Generations of magic, of wizards and familiars, building to this moment to carry forward. Catching Nic’s eye, he saw a glimmer of similar emotion in her gaze, understanding him well, as always. With a dip of his chin to her, acknowledging all she’d done to bring this about, he signed, then sealed the contract.

House Phel had its first official minion. Minions, he corrected himself with a mental head shake. If he wanted familiars to count, then he needed to remember to count them.

~ 3 ~

Nic’s head still didn’t feel right, but she put herself to drafting the nondisclosure agreements, making sure she had one to pair with each of the contracts she’d drafted. She also made a note to buy a copying gremlin from House Xerograf. The things could be a terrible pest if not well-bonded, making copies of everything in sight, then balking entirely for days on end, but the expense for a good one would be worth the trade for her time.

She included signature lines for the familiars as well, should the wizard be bonded to one, as it had become rather frighteningly clear what a risk the familiars posed to House Phel’s secrecy and security. Naturally, the Convocation expected that wizards would control their familiars and prevent them from acting—or passing along information—without the wizard’s knowledge, but how much of that was true in reality? Until Nic had noted the way Laryn observed everything that passed with glittering intensity, it hadn’t occurred to her that the woman could, and likely happily would, betray Nic, given half the chance. Familiars were so often in the background, so often ignored and forgotten, that they made perfect spies.

Foolish of her not to consider that before. Fortunately, thanks to Asa’s quick wits, they’d caught the problem in time. She hoped. And with Gabriel’s magical seal on the nondisclosure, Laryn not only wasn’t allowed to pass along information, she should be physically unable to do so.

Nic really wanted everyone they’d brought into House Phel to sign one of the NDAs immediately. They all already knew too much about her and Gabriel’s unusual bonding. Still, nothing would seal the proctor’s mouth—short of the woman’s death, and Nic wasn’t going to put that idea into Gabriel’s head, if it wasn’t there already.

As she worked at her desk, she half listened as Asa instructed Gabriel on the finer points of evoking alternate form from one’s familiar. They’d all decided—even Nic—that Nic was in no condition to transform again that night, so Asa limited himself to repeating the lectures he’d received in the advanced wizardry practicums at Convocation Academy, and to a single demonstration with Laryn.

Laryn’s alternate form, it turned out, was a small falcon. Nic rather envied the other familiar for that. She’d wanted wings, yes, but it would be far more convenient to have a winged form that was less… conspicuous. She wasn’t sure if her fuzzy thinking came from being in alternate form, full stop, as Asa had indicated, or whether the phoenix’s mind wasn’t somehow very different. Nic rather thought it was the latter, but she obviously had no basis for comparison. So far, Laryn was the only familiar in House Phel who had taken alternate form, and she didn’t see them having a cozy chat between familiars.