===AUTHOR'S NOTE===

You may have all thought that I ran off to that life on the open sea that I've talked about. Maybe I did. Maybe I got waylaid by pirates and rescued a few damsels and dudes in distress. But I'm back now. Thank you all for your patience.

I also noticed a small plot hole before I left for my possible nautical adventures. I think I fixed all of it. Did any of you notice? I shan't say what it was because if none of you noticed, I have officially gotten away with it. ;)

Okay, happy reading!

Chapter 29

If Horatio had truly understood exactly how unwell Verdic was before now, he would never have asked Kayley to go to the Isle.

Of course, when he considered it, she had really been the one to force his hand. As well as Lord Nemis, which still troubled him. Kayley wanted to "see the illness through." They all knew that meant waiting for Verdic to die, but Horatio could not deny Kayley that. Verdic argued, but he seemed to tire of the debate.

Looking back now, they should have been suspicious that he did not argue harder and that he was so affectionate wishing Kayley a goodnight. It had been more like a goodbye.

Kayley came to Horatio's chambers the next day with her face red and swollen from crying. She clutched a note in her hands.

Verdic had left her a letter:

Dearest girl,

I have gone to be with my tree. This is best for both of us, and I hope you will not fret for me. I assure you, I will be at peace. Please be happy.

I will love you longer than the leaves grow green.

Verdic

Horatio held Kayley until she cried herself out. He kissed the top of her head as she buried her face in his tunic. "We shall go and seek him out. I know how important it is for you to be with him."

Kayley shook her head. "No one can remember where to find his tree. We think he cast a protection spell to make us forget."

Horatio swore under his breath. "Spells would not affect me, but that's probably why Verdic never told me where to find his tree."

Kayley's face fell, and Horatio knew she had been hoping that he would know.

"There is someone else who might know."

"Yes, I do know where Verdic went," Storm replied mildly to Horatio and Kayley's question. "But if he needs protection from his own fellow humans, I will grant him that. He was always very decent to me and dragons in general. We tend to like wizards."

Kayley fell to her knees in front of the dragon. "Please! He's sick. He's going to..." Kayley choked on the last word.

The storm dragon's face was difficult to read, but Horatio thought he sensed a softening in his flashing white eyes. "I know, child. Dragons have more senses than humans. I could smell that he was unwell, but some creatures prefer not to let others around them to see them weak and vulnerable."

"He can't possibly want to die alone!"

The dragon shook his head. "A wizard with his tree is never alone."

Kayley looked like she had been slapped and Storm lowered his neck so his white eyes were even with her face. "This is not a rejection of your love, child. He honors you by letting you go. He does not wish you to tie your life to his death."

Kayley knelt mutely in the dirt in front of the dragon, and he seemed to take pity on her. "I and my kind will watch over him, I promise you. He will not suffer."

Kayley sniffed but finally got to her feet with Horatio's help. "Thank you."

Storm inclined his long neck in response.

After so much distress, Horatio was prepared to give Kayley as much time as she needed to be ready, but after leaving her for only a few hours to sort through her feelings, he heard a knock at his door. Kayley was there when he opened it.

But then it turned out that Horatio was not quite ready yet. First, there was his valet to sort out.

"With your grace's permission, I would like to remain at Whitestone." Jevery said when Horatio asked him how soon he could be ready to leave.

Horatio was a little taken aback. "You are a free man, of course, but I had hoped that you would not tire of my tyrannical nature quite so soon."

A small smile quirked onto Jevery's face. "Your tyranny suits me. I simply feel my place is here. Perhaps I can be your eyes in the castle." Even the linen wrapped around the boy's eyes could not hide the amusement on his face. His puppet, however, gave the same empty and emotionless stare as usual.

Horatio placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I thank you for your many days of service."

His students, however, did not have the same option of whether to stay or go. "They can't stay here." Cinos explained flatly when Horatio came to inquire what would become of them. "The Arlians will use them as an excuse for everything that goes wrong. Besides, what better place for a rogue sorcerer than somewhere where they cannot practice magic?"

"But I have been trying to teach them to use their magic properly. Do we want to imprison them forever?"

Cinos rifled through some papers on his desk, "Absolutely not. That would cost Orillia a fortune."

Horatio put his hands on his hips, "So you would rather have the Isle of Malleden pay to imprison them?"

Cinos looked up with round mock innocent eyes that momentarily resembled his little daughter's—except that Amber was far too serious to play at naiveté. "Imprison? Land forbid. I am sending them with you to rehabilitate. That is your plan, correct? Enough hugs, free cheese, and kind words and they'll be model citizens."

Of course, that was close enough to Horatio's plan that he could not exactly argue.

That was how Horatio found himself in the dungeon facing the less than friendly young faces of the magically gifted who resided there. Even though their talents had been found to comprise more than one magical field, he still thought of them as rogue sorcerers. Although, Nancy's wildness did make "rogue mage" a more adequate description. Even though she had been provided with a basin to wash in, she seemed to prefer to keep grime smeared on her face. Her sandy hair also increasingly resembled a bird's nest. She reminded him of a much angrier and unkempt Kayley. Of course, there was still the question of what had happened to Nancy's familiar. He hoped it was not the same as the fate of Kayley's first familiar. He knew losing a familiar was very traumatic for a mage.

Brother Zay was under the protection of the queen and was no longer considered a rogue sorcerer, but Rigor jumped to his feet and offered a low bow to Horatio.

"The mighty duke has deigned to visit us!"

A black-haired boy watched Rigor sullenly but most of the rest of the imprisoned youths ignored both of them entirely. Their detachment always troubled Horatio. Was this a reaction from their own personal conflicts, or had some abuse befallen them here at the castle when Horatio was not watching? The Arlians caught at least as many of the rogue sorcerers as the Orillians, and they were commonly far more rough than Horatio thought was strictly necessary.

Horatio turned to Rigor, whose expression seemed not to suffer from the same limits of the others. "Your adolescent notice is certainly all the honor I need." Rigor snorted and crossed his arms over his check as several drips sounded throughout the dungeon.

Horatio cleared his throat and looked at all the sullen or blank teen-aged faces staring at him from inside their prison cells. "So...I hope all of you like boats."