The Choice of Magic

by Michael G. Manning

  Pushing aside his distractions, Will focused on the turyn within the spell. He didn’t want to absorb it—he needed to change it. He felt his will tremble as something opposed his desire. Clenching his jaw, he bore down, refusing to accept the outcome.

  And then it happened. The spell tore away from Selene, connecting itself to him instead. He took a step back, and the magical construct came with him, anchored between his palms. Selene’s face was damp with sweat, and she stared at him as though he had grown a second nose.

  Will began to speak in a nonchalant tone. “Now all that’s left is to take it apart.” With one hand he began plucking at the individual runes, tugging them out of position until the entire thing fell apart and dissolved.

  “That’s how you got rid of the ward around my tent,” she sputtered. “It wasn’t a spell anomaly.”

  Not exactly, thought Will. That had happened because he had accidentally absorbed the ward. What he had just done was much harder, but he didn’t feel like being nit-picky about his victory. “It was similar.”

  Selene’s expression was grave. “Listen to me, Will. What you just did—you can never do that again, not in front of anyone. The magisters at Wurthaven would kill to possess such an ability, and any sorcerer that knew you had it would stop at nothing to see you destroyed. Do you hear me? Every mage in the kingdom would become your enemy, for one reason or another, and they would turn the world upside down to either learn or destroy such knowledge.”

  He nodded. “I’ll keep it a secret then.”

  “Teach me,” she said sternly with a strange look in her eyes, a look that made him uncomfortable.

  “I don’t know if I can,” said Will, waving one hand vaguely.

  “Why not?”

  “First you have to learn to control your source, then your body has to learn to absorb turyn from around you. I think that’s where it starts,” he explained. His grandfather’s strange method of teaching began to make sense to him. While he had been busy complaining that the old man wasn’t teaching him spells Arrogan had built a foundation in him to enable him to achieve greater control, not just of his own spells, but of others’ spells as well.

  She frowned. “Absorb turyn? Like I do from my elementals? It would make me sick to do that from other sources.”

  “Haven’t you ever used the source-link spell to do that to someone else?” He thought about that for a second before realizing it wouldn’t make sense. “Well, I guess you’d only do that if you were using it on an enemy.”

  “Supper’s ready!” It was Sammy’s voice, shouting from the house.

  “We’d better go,” said Will, but he could feel Selene’s eyes on him as they walked back. He had a feeling their conversation wasn’t over.

  Chapter 56

  The crust on the vegetable pies was light and flaky, though Will felt they could have been better. In his own opinion, he had overworked the dough ever so slightly. If Arrogan had been around, he would have had an earful. Is this supposed to be pastry or leather? The pies would also have been better with meat in them, but the last of the venison had spoiled as spring’s proximity brought warmer temperatures.

  “Oh!” said Selene as she took her first bite.

  Probably thinking how poorly it compares to whatever they served in whatever palace she grew up in, thought Will. It was an uncharitable thought on his part, and he knew she was too tactful to ever suggest as much.

  Sammy nibbled on one side of hers and then held it above her head as though she was making an offering. “The gods have blessed me with this heavenly food. Please grant my wish and chain William to the stove so that he will provide me with such treats for so long as I live.” She yelped when a hot bit of gravy dripped onto her cheek.

  Her father laughed. “Serves you right.” Then he gave Will a nod. “Magic is a waste of your life, William. Your calling is obviously in the kitchen.”

  “Don’t play with your food, Samantha,” warned Erisa.

  Selene smiled at the banter. “She’s right. I’ve certainly thought of chaining him up as well.” She winked at Will to remind him of when she had had her first long talk with him. The conversation at the table stopped as all eyes turned to her, and Selene’s cheeks colored as she realized how her words had sounded. “No, no!” She waved her hands. “It was a joke. When we met at the camp, I nearly had him arrested for sneaking into…” Her words tapered off. After a second, she stared at the pie in her hands with sudden interest. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything this good before.”

  Sammy leaned forward. “Sneaking into?”

  Selene looked to Will’s mother for help, but Erisa’s attention was fully on her. Placing her pie down, she rested her chin on one hand. “I think I’d like to hear this story. What was he sneaking into?”

  Will’s eyes met Selene’s as he considered whether he should rescue her from the situation. Then a look of malicious glee stole across his features. Selene began shaking her head ‘no’ in a silent plea. He ignored it and told them, “I was sneaking into her tent, while she was sleeping.”

  Sammy’s eyes narrowed, and she began glaring daggers at Selene.

  “Why are you glaring at me?” protested Selene. “I’m innocent.” She pointed at Will. “He was the one trespassing!”

  “Should I tell them what happened next?” asked Will with a grin.

  Erisa barked at him, “William! Stop tormenting the girl and spit it out.”

  “Fine. I was delivering the note I wrote to warn them about the Darrowan army. I put it on a table and left. The next day, Miss Innocent over there used a spell and figured out it was me. They arrested me, and I was questioned about it. But—and I feel the need to stress this—at no point were there any chains.”

  “I’m starting to seriously reconsider it,” stated Selene sourly. She took another bite of her food then added, “Especially after eating this. I can think of any number of kitchens you should be locked up in.”

