"Anest, " he said at last, "as you should well know, the life of a water-spite comes from her spring. What you have unwittingly done is substituted yourself."
Anest swallowed reflexively and drew a breath. "What am I to do?"
"Do?" Belloc replied, arching his eyebrows, "If you mean reverse or break your spell, I can only suggest that you do nothing. It was not a proper spell of transferral, so another such transfer cannot be made. If your spell is broken, then she will die."
Anest was speechless. Sitting in stony silence, it was all he could do to tear his eyes away from the pain he had caused.
"Shall I break your spell?" asked Belloc, watching his apprentice carefully. "In a way you are blameless in this, as you were acting out of ignorance, and I was not here to guide you."
"No!" Anest replied emphatically, "she is blameless in this. She has been hurt enough already." He cursed. "What an evil chance it was that she came to be here, and while you were away."
"I wonder," Belloc mused, tugging absently at his lower lip. "You realize, of course, that by accepting this burden you are making yourself responsible for this creature's life."