Secrets and Spellcraft

by Michael G. Manning

  “Are you going to ask?” said Selene. “Or should I keep standing here? The music is starting again.”

  His eyes snapped into focus. “Would you like to dance?”

  Selene flowed toward him, and Will’s breath caught in his throat as they moved onto the floor. It took him a moment to get his breathing under control, but once he had, the first words that dropped from his lips were, “I’m sorry.”

  “No, you’re not,” she said without bitterness. “You believe what you believe. I disagree, but I won’t hate you for it. I can’t.”

  Will was amazed by her calm demeanor. “You seem remarkably accepting,” he noted.

  Her eyes met his for a moment, flashing an array of hidden emotions, then she looked away. “The past week has helped me find some perspective. Life is too short to bear grudges. Things are as they are. It’s no use bemoaning what I can’t change.”

  Selene’s cool wisdom tore at his heart. I don’t want you to accept things as they are, he cried internally. His arm tightened and he pulled her closer. “We could run away,” he whispered.

  “And do what?” she replied. “There’s nowhere we could hide.”

  “I could take you anywhere. Trendham, maybe.”

  “If I gave up the elementals. Is that what you mean?” said Selene.

  “I don’t care anymore,” said Will, letting his desperation show.

  She pulled away, creating a little space between them. “You forget that I’m a slave,” she remarked, a challenge in her voice.

  “Prove me wrong. If you’re right he can’t stop us, and if you’re wrong, I’ll come back and free you, even if I have to move mountains to do it.”

  Selene’s face held a look of resignation. “I’ve already made my decision, Will. No one’s forcing me. Malcolm is a decent man, despite how his son turned out. It isn’t as bad as you think, and if this will appease his need for vengeance, then it’s worth it to me.”

  He wanted to scream, but he kept his calm. “It isn’t worth it to me.”

  “You’ll get over it,” she said quietly. “There are other women. Your partner tonight is beautiful, and from what I’ve seen, intelligent as well. She comports herself well.”

  Despite her smooth words, Will could sense the jealousy hidden behind them. How can she be so cool and collected? he wondered. Is it something they train into aristocrats from birth? His jaw clenched. “Whatever you think is going to happen, won’t,” he warned.

  “What does that mean?”

  “I’m not going to quietly accept this. They’ll have to drag me away from your wedding in chains, so forget about protecting me. I’ll just ruin all your hard work,” he told her.

  She scowled at him. “Don’t ruin our only dance.”

  “Can’t we have another?”

  “I’m expected to move around,” she said sadly. “It’s a fact of life for me. Everyone wants a moment.”

  “I’ll visit you tomorrow,” said Will, abandoning his pride.

  “I won’t be there,” said Selene. “My future husband and I are attending a social at Lord Courtney’s home.”

  “Then the next day,” he suggested.

  “Father expects me to entertain foreign dignitaries.”

  “The day after that?”

  She gave him a sad look. “Give up, Will.” Then she began listing her itinerary for the next week, just to show him how hopeless it was. He listened in despair, until one particular name caught his attention. “—and Friday we’re attending a party hosted by Duchess Arenata,” she finished.

  His heart sped up and his mind began to race.

  Selene went on, “Besides, what happened was a mistake. I don’t intend to meet you again. I’ll honor my promise, now as well as after the wedding.”

  “Don’t go to the party,” said Will, ignoring her declaration.

  “Which party?”

  “Arenata’s,” he clarified. “She’s up to something. I felt something strange from her, and yesterday I—”

  “May I cut in?” asked a male voice.

  Will turned and looked in irritation at the man standing behind him. It was his father. “I’m not done—”

  Mark Nerrow leaned in, speaking softly, “The music has already stopped. Don’t be so obvious.” Then he smiled at Selene and offered her his hand. “Would you do this poor old man the honor of a dance?”

  Will was forced to accept the inevitable, so he gathered up the remnants of his dignity and moved to the side of the room. He spotted Janice across the floor, already dancing with yet another nobleman he didn’t recognize, so he had a moment to himself.

