The Choice of Magic - Michael G. Manning Page 0,198

When they called him back, he took one look at Selene and began to laugh. His clothes hung on Selene like an empty sack thrown over a fence post. His trousers had the cuffs rolled up and were belted tightly at the waist. The only part that was snug was her derriere, which he found fascinating, since ordinarily it was better hidden by her skirts.

His mother gave him a sharp glance as she saw what he was studying. “William.”

He reluctantly lifted his eyes. The shirt was almost as bad as the trousers, except it was loose everywhere. From the way it hung on Selene he guessed his mother had bound her breasts.

“What do you think?” asked his mother.

“From the neck down, she looks like a starving boy with an oversized b—”

“William,” warned Erisa.

He stopped with a grin. “From the neck up…” Selene’s hair had been tied up and was covered by a thick wool cap, but her slender neck, high cheekbones, and full lips were a dead giveaway. And her eyes—he stared into them for a moment as she stared back, and he felt his mouth go dry. Will felt his cheeks heat up, and he looked away. “Isn’t there some way to ugly her up?”

His remark produced a smile on Selene’s face that in her current attire could only be described as goofy. Erisa took note of the expression but said nothing. Instead she asked her brother, “Johnathan, we need an independent opinion. What do you think?”

His uncle studied her for a minute. “Will’s right. If anyone looks at her close up, they’ll know right away. Even at a distance, her walk will give her away.”

“Because of her butt,” Sammy declared gleefully, wiggling her hips.

“Samantha, would you like to do the wash a day early?” warned Erisa.

Sammy ran out the door. “Nope!”

Johnathan rubbed his beard. “There is one other option. There are some women in the camp. If we dress her like one of them, she might not seem out of place.”

Erisa shook her head. “I still have a dress that would probably do, but trust me, even if they didn’t suspect her, she would draw far too much attention that way.”

“What women?” asked Will. He’d never seen any in the Terabinian camp, aside from Selene and Lord Nerrow’s daughter.

There was a brief silence, then his uncle answered, “The comfort women.”

“Comfort women? I don’t think we had those at the camp I was in. What do they do?”

“That’s because Branscombe was right there,” said Johnathan.

“And how would you know that?” asked Erisa sharply.

His uncle held up his hands. “Don’t look at me! I’m a married man. I’d never do that to Doreen.” He stopped then, a look of pain on his face as he remembered he wasn’t married any longer. “I’ll go make sure Sammy isn’t getting into trouble out there.”

Will felt bad for asking. He’d figured out the general meaning from his uncle’s remarks, but it was the reminder of who they had lost that made him guilty. Erisa patted his shoulder. “It’s not your fault. These things just take time—a lot of time.”

Chapter 59

They left soon after that. Night was falling, and the sky dimmed rapidly after the sun dropped behind the mountains. Will was wearing his mail, and he stopped as soon as they were out of sight of the house.

“Don’t stop,” said Selene. “I won’t be able to see my feet in a few minutes. We need to hurry before the light gives out and we’re lost in these woods.”

“I can see in the dark,” Will reminded her.

“I thought you were bluffing. You know the spell?”

“There’s a spell?”

Selene sighed. “Yes, but I don’t know it.”

“I thought you trained at Wurthaven for years,” he replied, putting on a posh tone.

Selene hid a faint smile. “We don’t sound like that. I told you your acting was terrible. And no, I don’t know the spell, it’s a complicated one. I’d have to study it a while.”

“But you memorized the cleaning spell?”

She put her hands on her hips. “Which one do you think is used more often? I have yet to need a night vision spell, until today. Living in that army camp I needed the cleaning spell every day.”

“What do you do in the dark then?” he asked.

Selene put one hand out, and a brief collection of runes rushed together. A second later a gently glowing ball of golden light replaced them. She extinguished it a second later. “A simple light spell, but we can’t risk that tonight,