Thanks for reviewing. I'm to lazy today to give personnal remarks. But please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter twelve: Business

Novellee woke slowly, the last reminiscences of a dream floating away. But she distinctly heard her brother's voice saying something to her. She couldn't quite make out the words.

The sun warmed her cheek and she stretched before spinning to her other side and burrowing further into the covers. She sank to the bottom of the bed and curled into a ball, expecting to fall asleep again.

She sighed and let her muscles go lax, her mind foggy with fatigue. She breathed deep and it was then she realized it didn't smell like her bed. There was no faint lingering scent of the oak trees that grew on her estate.

Her muscles tightened as quick as they loosened and she scrambled over the side of the bed to sink to the floor. Footsteps alerted her to someone approaching and she rolled under the bed.

Looking up she saw that the bottom mat had false paneling. There was really only one mat, though it looked as if there were two. The bottom mat was really just an upside down box.

She thanked the bringer of her good fortune, wrapped her hands around the wood panels that held the top mat, hooked her feet through another and pulled herself up seconds before the door to her room entered.

She heard several gasps as people rushed into the room. She tipped her head back and realized to late that her hair was hanging down for them to see if they cared to look under the bed.

With one hand holding her up, she used the other to grab her hair and secure it under her chin. The muscles in her right arm began to shake with the force of holding her up and she hastily grabbed hold with her left hand to balance the forces weighing her down.

"Where the hell did she go?" Novellee heard a voice demand. She knew it to be Alanna's "Numair, you did lock the room right?"

"I did indeed. She could have broken through the magic seal. I told you she was almost as strong as me," she heard Numair answer.

"We'll just have to check the room, dear," she heard a man say. She guessed he could the man that had been with Alanna at the Dancing Dove. "Burdock, you guard the door, Daine you check the dressing room, Numair check outside the window. I'll look under the bed."

Novellee's muscles flexed, dragging her as close to the top of the mat as she could go, then she held her breath not daring to breath. She saw his face for a second as his green-eyed gaze swept under the bed.

"Not under here. She must have gotten out somehow," she heard the man confirm. She recognized him. He was George, Alanna's husband, and the former King of Thieves. She had briefed Jaymie on who he was.

She heard Alanna curse and allowed her breath to escape in a silent sigh. She gently lowered herself to the ground. Her arms slowly lowered to her sides and her legs floated to the ground.

"I don't believe you," she heard Alanna accuse as she walked to George. Novellee imagined her poking her index finger in her husband's chest. "She could be under there and you're just not telling."

"Why would I do that Alanna?" George demanded. He sounded more exasperated then hurt. Like he suffered through this all the time.

"She's a rogue and so are you. So you feel obligated to protect her," Alanna's voice rose as she proved her point.

"She's an assassin and I was a thief. Assassins and thieves don't work together. Therefore I have no reason to protect her. Can we get on with the searching?" he asked on a sigh. Novellee heard him moving towards the door and she prayed that Alanna would let it alone.

"But she's loyal to Jaymie as are you. So, if she were in trouble, as a servant of Jaymie, you would protect her. Wouldn't you?" Alanna demanded, stepping in front of him, and successfully blocking the door.

"If she really was under the bed, then yes, I would have protected her. But she's not under the bed, so this discussion has no merit. Alanna what are you doing?" his voice was now angry as well as exasperated.

Before Novellee had time to react, the blankets were lifted and Alanna's face met her own. Alanna gasped and tried to reach for her at the same time Novellee rolled out from under the bed.

She spun to her feet, facing the window. She prepared her Gift, ran and took a flying leap out the window. Wings sprouted out of her back thanks to a handy spell she had learned from her brother when she was seven.

She pulled her wings close to her body and did a nose-dive heading for the water. She was an excellent swimmer and had hopes of getting to the water and swimming to safety.

She never made it though. Black Gift shrouded her, pulling her from the air and back towards the room. She made her Gift surround her, then force itself outward, stretching Numair's Gift causing him physical pain. She had almost broken through when purple Gift joined the fight.

With the combined Gift's working against her, they dragged her into the room. Her wings disappeared when Numair and Alanna tried to drag her through the window.

She grimaced in pain. The only down side to that spell was when it came time to remove the wings it was like ripping them from her back. Novellee shook it off, she had better things to worry about.

As she was pulled through the window, she fitted her feet to the windowsill and pushed off, her muscles bunching then springing loose. The force knocked her backwards, into Alanna and Numair, startling them.

