The last person who’d been impressed with Thoth’s magic was Tristan when they were seven. He grinned.

“I’m not a god, I’m…” he hesitated, but there didn’t seem much point in concealing it. Minnow would only find out sooner or later of her own accord. “I’m a demigod. My mother was a goddess. But lots of people around here have loads of magic.”

The more Minnow talked about Xara, the more Thoth’s internal scholar whined, demanding he interrogate her to find out more. What must it be like growing up in a world of minimal magic? Thoth was so used to his that if anyone took it off him now, it would be like cutting off an arm or a leg. It was just a part of who he was.

“Not really,” he replied in answer to her question about familiars. “Familiars can be any animal but they’re not usually elemental. Sometimes they have their own magic…” He glanced at Morveren, remembering the time on Apeliotes Island when she’d shot a beam of light out of her mouth. He definitely didn’t have that ability. “But for the most part they don’t have any magic until their fairy reaches level 7. From that point onwards they can share magic with their fairy.”

He shot Morveren another look, harder this time. Since Thoth was a Master of the Orbis, Morveren should technically have the same abilities as him. She thumped her tail against the ground ignorantly, panting like a dog.

Thoth frowned a little at Minnow’s last question. “Um yeah, those were animals,” he answered, omitting the ‘just’.

They’d crossed into castle grounds some time back. Rather than head around the side to the stables, Thoth led Minnow and the horse straight up to the front steps of the castle without so much as a faltering step. The two guards stationed at the castle entrance raised their eyebrows at him but knew better than to intervene. They knew that they wouldn’t get in trouble for letting him pass, and doing so would avoid a loud confrontation.

Unfortunately, the little party had only made it a short distance into the entrance hall before Thoth’s least favourite person, the head housekeeper, bustled out of one of the side-doors and stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes flicked to Thoth, then the horse, then Minnow, then back to the horse, and finally back to Thoth again. Her hands found their way to her hips and her chest puffed out. A pre-emptory scowl started to fall over Thoth’s face.

“I draw the line at horses inside the castle, Thoth.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “There’s a perfectly good stable outside.”

“She needs medical attention,” Thoth replied flatly, continuing down the corridor. The housekeeper stepped in front of him with her hands out, blocking his path.

“They have perfectly good equine medicine in the stables – ”

“Oh sod off,” Thoth replied indifferently. “Stop wasting my time and just go report me to Arthur.”

He stepped around her and carried right on, Morveren bopping happily along behind. The horse followed hastily. The housekeeper inhaled furiously and vanished through another side-door, presumably to follow Thoth’s advice. Whatever. Like he cared.

His lab seemed the best bet. It took a little gentle persuasion to get the mare up the stairs, but once she did it was only two corridors and one locked door from the lab. Thoth twisted the key in the lock and pushed the door open.

“C’mon,” he grunted to Minnow.

Morveren dashed between his legs and leapt onto her little nest in the corner of the room, brrring happily. Thoth ignored her and started opening the nearest cabinets, trying to remember where he’d put the penicillin.


MASTER OF THE ORBIS . MASTER OF THE WATER ELEMENT . SON OF AURA