  More explanations were needed, and Will and Selene were forced to elaborate on the story. After that, the conversation moved on to other topics, though it primarily revolved around the army and the battles with the Patriarch’s forces. Will was glad when it finally shifted back to simpler topics, such as how his family had been getting along over the winter. Before long his mother noticed Sammy yawning.

  “I think it’s time we get some rest,” said Erisa.

  Johnathan stood up. “You can have Will’s cot, Selene. I’ve been using it, but I can sleep elsewhere tonight.”

  Something occurred to Will then. He caught his mother’s gaze, and then moved his eyes toward the door that led to the other room. Silently he mouthed the word ‘books.’

  “Bring it out here, Johnathan. She’ll be warmer by the hearth,” suggested Erisa.

  “There’s another room?” said Selene, puzzled. “Oh, there’s a door. Why didn’t I notice it before?”

  Will’s uncle wasn’t as quick on the uptake. “Why don’t I sleep out here with William? Selene can share the other room with you and Sammy.”

  Erisa gave her brother a pointed look. “She’ll be more comfortable out here on the cot.”

  “Me too,” said Will. “If I have to sleep on the floor, it will be warmer by the fire.” His mother and uncle both gave him sharp looks.

  “I don’t mind,” said Selene suddenly. “I trust him.”

  Erisa stared at the young woman for a moment, and something passed across her features. She nodded. “I understand. An unfamiliar place can be unsettling.” She and Johnathan argued a little more after that, but Will’s mother had made up her mind.

  As his family left and closed the other door, he heard his uncle continuing the fight. “This is exactly how you wound up in trouble, Erisa.”

  “Shut up, Johnathan,” said Will’s mom.

  They were alone, then. Will stared at Selene for a moment until she finally broke the silence. “I like your family.”

  She positioned the cot to one side o
f the hearth while he made pallet of blankets for himself on the other. “Don’t worry,” she told him. “I’ll make sure you’re warm.”

  He stared blankly at her for a moment.

  “There’s a spell,” she hurried to add. “So the floor won’t be cold.” She held out her hands and formed a simple spell above them that consisted of just five runes.

  “Wait,” said Will. “Let me see that.” He studied it for a moment, memorizing the structure. Then he attempted it for himself.

  “Whoa!” she warned. “Smaller, much smaller. Make the lines thinner too. You’ll make the floor so hot it will burn if you do it that way.” He tried several more times, but she wasn’t happy with any of them. “Let me do it,” Selene said at last. “You need more practice.”

  When her spell was done, he saw a faint, rectangular area of turyn form around his sleeping pallet.

  “The spell is timed,” she explained. “It should last eight hours, and if you oversleep the cold will wake you.”

  “That’s handy,” he said enviously. “I wish I’d known about that before I tried to escape to Branscombe the first time. I nearly froze to death.”

  “You’ll learn a lot more at Wurthaven. You’ll see.”

  “Assuming we survive the next few days,” he reminded her.

  They bedded down, and thanks to his unforgiving schedule in the army, Will fell asleep almost immediately. Something woke him later, though, and he lay quietly in his cot, listening until he heard a strange sound coming from Selene’s direction. Is she in pain?

  Opening his eyes just a crack, he looked in her direction. She was sitting up on the cot, clutching her chest with one hand. Through her fingers he could see a glow.

  She stood abruptly, and he closed his eyes. He felt her approach, and it seemed as though she stopped beside him. A few seconds later, she moved on and he heard the distinct sound of the door opening and closing. Where is she going?

  Rising quietly, he went to the door. She hadn’t closed it fully, probably to avoid unnecessary noise. He pushed it further open and peeked out. The moon was hidden by the trees, so he adjusted his vision until he could see clearly. Then he spotted her.

  She hadn’t gone far, no more than thirty feet or so. She appeared to be talking to herself, so he adjusted his hearing as well.

  “It wasn’t planned,” said Selene. “I had to improvise.” She paused as though listening, but Will couldn’t hear anyone else talking.

  “I had my reasons,” she said. “He’s no ordinary mage. You’ll understand when you meet him. I’ve seen him do things we were taught were impossible.”

  She listened some more, then responded, “No, that isn’t it. I just thought it would be a shame to let him go to waste, but after I learned more, I realized he could be incredibly valuable to you.”

  She stopped then, bowing her head as though she had been scolded. When she lifted her head, her eyes were clear and her voice sincere. “My feelings have nothing to do with it. I have to win his trust. He’s very suspicious of sorcerers. You’ll always be first in my heart. Whatever I do, will always be with your interests foremost in my mind.”

  Son of a bitch! thought Will. I knew it.

  “As you wish,” said Selene, and it was apparent her conversation had ended. Will pulled the door back and hurried to his bed. When she entered, he kept his eyes tightly closed.

  He heard light footsteps cross the room, and she stopped beside his pallet again. A soft rustling sound suggested she was doing something else, but she hadn’t moved on. Then something tickled his face. Will opened his eyes and found her face just inches above his own. Her hair had given her away.

