"What aren't you telling me?" I asked fearfully, my pulse hammering in my throat.

Pritkin was silent.

"Jonas…tell me!" I demanded with a rising sense of dread.

"Not my place to say. Ask John."

"John Pritkin…what is he talking about?"

Pritkin crossed his arms on his chest and leaned back against the counter. He took a deep breath, his lips a thin slash of determination on his face.

"The Circle isn't what it used to be, isn't what it was when I joined." He gazed at Marsden. "Saunders' influence is everywhere. There is rot at every level."

"I'm back as Lord Protector. I can make the Circle what it was, but I will need help from men like you. I need you." Marsden interjected with feeling.

"And in the meantime, I must watch my back…never knowing which members of the Corps are aiming for me. They are good men but they follow bad leaders."

"They won't come after either of you again. I have closed all warrants against both of you, marked them officially as 'without cause'," Marsden argued.

"And who will protect Cassie?"

"The Pythian Guard will watch out for Cassie and the initiates."

"I don't trust them," Pritkin said bluntly. "None of them will welcome Cassie to Court. She will need protection."

I breathed again. He wasn't leaving the Corps to avoid me; he was leaving them to stay by my side. Still, what a price he was paying. And since when did Pritkin walk away from a fight?

"You can't guard Cassie if you are not part of the Corps!" Marsden yelled, exasperated.

Pritkin rubbed his hands thru his hair. "The Circle will not assign a Knight Commander to the Pythian Guard. We are used in combat, not to babysit teenage initiates or shadow the Pythia during her formal duties. With the war ongoing, the Corps needs all combat officers in the field," Pritkin quietly explained. "I believe the Pythian Court will hire me," he added.

"That isn't done! The Corps guards the Pythia!"

"I have a feeling Cassie will change some things. You can't count on how things have always been. She grew up outside the influence of the Circle."

Marsden huffed and fumed. "If that's what it takes to keep you in the Corps, I will personally assign you to the Pythian Guard," Marsden offered reluctantly. His head tilted in thought. "You know…that could be of use, having one of our most highly decorated war mages assigned to the new Pythia. It could increase her standing. Why don't you take some time to think about it? You can attend the formal inauguration and set an example when you take the oath to serve her. Then if you still want to retire, you will be able to keep your pension."

"Just until after her inauguration and I'll want to vet the entire Guard," Pritkin relented, although his tone indicated this wasn't finished yet, just postponed.

Marsden breathed a sigh of relief, his first goal met. "Is there any tea? And perhaps some biscuits?" he asked hopefully.

Pritkin pulled an old tea kettle from a cabinet and handed it to me while he went back to his potions. I started the kettle to boil and sat down by Marsden.

"Knight Commander?" I asked. Pritkin had never explained when a war mage had previously called him 'Commander'.

"John is one of the most decorated war mages in this century. You should see his medals and citations. In fact, I believe he left them here when he moved to the States. I'll bet they're still tucked away in that closet." Marsden got up and walked out, returning a short time later with a cardboard packing box. He opened it and started pulling out various small leather boxes.

"Go ahead…take a look," he offered.

I opened one of the smaller boxes. There was a black ribbon with blue stripes, and 3 silver stars embossed on it.

"That is the Order of Merlin, the Circle's highest honor. It is awarded for extreme bravery under fire. War mages with one of these are highly respected by their peers. John has earned three of them."

I pulled another small box at random and opened it. There were two bars, each with two silver circles attached.

"Those should be attached to the shoulder boards on his dress uniform. They indicate his rank….Knight Commander of the Silver Circle."

"Dress uniform? I've only seen him in khakis or a leather coat," I commented.

Marsden rummaged in the box and pulled out several small forms.

"These are chits for a dress uniform. As you can see, he has never redeemed any of these chits in the over 60 years he has served. John doesn't care for formal occasions."

I looked over at Pritkin, who was busily avoiding my eyes.

"What should he wear to my inauguration," I asked, starting to grin.

"A dress uniform, most definitely." Marsden nodded to himself. "John…what are you going to wear?"

Pritkin didn't answer. I grabbed the chits from Marsden.

