly sounds cheery..."
"And that's not a good thing..." Alex went back to sit on the bed and for some reason found himself wrapping his arms around Phi. Something about the way Trycos had written the line about finding something that he would be interested in had sent a cold shiver running down his spine and he began to wonder if the "something" was really a someone.
Phi didn't seem to mind the comfort of someone's touch and snuggled back into him, "Tom, are we really going to do this? It seems to me that meeting an insane man in a dark alleyway is just asking for trouble..."
Actually, Tom had been thinking along the same lines, but he didn't want Alex or Phi to know that he was worried. He felt that they needed him right now to be sure of himself, and if he expressed his worries to them, it might just make them even more uneasy, "Well, I'm almost positive that he won't try any of his mind control tricks on us again, seeing how well they worked last time, and with you and Alex there, we will probably be able to overpower him strength wise if he tries anything funny..." His voice trailed off as it often did when he was thinking hard about something.
Alex pulled Phi a little closer, "What's the matter Tom? We all know that you are thinking about something so spit it out."
Tom sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, a nervous habit that he had picked up from Alex, "I was just thinking that it would be a lot better if we were able to tell someone where we were going before we went through with this....you know, in case anything were to happen."
"But there is no one we could tell! We couldn't tell Kel, Esmond, Owen, Alanna, or George because they would try to stop us and would probably succeed in doing so!"
A thoughtful look appeared on Phi's face, "There is one person who we could make promise not to tell unless something happened, and we could trust him to keep the promise..."
"And who would that be?"
***
Devic was sitting amidst a foot high stack of books when Phi ran over to him, "Devic, I need to ask you a favor!"
"Umm...What is it?" Devic looked around and realized that most of the other pages were staring at him. He scowled at them and turned back to Phi, "Will it cause me to risk my life and or personal injury?"
"Noo...not really..."
"...Okay...So, what do you want me to do?"
Phi glanced around anxiously and pulled up another chair next to Devic so that she could speak quietly and only he would hear, "Well, here's the thing. First you need to promise that you will not tell anyone what I am about to tell you unless...something happens."
Devic's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the words "something happens", "Fine...I will not tell..."
"Okay, um..." Phi glanced around one more time as if expecting to find one of the knights hovering over her shoulder listening to what she was saying, "We are going to go talk to Trycos again tonight..."
Devic's jaw dropped and he slipped out of his chair, attracting even more strange looks. As he crawled back up onto the desk, he turned to Phi with a strange look in his eyes, "...You are going to what?!"
Phi motioned for him to lower his voice, "We need to go and talk to Trycos tonight. We are going to meet him in his alley-way at midnight."
"Well then I am going to go with you!"
"No you're not Devic!"
"Then why did you tell me?!"
"Because if something happens then...someone will know where we are and will be able to come help..."
Devic scowled, "How am I supposed to keep that a secret? Fine...I'll try...You three are suicidal, that's what you are..."
Phi stood up, gave him a big bear hug and hurried back out of the library. Devic turned around to see about twenty five pairs of eyes staring at him, "Oh, get back to your work!"
***Twenty-minutes 'till Midnight...***
"Alex, Alex, wake up...We need to go!"
Alex rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed, yawning softly. Tom was already wide-awake and alert, and Phi cracked open their door and motioned for them to come out, "Come on..."
Alex shook his head, trying to wake himself up completely and threw on a black overcoat. Phi had a long draping cape thing with a hood on it and Tom was just wearing dark clothes. Alex sighed and struggled to his feet. He would have to be 100% alert for this, he wasn't going to let anything bad happen to anyone this time...except for maybe Trycos...
The three slinked outside into the hallway and down the corridor until they came upon the large set of stairs. Tom turned to the others, "All right. If either of you wants to turn back, go ahead and do so now, after this, I don't think that there will be another good point in time for us to turn around..." Phi and Alex shook their heads and they continued down the stairs and out of the Palace. A soft, drifting snow had begun to fall and Alex pulled his coat a little tighter around his shoulders to keep the breeze from blowing in.
The full moon lit their way as they continued through the Palace gate and down the main street until they at last reached the alleyway. And there was Trycos, standing half in shadows, looming silently over the street, half-invisible to the average passer-by. The man smiled and motioned for them to step closer, a small smile playing on his face, "Ahh...So you all actually made it. I was sure at least one of you would loose your courage and not show, but it seems that I have underestimated you again. Would you care to come in?"
Tom stared at the man and answered back stiffly, "No thank you, we are fine where we are."
"I thought you might say that...So, what would you three now be needing my help for...obviously to do something that no one else can, otherwise, you wouldn't be asking me. My, my, it must be hard for you...So much hatred and distrust..." As he said this, Phi felt a slight tickling in the back of her mind and knew that Trycos was prodding again.
Tom must have felt it too because he glared at the man, "Enough. Although you probably already know why we are here, I should probably tell you anyway. After you hurt Numair, he has been unable to move from his bed." Trycos's eyebrow rose but he did not interrupt. "However, he is the only one we knew of that can open up a transdimensional gateway so we can get back home to our world. But then we realized that there was someone else who knew how to open it...you."
"Indeed I know how..." Trycos took a step closer to them and began to walk up to Tom, "You know, the two of us aren't so very different...Both brilliant, talented, devoted to what we do, and our choice in self mutilation..." Trycos's arm reached out and grabbed Tom's hand before he had time to react. Trycos grinned and turned Tom's hand over so his palm was showing, and also where his burn scar was from the last adventure they had had in Tortall, "That must have hurt a lot..."
