had gone fast. A big part of her head was simple gone in an instant. It was horrible, but quick, if you had to die at all.
The woman looked up, her face skeptical already, even before they said anything. Tor smiled and nodded toward the closed office door.
"Is Headmaster Hardgrove in? We've come to invite him to a party." He didn't add what it was for or the part about Sherri, since it wasn't this woman's business yet. Besides, the way she kept staring at him was a bit off-putting. It was like she wanted to have sex with him right then and there, without any flowers or sweet words first at all. Given that she was about forty and worked for a school, that was creepy. He was twenty, but he only looked about fourteen still. He might be a student there, right?
"He's in. Whom may I tell him has come to call?" Her words were professional and she didn't seem half as sour about it as Campbell always had. No, she seemed... a bit over interested.
"Tor Baker. This is my brother Timon." He could have added all the titles and what not, but Hardgrove already knew them, and it wasn't an official visit, just some friends dropping by, as unlikely as that would seem to anyone watching.
"One moment." She threw her long braid over her right shoulder with a flick of the head and kept eye contact with him as she moved, her blue eyes going slightly hooded, as if trying to flirt. It was overdone given the scene. Worse, the way things were going for him, she'd probably turn out to be his cousin or sister. Something like that.
It didn't take long at least and Kyle came to the door himself to see them.
"Boys! Wonderful to see you. Is everything alright? Do you need to talk in private?" He sounded a little worried, as if it might be something other than what they'd said. As if the man didn't get invited to many parties at all.
"We came to see if we could grab you up for a dinner party. It's In Two Bends, my brother Todd is getting officially engaged to Countess Thorgood. We're grabbing a few other people as well. My sister, and Ali's roommate Sherri. My wife is busy, attempting her first build." There was a bit of pride in his voice. Even if it didn't work, it was her first year in the building studies program. Others had done it too, but only the very best even tried it. He hadn't, not until his third year and that had been considered almost impossible at the time.
"Truly?" The old man with his glorious gray beard smiled as if he'd been handed a bag of gold coins. "That's wondrous! I have to admit I was a little uncertain about allowing her into the building program at first, but I'm so happy to find out that I was wrong there. Her academics were a little weak, coming in, but given everything it looks like I'll have to eat my thoughts about her and how long it might take to catch up. Very good." The thing there was that he clearly meant it. It even came off of his field, so it wasn't just acting. "As to the other, I'd be delighted to attend, if it isn't a problem? I'll need to catch a ride with one of you, since I have work in the morning."
That earned the man a happy nod.
"Not a problem. Terry, one of my younger brothers, will be flying us down. I promised to get him a Fast Carriage if he can do it without crashing. He managed the trip up here perfectly, so I think I'm going to have to start a new batch of them soon. Tim's going to be doing one too, since they're kind of handy to have around. You can get with him on collecting your own, of course." Tor meant it as teasing, but Timon just gave a half nod.
"That makes sense. If I can't do it, we'll cadge one from Tor for you. After all, they're only worth a few million gold, or twenty. Every school should have at least one, in case of emergencies, don't you think, Tor?" For the first time in a while it sounded like his brother was actually being playful. There was even a small, but real seeming, smile with the words.
"Actually that's not a bad idea. At least here and the Printer School. I
The woman looked up, her face skeptical already, even before they said anything. Tor smiled and nodded toward the closed office door.
"Is Headmaster Hardgrove in? We've come to invite him to a party." He didn't add what it was for or the part about Sherri, since it wasn't this woman's business yet. Besides, the way she kept staring at him was a bit off-putting. It was like she wanted to have sex with him right then and there, without any flowers or sweet words first at all. Given that she was about forty and worked for a school, that was creepy. He was twenty, but he only looked about fourteen still. He might be a student there, right?
"He's in. Whom may I tell him has come to call?" Her words were professional and she didn't seem half as sour about it as Campbell always had. No, she seemed... a bit over interested.
"Tor Baker. This is my brother Timon." He could have added all the titles and what not, but Hardgrove already knew them, and it wasn't an official visit, just some friends dropping by, as unlikely as that would seem to anyone watching.
"One moment." She threw her long braid over her right shoulder with a flick of the head and kept eye contact with him as she moved, her blue eyes going slightly hooded, as if trying to flirt. It was overdone given the scene. Worse, the way things were going for him, she'd probably turn out to be his cousin or sister. Something like that.
It didn't take long at least and Kyle came to the door himself to see them.
"Boys! Wonderful to see you. Is everything alright? Do you need to talk in private?" He sounded a little worried, as if it might be something other than what they'd said. As if the man didn't get invited to many parties at all.
"We came to see if we could grab you up for a dinner party. It's In Two Bends, my brother Todd is getting officially engaged to Countess Thorgood. We're grabbing a few other people as well. My sister, and Ali's roommate Sherri. My wife is busy, attempting her first build." There was a bit of pride in his voice. Even if it didn't work, it was her first year in the building studies program. Others had done it too, but only the very best even tried it. He hadn't, not until his third year and that had been considered almost impossible at the time.
"Truly?" The old man with his glorious gray beard smiled as if he'd been handed a bag of gold coins. "That's wondrous! I have to admit I was a little uncertain about allowing her into the building program at first, but I'm so happy to find out that I was wrong there. Her academics were a little weak, coming in, but given everything it looks like I'll have to eat my thoughts about her and how long it might take to catch up. Very good." The thing there was that he clearly meant it. It even came off of his field, so it wasn't just acting. "As to the other, I'd be delighted to attend, if it isn't a problem? I'll need to catch a ride with one of you, since I have work in the morning."
That earned the man a happy nod.
"Not a problem. Terry, one of my younger brothers, will be flying us down. I promised to get him a Fast Carriage if he can do it without crashing. He managed the trip up here perfectly, so I think I'm going to have to start a new batch of them soon. Tim's going to be doing one too, since they're kind of handy to have around. You can get with him on collecting your own, of course." Tor meant it as teasing, but Timon just gave a half nod.
"That makes sense. If I can't do it, we'll cadge one from Tor for you. After all, they're only worth a few million gold, or twenty. Every school should have at least one, in case of emergencies, don't you think, Tor?" For the first time in a while it sounded like his brother was actually being playful. There was even a small, but real seeming, smile with the words.
"Actually that's not a bad idea. At least here and the Printer School. I
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