Why couldn't I ask my power? Marsden told me during training that Agnes had confided in him that the trick was to ask the right question, as unambiguous as possible. All righty then. I laid there while I slowed my breathing, getting into a meditative state. "What happens if John Pritkin stays in the Corps? And give me a timeframe as well," I added for good measure. Most war mages expect to die while fighting in the Corps, they just keep trying to prolong the inevitable for as long as possible. I sort of expected to be pulled into a vivid scene, but nothing happened. I resigned myself to sleep and felt myself drifting under.

I was holding Jeannie and another child while the room shook from explosions, plaster dust drifting onto my hair. My power was bottomed out from previous shifting, getting others to safety. I could smell gunpowder and magic and things burning. Colored flashes of magic lit up the night sky, punctuated by huge explosions. We huddled in the small room until dawn, until some members of the Pythian Guard disabled the wards and let us out. I stepped out into a changed landscape. The Pythian Court was demolished, not a single building was undamaged and many were reduced to rubble. My own quarters were leveled. I saw a single war mage with a blackened and torn leather coat, bandages covering his eyes. What I could see of his face made me ill. His skin was so charred I could not see any recognizable features. How was he still alive? I was asking what happened…where was everyone. A stunned Guard told me the war mages had fought long and hard but they had been wiped out. The enemy had been pushed back but they were regrouping and would start another action soon. The surviving staff of the Court needed to evacuate right now. He was trying to convince me to shift but I wouldn't leave until the staff was on their way. I was looking for Pritkin, he was always nearby. I asked the Guard if he had seen Mage Pritkin. The Guard looked at me sadly, and told me that Mage Pritkin was one of the fatalities. I was screaming his name…

Something was shaking me and I heard my name.

"Cassie! Cassie! Wake up…snap out of it before you give yourself a heart attack!"

I came back and opened my eyes. Pritkin was sitting on the bed and holding me in his arms, telling me to wake up. God, I hoped that was just a nightmare I had. The alternative was horrible. If that was a vision, then I think my power was telling me that Pritkin was going to die while fighting alongside other war mages…and soon. Jeannie had looked about the same age as she was now. I was trembling and trying not to get sick in Pritkin's nice bed. I gripped his arms, swallowing repeatedly.

"You're pale and sweating," he told me. He could see very well with just the moonlight coming in thru the window. "What did you see?"

I guess he had decided it was a vision. "How do you know I didn't just have a nightmare?" I asked shakily.

"I felt your power flare. What did you see?" he asked again.

If I told him I had seen a battle with heavy losses, he wouldn't leave the Corps yet. Leaving while knowing there was an upcoming fight, and a bad one at that, would be the same to him as deserting his post. So what should I tell him?

"I don't care what Marsden says. I want you as my bodyguard. If you stay in the Corps they can order you away whenever they wish. You must leave the Corps." I would find a way to warn the other war mages of the looming battle. Maybe Caleb would listen to me.

"Did you see an attempt on your life?"

"I thought you didn't want to know specifics, that you could possibly alter the timeline if you knew too much."

Pritkin was quiet. I could almost hear him thinking…running the possible scenarios in his head. "You are sure about this?"

"Don't leave me," I told him fiercely.

He shifted further onto the bed and lay down next to me, still holding me in his arms with my head tucked under his chin. The nausea slowly retreated and fatigue won out. With my cheek pressed against his tee shirt, I drifted back into an uneasy sleep.