  “What are you doing?” he asked calmly, though he already knew. Making certain I was still asleep before she crawled back into bed.

  Selene jumped, nearly falling back into the fire. He caught her hand and pulled her back, watching her face all the while. Her eyes darted to one side as she tried to find a reasonable excuse. She came to a decision and answered, “This,” and then she closed her eyes and leaned in, pressing her lips to his.

  Her action filled him with fury, for he knew it was a lie. She’d do anything to fool me. Was a kiss the limit? Who knew how far she would go to gain his trust? For a split second, he was tempted to find out, but instead he gently pushed her away. Remembering Tailtiu, he said the first thing that came to mind. “I didn’t give you permission to do that.”

  She flinched as though she had been slapped.

  “If you were fae, I could demand an unbound favor for something like that,” he added.

  Selene was already climbing onto her cot. She rolled over and put her back toward him. “Is that how they work? What does an unbound favor entail?”

  “Anything,” said Will coldly. “I could even demand your life.”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “Give me back my six clima,” said Will suddenly.

  Selene sat up violently, throwing back her blankets. He heard her bare feet slapping the wood floor as she stomped across the room to rummage through her things. She found her coin purse and extracted the coins, and he heard them scatter across the floor as she threw them in his direction. “There,” she said venomously. “Was it worth it?”

  “You tell me,” he snapped. “You think your kiss is worth six silver?”

  He heard her moving again, but he didn’t open his eyes. She lay back down, and the floor began to grow cold beneath him. “Asshole,” she muttered. “I hope you freeze to death.”

  Will got up, gathering his blankets, and moved to the other room. Maybe the goddamn cat will come looking for his rent and eat her, he thought ruefully.

  ***

  He rose early, since his sleep had been restless after their argument, and by the time his family began emerging from the bedroom, breakfast was nearly ready.

  “Where’s Selene?” asked Sammy.

  “Outside,” said Will, before muttering under his breath, “probably trying to warm up her cold, dead heart.”

  His cousin went to find her, and soon they were all crowded around the little table. Sammy made noises of appreciation as she enjoyed the food, but Erisa and Johnathan had already noticed the chill in the air. They exchanged meaningful glances. “Told you it was a bad idea,” said his uncle around a mouthful of food.

  “Shut up, Johnathan,” said Will’s mother.

  “Are you fighting?” asked Sammy innocently.

  “No,” Will said immediately.

  His cousin pointed at Erisa and her father. “I meant them.” Then she leaned closer to Will, squinting her eyes. “Something’s fishy about you.”

  Erisa bent in her chair and retrieved something from the floor. “What’s this?”

  “Oh,” said Will. “I dropped my coin purse yesterday.”

  “You need to be more careful with your money, William,” his mother chided.

  “Don’t worry, Erisa. He never forgets what he’s owed,” said Selene, her voice thick with sarcasm.

  “Well, that’s good to hear,” said his uncle. “What do you have planned for today?”

  “We should start scouting, I would imagine,” said Selene, filling her voice with false enthusiasm.

  “Not in the daylight,” said Will. “We’ll go tonight.”

  “You can’t be planning to go through the Glenwood at night,” said his uncle.

  Selene agreed. “If we create a magical light, it will give us away when we get close to the village. At least during the day we can—”

  He cut her off, “I can see in the dark.” Will got to his feet and headed for the door. “I hear really well too,” he said over his shoulder.

  “Where are you going?” asked his mother.

  “To kill some time. I’ll be back later.” Looking back, he saw a worried look on Selene’s face. Maybe it had been a bad idea to give away his hand, but he was feeling vindictive. Good. Let her worry.

  Chapter 57

  The Glenwood was a balm for his nerves. Through
out his life, Will had always retreated to it when anything bothered him. He didn’t go far, though, since there was always the chance he’d run into a Darrowan patrol. Instead he wandered in the direction of the first congruence he had found, the one that had changed his life.

  He stopped when he was close to it, but he had no intention of crossing. He did consider calling Tailtiu, but decided against it. There were still favors to collect, but he intended to take care of his problems on his own. The last thing he wanted was to have to deal with his sex-crazed fae aunt again.

  “What would Tailtiu do?” he wondered aloud. The answer to that was always simple. Of course, in his situation last night, it might have been more practical than what he had done. Seduce the girl to keep her from getting suspicious—that would have been a wiser course. Play off his enemy’s ignorance rather than give away what he had learned.

  “That’s easy,” said Tailtiu, standing behind him. “You should know me better by now.”

  He was startled, but he did his best not to show it. “What are you doing here?”

  “Looking for you. Mother wants to talk to you again.”

  “How did you know I was here?”

  “I didn’t. I crossed over to make it easier for you to find me when I called. Wait here.”

  She disappeared through the congruence and was gone for nearly a quarter of an hour before returning. Aislinn was with her when she reappeared. “Grandson,” she addressed him.

  He held up a hand. “Same terms as before? One hour, guarantee of peace afterward?”

  Aislinn smiled. “That will do fine.”

  “What do you want?”

  Arrogan’s one-time wife narrowed her eyes. “You have the scent of a woman on you.”

  “I just saw Mom and Sammy—”