Secrets and Spellcraft

by Michael G. Manning

  Annabelle seemed depressed by the news. “Have you seen her?”

  “No. I asked her for the favor before we got you out of Barrowden, but I wasn’t sure if she would remember it after everything that happened.”

  Johnathan spoke again. “Well, whatever you told her must have been good. When Eric visited, he had not only a coat of mail but a breastplate and a new helm. Did you know he bought out his conscription?”

  “No,” said Will.

  His uncle nodded. “He’s a corporal now, and with some luck he might make sergeant in another year or two.”

  Will was happy for his cousin, and slightly jealous. He had just made corporal himself when he’d been forced into the circumstances that led to him winding up in Wurthaven. His military career had come to an abrupt end. And what am I now? A student with few prospects and an axe hanging over my head. “I wish I had been here to see him.”

  “He should be back in a week,” said Erisa.

  “You should see him,” put in Sammy. “He’s huge now! Even his muscles have muscles. I think he’s even stronger than Papa!”

  Eric had always tended more to muscle than Will had. Not that he was small by any means. Will had gained more height, and his military time had given him a respectable amount of muscle, but he suspected that Eric had continued to surpass him.

  Annabelle patted his forearm. “It’s all right, Will, some of us prefer men on the leaner side.”

  He pulled his arm away hastily and Erisa frowned. “I wish I could stay, but I can’t,” he informed them. “I have to get back as soon as possible. When Eric comes back, ask him to check on my friends from Company B, Tiny and Dave. I’d like to know how they’re doing.”

  Deep down, Will wished he could leave enough money to afford mail for Tiny and Dave. He had the coin now, but he needed every crown if he was going to have a chance of paying the blood-price he owed.

  “You’ll stay for a day at least, won’t you?” asked his mother.

  “I can’t.”

  Erisa scowled. “Your clothes aren’t even dry. You should wait a while and by then it will be afternoon. You should wait and leave tomorrow morning.”

  “The places I’m traveling through have different times of night and day. Some of the journey will be at night no matter when I leave. Besides, darkness isn’t really a problem for me anymore.” He tapped his temple, next to his eyes. “The sooner I return the better.” I have to make these potions and find a way to sell them before Friday, he thought, otherwise my goose is cooked.

  Of course, there was another option available to him. He could run. With Tailtiu’s help he could go almost anywhere, places where Count Spry’s men could never find him. But that wouldn’t keep his family safe. Now that they were meeting with Eric, the secret of their hiding place wasn’t so secret anymore. If Count Spry couldn’t find him, he might well decide to take revenge on those close to him.

  “I should be able to bring money next time,” said Will.

  “Eric’s been helping us lately,” said Johnathan. “Don’t worry too much. We’ll be fine. It can’t be easy for you to travel this far.”

  “It isn’t as hard as you might think,” said Will, trying not to remember the fel-wolves. He got to his feet. “I need to look at Grandfather’s books before I go.”

  The bookshelves in Arrogan’s bedroom were pretty much just as they had been, although Erisa had added a few decorations here and there. Will summoned the limnthal so he could speak to the ring. “I need to find the recipe for the regeneration potion.”

  “And you think I can help with that?” asked the ring dourly.

  “I’m in your old bedroom,” clarified Will. “But I don’t have time to search through every book for it.”

  “Gidding’s Apothecary will have it,” said Arrogan.

  “Isn’t that the first book on alchemy you showed me?”

  “It’s the main one,” the ring informed him. “All the good recipes are in there.”

  Will scanned the shelves until he found the massive tome, then stored it in his limnthal. “Are there any books with battle spells here?” he asked.

  “Not for you,” said the ring waspishly.

  “Are they too difficult?”

  “Most of them are too easy—deceptively so. You’re just beginning to learn. You shouldn’t mess with things like that until you’re able to handle more difficult magic.”

  “That makes no sense. You just said they were easy,” snapped Will.

  “A five-year-old has the strength to pick up a knife, but would you hand him a shaving razor? Of course not. You teach him to play ball, you fine-tune his athletic skills. You let him grow up and learn restraint. Battle spells are simple and deadly. With them you could kill or injure dozens with a small mistake. Even worse, you could kill yourself. Grow up first. Learn the hard stuff, hone your skills. Then you can think about picking up spells that kill.”

  “I’m not a child,” said Will, though even to his own ears, he sounded petulant.

  “How did you escape the trolls?” asked Arrogan, shifting gears.

  “I used the demon-armor spell. You told me they were afraid of fire, so I hoped it would scare them enough so I could get to the crossing point.”

  “The demon-armor spell is a battle spell, but a relatively safe one. The important thing, though, is that you used it creatively. You need to learn many more spells and gain experience using them in unexpected ways before you jump into something as crude and stupid as simply blowing people up. If you aren’t willing to do that, you may as well get a fire elemental and give up on mastering true magic, because you won’t be much better than a goddamn sorcerer.”

  “That’s all well and good, but it won’t make much difference if I get killed before I gain the sort of mastery you’re talking about,” argued Will.

  “Then it’s better if you die,” said the ring coldly. “How many times do you think I used battle spells to kill people?”