I woke to grey early morning light coming in thru the vine-shrouded window. Pritkin was asleep beside me. So far, he was still safe…and I intended to keep it that way. Sometime during the night he had stripped and crawled under the covers. I gently lifted the quilt. Yep, he was naked. Why did I think there was even a possibility of him wearing pajamas when he didn't believe in underwear? He was sprawled on his back, his arms crooked at the elbows with both hands lying on the pillow next to his head. At least he didn't sleep with a gun. I watched him while he gently snored. His face looked less angular when he was relaxed in sleep. His mouth was softer, no grim pinch hardening his lips. His hair…his soft, blond hair…was spread out on the pillow. I picked up a tendril and let it slip thru my fingers. What would he look like with a ponytail? I wondered absently. I was still playing with his hair when I noticed his breathing had changed. He was watching me out of slit eyes. I leaned over him and gently kissed him, inserting my tongue when he kissed me back open mouthed. One of his arms came down over my shoulder and pressed me closer, his hand inside my shirt and on the small of my back. I snuggled against him with one leg nudged between his thighs. I could feel his morning hardness against sleep-warm skin. A door opened down the hall and small feet pattered past our room and on towards the WC. Pritkin breathed in sharply.

"What?" I asked softly, looking up into a vulnerable face. He closed his eyes and breathed out, then swallowed hard.

"Do you know how many times I have thought of waking up in my own home, with my woman next to me and our child sleeping safely nearby?" he told me in a voice laced with longing. "This is the closest I have ever come to that." His voice was rough. "I know, you are not my wife and she is not my child," he continued quickly, then hesitated. "I do not believe I will ever beget progeny," he told me quietly, "but I find that lately I want to leave a more lasting mark on the world…something other than a large number of kills."

What had brought this on? I wondered. Was he suddenly sensing his mortality, the death I had foreseen?

"There is no reason I cannot take in a homeless child. I have knowledge to pass on and room in my home. This one you brought seems to like it here and she has asked to stay. She is at the correct age to start her magic training, and I can possibly work out any magic dysfunction that manifests and provide some mitigation…a charm or tattoo might be all that is needed. I won't know until I work with her." He turned on his side, one hand lightly stroking my breast as he nudged me onto my side to spoon with me. We lay that way in cozy silence. I wondered if Pritkin was planning to move back here to England, and whether or not I should move the Pythian Court. It was going to get blown up anyway.

I heard Jeannie singing down the hall. Pritkin got up and gingerly stuffed himself into his jeans.

"How do you guys live with that thing," I commented.

"A hell of a lot better than living without it," he shot back with a wry grin. "Get dressed. I'll get breakfast started."

We had oatmeal with fresh berries, yogurt, whole grain toast with something called clotted cream, and strong coffee. Pritkin taught us several basic defensive incantations while we ate. The spells were for illumination, shield variations, deflection, unlocking, and light healing. He explained that the healing spell would only work on our self and was nothing more than first aid intended to stop bleeding. Only a Medical Mage or a healer could heal someone else. He had us repeat the spells until he was satisfied we had learned the proper words and inflection.
"Practice these spells with a green power level. If you demonstrate these spells adequately, I will teach you the next set of spells." Both of us managed to invoke the illumination spell with the correct power level, much to Pritkin's satisfaction.

Pritkin was washing the breakfast dishes while I reviewed the inaugural schedule of events. Jeannie had brought a book down from the nursery and was softly pretending to read, making up a story to go with the pictures. Pritkin watched her as he grabbed the dish towel he had thrown over his shoulder and dried his hands.

"I should get her a reading primer," he mused. "Which book does she have there?"

"She brought down the book about balloons," I told him absently.

"Ah…the air elemental primer. Perhaps her selection indicates a budding air mage…I noticed she shields with air. I will test her later to see if she has the skills of an air mage. It would be unusual since she already demonstrates the skills of a seer, but stranger things have happened. Those idiots at that school should have ascertained this already." He shook his head, disgusted.

I got up from the table, collecting my notes and the cardboard box of Pritkin's medals.

"I'm due back in Vegas. Mircea has someone lined up to teach me Court etiquette," I smiled ruefully. "Are you keeping her for the day?"

"Yes. I'll take her to work with me. I'll be at the Pythian Court today. You'll inform your friend?" he asked as he stepped over to me and framed my face with his hands. I nodded and he softly kissed me goodbye. He stepped away and I shifted back to Dante's.