The Choice of Magic

by Michael G. Manning

  Then he spotted one of the crossbowmen at the edge of the forest. The man had snuck back at some point and was kneeling with his weapon aimed at Arrogan. Before Will knew what he was doing, he began running at the crossbowman, waving his staff and shouting to try and distract him.

  Startled by Will’s mad charge, the crossbowman jerked and fired, then he raised his weapon to ward off a blow from Will’s staff.

  Will let him catch the first swing with the crossbow, then shifted his grip and thrust the staff’s end into the man’s face. That effectively ended the fight, but he bludgeoned the crossbowman several more times to make certain before running to his grandfather’s side.

  “I knew you didn’t have the sense to stay out of it,” said the old man, holding his stomach with one hand. Will could see the end of a crossbow quarrel sticking out between his fingers, and the front of his grandfather’s tunic was soaked with blood.

  “Lie down,” said Will. “I’ll get Mom’s tools. We have to get that out and stitch you up.”

  Arrogan shook his head. “Don’t bother. I’m dead already.” He looked at the bodies around him and chuckled. “Those fools were too dumb to realize it. If they’d backed off and waited a bit, I wouldn’t have been able to stop them.”

  Will was still numb from seeing his aunt and cousin die. It felt as though he had no tears left to cry. “You’re still talking, so there’s hope. I just wish I had seen the crossbowman sooner. This is my fault.”

  “Nah,” said his grandfather. “This wasn’t from him. He missed after you startled him. This was from the first volley. One of them shot before the command to fire. I wasn’t ready.”

  Will started for the house. “Let me get Mom’s kit.”

  Arrogan stopped him with a word. “It hit an artery, Will. I’ve been bleeding through the whole fight. My heart stopped before I killed that jackass over there.” He jerked his thumb toward the still smoking remains of the sorcerer. “I’m dead. It’s pure stubborn will and magic keeping my blood moving.”

  Will shook his head in denial. “That can’t be. You’re going to be fine,” he insisted. “Don’t joke about this.”

  “Shut up,” said the old man. “I don’t have time for this. Listen. The house is yours, but my room is locked. Give me your hand.”

  As his grandfather spoke, Will could see the old man’s turyn shift, growing weaker. When he reached out, Arrogan took his hand and touched his palm. A shining pattern appeared in the air above it and then sank into the skin. It burned for a second before fading away. “Ow,” said Will reflexively. “What was that?”

  Arrogan ignored his question, focusing instead on Will’s chest. He placed one shaking finger on Will’s breast, just above his heart, and Will felt the spell-cage within him dissolve. “Almost forgot to take that off,” said his grandfather with a weak grin. “You’d have been cussing me for years if I had left that there.”

  He’s really dying, Will realized, and he felt his heart break all over again. In the span of less than an hour, he would have lost almost half the people he cared about. New tears began to well in his eyes. “This can’t be happening,” he whispered.

  “Life’s a bitch, William,” said his grandfather. “Sorry I couldn’t finish teaching you, but you have to…” His eyes closed, and his words trailed off.

  “Nooo,” moaned Will, his voice beginning to crack. “You can’t do this.”

  Arrogan’s eyes opened again. “The goddamn cat,” he said softly.

  “Yes?” responded Will, blinking to clear his eyes.

  “Don’t piss him off. Make sure to read my—”

  His grandfather didn’t finish his sentence, although Will waited several minutes, refusing to move. When he had finally given up hope, he lifted the old man’s head and torso, squeezing them against his chest. It was the first time he had ever hugged his grandfather, and his chest burned, for he knew it was too late. The old man would never know how he felt.

  Sometime later, Will pulled himself together and got to his feet. Staring down at his grandfather, he knew he couldn’t bear to leave the old man there, so he bent down and tried to lift him. It was a stupid idea, for he knew he couldn’t possibly carry him all the way back to his house, but he was beyond rational thought. He was surprised to find Arrogan much lighter than he had expected.

