The Apprentice's Apprentice

Part 32

He managed to hold her gaze for several seconds before he bowed his head. "Yes, Mage Van Der Walt. My apologies if I have offended you."

Cora nearly sighed with relief herself. If Philippe was listening to Selena then she didn't have to worry. She also wanted to be Selena when she was that age. She could practically cow anyone with that blue stare of hers. Warren, on the other hand, looked faintly disappointed. Cora would have to work on him next. She would get the two of them to get along, or at least be able to work together, if it killed her.

Selena waved her hand. "I don't dislike your fire or think you're wrong in being protective of those you care about. I do believe you should be as objective as you can be in the future. Now, may I ask who you studied under?"

Philippe smiled slightly at that. "I learned mind from Master MacFadden. Leslie MacFadden. And I had most of my training for transference under Master Robin Eichmann. My family moved a few times when I first began learning magic so it did take my parents some time to find the right transference mage for me to study under."

"I know Leslie. She's a good woman. And I've heard nothing but good things about Mage Eichmann. That is the Eichmann from Vernon, correct?"

"Yes. It's a lovely area, especially in summer. My parents are still living there now."

"May I ask your parents' names?" Selena said, tucking one ankle behind the other. "I'm afraid my memory is not what it used to be."

Philippe smiled. "Russell and Marielle Didier. My mother is of the Tullier line."

Cora smiled as she remembered Mr. and Mme. Didier, glad that it had been Selena who'd asked and not her. Marielle was a beautiful woman with long auburn hair while her husband was endlessly kind, always willing to listen to her and Philippe when he'd been home and they'd been over there. She felt silly that she'd ever forgotten their names, even if it had been years and she'd never used their first names.

"That does explain your apparent penchant for transference. I don't believe the Tulliers are anything but transference mages, one and all," Selena said after a moment of thought. "Your parents must miss you, with you having moved so far away."

Philippe shrugged. "We lived here so they are familiar with the area. And they know that I couldn't stay in Vernon. There were no opportunities for me there."

"I hear there are lots of jobs in Edmonton," Warren said, face expressionless. "Why didn't you go there?"

"Because I don't know anyone there. If I'm going to live away from my family I'd like to at least have one friendly face," he replied before flashing a smile at Cora. "And I finished both college and my magic training in Winnipeg, so I was closer to here than to home."

Selena gave her apprentice a sever look, making Cora frown. What was Warren up to? He must be doing something to make Selena shoot him down with just her gaze. Cora looked back at Philippe, who was watching both of them with bright eyes. But like he sensed her gaze, he turned to look at her and smiled. She couldn't help but smile back. There was just something about the way he smiled at her that made it impossible for her not to return the expression.

"Well, we are certainly glad to have you," Selena said. "As is the case with any rogue, all the magic we can muster helps. I understand your specialities, but we will have to discuss what spells you are most comfortable with to decide how best to employ your talents. Now, before we get into that, let me detail what we know at the moment."

All three of them leaned in to better hear what Selena was about to say. A slight smile tugged at her lips as she saw what they were doing. "Our rogue is an offensive and mind specialist, at least from the magic traces I have been able to find so far. While some believe that they must have moved on already and that I have no proof to the contrary," There was equal amounts annoyance and amusement in her tone. "I am quite confident that this rogue is still here. I've lived in this town long enough to be sensitive to any changes in the magic used here, and unless I'm entirely mistaken, our rogue is still here and still using magic. To what ends, I don't know, but that isn't what is important. Finding this person is."

Cora frowned. "Should we go looking for them then?"

Warren and Philippe both choked and shouted, almost in unison, "No!" Then they glared at each other.

Selena chuckled. "No, my dear. Nothing like that. Warren and myself are perfectly capable of sweeping small sections of the town to see if we can find the magical traces of our new acquaintance. Wherever we find the strongest traces is the likeliest place we'll find our rogue. I had wanted to wait until we had your shields at a higher level before we started that, and I see no reason to rush now. If the rogue remains after your shields are strong enough and we haven't found a defensive mage willing to visit us by then, we'll re-examine the situation. Until then, I'm certain you know what we'll be doing."

Cora sighed while Warren grinned. "Yay. More training."