"It depends on how much you've screwed yourself up, really. Just switching your name every few years would keep your power from growing past mediocre, but you'd still have it. Some things, like breaking a magical oath, will take away a bit of your magical potential, which will eventually leave you completely nullified if you keep doing it."

"No, I mean, if your soul is the part that's doing the magic..."

"Oh. Yeah, I checked that when I was doing the Seeing. The daemon is, or contains, or whatever, the soul, but there's- it's like a webbing of trillions of tiny magical threads woven together, connecting you to your human. The soul isn't physically there anymore, but it's so strongly attached that it barely matters. Believe me, I would have been much more conflicted about getting a daemon if I thought it might take away my magic."

"But have you actually done any since you got him? I can't do witchcraft, however attached I am."

He nods. "Fuego!" A ball of fire appears above his palm. "I think the witchcraft thing might be, um, weirder. But magic's just an application of the soul."

"Okay, good."

"With the witchcraft... I'd have to see it to be sure, but if daemons can't do it, it sounds more like some kind of physical magic. Like a werewolf's transformation, or a wizard's longevity, something that's still magic but it's all tied to your body. Because there's- magically speaking, there's very little border between daemon and human. I'm pretty sure any ability of the soul would practically have to transfer unless you specifically designed it not to."

"I don't really know," says Path. "It does all involve doing things, but some of it is just 'reciting verse', which I could do if it would work."

"Yeah, that's why I'm saying - the magic's not in the action, it's in the witch. Something about being a witch, moonlight and starlight and all, makes them someone who can do magic, and enough of it is just part of their physical makeup that you can't even get it by being their own soul. Can you feel starlight, as a witch's daemon?"

"Yes."

Path giggles.

"Need to remember that we're talking about an entirely different universe, here. Different rules..." He shakes his head. "Bob is going to be pissed he missed this. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure he'd have tried to monopolize Isabella for at least a subjective week dissecting comparative occult theory, so it's probably for the best."

"She would only be monopolized for as long as he held her interest. Whoever he is," says Path.

"Talking skull," Harry says offhandedly. "Also, thousand-year-old elemental knowledge spirit. Pretty good at holding people's attention when he's in full nerd mode."

"Sounds interesting. Are talking skull spirits common in your world?"

"He's unique, actually. Most elemental knowledge spirits are free-range; this one has enough enemies that he decided to go to ground, so he inhabits a specially made skull that keeps said enemies from finding him in exchange for providing arcane knowledge to its owner. Currently me."

"...So you own a person."

Harry shakes his head vigorously. "Nope! Nope, nope, nope. Gross, gross, absolutely not. If he wanted out, I would give him up in a second. If he really wanted out he could kill me with practically no effort and then find a new place to live, so it's not even like he doesn't think he can ask. He works with me because I pay him trashy romance novels and he likes being useful to somebody."

"Oh. Okay."

He shudders. "Gross. Sorry. I don't tell people about him a lot, because the aforementioned enemies, and I kind of forget what it sounds like."

"It's okay, I believe you."

"I can give the pair of you a set of protective tattoos. Back home they'd make it look like you were dating or the son of a witch, but I suppose nobody will know that where you're from? Oh, and they don't tickle, but it's quick."

"Pain, again, is very, very unlikely to be a problem. Can their location be more easily hidden? Not that I care, but Harry is a bit of a prude."