Secrets and Spellcraft

by Michael G. Manning

  He was absorbing turyn as fast as he could, but the reaction with the demon’s body devoured it more quickly than he could replace it. Will concentrated, forcing everything he had into his hands, until he felt the demon’s heart disintegrate. Then he sank to the floor beside the corpse.

  Holding up his hands, he could see that the skin had burned away, but before his eyes it was beginning to regrow. Testing his legs, he found that he could wiggle his toes again.

  Selene was already up again, drawing from her elementals to replace what he had taken, and she shuffled over and sat down beside him with a thump. “I don’t know whether to be mad at you or to thank you.”

  Will smiled. “Just don’t kill yourself.”

  She grimaced. “You saw that?” A dark chuckle issued from her throat. “Don’t worry. I didn’t have the courage. I’m too much of a coward.”

  Will tried to sit up and failed. His turyn was recovering, but the regeneration potion was wreaking havoc on his senses. The room was swaying beneath him and his muscles felt weak. On the far side of the room his eyes lit on something familiar on Selene’s dressing table.

  Five potion vials sat there, and while he couldn’t see the labels, he knew what was in them, for he had chosen distinct, fluted glass vials when he had made them. It was his universal antidote potions. She was the one who bought them.

  Booted feet echoed through the chamber as five guards stormed into the room, accompanied by a well-dressed man in a bloodied doublet. The leader’s hair was red, which matched the flames crackling around him, for he was surrounded by a fire elemental. His eyes took in the scene, lingering over Selene for a second before focusing on Will. “Assassin!” The lord’s sword came up and darted toward Will.

  “No!” yelled Selene, her voice cracking with authority. “He slew the demons! Stay your wrath, Lord Spry.” A stone shield shot up from the floor to keep the nobleman’s sword from reaching its target.

  Ignoring his dizziness through sheer stubbornness, Will got slowly to his feet. He had never seen Dennis Spry’s father, but he wouldn’t show weakness in front of the man.

  “Who is this man?” demanded Count Spry. Selene’s stone shield sank slowly into the floor now that the threat had passed.

  Selene started to answer, “No one of importance—”

  But Will wasn’t having it. The blood and terror had left him in a strange state. With a twisted grin, he answered, “William Cartwright, at your service, milord.”

  The count’s eyes widened with surprise. Quicker than thought, his sword snapped up and he thrust it at Will. The point entered where one of the demon’s claws had torn his brigandine apart, passing through Will’s right shoulder and pushing against his armor in the back.

  Selene stared at the scene with horrified eyes, but Will merely grimaced. The pain was intense, but his anger was greater still. Catching the count’s wrist with his left hand, he balled his other into a fist and launched a wide haymaker at the count’s head.

  Count Spry fell back, his sword going with him, and he landed on the floor with a stunned expression. His guards began to rush forward, but another stone barrier sprang up, blocking their path. “Get out of my chambers, now!” ordered Selene.

  The count stared up at Will with hate-filled eyes. “You murdered my son, and now you dare come here, into her room?”

  Will could feel the flesh in his chest beginning to knit together once more, but he had to cough to bring up the blood from his ruptured lung. He smiled at the count with blood-stained teeth. A fresh wave of fatigue washed over him as the regeneration took its toll, but he still replied with a coarse gurgle, “Someone had to protect what you could not.” His legs began to give out, but Selene caught him.

  Another figure appeared, King Lognion, flanked by two of his personal guards. His sharp eyes took in the scene and then he addressed Count Spry, “I see you take your duties seriously, Lord Spry.”

  “Your Majesty.” The count scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply.

  “Lord Spry, return to your chambers. I will call for you shortly as I begin to unravel this mess.” The king then glanced at his daughter. “Take your pet wizard to see Doctor Rhalish. If he doesn’t die, I would very much like to hear what he has to say. Return to me once he’s settled.”