  Thinking back over Duchess Arenata’s words, he felt certain that the woman was up to something, and the timing of her request for him to visit her was ominous. It was clear she wanted him to visit her before the party. That combined with the strange aura that surrounded her, and the fact that the demon trail had ended at her home, set off alarm bells in his mind.

  He needed more information, and quickly.

  Glancing around, he saw Sir Kyle talking to a lady. Will thought it was the knight’s wife, but he wasn’t entirely certain. He began making his way over, but Sir Kyle stepped away for a dance with another woman before he reached them. With a sigh, he approached the lady instead. “Excuse me, milady,” said Will.

  The woman was close to thirty, if Will had to guess her age, and she was tiny as well. She looked at him with friendly eyes. “Good evening—Mister Cartwright? Did I get that right?”

  He nodded. “You know my name?”

  “You’re the young gentleman my husband was telling me about,” she replied. “I’m Alice Barrentine.” She stretched out her hand.

  Will bowed over it for a moment, holding it close to his lips. “Lady Alice, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Her eyes darted toward the dancers. “Shall we?”

  He gave her an apologetic look. “Forgive me, Lady Alice. I came to ask a favor of you and your husband.”

  “Oh?”

  “Something has come up and I need to leave suddenly,” he explained. “I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to give my companion a ride home later. I feel terrible for abandoning her.” He took a moment to point out Janice, who was still dancing.

  Lady Alice nodded, but gave him a curious look. “Have you at least told her you’re leaving?”

  “It’s rather urgent.” He backed away and headed for the exit, while Lady Alice scowled at his back.

  As soon as he was outside, he increased his pace to a brisk walk, muttering quietly to himself, “Tailtiu, Tailtiu, Tailtiu…”

  Chapter 50

  As soon as he was away from the palace, he cast the chameleon spell, then headed for Wurthaven. He didn’t bother using the gate but climbed the nearest portion of the wall and used the relative privacy within the campus ground to remove his jerkin, doublet, and hose, replacing them with his brigandine, a tunic, and trousers.

  Feeling more comfortable, he recast the chameleon spell and crossed the wall again, heading into the city and plotting his course for the area where the Arenata home was located.

  “Janice is going to kill me,” he muttered to himself. “Not that I can blame her.” Abandoning a lady at a ball was the height of discourtesy, but he couldn’t afford to waste the opportunity. The ball would continue for several more hours, meaning that the duke and duchess would be out of their home for some time. There was even a fair chance they might have given their servants the night off since they wouldn’t be back until late.

  Without having any better knowledge of the Arenatas, he likely wouldn’t be able to pick a better time to try and enter the house. He waited against a building close to their home, leaning against a wall and remaining still to get the best effect from his camouflage. While there he took a moment to put a silent armor spell on his clothing and then dropped his prepared spell, replacing it with a sleep spell.

  Tailtiu arrived a quarter of an hour later. She was naked, as usual, but she had transformed
into the form of an abundantly endowed human woman and had covered her nudity with an illusory dress. Despite his magics, she walked straight up to him. “You’ve gotten better,” she said without preamble.

  “How did you spot me?”

  “Your spell isn’t perfect. You’re quite visible in heart-light,” said his aunt. Then she grinned. “You smell delicious too.”

  All the polite discourse at the ball combined with the stress of the situation to put Will’s head in a weird place. Without thinking, he replied, “Thanks, you smell nice too.”

  She grinned lasciviously. “Would you like a taste?”

  His gears finally connected, and his brain snapped into motion. “Oh! No! I’m here to break into that house.” Will pointed at the Arenata residence.

  She looked him over. “With those magics you don’t seem like you would need my help for this.” Tailtiu examined the house for a moment, then asked, “Is it the demons?”

  Will nodded. “I’m not sure how good their senses are, and I’m also worried there might be more inside. I thought I’d call an expert.”

