Digest charcoal?

The glass dragon took her muzzle out of the box that held sticks of charcoal and belched. This time she produced semi-transparent black glass globes that rolled over the worktable.

Niko stretched a hand out to the creature and twitched his fingers. here, you,he ordered.

The dragon looked from Tris to Niko to Tris, plainly thinking it over. s all right,Tris assured her. s my teacher.

Niko smiled at her. of the strongest bonds between mages, isnt it?

Tris nodded.

Gingerly the d ragon walked over to Niko and, leaning back on her haunches, sat up. First the mage looked her over, inch by inch, examining the seamless joins of wings to body and claws to feet. Then he conducted an examination with his sensitive fingertips. He got nipp ed once for putting a finger into the dragons gullet. t do that,he said absently. stay.

He patted the dragon on the head as if she were a dog, then set his bony fingers on his closed eyelids. Tris raised a hand to shade her vision as white fire sprang from Niko s eyes. Startled, the dragon fell on to her back. Quickly she scrabbled to her feet and turned to see if her tail was still there.

When Niko opened his eyes, the dragon sneezed noiselessly.

Likely,Niko told her. He looked at Tris. s . . . strange, he said, frowning slightly.

Tris bridled in defence of her newest stray. course shes strange,she retorted. The one who made her tried to kill her.She didnt even notice that she had accepted Nikos decision that the dragon was female.

Niko sighed. s not what I meant. I don t know if I ever told you, but I hold a credential in glass magic

Addition to your credentials in teaching magic, seers magic and star magic, the girl replied. s why they wanted you for

This circus.With a wave of her hand she included the boisterous gathering of mages downstairs.

Trisana,replied Niko patiently. Now, I learned to make glass to expand my magical vision, and because I like glassmaking. I can tell you that this creature contains a surge of glass magic, but it s not focused in the way that a trained glassmage would do it. Her skeleton is made of glass magic. Im picking up traces of protective magics, wind magics, healing magics, prosperity magics and love magics.

s what this Kethlun pulled in from around the neighbourhood,Tris explained. Every loose bit of magic from a block around all ended up in her. I told you he didnt raise any barriers.

I have now seen for myself,replied Niko. blood though her blood is lightning.

Tris sat on a stool, frowning, then turned her attention to the dragon. Carefully she removed her spectacles and set them on the table. Once they were off, everything in everyday world went grainy: without her spectacles, s he was nearly blind. On the other hand, if she wanted to look at highly detailed magic, her vision was sharper without the lenses. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, then surveyed her new charge.

The dragon blazed, the silver fire of the neighbourhood magic s rippling over her surface. Through the ripples shone a skeleton as bright as real silver, needle-thin bones that supported the dragon s elegant form. Twined around those bones was the hotter, blue-white fire of pure lightning, moving in streams like vein s. Lightning shone in the small round bumps that served it for eyes, glinted along its thin teeth, and swirled down the length of its forked tongue.

Tris sighed as she hooked her spectacles back over her ears. wonder if he even could have killed you.

The dragon shrugged, her magical skin rolling with the movement.

isnt your lightning,pointed out Niko. As her teacher, he knew the many shapes of Tris s magic better than anyone.

I didnt use mine till after the dragon broke away from the blowpipe,Tris admitted.

you suppose its his? Kethluns?asked Niko.

The dragon toddled over to Tris and stepped

Down into the girl s lap. There she curled herself, cat-like, into a ball.

Thought that lightning mages either learned to control themsel ves before they got to be my age or they died,Tris replied quietly. s what you told me.She smoothed a hand over the length of the dragon s spine. A pure musical note rose from the creature as Tris stroked her, a lingering tone like those drawn from the lips of glasses filled with water. The girl smiled. that your purr? she asked. The ringing tone rose each time she ran her fingers down the dragons spine. The sound continued, first low, then higher, a melody that grew softer and softer, until it stopped. think shes asleep, Tris whispered to Niko. m going to name her Chime.

Niko was still fixed on Chimes lightning blood. s true, if this Kethlun Warder were born with lightning magic, he wouldnt survive to adulthood without mastering it,he pointed out, smoothing his moustache with a bony finger. has to be an explanation of some kind.

re welcome to find it, Tris replied. She kept her voice soft, not wanting to wake the dragon. you going to have time after the conference?

Niko cleared his throat. that was something I wanted to discuss with you.

Tris raised her eyebrows and waited.

er, had a vote today,Niko explained, tugging the cuffs of his sleeves. You know that from time to time mages get together to do some

encompassing study of a particular sort of magic.

Tris knew that. She had handled the result of such research in the past four years, substances which helped mages to fashion cures for diseases. Those substances had been the result of years of research on the part of a handful of mages. The conference is for something like that?she asked.

is now,replied Niko. an outburst of magely fellowship and affection, it was resolved that all of us work together to create the single b iggest compendium of visionary magics ever written, ambient and academic, truthsaying, past seeing, scrying in water, flame