  Selene began to help Will out, but the count protested, “My liege! You cannot allow—”

  Lognion’s stern gaze landed on the count with the force of a hammer. “What I allow is entirely within my purview, Lord Spry. I have given you what you wanted. Do not test my patience further.”

  Selene pulled him along, draping his arm over one shoulder, and soon they were out of the room. “Is the potion still working?” she asked softly.

  “I think so,” Will answered, feeling fuzzy. “But it’s hard to keep my eyes open.”

  “If you die, I’ll be sorely disappointed,” she said sternly.

  His legs gave out and he began to sag toward the floor, but Selene hauled him upward and slipped her other arm beneath his legs, lifting him like a child. Given their size difference, she was forced to lean sharply back to maintain her balance as she continued walking.

  “I can die happily in your arms,” said Will, his eyes closing.

  “Keep dreaming,” she replied.

  “Your arms and back are going to hurt like hell tomorrow.”

  She chuckled. “Unlike you, I don’t have to push my body past its limits. I have other options.”

  Cracking one eye open, Will saw stone encasing her upper arms and shoulders. She was using her earth elemental to reinforce her body. Nice trick, he thought.

  “It only took you ten seconds to nearly undo all my work of the past few weeks,” she intoned sadly.

  “What work?”

  “Keeping you safe, fool.”

  “I wasn’t worried,” said Will. “He didn’t know about the potion.”

  “That’s not what I meant, although for a moment I wondered if it would be better if you died. Then I could—” She stopped herself with a shake of her head.

  “I hear that a lot,” said Will.

  “You don’t have to worry about Count Spry any longer,” she informed him.

  Will smiled. “I thought you might have had something to do with the blood-price being lifted.”

  “Give some of the credit to my father. It was his idea, and without his support the count would not have agreed. There will be no more attempts on your life.”

  “I saw you at the count’s house,” said Will.

  She stiffened. “Oh.”

  “I tracked the man hiring the killers back to him and you were there.”

  “That was the day we came to an understanding,” she responded, her voice empty of emotion.

  “What understanding?”

  “The one in which you get to live,” she said acerbically. “Assuming you can keep from goading him into stabbing you again.”

  “All I did was introduce myself,” said Will innocently. “Besides, your understanding must not be very good. I was ambushed a few days ago by assassins and a demon.” His consciousness began to fade.

  The last thing he heard was her question, “What? Where?”

  Chapter 39

  He awoke a short time later, or so he hoped. He couldn’t be entirely sure, but the window in the room showed a dark sky outside, so unless he had slept until the next night it could only have been a few hours. Glancing down, he saw that his chest was bare. Will lifted the blanket covering his lower half and saw that the rest of his clothes had been removed as well.

  His skin was smooth and unblemished. At least the potion did a good job on me, he thought.

  A grey-haired man who he hadn’t yet noticed stood up from a chair beside the bed. “You’re awake. I’ll fetch His Majesty. He will want to speak with you.” The old man left the room before Will could reply.

  “Great,” muttered Will. He sat up and searched the room with his eyes. His clothes, tunic, brigandine, trousers, none of them were anywhe
re to be seen. “Every time I come here, they steal my clothes.”

  He was tempted to summon a change of clothes from the limnthal, but he knew Lognion wouldn’t miss such a detail, and the less that man knew the better.

  The door opened and Lognion Maligant, King of Terabinia, stepped inside. He shut the door behind him and took a seat on the stool beside Will’s bed. “Care to explain how you came to be in my daughter’s chambers this evening?”

  “I was following a demon,” said Will. “Or so I thought. It turns out there were three.”

  “Actually, there were twelve,” said the king. “Only three made it that far. There were also twenty soldiers.” He held out a scrap of fabric that looked as though it had been cut from a uniform. The crest of Darrow was stitched onto it. “What do you think of this?”

  Will frowned. “It seems too obvious.”

