Scholar of Magic

by Michael G. Manning

  But in Tiny’s present state, the falling weapon was moving at a relatively sedate pace. He tossed his falchion at Will and snatched the rapier by the hilt in one blindingly fast motion. On his end of the exchange, Will arrested the falchion’s movement by attempting to block it with his face. A point-defense shield stopped it at the last instant, though when he thought about it later, the sharp edge probably wouldn’t have cut him with the iron-body transformation in place anyway, but reflexes didn’t wait for thoughtful decisions.

  From the moment Tiny took up the burning silver blade, his whirling rampage changed, becoming a holy storm of destruction. Throughout the course of their fight, the outlying vampires had drawn closer and closer, threatening to overwhelm them with numbers as they ran out of ammunition. Now they began to retreat, and the smarter ones turned to flee.

  Will had planned to summon his own falchion and repeat the silver-sword spell, but there wasn’t time. As the space around them increased, he switched to using force-lances to cripple those trying to run.

  Tiny had become an unstoppable force of nature. The Dragon-Heart potion had given him incredible strength and speed, and while the vampires could match that, they didn’t have his mass. The shield Will had given him was long gone, destroyed by powerful attacks the vampires had assailed him with, but his sword rose and fell in blinding arcs, cutting and burning everything in its path, while his left hand seized those that came within reach. Some vampires he drew closer, if his sword was headed in the right direction; others he simply jerked off their feet. Usually before they could recover, his sword had returned.

  Silver fire and black ash surrounded the giant man, who seemed to have transformed into an incarnation of carnage.

  The last of the vampires were running, but they did so without legs. Some crawled on arms alone, still moving at an impressive speed, but it wasn’t sufficient to escape the raging warrior and his burning retribution. Tiny raced after the last of them, while Will tossed vials of alchemical fire on those that were closer.

  A minute later and it was all but over. Will stood panting where they had started, while Tiny raced around in the distance, roaring and killing anything that moved. Any people that had been within sight of them at the beginning had long since retreated. Will watched as a beautiful elm that had lined the road leading from the gate crashed slowly to the ground, flames spouting from the thickest part of its trunk. Holy shit! Did he just cut that tree down—with a rapier?

  Told you it was a good spell, said Ethelgren dryly. Though your friend must be exceptionally strong to do that with it.

  Dragon-Heart potion, Will informed him.

  Ahh.

  Will waited, and after a few minutes Tiny returned. His chest was heaving, and his eyes glowing red in a fashion so unnatural that it even made Will nervous. “Are you all right?”

  Tiny grinned maniacally. “Never better! Do you see any more of them?” His head kept moving from side to side as he scanned the area, but his neck moved so quickly that his features blurred each time. “I think that’s all of them.” He sounded disappointed.

  At the very least there weren’t any more screams to be heard. There might still be some hidden, but Will hoped that the soldiers or perhaps some of the remaining sorcerers would find them. Quite a few of the teachers and some students had elementals, after all. He shared his concern with Ethelgren.

  The spell that protects them from daylight won’t last long without someone to reapply it. If there’s a wizard with them, you’ll never catch him in a crowded area like this, said the dead wizard.

  Then I should move on and find the king and Androv.

  You’re going after that one? You should let me take over.

  Will shook his head. Again, no. The iron-body transformation was beginning to feel onerous as it used a not-inconsiderable amount of turyn to maintain, so he dismissed it. Then he noticed that Tiny seemed to be swaying on his feet. “Are you all right, Tiny?”

  The squire’s breathing was coming in big gasps. “Yeah. I’m just a little tired. I think I need to sit down.”

  Will helped him over to a tree and watched Tiny slide down it until he was resting with his back against the base. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

  “I’m not sure. Things are starting to hurt.”

  Concerned, Will began checking Tiny over. His armor seemed to be intact, but one of the crossbow quarrels seemed to have penetrated the mail a short distance, though not far enough for the barbs to enter his flesh. He pulled it out and then looked at Tiny’s face and hands, which were bare. There were several small cuts, but none of them bled. Weird.

  Tiny began to moan as his agony slowly increased. Will began checking the man’s ribs and found several that appeared to be out of place, though whether they were dislocated or fractured he couldn’t be sure through the padding and mail. The biggest shock came when he realized that the big man’s clavicle had snapped. He shouldn’t even be able to move!

  The potion finally ran out, and Will saw the cuts on his friend’s face suddenly begin to bleed, right in front of his eyes. Seconds later, a red bloom appeared on Tiny’s gambeson where the bolt had pierced his side. Tiny tried to move his arm and screamed.

  Will summoned a blood-cleanse potion and gave that to him first, to make sure none of the cuts caused him to turn. They looked clean, but he wasn’t going to take the chance. After that, he waited a few minutes and pulled the regeneration potion out of Tiny’s belt case. “Here, take this.” He held the vial up to Tiny’s lips so he wouldn’t have to try and use his arms.

  The next few minutes were pure misery for the squire. Will had to help him lie flat while his bones were mending, which prompted a long series of groans and painful cries. When he finally seemed comfortable, Will knew he needed to go, but he still felt guilty.

