“And that does not frighten you?”

“There is little point in fearing the inevitable.”

“So you have resigned yourself to death, then?”

“No. I have merely accepted it. I shall endeavor to survive, but I

know that I must die eventually. And most men know nothing of

what death holds in store for them. I already know two things.

When it comes, it shall come from you. And when I die, it shall be

at the height of my power, power far greater than anything I could

have dreamed of. What man could ask for more?”

“Many might hope for immortality, ” she said. Kanno smiled

slightly. “Why wish for something that I cannot have?”

‘’And if I could give it to you?‘’

Kanno glanced toward the dead woman, standing against the

wall like some wax statue, staring vacantly into space. “Like that?”

he said. “No, thank you.”

“No, not like that. That is not life. You were right. No one can

restore life once it has fled. But to restore life is not the same as to

prolong it. I could teach you how to do that.”

“But, Mistress, I already know. ” She looked at him with

surprise. “You do?”

“Of course. The spell itself is not so difficult, only the cost in

energy is very high. One kills to gain the power to prolong one’s

life, only the spell consumes so much life energy that one must kill

again to replenish the power that has been lost. And then that

power must once again be consumed to fuel the spell, and it must

be once more replenished, and so on and so on, in a never-ending

cycle. Only each time, more power is needed to effect the spell, so

that one becomes like a drug addict, addicted to life, yet never able

to obtain a dose that’s strong enough. Life is prolonged, somewhat,

but at what cost? Eventually, one must still die. There is no way for

a mortal to become immortal. I am much less concerned with the

quantity of life than with its quality. ” Leila gave him a long,

appraising look. “I keep underestimating you. And I keep forgetting

that you are a sorcerer of unusual skill. A human of unusual

perception. You really are different from the others.”