Crimson Qi, Exiled Beautiful Lady Falls in Love with a Shy Demon

The Rookery

The mage furrowed his brow but returned to the human concerns: "You see, the lands that foolish Wo Jia buys with blood, he will never hold."

Tien Lyn bit her lip in alarm. Surely, a bolt of lightning would strike any man who dared call the Celebrated Emperor a fool, even if he was a mage. But nothing happened, and she relaxed. The Celestials did not punish righteous men for denouncing a tyrant.

The mage did not veer off this time, despite replacing the birds' water quite methodically, "Either the wild people and demons he's taken by surprise will reclaim what's theirs in time, or they will do that and tear us down for good measure. It would be pointless to waste Finch in the Emperor's wars. Or me."

"How can you two hide from the Eyes and Ears of the Celebrated Emperor?" Tien Lyn asked. "Don't all the mages swear an unbreakable oath to serve?"

"So we do, child, but only the mages. Finch is a senior apprentice." He beamed obviously proud of exploiting this loophole.

Tien Lyn kept her eyes on the dish in her palm. A chill grabbed her by the neck: secrets like that, they could kill. But her life was already forfeit, so she blundered on, "What about you, Master?"

"Oh, I was sworn, child," the mage replied with a merry twinkle in his eyes. "To Wo Jia's grandfather. Now there was a wise Emperor! I was also sworn to Wo Jia's father. Less wise, but passable."

Tien Lyn dared to look at the man. He did not seem old enough to serve the Celebrated Emperor's grandfather.

"When the time came to swear my oath to Wo Jia, I am afraid I missed the appointment," the mage shook his head in self-depreciation. "I am growing forgetful in my dotage."

"Would not the Celebrated Emperor remind you of your duty?" Tien Lyn asked.

"Ah, yes, he would," the mage agreed. "But I use an extraordinary amount of magic to keep my name forgotten."

"Oh." Finch was a clever man, he'd said. And careful. "That's why Finch did not give me your name..."

The mage seemed to be pleased with her perceptiveness, "Thus I will not give you my name either. It does take a lot of magic to keep it forgotten. However, your mother's family gave me a delightful moniker. They took to calling me Uncle when Dew-on-a-petal's great-grandfather asked me to scry his children for magic talent. He was my brother, so I was an Uncle back then. I did not mind that it stuck afterward. It makes me feel younger."

"My mother's great-grandfather was your brother...?" Tien Lyn wanted to make sure she did not mishear that, and tentatively added: "Uncle?"

"Yes, child," the mage nodded, "Mages can live five and more lifetimes of a common man. I intend to find out just how much more. Hence, I avoid Wo Jia's invitation to serve."

He took yet another dish from her hands, replaced it, and tweeted at a canary who responded by breaking into song with energetic abandon. He listened, his eyes closed. Tien Lyn waited, the jug growing heavier in her arms with every passing moment.

"We are done here," the mage said suddenly. "Come to see me in the Chamber of the Waning and Waxing Moon. You can make tea, and...."

His eyes flung open in a sudden alarm: "Your mother did teach you how to brew tea? Dew-on-a-petal makes excellent tea."

"Yes," Tien Lyn reassured him, "yes, she did teach me that, and a great many things besides...." A great many useless things.

"Oh, I don't doubt that!" the mage exclaimed. "We will let your mother sleep for now. It will be for the best. I want to cast your bone horoscope again."