  Tailtiu seemed pleased. “I’m touched that you think so highly of me,” she said. “Most demons’ senses are no better than those of humans, but there are exceptions. Give me a few minutes and I’ll be back.” She strolled away, her body becoming vague and indistinct as she went. Will struggled to keep his eyes focused on her as she crossed the road and walked to the side of the house, then went over the front wall so quickly that it was hard to tell if she jumped or climbed.

  Will waited, and she returned a quarter of an hour later. “It’s relatively safe. The ones on the roof are no better than humans, and I detected none inside.”

  “You went inside?”

  She nodded. “A window on the second floor was open. The upstairs was empty, and the ground floor is occupied by two humans, a man and a woman in a room behind the kitchen. There’s also a guard just inside the gate.”

  He was amazed by her nonchalant report, especially given the small amount of time it had taken. “Did you scout the entire house?”

  Tailtiu shook her head. “You should experiment with your vision more. There are more kinds of light than just sunlight, starlight, and heart-light. It can be confusing, but with practice you can find people through walls and some barriers. I just looked around upstairs, made a quick peek downstairs, and then left the way I entered. I recommend you go to the back. There’s a heavy door there, locked but unguarded. If you wish to use the front, you’ll have to disable the guard.”

  He took her advice, moving slowly to avoid being spotted. Will passed down the narrow alley between the Arenatas’ house and their neighbors’ and entered the back alley. There was a heavy, ironbound door there with an impressive lock. It was a simple matter for his spell to open it, and then he was inside. Tailtiu followed him in.

  He tried what she had mentioned, adjusting his vision to extremes that made it hard to see ordinary objects. Walls became diaphanous, and he feared that if he tried to walk, he might stumble into the furniture, but by remaining still and studying what he saw he could indeed spot the ghostly figures of two people in a nearby room. They were lying down, possibly sleeping.

  Will began to get a headache, so he returned his vision to something close to normal with a heightened sensitivity to light so he could easily see in dim areas. Moving through the kitchen quietly, he made a quick circuit of the ground floor, but there wasn’t anything to draw his attention.

  Tailtiu tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you looking for demons or were you just wanting to avoid them?”

  “Both.”

  They were standing beside the central staircase and she pointed at the wall that descended from the edge of the stairs to the ground. “There’s a door there, and the stink of demons.”

  It took him a few minutes to find the hidden latch that released the door, allowing a section of the wall to swing out. A heavier door stood behind it, secured by a chain and padlock. Will used his unlocking spell again and removed them, keeping his eyes open in case there was a ward involved, but he saw no sign of magic. “I don’t see any traces of demonic essence,” he remarked.

  “Not turyn,” said Tailtiu. “Their smell. It lingers in the air behind the door.”

  Will prepared a demon-lance spell and opened the door, but nothing leaped out. A stone stair led downward to what must be a cellar or basement of some sort. “Should we go down?” Will asked nervously.

  “That depends on you,” said his aunt. “There might be demons below, or it may just be the smell left from their passing.”

  “If it comes to a fight, how many can you handle?”

  “Without knowing the type and strength, it’s impossible to say. A dozen of some, but there are others too powerful for me to face even one on one,” she admitted. “Shall I scout ahead?”

  He didn’t want to keep relying on her or put her in situations he was afraid to face himself. “No, we’ll go together.” Stepping forward, he began to descend, grateful that his silent armor spell made his footfalls on the stone steps inaudible.

  The stairs went down a considerable distance, much too far to be built for a simple cellar. They twisted around a central column, as though they were built into a tower, and when they finally stopped it was in a small room with a wide stone arch opening into a larger area. The archway was carved with runes, and turyn glowed and pulsed around its perimeter as well as in the air itself. Tailtiu frowned. “I cannot enter.”

  Will studied the wards, though as usual, he knew little of their function. Still, he believed he could bypass them in the same way he had the ward in the library. “I think I can get past,” said Will. “Can’t you do the same?”