  “Considering all the people you supposedly killed, I’d imagine you used them pretty frequently.”

  “Wrong. Even if you’re trying to kill someone, it’s very rare for the best option to be a spell of mass destruction,” said Arrogan.

  “I don’t want mass destruction! Any destruction would be good, even something small, or a way to defend myself.”

  “Listen up, boy. There are a few books in this room with those sorts of spells, but you’ll never find them. Not the way you are now, and I’m not going to help you, because those books also contain a few spells that could do things like slaughter everyone in Cerria. I’d rather you meet an unfortunate end than take a risk that a novice like you might stumble across a spell that could cause that sort of havoc. Stick to the book I left you, Practical Magic. There’s plenty in there to help you.”

  “Yeah, I can climb walls and open locks,” said Will sarcastically.

  “Two spells they would never teach you in that pig wallow you call a school,” snapped the ring angrily. “The same goes for most of the other spells you’ll find in Practical Magic. And yes, a few of them can be used to lethal effect. Be patient and eventually you might be as much of a wizard as that girl you keep pining for.”

  “Selene isn’t a wizard.”

  “She’s more of a wizard than you. You told me about that cleaning spell she created. Assuming you weren’t lying, that thing is a work of genius. Her only fault lies in not having been trained properly from the beginning, that and having elementals, of course. You could learn a thing or two from her.”

  “Could she learn?” asked Will suddenly. “Could I teach her, the way you did me?”

  “A muttonhead like you couldn’t teach a pig to find mud.”

  Will ignored the insult, having long ago become used to Arrogan’s inflammatory invective. “But is it possible?”

  “It’s possible, if you ever figure out how to find your head from your asshole. The spell-cage spell is in the book I left you as well, not that you’re close to being able to
use it. If you ever become skilled enough to use that cleaning spell of hers, then you might consider trying it.”

  “Is the spell-cage spell that hard?”

  “No. The point here is that you need to learn finesse before you start putting other people’s lives at risk.”

  “William?” It was his mother’s voice.

  Will dismissed the limnthal and turned around. “I think I found it.”

  “Were you talking to someone?” asked Erisa.

  How could he explain the Ring of Vile and Unspeakable Knowledge and Power to her? It wasn’t impossible, but it was a long conversation he didn’t really feel like having. “Just talking out loud,” he told her. “How are my clothes?”

  “Damp. You shouldn’t wear them yet. You’ll catch cold.”

  “I have an idea.” He went out the front door to examine his clothes, which were draped across the porch rail. With a moment’s concentration, he assembled the spell he had been using to clean his clothes for the past few weeks. He’d never used it on already clean clothes, but he reasoned that a relative lack of dirt wouldn’t stop it from working. Sammy followed him out to see what he was doing.

  A cloud of water vapor appeared, then rapidly dissipated, leaving his tunic and trousers bone dry. Will smiled and turned toward Sammy, who was staring at him with wide eyes. “They’re dry now.”

  “That was amazing,” said Sammy in awe. She tentatively reached out to feel the fabric. “Are you sure you won’t move back home? You could save me so much time.”

  He ran his hand down Sammy’s coppery curls. “Sorry, little fox, I can’t stay.”

  “Little fox?” His cousin’s eyes studied him as she tried to decide if the term was an attempt to tease her.

  “Little fox,” repeated Will, tapping the end of her nose. “Red hair, pointy nose—you remind me of a fox kit.”

  “Hmmm.” Sammy looked thoughtful. “I guess I’ll allow it.” She gave him a quick hug, then Will took the clothes to the bedroom and swapped them for the robe he was wearing.

  Suitably dressed, Will said his goodbyes and went back outside. Everyone stood on the porch and waved to him as he left. Will gave them a return wave and marched resolutely into the forest. Despite his resolve, he really didn’t want to leave. The world that waited on him was lonely and full of danger.

  Chapter 28

  The return trip with Tailtiu was similar, but this time they took a longer route, avoiding the region of Faerie where the darklings lived. It added a few hours to the trip, but Will felt it was worth it. Now that he had acquired what he needed, he felt less uncertainty about the future. He had a rough idea of how long it would take to make the potions, so the remaining variable was whether he would be able to sell them before Friday and whether they would fetch a price high enough to solve his problem.

  It was early Monday afternoon when he finally got back to Wurthaven. Will even managed to make it to his last class, Spell Theory. As soon as that was done, he wanted to start on the regeneration potions, but lack of sleep was making it difficult to focus, so he went back to the dorm and went to bed early.

  He woke several hours before dawn and made use of his time by going to the Alchemy building and arranging the initial setup for the regeneration potions. He wouldn’t have enough time to start the first phase, but he wanted to have everything ready for the next evening once he was done with Spell Theory.

  That done, he went to his Fencing class. It was his first appearance in almost a week, so he had some explaining to do, which he glossed over by claiming to have been ill for most of the previous week. It wasn’t too far from the truth, aside from omitting the reason he had been so ill.

  After that was Composition, in which Janice shot questioning glances at him, though she didn’t have a chance to ask where he’d been the previous day. She caught him in the hall after class since they both had half an hour before History would start. “Where were you yesterday? I thought you were well enough for class.”

