Scholar of Magic

by Michael G. Manning

  As the actual eating slowed and people began to finish, Mark Nerrow spoke to Will. “I owe you a debt of thanks for letting us use your home.”

  Having slept fully and with a full stomach, Will was once again in command of his faculties. He nodded graciously. “Let’s not speak of debts,” he replied. “I hope you don’t think I would be so poor a host as to count the cups.” ‘Count the cups’ was an expression he had learned from Selene before she had left. While he didn’t understand the origin of the idiom, it essentially meant penny pinching, or acting in a cheap manner, something the nobility would rather die than be accused of.

  “Of course not,” said the baron.

  “Then feel free to use my home as long as you need. If you feel the need to recompense me, all I ask is for the details of the previous evening. What happened?”

  Agnes spoke first. “It was horrible. I was sure we wouldn’t survive.” She glanced lovingly at her husband. “But Mark had planned ahead. It was his forethought that saved us.”

  If the remark seemed overly contrived, the faint blush that came to Mark Nerrow’s cheek destroyed that thought. Will decided that Agnes was simply well spoken and not afraid to give praise when it was due. The baron replied simply, “I merely wanted to keep my family safe. It was a decision made years ago.”

  Agnes looked at Will. “When we bought the house, he had the builders renovate portions of it. One thing he insisted on, something I thought he was mad for, was creating a sub-cellar we could retreat to in the event of a fire or an armed invasion.”

  Will turned to Mark. “You really were thinking ahead. Maybe I should add a similar provision to the work they’re doing on my new workshop?” Blake was standing beside the kitchen door, behaving for once exactly as an ordinary butler would. He coughed slightly to catch Will’s attention. Will glanced back, then laughed. “You already put something like that in the plans, didn’t you?”

  A slight nod from Blake confirmed it.

  Laina spoke up. “Your staff might be small, but Blake is the envy of many a noble household. There’s a reason the king employed him on Selene’s behalf all those years ago.” Her eyes locked onto Blake as she continued, “Even if he occasionally has lapses of judgment.”

  Agnes put a hand on her daughter’s arm, effectively silencing her. Then Mark returned to his story. “Darla was on watch, as usual, and she was able to give us some forewarning; however, this time they wasted no time in their assault. By the time I was able to respond, they had already thrown more alchemical bombs at the house. Everything was in flames. The house burned so quickly it was all we could do to gather the servants and get into the cellar.”

  “I’m sorry for all that you’ve lost. The house must have held many items that were precious to you,” said Will. He noticed that Tiny gave him a look of approval as he said it.

  “Things we can replace,” said the baroness, looking around the table gratefully at her family. “We saved everything that was important to us.” She noticed that her younger daughter was fidgeting, so she asked, “Is there something you wanted to say, Tabitha?”

  Tabitha grinned, then winked at Will. “Just that I think it’s terribly unfair that Selene found William first and married him without giving anyone else a chance.” She glanced at her sister. “Don’t you think that was terrible of her, Laina?”

  Will almost had a spoonful of peas to his mouth, but he was so startled that he missed, and the peas scattered across his plate. Laina glared and her hand moved suddenly to one side, knocking the gravy boat onto Tabitha’s lap. “Oh! I am so sorry, Tabby! I’m so clumsy today,” apologized the older sister.

  Tabitha’s eyes could have burned a hole through Laina. “You did that on purpose!”

  “Why would I do that?” asked Laina in mock innocence.

  “This is the only dress I have left! You’ve ruined it.”

  Agnes’ voice cut through the brewing storm. “Girls!”

  Will took the chaos as an opportunity and stood up, pushing his chair back. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some things to attend to.” He gave Tiny an emphatic look, and the big man rose from his seat as well. A few minutes later, they were standing outside the back door, but before they could leave, Mark Nerrow stepped out.

