"Bella did mention that you're not as instantaneous or automatic as Addy. But apparently you can use multiple powers at once, which must be interesting."

"Oh, very. Especially since I don't use the powers directly, I sort of- translate them into terms my magic understands. They usually end up costing ungodly amounts of mana, Maggie and Dwi have lucky synergy. It's a bit like trying to find a way to combine two different jigsaw puzzles."

"Mine probably doesn't combine usefully with any others I've heard of directly."

"I think it could help me find more efficient ways to combine others, though I really don't think I'm going to manage to hold on to yours permanently, alas. Or at least not all of it."

"Oh well. I'll go on living in the mild annoyance that Bella may be inclined to call on me to plan things for her if she ever has a major crisis," says Siobhan dryly.

"Even if I managed it I'll be useless in a decade or two. Not very long to you. My mana will drop to half what it is now by the time I turn 30, a fifth by 40, and a twentieth by the time I'm 60. It's just how my sort of witch works."

"If I were you I'd check with Alice to see if that can be avoided by turning," Siobhan says. "She can't check unless you're capable of at least temporarily making up your mind to do it, though."

"Oh, I intend to check once I get back. It's not urgent on a scale of hours though."

"Yes, that'd be a problem... If I can go home I bet we can find a Witch who can turn people into things. Wolves can be near half-vampires. The legends about princes turned to toads and so on are not always legends. It's an uncommon special, but I bet there is at least one alive today."

"Yes, but it would be less than ideal. If as a vampire I found a mate, it might not be him. At any rate, I don't think there's anything to gain from continuing to try and copy you. I've got the first layer of your power and nothing beyond that, and I'm not going to get anything else if you stand there all day."

She reports the results of the exercise to Empress Isabella, and floats the possibility of finding a transforming-witch. Would that be appealing, if going home was at all an option?

[Such a witch would have no end of potential applications, but it does again present the quandary of whether and how to introduce vampires to your world, which thoroughly hinges on to what extent travel and communication can be handled.]

[There is a small chance Lytee will come looking for me. She's the teleporter. I think she'll just keep fighting the Neuroi, though. And I can't use Dwi to talk to anyone from my world, further support for the different dimensions theory.]

[Yes. Razi, our teleporter, has also given it a try; nothing. Enough of my empire's functioning depends on exact, specific witch powers as it is, and I'm only as stable like that as I am because the involved parties are at least potentially immortal. If Lytee comes looking for you, even if she can and will take batches of diplomats and such back and forth ten times a day, she still has an expiration date, and we don't know yet if your witchcraft's decay can be arrested by turning, let alone if anyone would want if it did.]

[So any plans are premature, essentially. I'll stop bothering you unless you have someone to lie-detect. Maybe try some new combos once I get back to the capital.]

[If you'd like to handle a batch of turning applications, there are some now. Elspeth can give you the names and information.]

[Yes? Oh, Mama said she'd ask you about turning applications. I have some applicants who have filled out their forms and need to verify that everything they've said is true and complete; the ones who are here now are those who prefer not to have Dad check. Will their names do?]

And everybody's are, except for one guy.

She reports these results faithfully, and adds to the liar, [I wasn't bluffing. You will need to revise your application to be true and complete. I'm sure the princess can get you a blank form if you need it.]

The liar does not continue his conversation with Gren. Elspeth says, [Thank you.]