  “I had to run some errands.”

  She looked suspiciously at him. “What errands?”

  “I had to get an ingredient for a potion I’m making,” he answered truthfully.

  Janice looked him up and down. “You didn’t get banged up this time, or are you hiding new wounds?”

  Will looked away, feigning innocence. “I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

  “You still haven’t told me what happened to you last week. Were you in a fight? I saw the wounds on your shoulder.” She paused, then lowered her voice, “Did you kill someone?”

  He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. Actually, yes, I did kill someone, or possibly two someones, he thought. Opening them again, he fixed her with a level stare. “Is that what you think of me?”

  Janice didn’t flinch. “Well, did you?”

  He looked around to make certain no one was close by. “Actually, I went into the city to sell some potions. I was ambushed on the way back. I had to defend myself.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “And?”

  “And I may have killed someone. I definitely wounded each of them. I didn’t wait around to see how they fared afterward,” he told her. It wasn’t quite the truth, but it was close enough.

  “Them? How many were there?” she hissed.

  “Several,” he said sullenly. “The less you know the better.”

  “Bull,” she said angrily. “It was because of me, wasn’t it? Did Count Spry set them on you?”

  He shook his head, then lied, “Probably not. I think they saw me getting paid when I sold the potions. They were just regular ruffians.”

  “I don’t know why I bother asking. You never give me straight answers anyway,” she huffed. After a brief pause, she added, “Tell me about Selene.”

  His cheeks reddened, and he asked tentatively, “Was that you?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Well, Seth didn’t seem very flustered, so—” Janice’s gaze hardened as he spoke, so he quickly changed tactics. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t myself. Thank you for taking care of me, in spite of my strange behavior.”

  Her features softened. “I wasn’t mad, until you mentioned Seth. Being mistaken for a princess is one thing, being confused with your ex-roommate is another thing entirely. Just don’t let it happen again.”

  “Thanks,” he said humbly. “And once again, sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You were delirious. I’m still worried about you, though. You realize you’re heading for disaster, don’t you?”

  Which one? he wondered. “How so?”

  “You’ve made an enemy of one of the most powerful noblemen in Terabinia and you’re in love with the king’s daughter. I don’t see this ending well for you.”

  Will tried to laugh it off. “I’ve been told I make poor choices.”

  “Well, at least one of them is my fault, so depending on who kills you, I may feel responsible.”

  “I’ll try to make sure it’s the king that kills me then,” he joked.

  “That isn’t funny.”

  He gave up on humor. “In any case, Dennis wasn’t your fault. He chose to do what he did, and I chose to take the law into my own hands. You weren’t responsible for either one of those things.” Anxious to end the conversation, he looked around. “I think it’s almost time for History.”

  The rest of the day passed without event, and after supper that evening, he returned to the Alchemy building. The first stage of the regeneration potion involved bringing the troll urine to a boil under high pressure. Apparently, this was necessary to ensure that no living matter from the troll donor survived within the fluid. While he waited on that to finish, he used his time to activate more of the blood-cleanse potions.

  He worked until almost midnight, finishing the sterilization and setting up the next stage of the process. During the dead time while he waited on the second stage to finish, he finished a total of five of the blood-cleanse potions. By the time he had cleaned up and made his way to bed, he was d
ead tired and ready for sleep.

  The next day he followed the same pattern, completing five more of the blood-cleanse potions and finishing the purification of the final ingredients in the regeneration potions. His yield had been good, and given the amount of urine he had started with, it appeared he would be able to make nearly ten of the regeneration potions.

  Professor Karlovic stopped by the workshop where Will was working as he was leaving for the night. “I see you’re hard at work.”

  Will looked up and nodded. “Yes, sir. I didn’t see you yesterday, but I have something I think you’ll be interested in.”

  “Which is?”

  “I’m working on regeneration potions,” said Will. “I should have some ready tomorrow, but I need to sell them quickly.”

  The professor’s brows rose in amazement. “How? The main ingredient is impossible to get.”

  “I went to Muskeglun. I traded ale for urine.”

  Karlovic was shaking his head in disbelief. “But you don’t speak their language, do you? No, of course you don’t. No one does anymore. How did you make yourself understood?”

  “I found some notes and advice left behind in an old journal from my master,” said Will, bending the truth. “That and some luck got me what I needed.”

  “I’d like to see that journal,” said the professor. “Your old teacher obviously had a lot of secrets.”

  “Sorry, Professor. I promised not to share his work. Perhaps someday, when I’m older and I’ve understood it all. Maybe I could become a teacher. I think there’s a lot of old knowledge that the world could benefit from.”

  Professor Karlovic frowned. “Where did you get the recipe for the regeneration potion? Was that in his journal as well?”

  “He had a copy of Gidding’s Apothecary. I copied the recipe from there.”

  “That’s a restricted book,” said the professor. “The recipes are dangerous and inappropriate for modern alchemy. That’s why I’ve worked so hard to find new methods to produce alchemical products. How did your former teacher come to possess a copy?”

  “He wasn’t a modern wizard,” said Will simply.