  Was he always so frail? Will couldn’t believe it. The old man had always been larger than life, both his personality and his actions. The body was still a significant burden, but he managed to get him into his arms and stand again. Then he began to walk.

  Unfortunately, despite his initial success, carrying his grandfather turned out to be impossible. Will made it into the woods behind the house, but stumbled soon after, and in the end he was forced to drag the body. The best he could manage was holding his grandfather’s chest and letting the feet drag as he went.

  It was slow going, and it would be hours before he made it back to his grandfather’s home.

  Chapter 27

  It was dusk by the time he finally made it to the house, and he found his mother and Sammy standing in the front yard, waiting for him.

  “Put him down,” said Erisa, and when he did, she bent and checked for a pulse.

  “He’s dead,” said Will.

  “I’ve been doing this most of my life,” said his mother. “I had to be sure.” Then she stood and stared into her son’s eyes. Without warning, she slapped him, hard enough to sting his cheek.

  As Will rubbed his face, she continued, “Do you have any idea how stupid that was? How worried we’ve been?”

  “I couldn’t leave him,” said Will.

  “But you could leave us?” she rebuked him. “Don’t ever do that to me again, William. I thought I’d lost you for good.”

  He’d never seen such a look of fury and anger on his mother’s face, but despite the intensity of her gaze, Will was numb. Too much had happened. His mother lectured him for several minutes, and he was grateful when his cousin tugged on her arm. “Please, Auntie, let him be. We’re all tired.”

  “Why don’t we go inside?” suggested Will, his tone soft.

  His mother and cousin looked at one another, then at the house. Sammy spoke first, “Maybe you can talk to him.”

  Him? “Who do you mean, Sammy?” asked Will.

  Erisa pointed at the porch. “That one.”

  It was then that Will finally noticed the cat grooming itself on the porch, directly in front of the door. “Oh. The goddamn cat,” he intoned matter-of-factly.

  “William!” reprimanded his mother.

  “Sorry, Mom. That’s what grandfather named him. Why didn’t you just step over him?” he asked.

  “Try it,” suggested Sammy.

  He did, and was alarmed when the cat stood up and hissed at his approach. Will had never really gotten along with the cat. During his years with Arrogan, the two of them had developed a truce of sorts, which was to say that Will fed the cat whenever he appeared, and for its part the goddamn cat ignored him the rest of the time.

  Even so, it was just a cat. Will started to step over it, reaching for the door handle, but immediately changed his mind when the cat growled. Its hair was standing out in all directions, and it gave every sign that it was about to start a blood feud with him. “What the hell?” swore Will. “He’s never been like this before.”

  The goddamn cat didn’t back down. Instead it began advancing on him, fangs bared and back arched. He almost thought it might be rabid, but as soon as he stepped off the porch the cat relaxed, though it kept its eyes on him, wary for any sign that he might try to approach the door again.

  “There’s something wrong with that animal,” cautioned Erisa. “He may be sick.”

  Will stared at the cat for a long minute, during which the animal never blinked. To all appearances, mundane and magical, it looked to be a normal cat, but he could see a deep intelligence behind its green eyes. “I think it knows he’s dead,” Will said over his shoulder.

  “
Well we aren’t spending the night outside,” said his mother. “One way or another we’re going inside.”

  “Do you think he’s sad that his master is dead?” asked Sammy.

  Will shook his head. “Not exactly, maybe, I don’t know. Let me see if I can convince him to let us stay.”

  “Convince him?” said Erisa, her voice tinged with disbelief. “It’s a cat.”

  “Grandfather didn’t think so. He always said the goddamn cat was our landlord. Wait here a minute,” he told them.

  “Where are you going?” asked Sammy.

  “To get an egg.” Will went around the side of the house and through the garden, a trip he had made hundreds of times before. Moments later, he returned with a fresh egg in hand. He had no idea if he was doing the right thing, but he decided to trust his instincts. In his mind he could still hear his grandfather’s last words, “Don’t piss him off.”

