"When it comes time for a bird to leave the nest, its mother will attack it to prompt it to leave." The Wizard's words were calm and measured. "If it can fly, it will." He took a drink of his coffee.

Abigail's face fell. She grabbed a chunk of amethyst from the counter and bit off a large chunk. She was still in her pajamas. The sun was just starting to shine through the tower's lowest window.

"If it cannot fly, it will be pushed to the ground anyway, where it will be devoured by predators who understand the rhythms of nature."

She took another small bite of amethyst. "It's early spring," Abigail said. "It's not time for birds to kick their babies out of the nest yet."

"I'm speaking metaphorically, my dear."

"I figured as much," she answered, leafing through a well-worn spellbook. She found a dog-eared page and started reading aloud.

"I haven't heard that spell in ages."

Abigail kept reading.

"The only spell I know of that uses Old Fair Tongue is the Hex of…"

Abigail read faster, her voice raising in pitch.

"Abigail, no!"

Abigail heard the sound of chains falling to the ground. She wondered if Rasmodius heard it as well. "Abigail, YES!"

The Wizard stood up from his seat.

Abigail's voice was shrill as she raced through the transformation hex. Her arm felt hot from the inside out. She grabbed her wand and pointed at the Wizard, breathing a tiny sigh of relief as her spell made contact. "Do you know why so many curses involve turning people into animals? Because it's easy and effective!"

She dropped to her knees and looked at the wooden floor, where Rasmodius once stood. In his place was a fat, white grub. She picked him up. "Please, let's not go any further."

Suddenly, there was a flash of light. The Wizard materialized, boots and all, on top of Abigail's outstretched hands where the grub had been. She said a curse of an entirely different kind, reached up so her fingers were hooked around his heels, and yanked backwards.

Rasmodius yelped in surprise and pain as his butt hit the stone floor. Abigail jumped to her feet, cast a small healing spell around her hands, and shoved the rest of the amethyst in her mouth. She swallowed, wincing as the large chunks of rock worked their way down her throat. She planted her boot into his chest. "You wanna go?"

"What?"

"You really want to have a magic fight with me before you cut me loose?" Her hands were shaking. "See if the apprentice can beat the master? Is that how this is gonna go?" Quickly, again, and loudly, she cast the Charm of Protection on herself.

"Actually…"

"That's a terrible idea!" Abigail sunk her heel deeper. "That would be destructive, and exhausting, and it would put us both in danger! You and I both know that the Witch is out for our heads. You're powerful enough to defeat her, if not outright kill her, but I'm not-especially if I'm not at full strength! Forcing me to prove myself with magic would only wear me out, and you know how long it takes me to recover!"

"Abigail!"

The sharpness of his voice stunned them both. She jumped, stumbled, and stepped back, inadvertently releasing him.

"Stop." He gingerly raised himself to his elbows. "You physically hurt me." He rolled over to his side. "You're absolutely right. A magical battle would do nothing but destroy the tower and reveal your location to the Witch. I talked about the birds to see if you'd pick up on my threat," he said. He slowly tried to sit, then reconsidered. "Obviously, you did. You ate to charge your magic. That was good. You removed the Hex of Permission and cast a Charm of Protection on yourself, which I wasn't expecting…"

She smiled. She couldn't help it. That was good.

"...but then, you used actual, physical combat force against me!"

"Of course I did!" She grabbed a quartz crystal from the counter and sat down on the ground by him. "You threatened me. We both know I can't beat you in a straight magical battle, so I turned you into a grub in hopes that you couldn't turn back. But you can. You can do nonverbal spells, and I can't." She gestured toward the quartz. "Want some?"

"Keep it," he said. "You'll need it. You are to cast a Full Heal on me. Then, you will conjure a Frost Jelly inside the Circle of Summoning. After that, you'll mix up a Fortitude Potion, from memory. You will deliver it to my chamber, where I will be laying facedown on my bed, with the Frost Jelly sitting on my rear end," he said through clenched teeth, "thanks to you."

"Yes, sir."

"I still can't believe you did that!"

"Sorry, sir."

"Don't be. But please hurry up with the Full Heal."

From memory, Abigail chanted in the Fair Tongue. She knelt down by Rasmodius as the spell ended, taking both of his hands. After the last words were spoken, she planted a kiss on his forehead. That part was easy to remember. He'd told her to remember how moms kiss boo-boos all better. She was just glad she didn't have to kiss the part of him she'd hurt.

"Thank you, Abigail. Now please, help me up and get that Frost Jelly."

"Yes, sir." She offered him an arm. "Wow, you're light!"

"Your time as a cat has been paying off," he said. He hobbled over to the counter and leaned on it. "I still cannot believe that after all this time, all this study of magical attacks, you brought me down with a dirty playground trick! And then you kicked me while I was down!"

"It wasn't a kick! It was a stomp. I was trying to physically restrain you so we wouldn't have to have a magic battle."

"And restrain me you did. I may not be showing it because of all the pain I'm in-and please hurry up with that Frost Jelly-but I'm impressed."