I stood quietly in the doorway, awaiting my time. My master sat on the cold balcony in the chill wind and looked across the way, staring with unfocused eyes at the canyon walls. "Davrin?" I finally said.
He turned slowly, pulling his blanket higher over his shoulder, his fast-greying beard and the few wisps of thin hair at the sides of his head blowing faintly in sharp currents of the winter air. His eyes latched on to mine like iron talons, and the corners of his lips twitched slightly upward.
"What is it, Garrett?"
"You have a visitor," I replied.
He turned back. The canyon's walls were blood-red this time of day, stained so by the last dying rays of the sun as it set behind the castle. For a moment I thought he was going to ignore my comment. But finally, he spoke. "How long have you been apprenticed to me?"
I answered, knowing he was fully aware of the span. "Fifteen years."
"You are no longer a boy."
I cleared my throat. "I am twenty-two, no longer young."
"And your magic is now stronger than mine."
"Yes, Davrin. What is your point?"
"Why have you not left to search out your own fortune like the rest of my apprentices?"
I looked at him and considered my answer. The contour of his face stood out above the depth of the canyon. The lines chiseled in his cheeks were suddenly deep, like the shadowed crevasses that ran down the cliffs. How do I tell him that I am afraid, that I cannot rely on magic alone? How do I tell him that his strongest student cannot trust himself, that my nerves run unchecked when I think of leaving this castle? "There is more I can learn from you."
"What further lessons do you think I have to give?"
Bitter wind whistled over the exposed balcony, filling the momentary silence. "I will know when my time of leaving comes."
"My sons are already raised, Garrett. I cannot be your father."
"I do not expect that."
He nodded slowly but said nothing.
"Your visitor waits."
"I'm tired. You handle it." Using only his middle finger and fore finger, he waved me away.
"I think it would be best if you were to look after this caller yourself."
He breathed the mountain air deeply and released the breath through his thin nostrils. "Then, by all means, let us go." Davrin rose from his chair, leaning upon a gnarled staff that stood a half a head's height above his bony pate.
I took his arm and guided him as we walked through the tower room and down the stairs.
)
