Chapter 40: Conversations with Henry

It was just after breakfast the next day, when Jenny knocked on the library door and then entered. “You wanted to see me, Sir?” the dirty blonde freshman asked.

Henry was sitting on the sofa with June, “Please, come in.”

She did so nervously.

“I bet you thought I had forgotten about your request.”

Jenny blushed, “It had occurred to me.”

The homunculus looked at her master inquiringly.

“She wants a special job or task.”

June nodded, “Ah! Everyone wants to feel useful.”

The sorcerer looked at his slave, “I hear you’ve been criticizing my home.”

Jenny started at the sudden change of subject, “Nothing major; it’s just this place is too quiet. Especially when you’re alone, the lack of any noise makes you feel like you are in a library or museum.”

Henry nodded, “I understand. June has a massive collection of music. Everything from downloads to old 78 rpms. I even have a way play music anywhere in the residence.”

“Then, why don’t you?” the freshman exclaimed.

“I don’t mind the silence. The lack of distractions makes it easier for me to focus.”

“I like having some music in my room,” said June.

He snorted, “But you have no taste in music. You like everything and mix genres and eras with abandon.

“We need someone to be our music coordinator.”

Jenny finally caught on, “And you want that to be me.”

Henry nodded, “But your music experience is limited. You only know about current rock music. You know nothing about the past. You don’t know The B-52’s, Genesis, Supertramp, the Bee Gees, The Rolling Stones, or the Beatles. So much great music is made when an artist takes something that was old, and update it with a different style of music.”

The dirty blonde nodded, not quite understanding everything he was saying.

“My personal taste goes back to the days of my youth, in my first life. Alas most of those songs are lost to history. Almost none of the music from back then were preserved in any way.”

“Gee, that’s a shame,” said Jenny.

The sorcerer shrugged, “You would find most of it quite boring. The main instruments were the pan flute, the lyre, and simple drums.”

“Anyway, for the next two months, for the rest of the summer, you will be listening to music. I would recommend that you start with the most recent and work backwards.”

Jenny was obviously pleased, “I’m not to do any of the household chores?”

“After dinner, each night, the whole household will come into the reception hall and listen to at least five songs that you have discovered that day. They can be good, bad, or weird. We will all have a chance to listen to your critiques, and the rest can give their own insights.”

The freshman nodded, “Anything else.”

Henry said, “You have a wonderful singing voice, but it is untrained. Start singing with the songs you like. Look up online any videos on how to train your voice.

“When fall starts, I want you to take a vocal singing class.”

She smiled, “Let me guess, June doesn’t sing either.”

The sorcerer shook his head, “A cat with its tail caught in a blender makes a more pleasant sound.”

The homunculus objected, “Hey, you are the who designed me.”

“It was not a criticism of you, June. If you want, I can do some research, and try to give you a more pleasing timbre and range.”

She suddenly looked uncomfortable, “Only if you have nothing more important to do, Master.”

Jenny cleared her throat, “Is there anything else, Master?”

“No, that should do it.

“June, go show her your music collection. And show her how to operate the playing system I designed for you.”

The created woman nodded, “Right away, Sir.”

The two exited the library, leaving Henry.

May, the apprentice, was waiting outside, and entered as they left, “You wanted to see me, Master?”

Henry nodded, “I am having trouble with that scroll Collem trade me for.”

The sophomore looked at him incredulously, “And you want me to help?”

“You have shown an immensely intuitive and insightful mind. Some suggestion you make, may be completely wrong, but could lead me on a new train of thought that brings me to a solution.”

May nodded, “Anything I can do to help.”

She sat down beside her master at the big drafting table, as he went over the text of the ancient manuscript. “I know there’s more here. I just can’t find it...”

After about fifteen minutes, the apprentice cleared her throat, “Master, I’ve been thinking about Bonnie.”

“Hmm? What about her?” “Well, we might be able to remove the sigils, if we drain her completely dry of magical energy before we do the removal.”

Henry sighed, “You are missing one thing. To remove a sigil, you need to use magic; a lot of magic. Directing it at Bonnie will fill her up big time, faster than I could drain it.”

Deflated, May nodded, “I understand.”

The sorcerer turned to her, “I am not trying to sound cold, because I am fond of Bonnie. But I don’t want to remove her sigils. Having an additional source of magical energy is such a great resource. As you gain in experience, you’ll understand.”

Tears started form in the apprentice’s eyes, “But, those sigils are killing her!”

“Everyday life is killing her, and all of your sisters. If you succeed in learning how to transfer your consciousness to another body, you will see all your sisters die.”

Before she could object, he continued, “Now, Bonnie has twenty to forty years to live. I will do everything keep her alive as long as possible. But without those sigils she would have what, sixty or eighty years? Not that big a difference.”

“I want all my sisters to live as long as possible,” May said, now openly weeping.

Henry sighed, “I’ll tell you what. If you find a way to remove those glyphs, without killing her. I will assist you.”

“Oh, thank you, Master!” she exclaimed.

She wiped her face, and went back watching Henry’s examination of the scroll. Occasionally he would mutter some spell. The papyrus would glow for a few seconds, but nothing else.

After about an hour, the sorcerer sat back, “I’m getting nowhere.”

The apprentice thought for a minute, “Let’s go over everything we know about the scroll.”

Henry started, “It is very old, from the Library of Alexandria.”

“It contained one hidden spell of Silk Magic, where silk strips are absorbed into your skin, giving you the ability to...”

Henry’s head shot up, “Wait! Of course! That makes sense!”

He headed toward the cabinet going through various drawers, “Apprentice, we had few extra strips of silk left over, didn’t we?”

May nodded, “I believe so. We acquired some more when we used the spell on Moon.”

“Where did we put them?”

They both started looking through numerous little storage drawers.

Finally, May found them.

“Thank you,” said Henry, as he snatched the long narrow strip of pure silk.

“What did you figure out?” asked May.

“Simple; whoever wrote this scroll did not want the reader to learn a second spell until he had mastered the first. So, one has to use Silk Magic to unlock the new spell.”

The sorcerer placed a silk strip on the table, next to the scroll. “Do you remember how to enchant the silk?” he asked May.

She nodded.

“Then by all means, show me.”

The sophomore hooked her thumbs and spread her fingers wide over the pearly white fabric. She started to chant, but stopped herself and started again. This time the silk started to spark then glow. When she’d finished, the strip slowly faded back to normal.

“Very good,” praised Henry. “Let’s see if it works on this scroll.”

He laid it flat on the yellowed manuscript. Almost instantly, the silk was absorbed into it. You could tell the silk was being spread through the whole manuscript by subtle changes in the color and texture in the paper.

Between the lines, further down the page from the Silk Magic spell, new Sanskrit letters appeared. It seemed much longer than the original.

The sorcerer jumped up and down, then kissed May full on the mouth. “We found it!”

May smiled, “We certainly did.”

Henry returned to his chair, “I am going to be at this for quite a while. Have one of my slaves bring me my meals. I’ll let you know when I am done.”

The sophomore could tell that she was being dismissed. She stood up and headed out of the library, “Of course, Master.”

About eight hours later, Joy entered the library, carrying Henry his supper of roast beef, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, and a slice of apple pie. In her other hand, she held a glass of milk.

The former rich girl opened the door tentatively, “Here’s your food, Master.”

Henry, who had been hunched over his desk, straightened up. He stretched his arms out, “Good. I have reached a stopping place.”

He sat down at a lower table, and Joy placed the plate and glass in front of him.

The honey blonde junior stepped back and quietly watched her master.

A bit unnerved, the sorcerer looked at Joy, “Can I help you?”