Robert Charrette - Arthur 03 - A Knight Among Knaves by Robert N. Charrette Page B

life, and a good one. John saw little of Bennett, which was fine. He saw more of Faye—which was finer—and even more of his tutors which—with the new doors they constantly opened for him—was perhaps finer still.
    He understood now that he had been born to magic; Bennett hadn't lied about that. And Bennett, the liar, hadn't lied about arranging for John to learn. John wasn't sure what to make of that, but he was sure that he was going to take advantage of it. He intended to learn all that was offered.
    At last he was coming into his own!
    There was, however, still a matter that disturbed him, a matter that Shahotain had finally agreed to address. They met in the place that John thought of as Shahotain's study, though there was nothing about the place that suggested any study John had known in the sunlit world. There were no books, no desk, no comfortable chairs, just four paneled walls, a planter filled with a riot of vegetation, a pair of intricately carved chests that served as seats when necessary, and a tiled floor of even more intricate and delicate decoration. The place seemed more suited to meditation than to study.
    "This is untimely," Shahotain said, not for the first time, when John entered his study.
    "You already said you would do it," John pointed out. "Besides, Bennett said the spell would be removed if I came to this place with him. I'm here, and it's been long enough. You're not wimping, are you?"
    "I merely suggest that you reconsider."
    John didn't want to reconsider. He wanted to be done with wearing a lie. Having his own face would be his first step in making his life his own. He was more than ready for that. "Let's do it."
    Impassively, Shahotain nodded. With that, John felt the power begin to rise. He felt the energies that Shahotain manipulated and knew that an unraveling was being done, but he had little comprehension of the forces involved. Still, he knew the magic touched on him. How could he not comprehend the manipulation of energies so closely tied to himself? But he didn't—at least not fully—somehow the details escaped him. He felt a little like the time he'd watched a me-chanic work on one of the elevators in the rezcom where he'd grown up. He saw everything that the mechanic had done, but he hadn't understood the why of any of it. The ritual ended abruptly and Shahotain said, "You may look now."
    John took the offered reflecting glass with trepidation. Shahotain had certainly done something. What, exactly, John wasn't sure, but he had felt no harm in his tutor's working. So why was he reluctant to look?
    Foolishness.
    He looked and saw the elegant arching of his cheeks, the subtle slant of his eyes, and the delicate pointed ears. There was no magic in the glass. What he was seeing was a simple reflection of his face. His true elven face.
    "You did it," he said, touching his features to convince himself of their reality.
    Shahotain shrugged. "A trivial exercise. You will soon be capable of similar work if your progress continues as it has begun."
    "Is that the next lesson?"
    "There is no lesson for you now. Go. I have other matters to attend to."
    John went, having already learned that Shahotain's forbearance was far from limitless. A bogie met him outside the door with a summons to a training session with Loreneth the Lightspinner. The Lightspinner was educating him in glamours.
    John shared such sessions with nearly a dozen young elves. He might have thought of them as his classmates, if they had been more friendly. For all that he was one of them, until now he had not looked like one of them, and appearances seemed to matter greatly in Faery. The other students remained aloof, apparently reluctant to spend any more time in his company than necessary, so John seldom thought of them. He was used to being a loner. Of course he wasn't really on his own. He had Faye to keep him company when he wasn't busy having the secrets of elven magic drilled into him. Let the others have whatever