Secrets and Spellcraft

by Michael G. Manning

  “I see.”

  He described Remi to her, then went on, “He’ll be sitting at a corner table inside the tavern. I want you to watch him. When he meets the man I’m interested in, he will scratch his head. After that, I want you to follow the person and find out where he goes. Stay with him until you’re sure he’s stopped for the night, then report back to me.”

  “Where will you be?” she asked.

  “I’ll be here with you at fifth bell, so I can point Remi out to you. I want to make sure you’re watching the right man. After that I’ll wait on top of one of the buildings near here.”

  Tailtiu looked unhappy. “I’ll have to be within the city for hours and hours.”

  “What’s wrong with that?”

  “It smells, and there’s iron everywhere. It’s extremely unpleasant.”

  “But you can do this, right?” asked Will.

  She lifted her chin. “Of course. Following a human is simple. Your kind are almost blind and deaf.”

  “Excellent. I’ll meet you back here at fifth bell.”

  “I’m not waiting inside the city until then,” she said firmly. “Call me when it is time. I’ll return then.”

  Chapter 33

  After a nice lunch at The Hanged Man, Will returned to Wurthaven and spent the next several hours finishing up a few more blood-cleanse potions. When he got tired of that, he practiced constructing the wind-wall spell. He was able to put it together without referring to the book now, but it was still a slow process that took nearly half a minute.

  When the time came, he returned to the city proper and made his way to The Mangy Dog, stopping in the street half a block from the tavern. He called Tailtiu and waited, though not for long—she appeared within a span of ten minutes.

  He handed her five silver clima. “You can use these to pay when they ask for money.”

  She sniffed. “I wouldn’t drink anything in that place.”

  “You don’t have to drink it. Just order a cup of ale and pretend to sip it. You’ll look strange if you don’t seem like you’re drinking.”

  “If you insist.”

  They waited, and half an hour later Will spotted Remi entering the tavern. “That’s him.”

  His aunt seemed disgusted. “Couldn’t you find a tastier specimen for me to watch? That one’s gone rotten already.”

  Will laughed. “He’s just old. Go inside and find a table. Make sure you can watch him easily without seeming obvious.”

  She looked down her nose at him. “Have you forgotten my age? This isn’t my first time in a human public house.”

  “Fine. Just don’t prey on any of the humans. You’re supposed to be a normal woman. Remember that.”

  “Be specific. By ‘prey’ you mean what exactly?”

  “Don’t kiss anyone or drain their turyn. No sex.”

  “I couldn’t do that anyway. Did you forget the accord?” she reminded him. “May I defend myself at least?”

  Will’s eyes narrowed. “From what?”

  Tailtiu ran her hands downward, framing her chest and sliding them along her hips. “You underestimate my appeal.”

  “Oh! Well, if something like that happens, of course you should defend yourself, but don’t start any trouble. Remember, the whole point of this is to discreetly follow the man that Remi meets with.”

  “No fornication, no fighting.” Tailtiu shook her head sadly. “I think you’ve deeply misunderstood my basic nature.”

  “I have faith that you will control your urges,” said Will.

  She winked back at him. “It’s not mine you should worry over, nephew.” Then she left, heading toward the front door of The Mangy Dog.

  Will walked farther down the street, until he reached the side alley he had picked out. Moving into its shadowy recess, he cast the climb spell and made his way to the roof, where he settled in for a long wait. The building he had chosen was half a block from the tavern, but he could easily observe its front door from where he was.

  People came and went, but he had no way of knowing which of them might be going in to meet with Remi. There really wasn’t much point in him watching at all, since he was sure Tailtiu could handle her job with ease. He merely needed to be somewhere close by to hear her report when she was done, and that might be much later.

  He heard a crash, and when he looked up, he saw a man tumble into the street. Did he get thrown out of the tavern? Will wondered. A second later someone screamed, and another man flew through the tavern entrance, as though he’d been launched by a catapult. More screams echoed down the street, and the pub’s patrons began spilling through the doors as they tried to escape the chaos inside.

  What the hell is happening? thought Will, feeling a sense of panic. Another body flew through a window that had been firmly shuttered, sending fragments of wood spinning outward. Smoke billowed out through the opening.

  He started for the edge of the roof so he could descend and see if Tailtiu needed help, but just then a dark streak of black fur darted through the doors and disappeared down a cross street. A wolf? She’s crazy.

  Leaning back down on the rooftop, Will closed his eyes. Everything was ruined. He didn’t know what had happened, but he was dead certain that a massive brawl followed by a fire meant that Tailtiu wouldn’t be able to follow his target. And I thought it was a brilliant idea to have her do the stalking for me.

  He stayed where he was. The plan was for her to meet him when she was done, and since the job was already spoiled, he didn’t think it would be long. After an hour had passed and she still hadn’t appeared he began to worry. What was taking her so long? I saw her escape. Surely, she didn’t get caught after that, did she? He wondered if he should descend and look for her, but he wouldn’t know where to begin.

