abandon him."
She was right. If he left the Prince behind, the boy would either end up dead at the hand of some Priest, or he would be turned. Lorit didn't like either of those choices, but he didn't want to take responsibility for the boy either. It seemed he had no choice, like so many things that had happened to him since his power had awakened. His life was not his own, he just wasn't sure whose it was.
Once the tailor left, Lorit turned to Chihon. "I need to talk to Zhimosom, see what he thinks."
He sat at the table next to her and emptied his mind. He focused his consciousness on the old Wizard, picturing Zhimosom sitting in the ornately carved chair in his study, his long white beard flowing down to cover the book habitually open before him.
Zhimosom had always responded immediately to his contact, either accepting it or pushing him away with instructions to come back later. This time it was different, Lorit could not feel Zhimosom's magic. Since Zhimosom had shown Lorit how to recognize each Wizard by their power, Lorit had always had a small touch of Zhimosom's magic with him. He searched for it.
It was gone.
He reached his hand out to Chihon. "He's not there. See if you can sense him."
He felt Chihon's magic join his own, but still there was no trace of Zhimosom. It was as if the old Wizard had simply ceased to exist.
"What's happened?" Lorit jumped up from the table. "He's never done this before."
"I can’t feel him either, but I can still sense Rotiaqua; let's try to contact her. She'll know." Chihon pulled Lorit back into his chair. He felt her reach out to the Sorceress, dragging his consciousness along with her.
He recognized the magic of the Sorceress, but it was muted and dulled. They struggled to locate her. Lorit recalled her image picturing her in his mind. After a while, he located her in Zhimosom's study.
He reached out, opening a conduit for their conversation. He was surprised by the weakness of the contact. Usually it was strong and clear, but now it seemed feeble and insubstantial.
"Lorit ... Chihon," she said as the contact settled down.
"Something has happened to Zhimosom!" Lorit blurted. "I tried to contact him, but he didn't answer. I can't find his magic and he doesn't respond to my attempts at contact."
"He went to confront a Wizard that he believed is in league with the Temple. The one who is behind your recent troubles. He left this morning and he has not returned." Worry lined the Sorceress' face.
"What happened? Where is he? What can we do?" Lorit fired questions at her, not waiting for her answers.
"I don't know what happened. I can feel his power, but only dimly. It's only because of our pairing that I can feel him at all."
She leaned forward and looked Lorit in the eye. "The last thing I heard from him was a warning. He knew who it was, but he didn't get a chance to tell me."
"We have to go. We have to save Zhimosom." Lorit didn't care how great the risk. He had to find Zhimosom.
"Hold on, if this Wizard was strong enough to harm Zhimosom, you're no match for him," Rotiaqua said.
"I don't care."
"How will you find him?"
"Don't you know where he went?"
"I do not, and even if I did, I cannot travel without Zhimosom's power. I'm afraid I am stuck here until we find him."
"What do you want us to do?" Lorit tapped the table with his fingers. He wanted to get going, to do something, anything.
"Just keep to your current plans until I know more. What were you doing before you contacted me?"
"We have been asked to accompany Prince Ghall to Amedon. The Priests have been inquiring about him. They think he has the Wizard's power. I can see the signs in him, so I wanted to have Zhimosom confirm this before we bring the boy with us."
"Take the boy then and go to Amedon. Implore the Council to join in the search for Zhimosom. With the combined power of the two of you, they may be able to find him, before it's too late."
The Sorceress faded from view as Lorit dropped the