  Tiny’s eyes were closed as he spoke. “We still need to find the king, don’t we?”

  “I’m pretty sure I know where he is.”

  “Just let me catch my breath and I’ll be right as rain.”

  Will shook his head. “Your body was wrecked. The regeneration potion is going to take a toll. I doubt you’ll wake up until tomorrow.”

  “I just won’t go to sleep,” insisted the big man, his voice slurring.

  Will wished he could move him. Leaving him there on the ground, barely a hundred feet from the school entrance, didn’t seem safe. There probably weren’t any more vampires in the area, but he didn’t know that for sure. “Bring him back in one piece.” Janice’s words rang through his mind.

  Tiny surged upward for a moment, then sagged and slumped back down. “My body feels like jelly. Do I still have bones?”

  “You still have bones. You’re just tired.”

  “I don’t think I can walk without bones.”

  Will nodded. “That would be a problem.”

  “You’ll have to go without me, Will. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry.”

  “But you need help. I said I’d be there…”

  Activating the limnthal, he summoned a pillow and blanket. After making his friend as comfortable as possible, he replied, “You were there. Don’t worry. The others are back now. They’re going to help me, so you can get some rest.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.” Tiny was asleep before he finished answering. Standing up, Will pushed his guilt aside and started back out the gate. If anything happens to him, I’ll never forgive myself. But he knew if he didn’t go, his friend would die anyway.

  Chapter 55

  Alone again, Will jogged at a modest pace, one he could maintain without tiring himself out. He was heading for the wealthy part of town, where the noblemen and rich merchants kept their homes. It was the same area that his father’s house was in, but the specific home Will was going to was a few blocks from the Nerrow home.

  As far as he knew, it was still empty, though most would expect that it belonged to the heirs of the Arenata estate. Will knew that wasn’t the case, however. Afte
r he had slain Duke Arenata and murdered his guests, some of whom might have been innocents, Will had sacrificed the duchess on her own altar. It sounded horrific, and the actual event had been just as terrible as it sounded, but Will had acted with good intentions. In fact, he’d saved the city from a demonic invasion.

  Beneath the house, deep underground in a secret chamber, was a convergence of ley lines. Selene had sealed the passage that led to it with stone, but her father had discovered its existence later and had used his royal prerogative to lay claim to the empty dwelling, paying the family a nominal amount of gold to silence their complaints.

  And that had been that. Or so Will had thought.

  The only place someone in Cerria could create such a massive ritual without the assistance of additional practitioners was there, and the king might well have had the time to construct the circle it would require. Will didn’t know how many days it would take, but the king certainly had the resources.

  Just because I didn’t know about the vampire threat until a few days ago doesn’t mean he didn’t know, especially if Androv was already whispering in his ear.

  Will summoned Ethelgren’s Exhortation again. This time the inhabitant put up a token struggle but quickly surrendered. Are you going to do that every time? asked Will.

  Maybe.

  I’m heading into what used to be an abandoned home. I believe the king and Androv are in a secret underground chamber where they can access a ley line.

  Did your warrior friend die?

  What? asked Will, alarmed. No.

  Oh, good, Ethelgren replied, his tone unconvincing. Those potions can be hard on the body. But I take it you’re planning to go in there alone?

  Yes.

  You should let me take over. I’ll give you your body back afterward.

  Will ground his teeth. No.

  What if I promise?

  No.

  You’re going to die, and then I’ll wind up in Androv’s collection. If I’m lucky, he’ll take me out every once in a while, to taunt me. If I’m not he’ll melt me down.

  Then help me defeat him.

  He’s not a one-trick pony. The man is clever, and he’s got thousands of spells at his fingertips, cautioned Ethelgren. Even if you understood every function I built into this rod, you probably wouldn’t have a chance. I could only put so many in, and you don’t have the experience and spells of your own to make up the difference.

  I whipped your ass, Will remarked.

  Technically, you didn’t. You tricked me into letting your creepy grandfather out of his cage. By the way, have I mentioned how awful that is? Who does that to their own family?

  It wasn’t my idea. Are you going to help or not?

  Sure, but you’ll still lose. Just remember I told you so.

  Will grimaced. Fine. With my last dying breath, I’ll be sure to tell you how right you were.

  That’ll do. All right, here’s the spell effects that are most likely to help you. Pay attention as I show you the turyn signatures.

  ***

  Will slowed when the Arenata home came into view. From the outside, it still looked much as it had the last time he had been there. Someone had been maintaining the plants and keeping up the ornamental garden. One might easily assume someone still lived there.

  For personal spells, Will had replaced the illuminations with a climb spell, a wind-wall, and on Ethelgren’s recommendation, a blur spell. The blur spell was an illusion that he had learned over a year ago and had kept in his daily practice, but he’d never used it in combat. Usually the chameleon spell seemed preferable to him since he liked to avoid fights, and once a fight started, he rarely had a chance to use anything but spells he had prepared, or those he could reflex cast.

  Ethelgren had advised him to use it. He’ll be able to see straight through your chameleon spell. That’s true of all vampires. They can track your body heat.

