It was his turn to blush then. “I have to pee! Will you get out, please!”
Janice fled the room.
Chapter 21
Will, Blake, Tiny, and Janice sat at the dining table that seemed to be sinking beneath the weight of a ponderous and awkward silence. Blake’s third attempt at oat porridge sat in bowls in front of them, but no one had the heart to complain.
Tiny slowly and methodically spooned the food into his mouth, his eyes firmly on the bowl in front of him, as though it was the only thing that existed.
No one said anything for some time. Will took a few bites, absently noting that the porridge was marginally better than what Blake had made that morning. He would have complained, but when he opened his mouth to speak the first words that came out were spoken in a sullen tone. “I had to pee.”
Janice’s cheeks colored again. “Will you shut up!” She looked at the others anxiously. “I only meant to knock and wake him, but then I heard him weeping piteously. I didn’t know what had happened.”
“I wasn’t weeping,” argued Will stubbornly.
“Sobbing loudly, then,” she amended.
“It was a sad dream, but I wasn’t crying.”
Tiny finished his bowl, scraping the bottom to be sure he had gotten everything. Once he was sure it was empty, he set it aside and looked at them. Will had lost his desire to eat, so he pushed his still mostly full bowl across the table to the big man. Tiny picked his spoon back up, his eyes traveling to Janice’s face, to Will’s, and then back to his bowl. Without a word he began to eat again.
Blake leaned toward the big warrior, evidently unable to contain himself. “So, let me get this straight. You walked in and found her at the bedside, where Will was loudly crying to himself while trying to hide his tumescent growth?”
Janice paled. Will shot to his feet, angry. “I think it’s time for you to clean the dishes,” he snapped coldly. Reaching out, he pushed the bowls toward the manservant, including the one Tiny was still eating from. “Now.”
Blake smirked and gathered the wooden bowls into his hands. Tiny watched him go, his expression forlorn as the half-eaten porridge left the room. “Hey…” He looked back at the others. “I was still hungry.”
Janice addressed him earnestly, “You know nothing inappropriate was going on upstairs, don’t you?”
The big warrior sighed. “Miss Edelman…”
“Janice.”
“Janice,” Tiny corrected himself. “I don’t know you that well yet, but you seem like a very proper lady. I do know Will, however, and it never even crossed my mind to think that he might be trying to do anything of that nature. I do find it amusing how desperately the two of you want to make sure everyone knows that nothing was happening, but to be honest, what I care about most right now is that I’m still famished.”
“I’ll make something,” said Will, feeling guilty.
Janice waggled her finger at him. “You have more important things to be working on, I believe.” She took a deep breath, as though gathering her courage, then looked at Tiny. “Come along, Mister Shaw. I know a stand that sells hot sausages. I’ll make amends for your lost lunch.”
Tiny smiled at her. “I told you, call me Tiny.”
A moment later, the two of them were gone and Will was left alone, feeling mildly annoyed at having been left out. Or am I jealous? He shook his head. That couldn’t be the case. Heading upstairs, he took out his journals and began running through his practice routines. Two hours later and he had gone through everything and was back out behind the house, practicing his force-lance.
As he did, he saw two men walk down the lane and go to the front door. A moment later he heard the door open as Blake let them inside. What’s that about? he wondered. Going in the back door, he walked to the front parlor where he found them talking.
“Let me show you the area I’m talking about,” said Blake as Will entered the room.
“What’s all this?” he asked.
Blake looked over at him. “This is Tom and Brad Gravlin. They’re here to look at the cellar.” The two men dipped their heads, touching their fingers to their brows in a sign of respect.
“I’ll come with you,” said Will.
Blake glanced away, then leaned in. “Begging your pardon, sir, but I’d rather you leave it to me. Trust me. I’ve handled things like this before, and you have other things to occupy your valuable time.”
Will straightened. “Oh.” He watched them leave the parlor, heading back out the front door so Blake could walk them around to the cellar door. “Damn,” he muttered to himself. “Is this what it’s like being a lord?” It was a strange sensation, as though he was unwanted, or perhaps useless.
Since the three men were standing around beside the house, he didn’t feel like going back out to practice in front of them. So instead he took a walk to find a secluded place where he could talk to Arrogan. Once he was sure he was unobserved, he raised a force-dome and checked for presences. He still had no idea whether he could actually see whatever it was they looked like, but he did it anyway. Then he summoned the limnthal. “There weren’t any attacks last night,” he said without preamble.
“No attacks where you were, or no attacks in the city?”
“No attacks where I was, but I didn’t hear about any others either. I have someone looking into it now, so I’ll know more later. Also, I think I’ve got a lead that might help me find the vampires.” He explained Janice’s discovery regarding the white phosphorous buyer.
When he finished, the ring took a moment to digest everything. “None of that sounds good.”
“Except the fact that at least I have somewhere to start looking.”
“That’s nice, but what really worries me is that there hasn’t been a slaughter as I predicted a few days ago.”
Will frowned. “Are you disappointed that a bunch of people haven’t died?”
