It was late into the night when Senta at last entered her front door into a darkened room.  She closed the door behind her and headed toward the stairs to the upper four levels of the dwelling.  She had just put her foot on the bottom step when Zurfina spoke from a darkened corner.

“How was dinner?”

“It was fine,” said Senta, turning to face her mistress.

“Good.”  Zurfina stood up from the chair in the corner and stepped forward into the moonlight streaming in through the window.  Senta wasn’t surprised to see that she was traipsing around the house naked.  She looked appreciatively at Zurfina’s form, seemingly untouched by age.  But then apparently Zurfina wasn’t really all that old.  Senta had often imagined that she was hundreds or even thousands of years old, protected by magic from the degradation of time.  But if Bassington was right, and Zurfina had been a young adult when they had met, she couldn’t be much over forty—maybe not even forty.

“I’m not as young as he thinks,” said the elder sorceress.  “Nor as old as you think.”

“Don’t read my mind, Fina.”

“Did he put doubts into your head, Pet?”

“He put questions in my head.”

“Go on then.  Ask your questions.”

“You’re not mad that I let Smedley loose?”

“Pish-posh.  If I hadn’t expected him to get loose sooner or later, I wouldn’t have left him bound by anything as flimsy as a rope.”

“Were you in love with him?”

“Yes,” replied Zurfina matter-of-factly.

“He’s kind of ugly.”

“That’s not a question.”

“What did you see in him, then?”

“It’s generally been my observation that women will accept one of four things in a man—if he has more than one, then all the better: looks, sexual prowess, power, or wealth.”

“Which did he have?” wondered Senta.

“More than one.”

Senta paused, and then rolled her eyes.

“Don’t ask the question if you don’t want to know the answer, Pet.”

“How did you escape Schwarztogrube?”

“Don’t ask the question if you don’t want to know the answer.”

“It must have been epic magic.”

Zurfina’s face turned hard.  “It wasn’t magic.  There was no magic at all in that place.  I had to use the most mundane means at my disposal.”

“What did you have to do?”

“Things…disgusting things… with disgusting men.  Of course, what I did to the place afterwards… that was epic magic.  You would have loved it, Pet.  It was more exciting than the falling star I brought down on Suusthek; more beautiful too.”

“What was it?”

“It was wild magic.  I don’t really know what else to call it.  It almost killed me too, but it was worth it.  Someday I’m going to use that spell again.”

Senta took a deep breath.  “Don’t you worry that you might unleash magical forces that even you can’t control?”

Zurfina waved dismissively.

“I miss Bessemer,” said Senta.

“That too is not a question.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“No.”

“He’s been gone for months.”

“He’ll be home soon,” said Zurfina.

“You’re sure?”

“Of course.  I have a feeling for such things.  Now, was there anything you wanted to tell me?”