Tom pulled his hand back and stared at Trycos, slightly unnerved. Alex stepped forward, coming between Tom and the man, "Oh, come off it. You two are nothing alike. For one, you're insane, and Tom's not! Now are you going to help us or not?!"
Trycos took a step back and folded his arms over his chest, obviously amused by Alex's outburst. Tom however, had seemed to recover and you could almost hear his mind buzzing with thoughts as Trycos said, "Perhaps I will, but maybe I will not...It all depends on the...pay I receive for my services..."
This was the moment Alex had been dreading but as he looked into Trycos's eyes he realized that the man knew it, "Fine, what do you want?"
"Well, the man stepped forward again and circled around the group slowly, "It does get...lonely stuck in that room all by myself...I would...love to have someone to share it with me..."
Phi stiffened and glared at Trycos. He was talking about her! "I don't think so!"
Trycos stepped closer to her and she felt Alex tense up behind her, "Why not? You could have anything, anything you want...even immortality."
"I'd rather die then be stuck with you for eternity!"
Trycos smiled and stepped away, knowing the entire time that that was going to be the answer. He just wanted to bother Alex. "Very well...I am a man of very few material needs however, and I can't think of anything that interests me enough to transport you back home..."
Tom thought desperately to himself. There had to be something that this guy wanted! They had to get home, but maybe if they traded him for something smaller than his services, it would work out, "Well if you won't take us back home, can you at least tell us how to cure Numair?"
"What?" The man laughed, "Why would I want to do that? That annoying bugger got what he deserved...No, I don't think I will..."
Phi was getting frustrated, "There has to be something you would be willing to trade for that?! I mean, come on, all you have to do is just tell us how to change him back!"
Trycos turned to her, "You are right, that is all I would have to do. But tell me," he lowered his voice so that she had to lean in to hear him, "Why would I want to?" Phi gapped at him, speechless. Why would he want to? There was no reason for him to do so, "Then again, maybe I could be...persuaded..." He lifted his hand up and reached out to touch Phi's face.
Alex narrowed his eyes and pulled Phi back, "I don't think so...we'll find another way."
Trycos straightened up and smiled. He was enjoying himself, and things were just getting better by the second, "There is no other way boy! Haven't you realized that by now? Are you really that stupid?"
Alex's grip on Phi's arm became tighter and she squeezed his hand, trying to calm him. She knew that his temper usually was the thing that got him into a lot of fights in high school and she was sure that a fight with Trycos wouldn't turn out well. Tom remained silent through all of this, taking in everything that was said, and suddenly he understood everything. Trycos didn't really like Phi, he just was trying to get Alex to come at him so that he could probably do the same to Alex as he did to Numair.
It seemed that Phi understood what was going on too. She stepped away from Alex and looked Trycos straight in the eye, "Fine. Whatever...Just promise that you will tell us what we want to know after this..."
Trycos looked momentarily surprised, a look that Tom had never seen on his face before, but the man quickly hid it with a smirk, "Okay, I promise..." He reached up, put his arm around Phi's shoulders and kissed her. Alex lunged forward but Tom managed to hold him back as Phi pushed away, looking sick. Trycos had a strange look in his eyes for a moment, but then he returned back to his normal self, "Very well, let's see, to return the spying mage back to his normal, bothersome self, all you have to do is convince him that there is no pain."
Tom's jaw dropped and Phi began to scrub violently at her mouth as if trying to rid herself of his taste, "You mean it was just another illusion?!"
Trycos's grin widened, "Yes, and if I may say so myself, a very good one at that...Did all of you really believe that I would be able to cast such a strong spell in such a short time? It would be an impossible feat, although I feel very honored that you thought I could do such a thing..." He then turned on his heels and disappeared into the alleyway. Alex tried to dive after him, but he collided shoulder first into a brick wall that appeared where the opening of the alley was a second ago and he bounced off it, and landed next to Tom, who gave him a hand up.
Phi spit onto the ground, "Ugh...That had to be the most disgusting thing I have ever done in my life!"
Tom pulled Alex up and away from the area and grabbed hold of Phi's sleeve, "Yes, but now we know how to cure Numair..."
"That cheating, lying...that wasn't a fair trade! I can't believe Phi had to...with him!...just for...!"
Tom shook his head as Alex continued to rant on, "Ya, me neither, now let's get home and get some sleep. We can cure Numair in the morning after he's had a night's rest"
By the time they got back to the Palace, Alex had finally stopped cursing at Trycos after he used up all the Tortallian, English, and Spanish swear words he could think of and Phi had stopped scrubbing her mouth. Tom sighed as they began to climb up the stairs and stumbled into his room. Why did it seem that when they came to Tortall, they never got a decent night of sleep? He walked inside and flopped down onto the bed falling asleep almost instantly. Alex stopped in front of his door and looked uncomfortably at Phi for a while.
She looked down at her feet and grinned, "You know, Trycos only kissed me to bug you..."
"I know..." Alex sighed and Phi looked up at him, "I guess I kind of overreacted a bit..."
She smiled and put her arms around his shoulders, "No, not really..."
He blinked and pulled her closer as they kissed. Phi pulled her head away gently and rested it on his shoulder, "I just hope the next time someone wants to kiss me, it will be you..."
He blinked as she walked away and went into her room. He stood there for a moment, ran his fingers through his hair and walked back into his own room, making sure to throw a sheet on Tom before collapsing on his own bed and dozing off.
A/N: Come on people, I want reviews! Honestly...My last story was getting twice as much response as this one is...maybe I'm losing my touch? Or maybe fewer people are reading it because it is a sequel...hmm...maybe...