  He whispered her name three times and felt the connection, along with a certain emotion from her end, not yet.

  “She’s alive, but what is she doing?” he muttered in frustration. Looking down the street, he was glad to see that the bucket brigade had succeeded in putting out the fire before the tavern had suffered too much damage.

  Another hour passed and he saw a dark form overhead, obscuring the stars. After a moment a giant owl descended, then transformed into his aunt. She smiled as she walked across the sloping slate tiles toward him. Her steps were confident and balanced, as though she was crossing over nothing more dangerous than level ground.

  “What happened?” he said flatly, not bothering to look at her.

  “I found his home,” she answered brightly. “I’ll show you.”

  Will lifted his head and looked at her in surprise. “How? I saw what happened back at the tavern. You didn’t follow him, you destroyed the place.”

  Her features showed confusion. “Nothing happened. Who says I didn’t follow him?” She paused, then she realized what he meant. “Oh, that! That was nothing. I had already marked him before that. He was well gone before all the fighting started.”

  “There wasn’t supposed to be any fighting,” spat Will. “You should have left right after your target did.”

  “I didn’t want to seem to obvious. Trust me. I’ve been stalking prey for far longer than you’ve been alive. And you said I could defend myself,” she answered with the air of someone who had been offended.

  Will got to his knees carefully to avoid sliding off the roof. “What happened then?”

  “I was attacked,” she said huffily.

  “You need to be a little more explicit for me.”

  “Oh, it was explicit. One of the men there grabbed me.” She groped her breast to illustrate her point. “Then he tried to kiss me.”

  Will’s mouth dropped. His aunt was practically the avatar of sexual assault. In fact, her service to him was in payment for one of several occasions that she had kissed him without permission. The idea that she would be offended by someone doing the same to her seemed ridiculous. “I’m not sure you should be the one to judge people for things like that,” he began.

&n
bsp; “You told me not to prey on them,” she reminded him. “Besides, I was trying to stay in character. A human woman would have taken great offense, so I merely played my part.”

  He stared at her in frank disbelief. “So what did this human woman you were pretending to be do, once she was insulted so rudely?”

  “Not much,” she said with a pout. “I threw him over the bar, but then the bartender started yelling because some of his crude glassware broke, and one of the man’s friends decided to try and grab my hair. I tried to respect the bartender’s complaints, so I threw that man across the room. He landed on another table, though, and the people there weren’t too happy about it.”

  Will covered his face with his hands. “What about the ones you tossed into the street?”

  She grinned mischievously. “That was a bit later. I warned them to leave me alone, but no one wanted to listen, so I had to be a little firm with them. I didn’t lose my temper until one of them tried to stab me with a nasty piece of iron. After that I had to get rough. Still, I don’t think any of them died.”

  “And the fire?”

  “Some fool knocked over an oil lamp.”

  “He knocked it over, or you threw him into it?”

  She pouted. “Is there a difference? Besides, I didn’t throw that one. I broke his leg while maneuvering him onto the bar, then I gave him a push. He landed on the lantern when he slid off the far end.”

  “What about the ones you threw into the street, or the one you tossed through a window?”

  His aunt shrugged. “There were so many. It’s hard to remember all the details. The important thing is that the bartender decided to escalate the situation when he pulled out a crossbow and pointed it at me. That’s when I decided to take the high road and leave.”

  “You call that taking the high road? You’d already destroyed the place!”

  “I didn’t kill him, though I should have, and the tavern is still there. Look, see?” She pointed down the street to where the blackened building still smoked.

  Will gave up. “You said you still managed to follow the target?”

  She nodded happily. “Shall I show you where he lives?”

  Will nodded, and she walked to the edge of the roof and casually stepped off. He followed more carefully, easing himself to the edge and casting the climb spell so he could get down safely. She was waiting for him. “You’re so slow. Why didn’t you jump?”

  He stared upward. The drop was at least twenty feet. “A fall like that might kill me. At the very least I’d probably break my ankles.”

  She shook her head. “Your people are too fragile. It’s a wonder you manage to live as long as you do.”

  He didn’t bother responding. Tailtiu led him through the alley and up one street, turning when they came to High Street. She had lost her dress and given up on appearing human, but her body seemed almost translucent. Under the dim streetlamps she was difficult to see. He followed her down High Street until she turned left and went north into one of the wealthy districts.

  The houses here were still crowded tightly together, but their quality and size were far removed from the structures in most of the rest of Cerria. Most of the houses were three stories tall, with brick or stone fronts and gated entrances. Will wasn’t too surprised, though. He had expected that the man paying Remi would be among the elite and powerful citizens of the capital.

  “That one,” said Tailtiu, pointing to a red brick house that was fronted by a tiny green garden surrounded by a wrought iron fence. An ornate carriage was parked in front of the gate. “The carriage wasn’t here when I left,” she observed.

  Will took note of the house number so he could find out who owned it later. Then he moved back a short distance to take advantage of a tiny gap between two buildings. He wanted to watch the house for a while. The owner of the carriage might be important.

