:Oh, I see where you are going with this! Yes!: Dallen’s burst of enthusiasm heartened Mags, and even more so when Dallen continued. :We told him what’s going on. He’s coming now.:

“They keep tellin’ me,” Mags went on, deliberately stalling for time, “thet now I’m a Herald, I gotta think ’bout what I do afore I do it. Aye?”

Barrett nodded, and wouldn’t look at him.

“And—”

Foosteps behind him, deliberate, but brisk, told him that Nikolas had entered the stables. He waited for the King’s Own to make a show of “seeing” them.

“Well, is this some sort of impromptu gathering?” Nikolas’ voice sounded relaxed and genial. “Can’t quite give up Midwinter holidays, lads? Not that I blame you—”

He came up beside Mags, and looked with feigned astonishment at the furiously blushing Barrett, at his shame-faced coconspirators. “Why, what is all this?” he asked, quite as if he had no idea. “This doesn’t look like a celebration.”

Barrett cleared his throat. “It’s—not—sir,” he said, and then launched into a rapid, but painful, explanation of what they had been up to.

“Hmm.” Nikolas raised an eyebrow. “I . . . see. And how is this not misuse of your Gifts?”

“I . . . uh . . .” Barrett looked even more shamefaced if that was possible. “Uh . . .”

“It is one thing to pull pranks on people, Barrett. I find some of your antics rather amusing. The circles in the corn fields now, that was inspiring. Very clever, to use boards to press the crops down, and a little sight on your hat to keep the lines straight.”

Barrett gaped at him. “You . . . knew . . .”

“And using the string to make your circles perfect was a very good use of your geometry class,” Nikolas continued, oblivious to the stunned looks on the pranksters’ faces. “But when it comes to misusing your Gifts . . . no. We have to draw the line.”

Barrett stared down at his hands.

Nikolas cleared his throat, causing Barrett to look up. The King’s Own crooked his finger.

“All of you, come with me now,” he said, with a deadpan expression. “We are going to have a conference with some interested parties about this.”

Without a backward look, Nikolas led them all out of the stable, leaving Mags behind.

:Rolan says to tell you that Nikolas says good work.: There was definitely a feeling of pride about that statement behind Dallen’s words. :Now, I think it would be time to get back to your sums. Yes?:

Mags sighed. :Aye,: he replied, and trudged back to his room.

The King’s Own Herald was definitely amused.

He sat at Mags’ table, sipping hot tea, and for once there was a smile on his face. It transformed him from forgettable to rather remarkable; there was a liveliness about him that suggested that, back in his past, he might well have been as much of a prankster as Barrett.