'Forgive you? Don't be silly, he knows me too well to ever blame anyone else for my tricks. 'Serena, why don't we just forget the bet this time? If you go and do something crazy, Richard will never forgive me.' Jane, knowing her friend rather well, began to regret her own impulsive challenge. With the frankness that often startled people because her appearance made them believe she was too elegant and haughty to ever speak bluntly, she said, 'I don't think he could find his butt with both hands and a flashlight.' 'Oh, no? Look, friend, we both know he's virtually pickled after years of drinking, but he was a crackerjack investigative reporter once upon a time, and some of the old instincts might still be there.' 'He'll never guess what I'm after,' Serena retorted confidently. And if he realizes you're just after information, next week's column will make you look like the whore of Babylon.'

There's no way he'll dance with you, let alone spill the beans about the grant. Serena, Jeremy Kane uses his column to trash anybody he hates, and since that model broke up with him, he hates every woman still alive and breathing. Jane Riley, an attractive and vivacious brunet, giggled, but then suddenly looked nervous. It was one of many bets between the two young women since they had met in high school years before, lighthearted and, as usual, challenging Serena's uncanny ability to get information, or anything else she wanted, from a man. Common sense says that powerful Richard could fix this ancient war of the sexes with a flick of his impressive staff, so Hooper ( The Matchmaker ) must continually work at creating suspense through arcane regulations, i.e., time travel is too risky to be attempted more than once.Serena Smyth lifted an eyebrow at her friend, her catlike green eyes alight with amusement. There they find male and female wizards living in separate communities, with mutual mistrust and hatred. Richard and Serena then travel far back in time to Atlantis in order to find out why this rule was created and to rectify the situation. It seems Richard has ignored an age-old law stating that no women be trained to use magic. Serena's high jinks prompt a local reporter to write an article about them questioning their relationship, which in turn brings them to the attention of the Council of Elders-a ruling group of wizards. The body of this silly novel picks up nine years later, when Serena and Richard are secretly attracted to each other but still keeping up the pretense of being uncle and niece for the benefit of the ``powerless'' world.

In 1984, 16-year-old Serena Smyth appeared on the doorstep of wizard Richard Merlin in Seattle demanding that he take her on as an apprentice.

The Wizard of Seattle by Kay Hooper