  Hmm, said Will. I always called it heart-light.

  Same thing. Anyway, the blur spell is an illusion that smears your appearance across several feet, making it hard to tell exactly where you are. It works for all kinds of light, so it helps against things like vampires too.

  Is being blurry that great?

  If your body outline is spread across twice the distance, they only have half the chance of hitting you. It makes a big difference if you screw up and he hits you with a point attack.

  Point attack?

  Like my silver bolts, or a force-lance. There are lots of different kinds of single target attacks.

  Oh, said Will. So he’ll only have a fifty-fifty chance of blowing my guts across the wall.

  It’s better than a hundred percent chance, and the illusion costs next to nothing to maintain.

  Will walked across the street and took a few seconds to cast a spell to unlock the front gate, then he went to the door and repeated the spell. He didn’t hurry. He might not be able to run away from the problem, but he wasn’t going to rush to his death either.

  Opening the door was a bit stressful, but nothing came charging out at him, and after a second or two he had adjusted his vision to the dim gloom. Seeing no enemies, he sent a quick pulse of turyn to the rod and felt a gentle chime of magic rush outward in all directions.

  The sound was illusory, and only he could hear it, as it was merely part of the spell designed to inform him of its result. The brief pulse of magic covered an area roughly fifty feet around him, and as it passed through objects it measured two things, transparency to sound and visible light. Normal objects affected both, but a creature using a chameleon spell would cause the spell to return a deeper, more ominous tone, warning the caster of a hidden foe.

  Subsequent pulses could narrow down the range and direction. Will had wondered why the spell didn’t cover a greater distance, since it didn’t require much energy. Ethelgren had replied, Because, you usually use the spell indoors. Greater range just confuses things.

  This time the spell returned an ‘all clear’ chime, so Will stepped into the entry hall. Taking another nervous breath, Will cast a silent-armor spell on himself to muffle sounds. While he might not be actively sneaking, there was no reason to give his presence away any earlier than was absolutely necessary.

  After several tense minutes of searching, Will was certain the house was empty, so there was nothing left but for him to move on to where he knew they must be. The storage closet under the stairs was still as he remembered it, but inside the hidden door that Selene had sealed with stone was now a gaping arch without any door at all. Beyond that, the old stone stairs led down just as they had before. The only thing covering the opening was the illusion of a stone wall.

  The closet was empty, both of clutter and dust. The stairs beyond were also clear and obviously had been used a lot recently. Will guessed that was because the king had been sending crews of workers down to prepare the chamber for his new ritual. He stepped through the illusory wall and began moving down the stairs, shifting his vision to see by heart-light as he went.

  As before, it was a long descent, but this time the goddamn cat wasn’t with him. He almost wished it were a demon-lord he was facing again, just so he would have the demigod’s help. Halfway down the long stairs, he saw a small gray figure sitting on one of the steps, as if his thoughts had summoned it.

  Will stopped. “You.”

  The goddamn cat stared at him without blinking for a long period, then slowly blinked.

  “Are you here to help?”

  “I’m here to warn you that I won’t be helping. Don’t expect any intervention. If you go down there you likely won’t come back, and if you do come back it will probably be as an undead abomination.”

  “Thanks for calming my nerves. If that’s all you had to say you could have just skipped coming here,” Will replied.

  “If you go in there it will further the agendas of some who you might prefer not to aid.”

  “If I die, or if I succeed?”

  “Either,” answered the Cath Bawlg
. “Your ally is also your enemy, and she plays both sides of the game.”

  Aislinn, thought Will. “Why are you telling me this? What outcome would you prefer?”

  “Your death might be nice. If the accord collapses, my opportunities to seek revenge against the fae will increase. That is why I won’t aid you.”

  “Then you may as well have not come,” observed Will. “Or are you playing both sides too? Do you have something to gain if I live?”

  “Sammy would prefer it.”

  Will couldn’t help but laugh. Had his cousin really won over a demigod simply by scratching his head and tying bows in his hair? He felt the knot in his chest loosen. Whatever would come, would come. It was best to face it with a clear head. The goddamn cat might not be willing to help, but if Sammy had won him over, at least he didn’t have to worry about her.

  The cat began bathing himself, and Will stepped over him so he could proceed down the stairs. The Cath Bawlg’s voice said one more thing to his back. “Do you know why I choose the form of a cat?”

  Will kept walking.

  “Cats keep themselves clean.”

  Utterly confused, Will turned around to look back, but the cat was nowhere to be seen. Shaking his head, he resumed his trip downward.

  Chapter 56

  The small room at the bottom of the stairs was still as it had been, though the powerful ward that protected the archway leading into the ritual chamber was no longer present. Will had destroyed it last time, to allow the goddamn cat to enter and confront the demon-lord Leykachak.

  He could hear voices in the next room. Lognion and Lord Tintabel were talking to each other.

  “There’s really no point in waiting, Your Majesty,” said Tintabel. “My scouts reported to me just before I came down. Your son-in-law and the others failed. Most of them are dead, and those who aren’t will soon number among our enemies. We have no other options remaining.”