  “William, before you leave…”

  Will turned back. He also had a few things he wanted to say. “I don’t mind you staying here,” he told his father, “but I’m not sure you’ll be safe. They’ve already broken in once when I wasn’t here.”

  The older man frowned. “I wanted to say thanks once again. I’m not sure there’s anywhere safer that we could be. With you, me, Laina, not to mention Darla, Blake, and your giant friend here”—he nodded appreciatively at Tiny—“I’m not sure how better we could be protected.”

  “I’m not sure where I will be tonight,” said Will honestly. “I wasn’t watching your home the night it burned either, so I’m worried about what will happen tonight.”

  “Then stay here,” suggested his father. “I realize you may bear some ill will after what I said to you—”

  “I do,” Will interrupted, “but that has nothing to do with my concern for the people in that house. Their safety is important to me and not just because they’re under my roof.”

  “Then it makes sense that we concentrate our strength here.”

  Will shook his head. “What about the rest of the college, the rest of the city? I caught over a hundred of them in a warehouse that night, feeding on a friend of mine. They went wild and some of them escaped. From what I understand any new vampires created need strict control and supervision to keep them from running wild during the beginning of their undead existence. They’ve lost control, and if lots of people have gone missing then it means we’re only a day or two away from the entire city being turned upside down.”

  “Which is the king’s problem,” countered Mark. “He has the resources, the power, the authority, and the men to deal with it. Right now, my only job is to keep my family safe.”

  He grimaced. “As you pointed out so bluntly a few days ago, it’s your family, not mine. I’ll do everything I can, but I’m only one person, and I’m not counting on the king to save the city. Before I commit to hiding here with you, I’ll be doing everything I can to get ahead of this problem. I’ll only be here tonight if I fail to find a better answer.”

  “Aren’t you the arrogant one?” said his father snidely. “Don’t you think it’s a bit presumptuous to think that you’re the only one that can save the city? What power do you have that makes you so confident and prideful? You aren’t even a sorcerer—you’re too good for that—yet you think you can rid Cerria of this plague? What hubris!”

  “Two nights ago, I slew over a hundred of them,” snapped Will, “but that wasn’t good enough, and my friends are still paying the price for my weakness.” Reaching up, he jabbed his index finger into Mark Nerrow’s chest. “You want to hunker down in a hole with your family? Fine. I applaud you. I’m glad you did, since I care about them too. But don’t expect me to hide in the hole with you. As you pointed out, I’m not family, so it doesn’t really matter if something happens to me, does it? I’ll be out there doing as much as I can, and if I get killed for my hubris it’s none of your concern.”

  The baron looked down at the finger that had stabbed into him. “I’ve half a mind to teach you some humility, lad.”

  “Try it,” spat Will. “I’m a little overdue for some fatherly discipline.”

  Mark snapped, but he didn’t fight stupidly. He faked a punch, then sent a source-link at Will when he thought the young man would be distracted. Unfortunately for him, neither attack had a chance of working. A point-defense shield stopped the fist painfully in mid-swing, while the source-link dissipated the moment it touched Will’s turyn-absorbing outer boundary.

  With a thought, Will sent his own line out, catching his father and paralyzing the man almost instantly. He felt the older man’s will struggling for a moment, then he separated
his father’s will from his source. Using one hand, he gripped the baron’s coat to keep him from falling, then pushed him back and braced him against the wall of the house.

  Three elementals manifested around him, swelling as they took physical form. Will ignored them, his eyes locked onto Mark Nerrow’s panicked gaze. “This is just a lesson, but if you want to make it into something tragic, then by all means, threaten me with the elementals. It won’t change a thing.”

  Before anything else could happen, Will released the link to his father and turned away. Tiny was still watching silently, but he could see an unhappy look in the big warrior’s eyes. “Let’s go,” said Will, and together the two of them started walking.

  “William,” called the baron, still trying to regain his composure.

  He kept walking.

  “It does matter if something happens to you.”