"I know just what to do with these," I said gleefully.

Marsden left shortly after finishing his tea, while Pritkin continued working on his potions. He had a neat row of new vials, filled with various colors of liquid or powder or what looked like gas. He looked calm and almost content, performing the routine tasks his job required of him. His life had been centered around the Corps for a long time…why was he really leaving? I wondered what the real story was.

"If you leave the Corps, won't you miss your buddies?" I asked conversationally.

"No, not most of them…they tried to kill me, remember?" He slouched tiredly. "The Circle never wanted me. I'm a half-blood…not to be trusted. Even after I saved the lot of the regiment during the Pan Bar action, I was still looked on as an outsider and I have never been admitted as a full member of the Circle. They can still use that to get rid of me and leave you at risk, without proper protection."

"You have the loyalty of all those men you saved, and can't Marsden keep the situation under control?"

"Those men are duty-bound to follow orders, and Jonas is back only in an interim position until the next election. He could loose. He already lost one election. Saunders' men are still spread throughout the organization and will try to cause his downfall again. His brother is still in the Circle. Jonas doesn't have near as much power as he thinks he does."

"Looks like you and I are both in for some life changes," I commented as I picked up the other folder Marsden had brought. It was an intake form from one of the 'special schools' the Circle ran. I read more.

Name: Anjeanette Marie Boudreaux; Gender: Female; Mother: Evangeline Marie Boudreaux (deceased); Father: Unknown; Age at Intake: 3 years and 8 months; Manifestation: None exhibited; Intake Notes: Mother was suspected witch; highly probable mother was aligned with the Black Circle. Subject child to be observed. Initial scoring indicated minimal magic (2 out of 10). Release dependent on continued minimal/absence of magic ability, to be reassessed annually. Tracer level 2 applied at intake. Addendum: Subject left care (unauthorized) after 18 months. Whereabouts determined, however no personnel available for retrieval. Considered low priority.

"Wait a minute…is this Jeannie?" I sputtered incredulously.

"I asked Jonas for her bio," Pritkin shrugged. "Read it to me, please."

I read the data out to him, getting more indignant by the moment.

"They shut her away because the Circle didn't like her mother? …and this is wrong. Jeannie is a strong magic user…you said so yourself." I was livid. "How dare they lock a child up because of what a parent allegedly did!" This could have been my fate, given what the Circle thought of my father.

"That is standard procedure for the Circle. She could have been extremely dangerous. It is obvious she hid her magic ability. A 2 is very low. Based on today's exercises with the bowl, I would put her at a seven…and remember that is a logarithmic scale, much like the norm's earthquake scale."

"She's five! Is the Circle really frightened of a big bad five year old?" I taunted.

"You tell me. At less than four years of age she was hiding her ability. Either she was taught that, which makes her suspect, or she thought of it herself, which is also cause for concern."

"So she is smart and resourceful and powerful. Why doesn't the Circle recruit her for the Junior War Mages or something?" I fumed.

"No such thing," Pritkin replied dryly.

"Well I have just decided that I will offer her sanctuary in the Pythian Court," I announced. "And the Circle can just…well you know what they can do with themselves. Will you keep her until after my inauguration?"

"Yes."

"That was easy. Care to enlighten me?"

"She already asked me and I agreed." Now I knew why he had a nursery in his home.

"I have already removed the tracer the Circle placed on her and replaced it with one of my own. Enhanced, of course," he admitted.

"How so? Is it a bug, too? Will you be eavesdropping on her?" I gave a good imitation of his sneer.

"Yes," he said crisply. "I will know if she is approached. I can listen at will."

"That's an invasion of privacy!"

"She's five. I don't care what she says…and so far all I've heard from her is chatter about colored bowls, pleasant noises about her room, and a fair bit about bunnies having a tea party."

I smiled. "Beatrix Potter books?"

"Indeed."

I yawned, feeling the long day deep in my bones.

"I'm turning in now," I told him, hesitating.

"Good night, Cassie," he answered absently as he continued with his potions. I shrugged to myself and went upstairs, stripped and pulled on my sleeping shirt. I climbed into bed, drowsily wondering if Pritkin would really leave the Corps.