A Practical Guide to Sorcery (Books 1 & 2)

Chapter 4 - Puzzles & Self-Creation (Part 3)

Only now, as she looked at him without the pall of danger hanging over her every thought, did she realize how perfectly attractive the man was. His shoulders were broad, his hair soft and shiny-looking, and his gaze bright enough to reveal a keen mind beneath. He was likely a competent thaumaturge. His pristine white shirt cuffs were rolled up to his elbows, and as he crossed his arms she noted the muscles in his forearms and his long, graceful fingers. The vague feeling of attraction made her uncomfortable, and more aware than ever of her transformed body. She looked away.

After a moment, he waved at her impatiently. "At least the transformation spell lasted the night. Come, there is much to do if we are to submit your application for the entrance exams by the end of the day. We have until six before they stop accepting new applicants."

Siobhan shot to her feet. "Six tonight? That's the cut-off for this entire term!?" The new body's voice refused to pitch as high as she pushed it, cracking instead.

He motioned for her to follow him again, this time more impatiently. "Indeed. Therefore, we must get to work immediately. You can return to summoning a demon, or whatever you were doing, later."

She grimaced and hurried to re-stock her pockets and her little storage box with the components strewn across the floor. "I was attempting to decipher the book," she muttered, following him down the hallway.

"Oh? Did you have much success?" he said without turning his head.

"No," she admitted grudgingly. "I'm not an expert on wards or encryptions, and I lack the proper components for more efficient spells of that nature."

"Hmm." Dryden seemed neither surprised nor disappointed. "Well, you'll learn at the University?" It was a statement, but pitched like a question.

"Yes," she said firmly, absently somewhat pleased at the gravitas a male voice lent to her inflection. She had never been the squeaky sort of female, but few women who were not addicted to smoking cat's-cough could achieve such a natural-sounding resonance.

Siobhan spent the majority of the day under Dryden's instruction. First, he sent her to take a bath in his luxurious bathing room, once again made of marble. The taps were spelled to spill hot water into a basin sunk into the floor. 'Just who have I gotten myself involved with?' she wondered while scrubbing herself with scented soaps and some porous thing she thought might be the corpse of a sea-plant called a "sponge." Dryden wasn't one of the Crown Family surnames, but the level of wealth on display in his home evoked a sense of royalty.

After that, he had her dress in a deliciously soft woolen suit, one of his own, that he said was "from last year's style" with a self-aware, slightly mocking sneer in his voice, as if he knew how absurd he sounded. The suit was too big for her, but they had no time to tailor it. He even examined her walk as they moved to the book-filled study she had snooped around the night before to make sure she didn't sway her hips in a feminine manner. "Among the crowd you'll be associating with, appearances are important. Attractiveness, body language, and eloquence are essential tools. People can be power, if you know how to cultivate them," he said.

It was obvious he followed his own advice. Dryden's appearance, his home, the way he interacted with the world and those around him, it all amplified the impression of tasteful, controlled wealth and power.

'Still, it's so tedious. People are, in general, uninspired troglodytes. People might be power, but magic is power, too, and it's a power I much prefer. A person may betray or disappoint you, but you can always depend on your own mastery of magic.'

He motioned for her to sit down in one of the plush chairs as a servant brought them food. When the woman left, he said, "It must seem, to anyone who bothers to look, as if you fit in at the University. You will walk like them, talk like them, and dress like them. The goal is to avoid notice altogether." He looked at her critically, then sighed. "My job here could be harder, I suppose. If not for the clothes, and the fact that you're sitting like a girl, I might not realize immediately that you're an impostor. Spread your legs!" he snapped.