  His face twisted, but he refused to look back. Goddamn it, just let me hate you! he thought. Don’t make it complicated for me.

  ***

  Halfway across the campus, Tiny finally said something. “So, you and the baron have some personal issues, huh?”

  Will didn’t say anything.

  “I remember you saying you were a bastard, but when you made that remark about ‘fatherly’ discipline, it was something of a giveaway.”

  He shot a look at his friend. “That information could get me killed.”

  “I’m not going to say anything. Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t imagining things. Where are we headed?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Tiny sighed. “You sounded like you had a plan when you were arguing with Lord Limpdick.”

  Will snorted. “What did you call him?”

  The big man shrugged. “It seemed like something Dave would have said.”

  “Where is Dave now? Is he still in Company B?”

  “They let him out. He’s probably in jail somewhere. So, to be clear, you don’t have a plan?”

  Will stopped, staring at the ground. “No. I have a feeling, though. This is probably out of control. It’s going to get really bad if we don’t do something, and hiding won’t help.”

  “Oh, good. We have a feeling.”

  “Sorry.”

  Tiny shrugged. “It’s all right. Sometimes your feelings result in painful consequences, but they never lead me into anything I’ve regretted.”

  “I’m sorry about what—”

  Tiny lifted a fist. “Remember what I told you?”

  Will shut up.

  “So, where are we headed?” repeated Tiny.

  He thought for a minute. “We should check on Janice.”

  “She’s fine,” said Tiny immediately. “We were released together.”

  Will felt hesitant to ask, but he did anyway. “How did she seem?”

  “I think she was a little shocked at the change, but she’ll adjust,” said Tiny confidently.

  He frowned. “How can you be sure?”

  The big man laughed. “You’ll know when you see her. She’s beautiful.”

  Will nodded. “She was beautiful, I remember, but now…”

  “She’s different, but if anything, she’s even more radiant,” said Tiny in a matter-of-fact tone. There was no doubt in his voice.

  He began to wonder what Tiny’s standards for female beauty were based on. Was the man being kind and referring to Janice’s exceptional character? Or maybe the former farmhand had never had much to compare her to. I wonder what his mother looked like? Will studied Tiny’s face for a moment, then envisioned a square-jawed, broad-shouldered mule of a woman. No, that can’t be it. Finally, he simply said, “Look, Tiny, I’m her friend. Just be honest with me. How bad is it? Are there a lot of scars?”

  Tiny smiled faintly. “You’re really worried for her, aren’t you?”

  “Of course, it’s my fault that…”

  The big warrior lifted his fist threateningly.

  “I’m talking about her, not you!”

  His friend shook his head. “Same difference, and she would feel the same way. Don’t let me catch you apologizing to her in front of me, or I won’t just joke about thrashing you. She chose to do what she did, she knew the danger, and she saved your ass. So let’s not entertain the idea of diminishing that.”

  Will held up his hands in surrender, and Tiny nodded acceptingly, then continued, “To answer your question, you’ll have to see for yourself. I won’t spoil it, but trust me, she’s as lovely as ever.”

  Will looked away but watched Tiny from the side of one eye. Maybe he can’t see her objectively, because… Unable to contain the thought, he asked, “Tiny, are you smitten with her?”

  “Of course not!” said Tiny immediately, his cheeks coloring. Trying to defuse the moment, the big man struck Will playfully, knocking the wind out of him and sending him falling backward. “Oh, sorry!” He held out a hand and helped Will back to his feet.

  Dusting himself off ruefully, Will decided to table the subject. It obviously wasn’t a safe topic for casual discussion. Then he saw that Tiny was holding out a folded sheet of paper. “What’s that?”

  “A note from Janice. She wrote it this morning before we parted ways.”

  “You could have told me that a while ago,” said Will, taking the paper and opening it.

  “When? While you were measuring dicks with your dad, or when you were trying to get me to tell you whether Janice was horribly disfigured?”