They lost their grip on the spell and before they could duck, Novellee crashed into them. She rolled over them, coming to her feet at the end of the summersault. She was about to take a headlong rush to the door, when Alanna grabbed her ankle.

It twisted as she fell down, but that didn't stop her. Novellee bent her knee, using her leg like a rope and coming closer to Alanna. Novellee gripped Alanna's wrist, digging her fingers between the bones of her wrist.

Alanna yelped and let her go, and she took the chance to get to her feet. Numair spun on his butt, using his legs like logs knocking her feet out from under her. She landed on her back, did another roll and was about to come up on her feet when images flashed before her face.

An image of Bennie lying on the ground in his own blood, his head a few feet away was first and foremost in her mind. The image took the fight from her and she sank to her knees, her head in her hands.

Her shoulders began to shake as more and more images of destruction filled her mind. Her stomach clenched and she bent over, pressing her face to the cool floor, her hands folded low over her abdomen.

As the last image left her she gave one last shudder. She came very close to cursing her brother. He was the one who had showed her these dreadful images and if he was still alive, she would have strangled him.

"Are you alright?" Novellee heard a kind voice ask as a hand settled on her shoulder. She shrugged it off with a growl and crawled to her feet.

She looked at the girl who had touched her. She had curly brown hair and smoky gray eyes. She was shorter then Novellee, but not really short like Polly.

"I'm fine," she snarled as she put her back to a wall. She looked down at herself to see that someone had stripped her of her regular cloths and put her in a frilly nightgown. "It was a only a side effect to the spells."

Where the hell were her clothes? She demanded to no one in particular in her mind. She had half a mind to rip the gown right off her body, but something stopped her. Her brother's voice entered her brain. "Accept their hospitality." He said. She grimaced.

"Which one?" the woman asked with a frown. "The one that gave you wings, or the one that you used to try and killed my boyfriend?"

It had been the combined use of both that had left her weak and open for the vision. In Serinda spells are inscribed in the children with Gift's to keep them from using spells that are to powerful for them to handle.

Because she no longer lived in Serinda she couldn't have the spells removed, even though she could handle the spells. As a side effect, any spells that were restricted by the spell, but that she used anyways, made her extremely week. And because Serindain's control of the Gift was so much more advanced then anything this side of the separating sea there wasn't anyway to have them removed short of returning to Serinda, she had become resigned to working through the blocks.

"Yes, about those spells," Numair said, placing his hands on the woman's shoulders and gently moving her to the side, he looked Novellee in the eye. "Mind teaching them to me sometime?" His was so cocky, so sure that she would tell him yes, she simply couldn't refuse taunting him. "Yes, I do mind. Could you tell me what happened to my clothes? And what I'm doing here?"

She scratched at her neck. The lacey trim was irritating her skin and she wanted to rip it off. She had half a mind to, but she didn't want to seem that discourteous.

"You mean, you don't remember?" came a reply. She turned to see Burdock, his hair disarrayed from the wind that was floating through the open window. He had moved to stand in front of the window when she had flung herself back through it.

"No, I don't—" her voice ended on a gasp. She brought her hand to her face to cover her eyes. Oh my Gods! She screamed in her head. The dream. She had relived the dream in flesh. She looked down at the floor, her eyes going huge. Had she really...?

She looked into Burdock's eyes, and then lowered her head in mortification. She had. She had asked him not to jump. More like demanded him not to jump. Brother, she cursed in her mind, I'll kill you.

"No," she said, looking around the room, her eyes wild and filled with a bewildered look. "Why?"

"You came out of the woods," Alanna explained with relish. She had seen Novellee's face when she looked down and knew that Novellee remembered every minute of it. "You ran into Burdock's arms, told him not to jump, and then fainted dead away."

"No," Novellee shook her head sadly at the denial. "I don't faint. I pass out, black out, and occasionally fall asleep on my feet. But I don't faint."

"Remind you of someone?" George whispered mildly in an undertone, nudging his wife in the shoulder. She gave him a deadly glare and he laughed. It was contagious and Novellee found herself wanting to smile too. She settled with a twitching lip.

"Maybe a bath would help refresh your memory. Please accept our hospitality," the woman with smoky gray eyes said. She wanted to refuse, to get away from these people as fast as possible, but her brother's voice came into her mind again and she knew that she had to accept the offer.

"Yes, all right," she grudgingly allowed herself to be led from the room. Burdock heard her mumble as she left. "Accept their hospitality, he says. I'll do that, and I'll milk it too."

