What I had never had a chance to observe first-hand was her radiant complexion framed by waves of sungold hair, or the easy grace with which she carried herself, or the….
“It’s the Great Skeeve, right? Behind the open mouth?”
Her voice was so musical it took me a few moments to zero in on what she had said and realize that she was expecting an answer.
“Aahh … yes. I mean, at your service,”
“Glad to finally meet you face-to-face,” she said briskly, glancing at Guido and Massha nervously. “I’ve been looking for an excuse for a while, and I guess this is it. Got some news for you . . . about your apprentice.”
I was still having problems focusing on what she was saying. Not only was her voice mesmerizing, she was easily the loveliest woman I had ever met. . . well, girl actually. She couldn’t have been much older than me. What’s more, she seemed to like me. That is, she kept smiling hesitantly and her deep blue eyes never left mine. Now, I had gotten respect from my colleagues and from beings at the Bazaar who knew my reputation, but never from anyone who looked like …. Then her words sank in. “My apprentice?”
I stole an involuntary glance at Massha before I realized the misunderstanding.
“Oh, you mean Aahz. He’s not my apprentice any more. He’s my partner. Please come in. We were just talking about him.”
I stood to one side of the door and invited her in with a grand sweeping gesture. I’d never tried it before, but I had seen it used a couple of times while I was working the court at Possletum, and it had impressed me.