  “Do you know whose house it is?” asked his aunt.

  Will shook his head.

  “We should go inside and see,” she suggested.

  “I don’t want them to know I’ve found them yet.”

  “Why?”

  “Because whoever it is might do something desperate, like try to kill me again.”

  “Again? If they’ve tried once you should just get rid of them. Should I do it for you?”

  Considering what she had just done back at the tavern, he had no doubt she could make good on her offer, but Will had a strict policy about allowing the fae to kill humans. It was a road he didn’t want to start down. “I don’t know who is in that house. It might be that most of the residents aren’t my enemies. There could be women and children.”

  “That’s foolish,” she replied. “Children grow up to be enemies, especially if you kill their parents, and women—they could be just as deadly, if not more so. Your values are warped.”

  “I don’t want to be lectured on my morals by an immortal and immoral fae, who kills without the slightest hesitation.” She started to reply, but he waved his hand at her to shush her. “Someone’s coming out,” he whispered.

  A servant had opened the door and a lady exited, escorted by a gentleman that Will didn’t recognize. He knew the lady, though. Her face was engraved on his heart. He watched wordlessly as a footman opened the carriage and the woman got inside. His body was frozen, and it seemed as if even his heart had stopped. He didn’t move or speak until the carriage had disappeared from view. “That was Selene,” he said in a hushed tone.

  “The girl who abandoned you in Barrowden? See! You should have just let me kill them all,” said Tailtiu helpfully.

  Will turned on her. “Tailtiu! Listen to my words. You are never to harm that woman. Do you understand? No matter what happens, whether I’m alive or dead. I don’t care if you see her stick a knife in my chest with your own eyes, she is to remain untouched. Is that clear?”

  Tailtiu’s eyes darkened until they seemed to eat the light. “Once you are gone, I will do as I please. Have you forgotten the accord? Your death will erase it. I will kill whoever I choose when that day comes.”

  “Not her,” said Will. “Please.”

  She leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “So long as you live, I will abide by that, but once you are gone, I will make only one promise. Since that woman is so dear to you, I will devour her without fail. She will be my first.”

  Dread filled his heart, but it was quickly replaced by fury. His hand moved on its own, and Will caught the fae woman by the throat and shoved her violently against the closest building. “Say that again and I will use my last favor to demand your life,” he hissed, grinding out the words one by one between clenched teeth. “Is that what you want?”

  Her cheeks colored but there was no fear in her eyes, only a twisted vision of enjoyment. “Such passion! Surprising in such a meek lamb. Very well, I will withdraw the promise, but if you expect me to reverse it and guarantee her protection you will have to bind me with your last favor. Are you willing to spend it so carelessly?”

  Will’s anger began to subside, but he was tempted to give the order, just to be safe. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his head. He wasn’t thinking rationally. I’ve let her get to me. She’s trying to force me to spend my last unbound favor.

  “Say the word,” she urged. “I am yours to command, after all.”

  “Go,” he ordered. “I have no further need of you tonight.”

  Tailtiu looked disappointed. He released her and she walked away, glancing back only once. “Until then.”

  Chapter 34

  He left the fake antidote with Jared at The Hanged Man, along with a note for Remi expressing his sincere desire to never need to find the man again. He doubted Remi would need another lesson, though. Will had scared the rogue pretty badly during their last encounter.

  Will’s next week went by without trouble. Rather than ask around in town, he found Rob and asked him how to send a letter to Count Spry. His friend immediately brought up the fact that the count was still in the city a
nd that a letter should be delivered to his city house. With a small amount of digging, Rob found the address for him.

  As he had suspected, the house number and street name were a match for the place Tailtiu had found. But why was Selene there? he wondered. It was possible that she had merely had some innocuous reason for visiting the man. She was a princess after all, and the count was one of the most highly ranked noblemen in the nation. She might have been there to socialize or even for some political purpose, but the timing was suspicious.

  Knowing for certain that Count Spry was still hiring killers to catch him didn’t feel like much of an improvement over merely suspecting the man. He still couldn’t do anything about it. Not unless he was willing to do something along the lines of what Tailtiu had suggested. It had a certain practical appeal, but Will had two big reasons not to take such a course. One, he wasn’t sure he could manage such a feat. He had no idea what type of protections or defenses the count had. Two, he wasn’t calloused enough to be willing to kill the man in cold blood. I’m not an assassin, he told himself. No matter what some people seem to think.

  With no clear options, he put his heart and effort into his classes and personal projects. With Janice’s help, he began to make tangible progress in Composition. His penmanship was gradually improving, and his writing skills went from terrible to merely poor. When he had informed Janice of his plan to finance her remaining years at Wurthaven she had been skeptical, but over time she warmed to the idea.

  As their friendship deepened, she also warmed to him in tiny ways that made him nervous. She sat closer, and he caught her looking at him with an odd look in her eyes now and then. He couldn’t be sure, though. It was possible he was misreading her intentions, but on several occasions she mentioned how futile his romantic feelings for Selene were, and he took that as a warning.