Alanna lead her down a few corridors into a public bathhouse. Steam floated in the air. Novellee looked to Alanna and noted that she was taking a seat along the bench on the right hand wall.

It was then she realized that her magic sight was gone. Alanna looked like a regular person, but Novellee knew, she knew, that Alanna had magic. Her eyes widened and she hurriedly looked down. She was more tired then she had first assumed.

If the restricting spell was affecting her regular skills, then she was in deep trouble. If she didn't rest soon, the restricting spells would sap her of all her energy.

Maybe the bath would help, she conceded as she stripped off the offending nightgown and slipped into the water. It settled around her, a bliss cocoon of heat and she sighed, allowing her muscles to relax. If she kept at an easy going pace all day, her energy would slowly seep back on its own.

"Curious scar," Alanna said from the sidewall, her voice deceptively mild. "Where'd you get it?"

Novellee looked down at the jagged scar across her lower abdomen. It was the last piece of evidence of what had happened to her. "Street fight," she lied, her voice tight.

The woman from before entered the room carrying a dress folded over her arms. "Thank you, Daine."

Daine, Novellee thought as she began to dip her hair in the water to soak out the dirt, was Numair's girlfriend. She remembered hearing about her. She was the infamous Wild Mage. Interesting.

"I also noted the nasty bruise on your shoulder. How'd you get it?" Alanna asked casually as Daine joined her on the bench.

"Ran into a wall," Novellee replied shortly. She found some soap and began scrubbing her arms and legs.

"Really?" she made a humming noise. "Must have been going pretty fast. Running even."

A warning noise came from Daine, but Alanna continued anyways. "Did you know that every injury has a story that tells what the person was thinking and feeling at the time of the injury? When you heal the injury, it's said that the story is told. If you listen properly, you can hear it they say. I've healed a lot of wounds, my friend," this was said with a sarcastic tinge to it. "And I've learned how to listen to the stories. Do you know what yours was?" (A/N completely made that up.)

Novellee's cleaning motions stilled. She carefully set the soap on the side of the shallow pool. Her eyes rose to Alanna's and she gave her her full attention.

"Your story was this. You were filled with two emotions. Terror and panic. And do you know what you were thinking? Rape. Who were you running from?" her eyebrow quirked at the question. Novellee remained stonily silent. Alanna had no right to question her like this. And it wasn't as if she was scared of Cameron. It was just that whenever she got near him she couldn't help but remember the chamber's visions.

"You know, when you deny saying a person's name, you give them strength, power, make them more real. Do you really want to give him that much power over you?"

In Serinda, it was also believed that not saying a person's name gave them power. It was also considered the greatest honor to give up the use of a name. It meant the person was almost god-like in his honor, and all the great kings were known only as a year, or a happening during there ruling. Such as, the king before Novellee's father was called King of Gifted, for it was during his reign that they made a big break through in the understanding of the Gift.

Novellee stood in the water, all relaxation gone. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. She dried herself hurriedly before slipping into the dress that Daine had brought in with her, barely managing not to grimace. She couldn't help but notice that neither Daine nor Alanna were in men's clothing. But she would get angry with that later.

"I need to talk business with Burdock. Can you please show me how to find him?" she asked politely through gritted teeth. Alanna could tell that it was killing Novellee to ask nicely, but she was concerned for Novellee.

Alanna didn't consider Novellee a friend, or even someone she could become friends with. They were just not compatible that way. But she admired Novellee for making it through the chamber and she wanted to help her in any way possible. Even if it grated on her nerves.

"Tell me his name first," Alanna breathed it like a challenge. Novellee turned on her heel deciding she could find Burdock by herself, but Alanna put a block on the door.

Anger rose in Novellee, but she squashed it down. She couldn't afford to have a blow up. She couldn't even afford to break through the shield covering the door.

"You'll let it alone, if I tell you?" she asked, turning to look at Alanna inquiringly.

"Of course."

"You swear on your honor as a knight?" Novellee asked, even though she didn't trust her to keep her word. It was a test to see if Alanna was trustworthy, Novellee decided as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"On my honor as a knight, I will let it alone when you tell me his name," Alanna pledged, raising her right hand (A/N not sure if that's what you do in a pledge, but oh well)

"Alright, his name's Cameron. May we go now?" Alanna nodded, a smile of smug satisfaction on her face.