  Will gave his friend a sarcastic smile. “Everyone thinks you’re this kindly gentle giant, but I wonder what they’d think if they heard the way you talk sometimes. Measuring dicks?”

  “What would you call it then?”

  “Verbal sparring?”

  “How about phallic fencing?” countered Tiny with an evil grin.

  Will choked, then laughed. “I can’t win. Let me read this.” He held up the note as though he would shield himself with it.

  Tiny nodded. “Wise move. You don’t want to match swords with me. I’m not just long of limb, you know.” He stretched out one arm and made a fist, as though to illustrate his point.

  He was laughing so hard by then that he had tears in his eyes. “Holy Mother! Please stop.” Staring at the page in his hands, he blinked until his vision was clear and then focused on the words.

  Will,

  Forgive me for my outburst earlier. I was in a bad state of mind and in no shape for company. Thank you for the potion. I’ve no idea how you managed it, but I worry about what you may have done on our behalf. In any case, that’s not what this missive is for. I have news you might be interested in.

  During the day you were away I received a note from my friend, Drake. He did some more digging for me, and it turns out that the reason that Ethelgren’s Exhortation is kept locked away is that it isn’t safe, not even for display. In years past everyone who has touched it with bare skin has perished. Some suffered immediate seizures; others simply stopped eating and withered away.

  Whatever the relic’s secret, it appears to be incompatible with wizards of the present. I wish I had better news. Today I will look into the reputed functions of some of the more benign relics. It may be that some of them are helpful even if they aren’t specifically related to the current situation.

  I’ll find you tomorrow. I know you’re probably worried about me. I just need a little time to adjust before I face the prying eyes of others.

  Your friend,

  Janice

  “What does it say?” asked Tiny.

  “I forgot you couldn’t read,” muttered Will.

  “Sir Kyle is teaching me,” said the big man defensively. “He says any squire worth his salt has to learn.”

  “Not to worry.” An evil idea came to him then. Dear Will, please don’t tell Tiny how much I adore his huge muscles. If he were to ever find out I would simply die. He shook his head, remembering the blow that had knocked him down. It wouldn’t be safe to tease his friend. He read the note aloud for Tiny’s benefit, without add
ing anything.

  “That’s not much help then,” observed Tiny. Then he looked off into the distance. “What’s that?”

  It appeared to be soldiers, a lot of soldiers. They were marching in from the direction of the college gates.

  Chapter 37

  It turned out to be three full companies of soldiers, or somewhere close to three hundred and sixty men. They marched across the campus in formation, then stopped when they reached the central square between the main buildings.

  Will and Tiny waited off to the side of the main lane and watched as the soldiers marched by. “Recognize any of them?” asked Will.

  Tiny shook his head. “Company B is still quartered in Barrowden.”

  The soldiers formed up in the main square, then one of the officers read aloud a royal proclamation. The gist of it was simple—the army would be doing a building-by-building search of the entire campus. They also made it clear that it wasn’t just a policy focused on the school, but apparently similar proceedings were occurring all over Cerria, and had been since early that morning.

  Will looked at Tiny. “They must be trying to flush the vampires out of their daytime hiding places.”

  “It’s not a bad idea,” remarked the big man. “We hold the advantage while the sun is up. Once it sets, the situation reverses.”

  “William?” asked a tentative female voice.

  They turned around to see a student had approached. Will didn’t know her well, but he recognized her, primarily because she was the girl that Rob had been keen to date, Veronica Wellings. Will lifted a hand in greeting. “Veronica.”

  “Have you talked to Rob lately?” she asked.

  That hit him like a club to the face. What do I say? Before he could respond, she went on, “He sent me a letter and he sounded weird, as though something happened to him. He said he’s not coming back to school.”

  Will glanced at the soldiers, who were splitting into squads and fanning out to enter the various buildings, then back at Veronica. “Have you heard any rumors about what’s been happening the last few days?”