  Sammy and his mother watched him with odd looks on their faces as he dragged Arrogan’s body until it was at the edge of the porch. The goddamn cat perked up at that and stepped forward to investigate. As they looked on, it sniffed Arrogan’s head and then licked it once before returning to the porch. It lay down there, crossing its front paws and staring at Will.

  He could almost imagine its words. Your move, human. Approaching cautiously, he got down on his knees at the edge of the porch and held out one hand to the cat. “I know you had an agreement with him. He’s gone now, but I’ll do my best to honor it, if you let me,” he said, keeping his voice neutral.

  The grey tom blinked, once, then sat up.

  I hope that’s a good sign, thought Will. Reaching out with the other hand, he showed the egg to the goddamn cat. “Let me in and I’ll get a bowl to put this in for you—ow!” The cat’s claws had flashed out and torn a deep scratch across the back of his hand, causing him to drop the egg.

  Standing up, Will sighed and looked at the broken egg. It had fallen on the ground, where it began to seep into the dry dirt. He turned to the others. “I guess I was wrong.”

  Sammy pointed at his feet. “Look!”

  Glancing down, Will saw that the goddamn cat had moved. It sat beside his leg, cleaning the blood from its foot. It finished and then stood, circling his feet once and brushing up against his trousers before walking to the front door.

  “I think he’s telling you that you can go in now,” said Sammy, amazement in her voice.

  Testing the theory, Will walked to the front door. The grey tom ignored him, but as soon as Erisa and Sammy started to follow him, it stood and hissed, arching its back once more. “They’re with me,” Will told it.

  The goddamn cat let them by after that.

  Once they were inside, Will’s mother wasted no time cleaning the scratches on his hand. “I can’t believe we had to negotiate with a cat,” she muttered.

  “Maybe he’s magic,” put in Sammy. “This is a wizard’s house, after all.”

  Will wasn’t so sure about that. He’d seen no sign of magic around the cat, or any other strangeness, other than its behavior. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But before he died, Grandad warned me not to upset the cat. He made that point to me several times while I lived with him.”

  “Knowing him, that crotchety old man probably did it just to have a laugh. He’s probably looking down on us now, laughing at us for believing him,” said Will’s mother. She wiped at her eyes with one sleeve. “He was always doing odd things when he taught me. I never knew what to think.”

  Sammy stared at her aunt. “You’re a wizard too?”

  Erisa shook her head. “No. He taught me herbs and midwifery. He always said he’d never take another apprentice.” She glanced at her son. “Until Will convinced him somehow.”

  Will had no answer to that. “I should cook something,” he told them.

  “What about…” Sammy looked toward the door and they all understood her meaning. Arrogan’s body was still out there, in front of the porch.

  “We’ll bury him in the morning,” said Erisa. “Is there something we can wrap him in overnight?” she asked Will. “I don’t want anything taking a bite out of him while we sleep.”

  Will gave her one of his blankets, and while she attended to the body, he went to fetch fresh vegetables from the garden. Following his old routine seemed natural and helped him keep his mind clear. The last thing he wanted to do was remember the things he had seen that day.

  His mother complimented his cooking, seeming surprised at his skill even though it was simple fare that he served them. After that, he tested the door to Arrogan’s room and found it opened at his touch. In the past it had always been locked by magic. Maybe the spell he put on my hand was a key of some sort, he mused.

  Thinking about it caused the spell to itch, and when Will looked at his hand, the spell rose from his skin to float above his palm. He studied it for a moment, noting how similar it was to the heart-stone enchantment that Arrogan had pulled from the sorcerer’s chest. It was connected to something, but he couldn’t be sure what that might be. There was definitely not an elemental nearby. He would have to think about the matter later, and as soon as he pushed his question aside the spell vanished, sinking back into his skin.

  “His room hasn’t changed much over the years.” The voice startled him, and he turned to find his mother staring over his shoulder.