  “Unless they didn’t care if we knew who it was,” said Lognion, “but I agree. In light of the fact that the Patriarch is currently suing for peace, it seems counterproductive to announce their identities.”

  “What will you do?”

  The king turned his piercing eyes on Will. “You’ll find out when the time comes, William Cartwright, for I intend to make good use of you.”

  Will swallowed. As he stared back at the king, he thought about his promise to kill the man. They were alone, without guards or other obstacles. If he’d had a force-lance prepared in advance, he might have been tempted. But there were four elementals floating above Lognion’s shoulders and he had a strong feeling the man was likely to be a formidable spellcaster as well. Even with the element of surprise, Will might fail. He wondered if the king could sense the treachery in his heart, and cold perspiration broke out on his temples.

  Lognion smiled coldly. “No need to be so nervous, William. I am your king, not your enemy. However, there is one thing that troubles me. If you followed the demons in, how did you get ahead of them? Count Spry and the others were held back by the fighting, yet you were already in Selene’s room.”

  His mouth felt dry. “I didn’t follow them all the way. When I found the dead guards at the postern gate, I followed them to the palace, then climbed the wall to Selene’s window.”

  “Honesty suits you, William,” said Lognion. “But how did you know which window was hers?”

  He had no good reason for such knowledge, and yet he couldn’t tell the king that he’d consulted a demigod—that would only make the man more suspicious of his motives. “I wasn’t completely sure, but I’ve been watching the palace.”

  “Spying on her? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

  I’m dead. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  The king’s eyes lit with gleeful malice. “You display entirely too much attachment to my daughter, Mister Cartwright. We’ve already discussed this, yet here we are.”

  “She might be dead if I hadn’t,” reminded Will.

  Lognion leaned over, then hammered Will into the wall with a blinding jab. “Whether my daughter lives or dies is my concern, William, not yours. Her life’s purpose is to serve me, in life or in death. There might even come a day when I require her death. If that were the case now, then your intervention would be treason.”

  Will could barely see out of one eye, and his head felt fuzzy from the impact with the wall. Even so, he could hardly believe the words he was hearing. He’s her father!

  “Although you are not as close to me, William, your life is also mine, for weal or woe. I am the one who decides whether your heart’s blood is of more use to me inside your body, or whether it would be better pooling on the floor at my feet. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  The king’s demeanor changed, and his voice took on a cheerful tone. “However, it is your good fortune that I did not, in fact, desire my daughter’s death at this time. Therefore you have done me a service. I should probably reward you.” The king smiled broadly. “Is there anything you desire? Speak freely. I am willing to give you almost anything within my power.”

  The sudden change of mood, so suddenly after the violence, had Will feeling as though he was standing above a pit full of vipers. “I’m not sure.”

  “I imagine you’d like to marry Selene, wouldn’t you?” Lognion winked knowingly.

  Will was afraid to answer, but his feelings must have shown on his face.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t punish you for admitting the truth.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of such a gift, Your Majesty, unless she also desired such a thing. For me it would be sufficient if you allow me to be her friend.”

  “It’s good that you know your place, for I will not give you her hand, not for something so mundane as saving her life. I would require something much greater from you first.” The king leaned back, seeming to relax. “Very well. I will allow you to be her friend, however letters and words are all you may exchange. This doesn’t seem like much of a reward, though. I would prefer to give you land and a title. Fulstrom’s place is still vacant. Would that interest you?”

  Suspicious, Will responded carefully, “I’m not sure I’m worthy of such a thing.”

  “Of course, you aren’t,” said the king. “I only allow men of power to hold title in my kingdom. You would have to accept an elemental first.”

  “Then I will have to decline, Your Majesty,” answered Will nervously, “though I mean no insult in so doing.”

  “Whether you intend it or not, I am insulted, William. I am tempted to have you whipped for your presumption. Does this change your answer?”

