Although Lothan's guest room wasn't lavish, it was still the nicest place Kellan had slept in a long time-for sure since she had been out on her own. There was no comparison to the coffin hotel she had been crashing at since she arrived in Seattle. She didn't miss the cramped quarters or the thin tem-perform padding one bit, and slept like a stone, despite the unusual surroundings and Jackie Ozone's somewhat ominous warning to watch herself around Lothan.

Nothing and no one disturbed her sleep and Kellan awoke feeling truly refreshed. She sat up in bed and stretched luxuriously, feeling her joints pop, and exhaled a deep breath.

"Oh, good, you're up!" a voice said. Kellan yelped and whipped her head around to find the source of the voice.

Hovering above the headboard was a tiny figure, less than half a meter tall. It was humanoid, with a broad head that consisted mostly of a prominent nose and large, pointed ears. It had somewhat spindly arms and legs but large hands and feet. Especially striking were the batlike wings, the forked tail and the fact that the creature was translucent; Kellan could see the wall on the other side of it.

"Who: what are you?" she asked, the blankets pulled up to her chin. The little creature bowed at the waist (such as it was) and waved an arm.

"Nicodemus, I am," it said in its high-pitched voice. "The master set me to wait and watch for you to awaken, he did. 'Tell her when she wakes,' he said."

"Tell me what?"

Nicodemus seemed taken aback by that question and paused for a moment. His eyes rolled up and his brow furrowed in concentration as he rubbed his chin.

"Hmmm," he mused.

"Tell me what?" Kellan repeated, and the little imp seemed to snap out of his reverie.

"Said to tell you that you should wash and eat before you work today," he replied. "Said to show you where everything is, and that he is not to be disturbed until he is ready. Come." The spirit zipped closer to Kellan and waved with one hand. "Come, I will show you."

Kellan gathered up her clothing and cautiously followed the floating figure out of the room. Nicodemus led her to a bathroom, where Kellan shooed the imp away and enjoyed her second great pleasure of the last twelve hours: a long, hot shower. About halfway through, it occurred to her that this bathroom must be exclusively for guests: the facilities weren't nearly large enough for a troll; Lothan would have only barely fit into the room.

She was almost finished washing her hair when the imp passed through the frosted glass door of the shower like a ghost.

"Do you want to eat now?" Nicodemus asked cheerfully. Kellan yelled and threw the soap at him, chasing him out of the shower. She found the spirit hovering outside the bathroom when she'd dried off and dressed. She wished she'd had the chance to clean her clothes, but it appeared that would have to wait. Nicodemus' enthusiasm seemed undiminished by her outburst in the shower, and he led her to the kitchen, where Kellan found a plentiful supply of convenience food that even her limited cooking skills could handle. She popped a breakfast entree into the microwave and soon was dining on a meal that contained less soy than any meal she'd had in a while. Lothan clearly did all right for himself in the biz.

Nicodemus hovered nearby, silently watching Kellan go about her business. She realized that he was probably guarding her as much as helping her, assigned to keep an eye on Lothan's guest and make sure that she didn't cause Lothan any headaches. Lothan was a wily old troll, that was for sure.

If Lothan can teach me how to do stuff like that, she thought, glancing at Nicodemus, then G-Dogg is right: I can write my own ticket in this biz.

It bothered her, though, that everyone G-Dogg had introduced her to yesterday seemed wary of Lothan, if not outright contemptuous. They were willing to work with him, but they didn't seem to like him very much. Even G-Dogg, who stood up for Lothan, didn't seem like the troll's best friend. Then there was Jackie Ozone's warning. What did she mean about Kellan "watching her back" around Lothan? Kellan was experienced and mature enough to understand that you didn't have to like everyone you worked with, but she was a little worried about the apparently universal attitude toward Lothan.

"So, feeling fortified for the day?"

Kellan started at the sound of Lothan's voice, and turned to see the old troll looming in the doorway of the kitchen. She choked down the food she was chewing and pushed her plate away.

"Yeah, all set," she said quickly.

"Nicodemus said that you were awake. I had begun to think that you were going to sleep the day away, but I'm sure you needed the rest."

"Um, thanks," Kellan said. "What time is it, anyway?"

"A little after ten," Lothan replied. "Still plenty of time to begin your training. We shouldn't be hearing from the others until this evening. Are you ready?" he asked.

"I guess so."

"Excellent. Then why don't you join me in my study and we'll get started. Nicodemus?" he said to the hovering spirit.

"Yes, master?"

"I won't be needing you any further for now. You are dismissed."

"Yes, master." Nicodemus bowed, then there was a tiny puff of wispy red smoke and the little imp vanished. Lothan turned and left the room without another word.

Kellan cleared away the remains of her breakfast and retraced her steps to Lothan's study. The house was considerably brighter and less spooky during the daytime, though Kellan noticed that Lothan had the heavy drapes drawn over the windows even during the day.

When she entered the study, Lothan gestured to an empty chair set opposite his own.

"Have a seat," the troll invited.

On the low table between the two chairs were laid out a number of familiar objects: several candles in tarnished brass holders, scraps of paper, a few rough-faceted crystals and a datapad. She had no idea how Lothan would use them in her lesson. Once Kellan sat down, the mage settled back into his own massive chair with a quiet sigh.

"So," he said. "Tell me, what is magic?"

"Magic?" Kellan repeated. "It's, you know, spells and stuff." She waved her hand vaguely in the air. "The ability to make things happen." Lothan nodded encouragingly.

"Not bad," he said, "albeit quaintly phrased. Magic," he began, holding up an index finger for emphasis, "is defined as the art and science of causing change with the will." He opened his upheld hand with a flourish and in his palm blossomed the image of a beautiful nude woman with elfin features and tiny gossamer wings on her back. She was little more than ten centimeters tall, and spun and danced a complex ballet in the hollow of the troll's palm. Kellan gaped at how realistic she looked.

Then Lothan turned his hand over and dismissed the image with a wave. It dissipated in a shower of faerie dust and was gone.

"A parlor trick," the troll said with a degree of false modesty. "Magic can be used for far more useful and interesting things."

"Such as?" Kellan asked dryly. It was clear that Lothan intended to begin at the very beginning. If she were to be honest with herself, however, she had to admit that was a good thing, since she knew very little about what magic was and how it worked.

"Theoretically, magic can do virtually anything," Lothan said, ignoring her tone and settling back in his chair again. "But practically, it's a bit more limited than that. Magic is the ability to perceive and shape certain forces, called mana, toward certain ends. It's dependent upon the knowledge and the will of the magician using it. The more you know about how to shape magical forces and the stronger your will to direct them, the more you can accomplish. For example, the feat of magic that G-Dogg described you performing-setting fire to that ganger-is no easy trick."