  She shook her head. “This is no ordinary magic. Look at the runes. Do you see the inlay? They’re done in both silver and iron. The magic is infused with the properties of the metals. Very few beings not of this world could pass. In particular, demons and fae would not survive. You might, so long as you don’t trigger the ward.”

  He’d started to worry as he listened to her. “Are you sure?”

  Tailtiu shrugged. “You’re a true wizard, though young. Unless my father gave the limnthal to someone unworthy, you should be able. Passive magics were never very effective against well-trained wizards.”

  Will had made up his mind. “Wait for me here. I won’t stay long.” He took a minute to attune himself to the ward, then stepped through while holding his breath. Nothing happened.

  Inside, his eyes took in a vast chamber and he exhaled loudly. The area was circular, perhaps fifty feet in diameter, with a vaulted ceiling that sloped gradually up to a point in the center. A massive crystal jutted up from the center of the floor, and ten feet from it were circular channels laid out on the stone, forming a protective circle of some kind.

  On the left side of the room was a stone pedestal with a human-shaped depression carved into its surface, as though it was meant for someone to lie upon. Iron rings protruded from the stone on each end, and chains ran through them and piled up on the floor. After a moment he realized their purpose. They were shackles, to bind the victim to the top of what must be a sacrificial altar.

  He moved closer and noted small openings at the base of the altar, openings that were probably meant to direct blood into the channels on the floor. Will’s stomach twisted, for there were already dark stains on the stone.

  Copper runes decorated the entire circumference of the stone channels, and while he recognized the individual runes he couldn’t guess at their purpose. He called up the limnthal and extracted an empty journal and a piece of charcoal. Then he began to make a rough sketch of the scene.

  His drawing skills weren’t the best, but he got the layout of the room, altar, and circle down, then began writing out the runes. It took a while, since the circle was so large. The charcoal wasn’t well suited for writing, so he had to make the runes larger than the circle he had drawn, and he had to continue writing them out on the second p
age.

  As far as notes went, his were a mess, but he had enough to reconstruct it in better detail later. He put the journal and charcoal away and then stepped forward to examine the crystal in the center. Will felt a vibration that started in his feet and went completely through him, making his teeth tingle. The crystal pulsed with turyn, as though it was reacting to his presence.

  Will stretched out his hand toward it and felt a buzzing in his fingertips. As they got closer to the crystal, he felt pain and his skin began to smoke. Hastily, he withdrew, blowing on his hand. It was as though he had touched a hot stove.

  The buzzing and vibrating stopped once he removed himself from the circle entirely. What the hell is that thing? he wondered. He was wise enough to guess that he shouldn’t touch it, and there was nothing else to examine, so he decided it was time to leave. Will made one more visual inspection of the room as he made for the exit and noticed something he had missed before. Just beyond the altar was a tall iron stand. He’d mistaken it for some sort of lamp or sconce holder the first time, but in fact it supported a leather-bound book.

  He took a few steps closer and read the name on its spine, The Book of Seals. For a moment he considered stealing it. That would surely put a kink in their plans. But if he did, it would be apparent that someone had broken in, and he wasn’t ready to warn his potential enemy yet, so he left it alone.

  Will returned to the antechamber where Tailtiu waited. “Let’s go.”

  At the top of the stairs they heard a tinkling as the guard at the front gate pulled on a bellpull to alert the servants in the house. Fighting panic, Will put the chain back on the door and snapped the padlock into place, then shut the secret door. They hurried into the kitchen just before the two servants came hurrying out of their quarters to attend the arrival of their masters.

  He felt a sense of accomplishment as they went out the back door and shut it behind them. Unfortunately, without the key he had no way of relocking the door, but hopefully when the servants discovered it they would assume they had forgotten to secure it. Most likely they would be afraid to report the oversight to the duke or duchess. Will made a mental note to see if there was a spell for locking doors the next time he went to the library.