The Apprentice's Apprentice

Part 32

Selena met them at the door, eyebrows going up at the sight of Philippe before she ushered them all into the front parlour Cora had been in the day before. Selena waited until they'd all seated themselves, Philippe claiming the spot beside Cora on the couch which forced Warren to slink over to the other chair, before she nodded. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend?" she asked Cora.

Cora did her best to remember how Warren had done it. "Mage Selena Van Der Walt may I introduce you to Mage Philippe Didier?"

Philippe nodded diffidently while Selena eyed him. "So you're the infamous Philippe," she said. "Cora has good things to say about you. I am surprised that we haven't met before now. Have you been busy?"

"Yes. I'd thought I'd come greet you after I'd found a job. But with a rogue in town..."

Selena tapped her chair with one finger. "Indeed. At times like these it sometimes becomes necessary to put aside the social niceties, at least for a time. Under normal circumstances I would have waited until you were more settled in before I broached the possibility of your assistance, but as you've said, we do have a rogue. I take it you're not opposed to helping us?"

"Quite the opposite. I'm here to give you all the help I can. Though," he said, eyes narrowing. "I certainly don't agree with your plan of using Cor as bait. It's too much to put on any apprentice, let alone a Wild one who hasn't even known about magic for more than a month."

Cora turned a sharp gaze on him which Philippe ignored, while in his chair Warren hid a grin. She was going to have to have a long talk with Philippe about this. He was getting to be overprotective and it was starting to annoy her. She wondered if he'd been her real big brother if he'd be this bad. On second thought, that'd probably have made him worse.

She turned her attention back to Selena as the older woman spoke, one eyebrow up. "I must say, I'm not used to being questioned about my decisions on how to train my apprentices by other mages. How long have you held your status?"

Philippe's face went a dark red. "Three months. But that doesn't change the fact that you're putting Cor in danger she doesn't need to be in."

Selena gently shook her head. "At the moment Cora is in no danger. I've only accelerated her shield training, a precaution in case the situation sours. And while my friends haven't yet been able to locate a defensive mage willing to visit here, as long as our rogue doesn't move against us then none of us will be in any immediate danger."

"A rogue can't be taken lightly!"

"I'm not taking this matter lightly. When faced with an offensive mage the safest route has always been to have a defensive mage counter them. If you have a more suitable plan I would be most interested in hearing it."

"You can't put Cor in this kind of danger!" he snapped, his hands balled into fists.

Cora turned so she could glare at him. "I told you already, I'm fine."

"You have no idea what a rogue can be capable of, ma chérie."

"I do," Selena said. "I have lived in this town for forty years and this is hardly the first rogue to make their way here. Most are the type to move on quickly once they realize the town is home to a mage, and of those who stay, more often than not they'd prefer not to directly engage us. But we still must plan for that eventuality."

Warren nodded while Philippe crossed his arms over his chest, his jaw tight. Cora kept her eyes on him, ready to hit him if he kept on being stupid, since he wasn't apparently going to listen anything she said.

"Now I understand that you care for Cora, and that is to your credit. However," Selena said, blue eyes going to ice. "Continue to question my authority over my apprentices and my choice in how to deal with this situation and I will have to ask you to leave. If you're to help us I need to know that you can do what I tell you without argument and without thinking you know better than I and interrupting my plans. Is that clear?"