The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume I: Volume I

as a beautiful woman. But what can we do? Baamin said this transformation is only temporary. At dawn you will revert.”
    “You must find a way to save me, Darville.”
    “Now that I have found you, I will move heaven and Kardia to keep you. But I have no magic. Baamin is too old and skittish to tamper with someone else’s spells. Jaylor has lost his magic. You will have to give me the answers, beloved.”
    “I have no answers, only my love for you.” She looked up into his face and saw an answering emotion. He pulled her across his lap, holding her tightly against his chest. She caressed his face, lingering near his mouth. Their lips met, fiercely possessive, demanding.
     
    “Where would Baamin be, if not in his chamber? There are only a few hours until dawn.” Jaylor wasn’t aware that he had spoken aloud until his words echoed slightly in the long corridor leading to the master’s wing.
    The luxurious apartments had been mostly empty for several years. During the long decline of dragon magic, fewer and fewer men attended the University. Fewer graduated to master’s status. Now that the dragons were gone, the entire structure of the Commune was in upheaval. Jaylor sensed no one in any of the chambers now, nor could he smell any armor blocking his senses.
    Many of the older magicians who were uncomfortable with the changing nature of their spells had retired to the monasteries. The remaining masters were posted to the twelve courts as advisers and sources of instant communication with each other and the capital.
    “Could Baamin be in the palace? With Darville?” Brevelan asked.
    Jaylor wanted desperately to gather her into the circle of his arm, to draw comfort and healing from her touch. But he didn’t dare. Two of the last three spells he had thrown had split dangerously. Two rabbits, one vicious, the other more timid than usual. Two wine cups, one pure vinegar, the other fresh fruit juice.
    His third spell, transporting the greenbird, had worked. But he’d been incapacitated afterward with a seizure so strong he’d lost control of every muscle in his body.
    He’d had a seizure with the two bad spells. Milder, shorter. Just before completing the spell, his knees had begun to shake and his vision blur. Control came back to him almost as soon as the spell was complete.
    Maybe he could seek Baamin with his mind. That wasn’t really a spell, just a reaching beyond normal senses. He barely needed to establish the first level of trance for such a simple feat.
    One deep breath and his mind soared free from his body. A second deep breath and awareness surrounded him.
    Jaylor identified the occupants of each of the rooms in the University. He chose an empty one at the end of the hall that would suit him and Brevelan nicely for the duration of their stay in the capital. He already knew that Baamin’s quarters were empty. As was the library. His thoughts drifted above the stone walls of the University. As if a bird perched on the steeply pitched slate roof, he surveyed the surrounding islands of the city, seeking a familiar mind.
    Over there, on Palace Isle. Or was it Sacred Isle. A single bonfire and the movement of several armored minds caught his attention.
    “Jaylor! Jaylor, what is wrong?” Brevelan tugged anxiously at him.
    He plummeted abruptly back into his body. Disoriented by the sudden downward whoosh of his thoughts, Jaylor could not control the trembling in his hands and knees.
    “Baamin is in the palace. You will have to summon him. I can’t do it, Brevelan. Tell him to come quickly. Someone is performing a ritual on Sacred Isle.” He leaned heavily against her supporting shoulder.
    “Probably just some novice priests practicing for the solstice.” Brevelan led him down the corridor to the empty suite in the corner.
    “At this hour of the morning? The solstice is almost two moons hence.” He wanted to say more, to describe the jerky movements of seven or eight nude dancers around a single bonfire. But he hadn’t the strength of body or of will. “Light a candle. Use my glass. Summon Baamin back to the University.”
    “That will not be necessary.” A new voice halted their progress. At the end of the dark corridor floated the face of Lord Krej. For the blink of an eye his features blurred and softened with feminine touches, then hardened back into the forbidding countenance of Brevelan’s father. He seemed to drift toward them in the dim light, disembodied, until Jaylor’s