Luna snorted. I felt it more than heard it, a ripple of amusement through the bond like cold water down my back.
'With you? Normal?' she said. 'You hand a man some homework and he falls to his knees. This is exactly what I expected.'
I ignored her. She had lived for millennia and had opinions about all of them, and very few were useful in a moment like this. Right now, the Deputy Tower Master of the Ebony Tower was kneeling on his own floor in front of me, and I needed him not to be.
"Paul. Please get up."
He stayed where he was a moment longer, palms flat on the black stone. When he finally lifted his head, his eyes had a look I'd seen before, usually on people who had just watched something they'd been told was impossible.
"You don't understand," he said quietly, and climbed to his feet without taking his eyes off me. "This isn't just a way around the Gift. You've changed what we think necromantic energy is."