Alanna and Daine preceded her out of the bathhouse. Novellee had no shoes and she made no noise as she walked. But the loss of shoes also left her feet susceptible to the cold. Cold worked against her, making it easier for the spell to take away her energy. As she walked, she could feel her Gift energy slowly fading away, being sucked into the restricting spell. It was time to take a drastic movement in the attempt to reverse the effect of the restricting spell.

She began to hum a chant under her breath. Every Gifted child was taught this chant in the cradle. The chant had been invented by one of Seridna's most advanced mage. He had taken it to King of Gifted, the king before her father's king.

He had explained quite thoroughly that saying the words in the right order repeatedly attracted energy to the chanter. It was a simple way of building energy. Novellee used the chant only when she was in most need. She didn't like the idea of relying solely on being able to attract energy with a chant. It made her weak.

She hummed the chant under her breath repeatedly, making herself stronger each time. It would be hours before her magic sight would return, and she wouldn't let up until she got it back.

When the woman entered the room Burdock, Numair, and George were occupying, Numair immediately noticed something different about Novellee. Her Gift was pulsating, and it was growing increasingly brighter by the second. It was strange to see the Gift act this way. He'd never experienced it before. As she drew nearer, he caught the rhythm of her humming and realized that the pulsing of her Gift matched the chant.

"What are you humming, Novellee?" Numair asked as the woman fully entered the room. Her eyes meet his for a moment, and it seemed as if she was searching them for something.

"It's an old chant for patience," she snapped before resuming her chanting. Another reason why she didn't like using the chant was because it made her decidedly irritated.

"I'm here to talk business," Novellee snarled as she stalked over to the window. She stared out at the water and took deep breaths, humming all the while. Her strength was coming back. If she focused on that she would be able to make it through the next few hours of negotiating. She knew they would be reluctant to allow her to join them, but she had to convince them that it was the right thing to do.

"Good, because so are we," Burdock declared. It surprised Novellee enough that she turned to look at him. The look in his eyes suggested that he was serious. She gave regal nod to continue and turned back to the window. Not once did she stop her chant.

"It has come to the King's attention that you are in need of a job. He would like to hire you," Burdock explained in a very authoritative voice. "If you will kindly accept, then we will begin with the preparations."

Novellee's laughter sounded around the room. "You want to hire me?" she demanded. When Burdock nodded, she laughed again, all the harder. To think, she had been uncertain if they would want her and the whole time she had been here, they had been waiting to ask her to work for him.

"I guess I could work for you," she allowed, her face once more composed, her gravely voice sober. "Who am I offing this time?"

As the words left her mouth, the doors to the room slammed open and a young man strode into the room followed by a servant. Novellee turned slightly away from the window and focused her gray eyes on him.

He was short, was her first impression. Shorter then she, but he was very muscular. He had red curly hair that hung over the collar of his shirt. His eyes were a clear and open blue and the expression in them was murderous.

"Ah, Trent," George greeted with a wide smile, "We were just discussing the terms for the assassination of your brother."

Burdock quickly looked to Novellee to see if she made any reaction to the fact that the brother of the man she was being hired to kill was in the room. She looked as composed as she had been a few minutes ago.

"Where is the assassin?" Trent, Novellee gathered that was his name, demanded. He may have been short, but his attitude made him seem gigantic. Novellee decided on the spot that he would be a good ally if the circumstances were better.

"I would like you to meet Novellee of Serinda," George gestured to Novellee and she turned fully from the window. She held out her hand for shaking as was proper, but Trent simply looked at her and nodded before turning back to George.

"Where is the assassin? I assume he will need to be given information on my brother to him and I would like to get this over with today,"

His voice was like a bears roar, but Novellee didn't flinch. Instead, she pushed away from the window and walked to stand beside George. Her humming attracted Trent's attention and he turned to glare at her.

"May I introduce Novellee, your assassin," George formally announced as he clipped Novellee on the shoulder. She stuck out her hand again, hoping that he would take it before she throttled him.

Trent looked to her hand, then to her face, then back to her hand. His eyes widened seconds before he threw back his head and laughed. The last thing he saw was Novellee's angry fist as it clipped him under the jaw and knocked him out.

"Serves him right, the little bastard," Novellee grunted with satisfaction before she continued humming her small mindless chant. She yawned a huge yawn, turned on her heel and left for her room. She was done with all of them, and all she wanted to do was sleep and regain her magic sight. It was starting to make her feel vulnerable, not being able to see magic.

Tomorrow would be soon enough for her to find out all she needed to know to for her contract.

A/N One of my longest chapters yet. I feel so proud of myself. Again thank you all for the reviews. Now review please,

Nubia