wizard-of-the-pigeons

He turned to find Cassie unwinding the cloth from her hair.
Her hair fell in damp tendrils past her shoulders. As she swung the cloak free
of herself and onto the hook, he caught the musk of her efforts. There was a hint
of a tremble in her iron control as she sank onto the loveseat beside him.
“There are more candles in the lefthand cubbyhole of the desk,” she told him.
As he fetched them, he glanced at her tray. The mirror was blackened as if by
fire. The pigeon feathers were gone. He took the candles to her, and she kindled
them to replace the softening stumps in the holder. Her lips looked chapped, her
face windburned. ‘“Give me space,” she requested gently. Hastily he cleared his
bag from the seat and moved to sit on the floor near her feet. She looked down at
him almost fondly.
“Why did you have to come to Seattle?” she wondered in soft rebuke.
“Was I someplace else before I was here?” he asked in reply.
“Never mind. You are in Seattle, and it is here you will face it. Your battles
with this grayness go back past your memories. In some, you have done well.
From others, you bear the scars. We won’t prod them now. I have only paltry
things that I may tell you outright. There will be a final confrontation. Very soon.
You must guard the weapons you have forged. If you guard them well, they may
be just enough to defeat this Mir. Your edge will be a small one; if you do win, it
will be by a tiny margin. This grayness is too clever to let you hone your
weapons long. It will come for you soon. If it wins, it keeps you. If it loses, it
leaves you alone.”
‘“Can I not vanquish it completely, destroy it all?”
“Listen to him!” Cassie hooted. “Vanquish it! Have you any idea what you
ask to do? No man may do that for any other. You can win yourself free, and no
more than that.”
“Then, if I lose, I will be the only loser.”
“You know better.” Cassie’s voice went deadly soft. “Through you, the
grayness could rout us all, as easily as shoving a hose down a molehill. There’d
be no escaping for any of us. But if it comes to that, it would no longer be you,
nor any of your doing. You’d only be the tool. Let’s see.” She sighed heavily.
“What else was there?”
“Cassie. you’re not telling me anything new.”
“I know that. I’m telling you what you knew and were afraid to admit to
yourself. Listen. I can give you a story. Would you like a story?”