Feeling much better, Emile walked calmly back to his dinner, even though it was midafternoon. Like many mages, he was not on a set schedule, except during a business emergency. How different was this place than his home in Paris. Warm and sunny, with its kilometers of beaches and the smell of the sea. He loved the ocean in all of its myriad moods. Stormy, calm, seductive, playful, it was like visiting a favorite lover, ever new, ever familiar.