rone | e&tg 29

"Giali—" i squeaked.

"Ssshhh. Listen to me. Listen to my voice. What i will suggest to you now will seem the most reasonable thing to you in the world. When i let you up and return you your sight, you will walk upstairs to one of the conference rooms, where you will sit and think about your current situation until i come upstairs to get you. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I will go upstairs." The words tumbled out of my mouth before i even thought of them. She pulled me to my feet and suddenly i could see again. My legs started taking me to the nearest staircase. Once i got upstairs, i pulled aside a curtain, sat down, and pondered.

After some time, Gialarçi came in and closed the curtain behind her. I suddenly snapped back to full consciousness. "Hey, what the... what did you—"

She sighed. "I'm truly sorry, Mwaele. I gave you an unshakeable suggestion so i could get you out of public view quickly." She snorted and sat down. "You make me so mad, you bastard. And now i feel so guilty about what i did."

"Uh, well... you should!" I felt very disoriented.

"Well, it doesn't sound like you're angry with me, so that's a relief." She gave me a slight smile.

"Yeah, i guess i ought to be, but i'm not." I was trying to gather my thoughts. It wasn't working very well. "I, uh, i didn't know you knew sorcery."

"Yes, well, i rarely have to use it these days, except to quell the occasional fight between drunken patrons." She sighed. "So, tell me, Mwaele, do you feel more at peace?" She raised an eyebrow. "Is the self-loathing down to a manageable level?"

I flared my nostrils and almost smirked. "I... guess so. I think you were right." She smiled. I continued, "I still think that there's gotta be something gryphons do when they bond to a rider, though."

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe you can ask that druid if you see him again."

"Heh." I got up. "You know what else i thought about?" I pulled her to her feet. I looked at her for a second, then quickly kissed her. "You're amazing. Thank you for everything you've done for me."

She looked at me for a second expectantly, looking almost vulnerable. Then she reasserted herself and said, "You take liberties, you cad." She slapped my shoulder with little conviction and smiled. "And you're welcome." I grinned back.