  “You’ve seen it before?” he asked.

  Erisa nodded. “Quite a few times, though he only let me in when we were using the workshop. Is it still beneath the house?”

  “Yeah,” answered Will. “He’s been teaching me the basics of alchemy.”

  His mother’s brows went up in surprise. “How far have you gotten?”

  “Not far,” he admitted. He put up his hands and began ticking off what he had learned. “So far I’ve learned inks, soap making, how to differentiate acids and bases, simple distillation, steam fractioning, and the basics of tinctures, elixirs, and suspensions.” Then he sighed. “None of it involves magic, though.”

  Erisa smiled. “That alone could make you wealthy if you have the right equipment.” She walked over to the bookshelves and glanced over them until she found the section that held medicinal recipes and chemical preparations. “If you understand measurement and titration, you can use the knowledge stored in these books to prepare any number of valuable substances.”

  It was apparent that his mother was familiar with some of the books already. “Why didn’t you teach me to read?” he asked.

  She stood still for a moment, lost in thought. “After everything I went through, I was resentful. Mark gave me hope that I shouldn’t have had, a view of a world I could never be a part of. Then the old man—he taught me more than I needed. When I eventually returned to the village, I thought maybe things would be different. But there was no need for what I had learned. Learning and letters had no place in that world. I thought I was doing you a favor. If you didn’t learn about such things, you couldn’t yearn for things you would never be able to have.”

  Will considered that for a moment, then asked, “And what about now? Do you still think that was the right choice?”

  Erisa sighed. “Probably not. I started to have doubts when Mark offered to send you to Wurthaven.” She paused. “Do you resent me for it?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve gotten pretty good at it now, so it doesn’t really matter. The more I learn, the more I realize we all make mistakes.” Then he gestured at the bed. “I still have my cot. Do you think you and Sammy will be comfortable in that giant bed?”

  Sammy had slipped past them and had been staring at the room in awe. She focused on the giant four-poster when he asked his question. “It’s huge! What if we get lost?”

  Will’s mother walked over to it, then carefully lifted the frilly, embroidered pillow that Arrogan had so adamantly insisted that Will shouldn’t touch. Moving to the end of the bed, she opened the chest that held Arrogan’s blankets and extra bedding and placed it inside. “He’s gone, but I th
ink as long as we don’t sleep on this he won’t mind.”

  Will looked curiously at his mother. “Do you know why he was so particular about it?”

  “I guess he never told you,” said Erisa. “It was Aislinn’s.”

  He remembered the name. “His wife? Do you know what happened to her? He was awful touchy about it. How did she die?”

  It was Erisa’s turn to shrug then. “He didn’t tell me much either. I don’t know how or when she died, but I don’t think that’s what he was upset about. From what I gathered, she left him, though I don’t know why.”

  Will pondered that for a while. He knew Aislinn had also been his grandfather’s teacher, so she had been a wizard. Does that mean she could still be alive somewhere? His grandfather had said she was older by some forty years, but then again, Arrogan hadn’t seemed as though he was close to dying of natural causes.

  Whatever the answers were, it was unlikely he would ever know the full story. And I’ve got more important things to worry about anyway, he decided. Barrowden was full of Darrowan soldiers, half his family was now dead, and he had to figure out how to keep his mother and Sammy safe.

  And he was still two weeks away from turning seventeen. It didn’t seem right to have so much weight on his shoulders. The world didn’t seem to care, though. Little Dougie had only been ten and he’d been beaten to death trying to defend his family. “And Aunt Doreen,” he whispered to himself, seeing her dying moments all over again. He could still hear the sound of the soldier’s fist beating her head into the ground.

  Without realizing how he had gotten there, he found himself crouched down on the floor, swept away by tears of grief and rage. His mother and Sammy had encircled him with their arms. This time it was Sammy who comforted him, for her own eyes were dry.

  “You should sleep in the bed with us,” said his mother. “None of us should be alone tonight.”