“No, but I’m more worried that whoever is in charge is obviously smart enough to keep his underlings from nibbling on their fae captive. First, you have to realize that for them, she’s more tempting than a steak to a dog. The inexperienced ones would lose control immediately. That means that either all the vampires that have come to the city are old and wise, or that the one in charge has an incredible degree of control over his underlings.”
“That sounds more dangerous for me,” said Will, “but safer for the city as a whole.”
“Safer for the vampires too. If the public becomes aware of them, the citizens are liable to turn the city upside down ferreting them out. In a panic like that, they’ll get every last one of the vampires and probably kill a lot of innocent people along the way. A mob rarely thinks clearly.”
Will was only listening with half an ear. He knew it was selfish and in the grand scheme of things, unimportant, but all he could think about was his dream of Selene. It had felt intensely real. Without warning, he changed the subject. “Is it possible to travel astrally while asleep?”
“Define travel for me,” said Arrogan cautiously.
“Could I accidentally leave my body and travel to another place, even if I don’t know where it is?”
Although the ring didn’t have lungs, or need to breathe, it released an audible sigh. “Yes, that’s possible and very dangerous.”
“Even though I don’t know where she is?”
“You saw Selene?”
Will’s chest cramped suddenly, as though his heart had tightened into a solid lump. It took him a moment to reply. “I think I did.”
Arrogan must have heard the emotion in his voice, for he answered carefully. “Listen to me, Will. Astral travel while sleeping is dangerous on multiple levels. Obviously you returned safely, so I’ll move on to the less obvious dangers.”
“What are the obvious dangers?”
“Getting lost and dying in your sleep. Can I finish?” Arrogan sounded mildly exasperated. “The big problem is that since you were asleep, you don’t know where the line is between what you
observed and what you merely dreamt. Do you understand? Because of your anxiety or fear, you may have seen her but mixed it all together with a nightmare.”
“How do you know I saw something bad?”
“Because you sound like a man who just watched his house burn down.”
“Could it have all been real?”
“Maybe. The best thing you can do is put it out of your mind until you see her again. Fretting over it won’t do you any good.”
“All right, one more question, though. How did I find her if I didn’t even know where she was?”
“It’s a mental dimension. There are no physical places. You’ve learned already that you move by focusing your attention on people; the same thing applies. Your mind took you to her. In contrast, going to a place rather than a person is incredibly difficult. Usually it’s impossible unless you have a lot of memories in a particular spot. So, most of the time, the only places you can go are places where there’s someone you know very well.”
Inspiration struck him. “Could I find Tailtiu that way?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it. First, it probably wouldn’t work because it’s unlikely that you’ve developed the necessary bond.”
“She’s family,” insisted Will.
“No, William, she isn’t. I’ve been telling you that since the beginning. She’s only my daughter in the most technical sense. When Aislinn went to live in Faerie, our child was slowly replaced by the essence of that realm. My true daughter died in the womb, replaced by something unable to truly understand love, affection, or mortality. Even if you care for her, she’ll never feel the same way about you.”
At some level, Will knew Arrogan’s counsel was the truth, but on another he couldn’t accept it. “Maybe Aislinn is twisted, but Tailtiu isn’t,” he argued. “She may not be human, but I know she cares on a certain level. Maybe not the way I do, but she isn’t as heartless as you think.”
“The proof will be in the fact that you won’t be able to find her by projecting yourself astrally,” said Arrogan firmly.
“You’re suggesting I don’t really care about her?”
“No, I’m suggesting she doesn’t really care about you. The bond, relationship—whatever you want to call it—it has to work both ways. It doesn’t necessarily have to be love either. Any strong emotion can forge a link, but it has to be reciprocal. Whatever you feel for my changeling daughter won’t be reciprocated, because she doesn’t have true emotions.”
“We’ll see when I test the theory.” He paused for a moment, then asked, “How do I test the theory?”
An evil cackle issued from the ring. “I’m not helping you. Go ask your father-in-law to whip you half to death. It worked once, maybe it will work again. I will tell you this. You need to learn a spell to protect yourself against possession.”
“Possession? Why?”
“Because although those spells are meant to keep others out of your body, they also work to keep you inside. Now that you’ve gotten so sensitive that you’re projecting in your sleep, you need to start taking measures to keep yourself from traveling inadvertently. Other than that piece of advice I’m not going to help you. It’s too dangerous. One of those vampires is almost certainly a wizard, and maybe not one of the piss-ant variety they have these days. If it senses you trespassing, you could be banished. While that won’t kill you, it will hurt you badly.”
“How does banishment work?”
“Look up the spells,” said Arrogan. “The important thing to know is that it’s very much a contest of wills, except the person casting the spell has the upper hand usually. If you’re not certain you’re a lot stronger than the person doing the banishing, don’t fight it, just go with the flow, otherwise the damage could be much worse.”
“So there’s spells to keep me from leaving my body at night, and there’s spells to banish someone, what about to initiate an astral projection?”
