don’t know about that,” said Kalenia, with a faint blush. “Mas Moro has a bigger mana pool than me, and I can’t—”
“Hur hur hur.”
“—cast very fast,” finished Kalenia.
“If you’re going to go for the obvious euphemism,” said Raedren, smoothly slipping back into the conversation, “you should probably be glad mine is bigger than hers. The other way around would be … problematic. Especially for you.”
“Please, spare me,” said Mazik, clenching his eyes shut. Raedren chuckled while Gavi shook her head.
“Anyway,” said Mazik, recovering. “Thank you for understanding. I’ll try not to make you regret it,” he said. He squeezed Kalenia’s hand. “Now, we have a favor to ask.”
“Sure. What do you need?” asked Kalenia.
“We need information,” said Mazik. He turned to Gavi. “Gavs, you want to take care of this?”
“Sure,” said Gavi. She pulled a waiter’s pad out of her back pocket and flipped to the right page. “You’ve heard about these abductions that have been happening lately, right?”
Kalenia stared at her in quiet incomprehension.
“She, ah, spends a lot of time doing research,” said Mazik, slightly embarrassed for what seemed like the first time in days. He turned to Kalenia. “Okay, so…”
Once Kalenia was filled in, Gavi went over what they were missing.
“Here, maybe it’s easier if you can look at them,” said Gavi as she tore a few pages out of her notepad. She handed them to Kalenia. After the conversation last night Gavi took the liberty of writing down everything they knew or were missing, along with a few more questions of her own.
Kalenia looked through the pages. “But shouldn’t you start with something smaller? This seems awfully—”
Mazik held up a hand. “No. There are … well, there are reasons for that. I’ll tell you about it later. Rae has to get back to work soon.”
“Ah, okay,” said Kalenia. “Let’s see here….” She spread the pages out on the table in front of her. Had she been wearing glasses she would have adjusted them; as is she just brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes and continued reading. Gavi wasn’t sure she ever saw her blink.
After a minute of intense silence, Kalenia looked up.
“Give me some time to work on this. I still feel like I’m not fully up to speed on the situation, so I don’t feel comfortable making any guesses yet. Plus, there are a few people I’d like to talk to about this. Is that all right?”
“Great!” said Mazik, pulling her into a hug. “I mean yeah, sure, that’s fine. Have I ever told you you’re the best? Because you are.”
Kalenia smiled back. “I just thought I should help out my boyfriend once in a while. My dissertation will just have to wait a few days. It wasn’t going anywhere anyway.”
“Happy to be your excuse for procrastinating,” said Mazik. He leaned down and kissed her. “Thanks again for doing this. How long do you think it will take?”
“A few days?” said Kalenia. “I’ll call you when I’ve got something together.”
“Okay,” said Mazik. “Feel free to call me before then. I love you.”
“Of course you do,” said Kalenia with a smile. “But I love you more,” she said, softer, and then gently grabbed him by the ear and pulled him into a kiss.
“Mmmm, no, I love you more…” said Mazik, in between kisses. This went on for longer than was necessary.
“I need a drink,” said Raedren. He and Gavi were standing by the door, having decided to give the kissing couple a little privacy, and also because they needed to get going.
“Need a kiss that bad?” asked Gavi. She puckered up her lips and made exaggerated kissing sounds.
“I am not above taking a pity kiss from a beautiful lady,” said Raedren, doing his best to look both proud and pathetic.
“Awww, I didn’t mean it like that,” said Gavi. “I was just—”
“Now if I could only find one…”
Gavi punched him. “That was a very
“Hur hur hur.”
“—cast very fast,” finished Kalenia.
“If you’re going to go for the obvious euphemism,” said Raedren, smoothly slipping back into the conversation, “you should probably be glad mine is bigger than hers. The other way around would be … problematic. Especially for you.”
“Please, spare me,” said Mazik, clenching his eyes shut. Raedren chuckled while Gavi shook her head.
“Anyway,” said Mazik, recovering. “Thank you for understanding. I’ll try not to make you regret it,” he said. He squeezed Kalenia’s hand. “Now, we have a favor to ask.”
“Sure. What do you need?” asked Kalenia.
“We need information,” said Mazik. He turned to Gavi. “Gavs, you want to take care of this?”
“Sure,” said Gavi. She pulled a waiter’s pad out of her back pocket and flipped to the right page. “You’ve heard about these abductions that have been happening lately, right?”
Kalenia stared at her in quiet incomprehension.
“She, ah, spends a lot of time doing research,” said Mazik, slightly embarrassed for what seemed like the first time in days. He turned to Kalenia. “Okay, so…”
Once Kalenia was filled in, Gavi went over what they were missing.
“Here, maybe it’s easier if you can look at them,” said Gavi as she tore a few pages out of her notepad. She handed them to Kalenia. After the conversation last night Gavi took the liberty of writing down everything they knew or were missing, along with a few more questions of her own.
Kalenia looked through the pages. “But shouldn’t you start with something smaller? This seems awfully—”
Mazik held up a hand. “No. There are … well, there are reasons for that. I’ll tell you about it later. Rae has to get back to work soon.”
“Ah, okay,” said Kalenia. “Let’s see here….” She spread the pages out on the table in front of her. Had she been wearing glasses she would have adjusted them; as is she just brushed a lock of hair away from her eyes and continued reading. Gavi wasn’t sure she ever saw her blink.
After a minute of intense silence, Kalenia looked up.
“Give me some time to work on this. I still feel like I’m not fully up to speed on the situation, so I don’t feel comfortable making any guesses yet. Plus, there are a few people I’d like to talk to about this. Is that all right?”
“Great!” said Mazik, pulling her into a hug. “I mean yeah, sure, that’s fine. Have I ever told you you’re the best? Because you are.”
Kalenia smiled back. “I just thought I should help out my boyfriend once in a while. My dissertation will just have to wait a few days. It wasn’t going anywhere anyway.”
“Happy to be your excuse for procrastinating,” said Mazik. He leaned down and kissed her. “Thanks again for doing this. How long do you think it will take?”
“A few days?” said Kalenia. “I’ll call you when I’ve got something together.”
“Okay,” said Mazik. “Feel free to call me before then. I love you.”
“Of course you do,” said Kalenia with a smile. “But I love you more,” she said, softer, and then gently grabbed him by the ear and pulled him into a kiss.
“Mmmm, no, I love you more…” said Mazik, in between kisses. This went on for longer than was necessary.
“I need a drink,” said Raedren. He and Gavi were standing by the door, having decided to give the kissing couple a little privacy, and also because they needed to get going.
“Need a kiss that bad?” asked Gavi. She puckered up her lips and made exaggerated kissing sounds.
“I am not above taking a pity kiss from a beautiful lady,” said Raedren, doing his best to look both proud and pathetic.
“Awww, I didn’t mean it like that,” said Gavi. “I was just—”
“Now if I could only find one…”
Gavi punched him. “That was a very
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