  “No, Your Majesty. My old master was against the practice of sorcery. It would dishonor his memory if I became a sorcerer.” He spoke slowly, and each word felt like a nail being hammered into his coffin.

  “Arrogan, you mean,” said Lognion flatly. “You think honoring the Betrayer’s memory is more important than serving your king?”

  Will shook his head. “Can’t I do both? Honor my dead master and serve my king? They don’t seem mutually exclusive to me.”

  The king rose to his feet, disappointment written on his face. “You can try, but eventually you will fail. In the end you will likely die tied to a whipping post.” Lognion sighed. “Not that I mind. Watching a proud man be whipped to death is good entertainment. Just remember this conversation when that day comes, William. You could have had much more, if not for your pride.”

  Lognion headed for the door, then turned back. “Not to worry, William. I won’t kill you today, but let me remind you, you are in my debt. You would already be dead or in prison if Count Spry were allowed to have his way. Buying his forbearance was expensive, and I will extract the cost from you in service. Only once that has been repaid in full will I consider entertaining myself with your death.”

  Will waited until the king had left and the door clicked shut before he exhaled explosively, releasing the tension in his chest. What the hell did that mean? He spent the next quarter of an hour trying to decide whether he was in trouble or was being rewarded. At least I can talk to Selene without her getting in trouble. Assuming I ever see her. Or I can send letters. That’s good, right?

  He waited in the room for an hour, unsure what to do. He wasn’t wounded, aside from his newly acquired black eye. He was fully recovered, and other than being slightly fatigued and sleep deprived, he felt perfectly capable of returning to the dorm.

  But he hadn’t been dismissed. So he continued to wait. Secretly he hoped that he would see Selene again.

  Will felt cheated when he was rewarded only by the appearance of one of the palace servants, an old man carrying a fresh tunic, trousers, and Will’s boots. “Your clothes were ruined so His Majesty ordered that we replace them. Your boots have been cleaned and oiled.”

  “And my armor?” Will knew the brigandine was probably not worth saving. It had been badly in need of repair before his fight with the demon and he doubted it was worth salvaging now.

  “It couldn’t be saved. I’m sorry, Mister Cartwrigh
t. His majesty sent this as a reward and to compensate you.” The old man produced a heavy coin pouch.

  Will nodded. “Thank you. Am I free to leave now?”

  The servant nodded, then backed out of the room. Will waited until the door closed before examining the pouch. It was packed with gold crowns. He hefted it with one hand. He’d gotten accustomed to large amounts of gold lately, and he judged there were probably around a hundred coins within. He felt grateful for a moment, until he considered that he’d used two regeneration potions worth at least a thousand crowns. Potions he might never be able to replace.

  “It was worth it, though,” he told himself. He’d have used them all if it was necessary and getting to see the look on Count Spry’s face after the man thought he had killed him had been worth the cost. Will dressed and departed the palace.

  Back in his dorm room, Will consulted the ring. “You won’t believe what happened.”

  “Did your balls finally drop?”

  Will ignored the remark. “The goddamn cat took me to the palace. Demons and soldiers had broken in and they were after Selene.” He launched into an impromptu description of what had occurred, putting particular emphasis on his face-off with Count Spry and his ambiguous conversation with the king afterward.

  Arrogan crowed with glee. “I bet the bastard count was crestfallen when you didn’t die.”

  Will grinned. “I hit him so hard he fell on his ass.”

  “Why did you turn down the king’s offer?”

  Surprised, Will responded, “Because I won’t be a sorcerer. I thought you’d agree with my decision.”

  “I appreciate your sincerity, but was that the only reason?”

  “It was the main one. Plus, if he gives me land and a title, I’ll have to swear fealty.”

  “Technically you owe fealty anyway, whether you’re a landed lord or a lowly peasant.”

  “I’ve never sworn it with my own mouth,” said Will stubbornly. “Besides, I’ve promised to kill him. I’ve been wondering if I wasted my opportunity.”