“I wouldn’t tell you if there was, but in this case, I don’t have to lie. There aren’t any. It’s an ability you have to figure out for yourself. I still recommend you wait a few years. You have too many other things to learn before you should bother risking yourself on something like this.”
“It might be the only way to find her,” said Will.
“No. Because it won’t work. You’ll see. You’ll just be risking yourself for no purpose.”
Will released the limnthal, ending his conversation. Arrogan had been confident he wouldn’t be able to project himself out of his body of his own volition, and from his previous attempt he knew it wouldn’t be easy, but the ring’s remark about letting the king whip him had given him an idea. Repeat the conditions of one of the instances in which he had left his body, and he might be able to do it again.
With a faint grin, he turned and walked back to the house. The workmen were gone and Tiny was back with Janice. He found them gathered in the parlor and saw they had brought someone else with them.
Rob gave him a shy wave as Will entered. Surprised, Will stopped for a moment. “Glad you’re here,” he said at last.
“Sorry about last time,” said Rob. “I was really angry at myself, but I took it out on you.”
Will shook his head. “No, you were right. I’ve been an ass. Did they tell you about…?”
Rob nodded. “Yes, and to be honest, I’m scared shitless.”
“We all are,” agreed Tiny.
“But you’ve faced them already,” said Rob, seeming surprised.
The big man shrugged. “Just because I’m big and covered in steel doesn’t mean I don’t need to change my trousers after fighting something like that.”
Will snorted. “You didn’t shit yourself.” After a second, he added, “But I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I was scared out of my mind. By the way, I have an idea for what to do next.”
Tiny grimaced. “Do I need my armor?”
Will smiled. “Yes, but it’s just a precaution.”
“Do you want me to go?” asked Rob, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed nervously.
“I appreciate the offer, but no. I need your particular skills for a different task.” He quickly laid out his simple plan. Tiny would accompany him to the trader’s warehouse, where he would attempt to enter by asking to buy some of the phosphorous. The large squire would stay close by, hidden by a chameleon spell and ready to intervene if thing went badly. Meanwhile Rob would spend the rest of the day gathering news from around the city.
Ordinarily Rob was only interested in the big things—the doings of nobility, scandals, or items that involved the college. Will wanted him to see if he could discover whether there had been an increase in things like people going missing. If the vampires had been careful, it might not be easy, for they would have stuck to prey that wouldn’t be missed. Will left it to his friend to figure out the best way to suss out that information.
When he finished, Janice asked, “What about me? I don’t get a job?”
“You make your own job,” said Will. “You’re the one who discovered the phosphorous trader. You’re the one who looked into Ethelgren. Keep nosing around. Whatever you decide to research, I have a feeling you’ll come up with something useful.”
She sniffed. “I can’t decide whether that’s a compliment or a fancy dismissal.”
“Definitely a compliment,” affirmed Tiny solicitously. “He doesn’t have the finesse to make subtle insults.”
Will sighed. “But apparently you do. Come on, let’s go. We only have a few hours of daylight left.”
Chapter 22
The warehouse district wasn’t an area Will went to often. The last time he’d spent any time there, he had been attacked by a gang of thugs hired to separate him from his remaining years. Ordinarily he had no reason to go there, so it wasn’t that he’d been actively avoiding that part of the city. But if I did have a reason to come here, I would avoid it anyway, he observed silently.
It was a rough part of Cerria, but generally it wasn’t dangerous. Will
had just developed a dislike for the area. Tiny noticed the change in his posture. “What’s wrong?”
“Bad memories,” said Will. “And you aren’t supposed to be talking. You’re trying not to be seen or heard.”
There wasn’t anyone close by, so Tiny replied anyway, “Do you know how hard it is to walk this slowly when you’re my size?”
Will ignored him, moving ahead and then loitering at the next corner while Tiny slowly caught up. Despite his complaints, the big warrior was doing fairly well. The silent-armor spell made a big difference, and watching him gave Will a lot of useful feedback for the next time he used the chameleon spell on himself.
One thing he had noticed was that the spell was most effective when the subject stayed close to a static background such as a wall or a building. Standing in the middle of open spaces could lead to all sorts of complications that the spell couldn’t compensate for, such as people suddenly walking behind the camouflaged individual. An observer on the opposite side would notice something like that immediately.
When they finally arrived at the correct address, Will saw that the building in question was a large, two-story wood frame structure with a stone exterior that only extended up to about six feet from the ground. The side facing them was almost fifty yards in length, and from what he could tell the warehouse was probably the same length along its other sides. He wondered if it was two levels inside or just one with a high ceiling.
The side they approached from faced the street and had several doors. Two of the doors were large enough for wagons to pass through, though they were locked and barred. On the far-left side was a smaller door of the more ordinary variety. It was also locked, so Will began vigorously pulling on a bell rope that had been mounted beside it.
After a couple of minutes, a voice shouted through the door. “Who is it?”
“A customer. I’m looking for Jorn,” said Will, speaking loudly to be heard through the heavy oak.
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