The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

necessarily in the way one expected.
    Jack sank down on the floor in the corner. “I wanted to be there with him. He . . . he and I had a kind of kinship.”
    The blank mask that descended over Jack’s features told Marcus how close the young master magician and the elder Librarian had become.
    “He wanted you there, Jack,” Marcus consoled. “He said to look for him where you least expect.”
    “Probably right under my nose.” Jack’s laugh became choked. He swallowed deeply and then remained silent.
    There is more to his story. I’ll tell all, later, in private. Marcus sent his telepathic message on a tight line. With all of these other magicians in the room anything more might be intercepted. Lyman had been most emphatic that his story was for Jack alone.
    “This feels almost as bad as when Old Baamin died.” Robb sank to the floor beside Jack as if his legs would no longer support his weight.
    “About time the old coot gave up and let someone younger and more vital govern his beloved collection of books.” Zolltarn stretched within his comfortably padded chair—the only piece of furniture in the room besides the built-in bed platform and slanted writing desk that was either too heavy to move or anchored to the floor. The chair and the bedding had come with the Rover.
    “I really liked Old Lyman,” Margit said. “He understood why I preferred to study outdoors rather than in his stuffy library. He even showed me a little spell that would keep the rain off the books so I wouldn’t have to come inside.”
    Marcus touched the book tucked into his tunic that Lyman had directed him to in his last moments. One of these days, when life had settled into a pattern again, he’d have to ask Jaylor if any of his ancestors had been named Bessell. That young companion of Powwell—the author of the book—had developed an attitude of benign defiance very similar to Jaylor’s before he’d become Senior Magician. He also had an almost identical magical signature to Jaylor.
    Old Lyman had known every word in every book, the name of the author, and where he’d shelved it. He probably suspected the family connection. He would indeed be missed.
    “Speaking of Old Baamin.” Marcus jumped back to the subject he needed to follow. He took a moment to survey all of their faces and to make sure he had all of their attention. “The old blue-tipped dragon who brought me here is named Baamin.” He closed his eyes a moment as he relived the exhilarating, stomach-dropping moments of flight. The sight of the thick gray fog that surrounded the monastery had troubled him at first. But the view from above had also given him a bit of understanding. The building existed halfway into a different dimension from the rest of the planet. That explained the time distortion and the weakening of magic within its walls.
    He waited a moment for the others to absorb the hint he’d given them about Baamin’s new existence. Robb looked up from his fascinated gaze at his hands in his lap. He cocked his head and winked one eye. Margit didn’t seem interested at all—but then she had never known the rotund little magician who had governed the Commune and the University for decades.
    Zolltarn chortled aloud. “I knew the bas . . . the master would find a way to come back to haunt me!”
    Jack merely looked blank again. He was very good at that. He’d learned early and well to hide his true emotions in silence.
    “You knew that one of the dragons is named Baamin, Jack,” Marcus said, almost accusingly.
    “He rescued me from SeLenicca,” Jack said quietly. “He was also my father in his previous existence.” His last words sounded so softly Marcus wasn’t quite sure he’d heard him correctly.
    “Your father?” Robb asked. He rolled to his knees and peered at their comrade. He used his standard pin-you-in-place-with-my-eyes look. A lecture usually followed that ploy. But this time Robb waited for an answer.
    “A long story of a Rover girl seducing a very powerful magician the night before his installation as Senior Magician of the Commune. Her clan wanted a child who could break down the magical border that kept them out of Coronnan.” Jack recited the tale as if it had happened to someone else. “The woman died protecting her baby as she escaped from Hanassa. The baby disappeared. It took the dragons to find him again.”
    Marcus wondered briefly if Master Baamin had known of his son. He was the only one who believed Jack as