The Choice of Magic - Michael G. Manning Page 0,199

can we?”

“Definitely not,” he agreed. “But don’t worry, as I said, I can see. I’ll guide you. There’s a game trail here, but the terrain is tricky.”

“All right,” she said after a second.

The path they took sloped downward—sharply in places—as it twisted and turned through brush and trees. Once the light had gone, Selene began to have trouble. She tripped several times and began to slide on particularly steep spots.

Will caught her wrist and anchored them by grabbing onto a scrubby bush. “Careful.”

“Can’t you teach me the trick to whatever you’re doing?”

“You just concentrate some of your turyn around your eyes and then shift its phase until you can see properly,” he told her.

She stared blankly at the spot she thought his face would be, though he was actually a few inches farther to the right. “How do you concentrate turyn in a particular part of your body?”

“The same way you do near your hand when you’re forming runes for a spell.”

“But…” She didn’t finish her sentence. Instead she remained silent, and he could see a look of concentration on her face, though her turyn didn’t seem to be moving. “I give up,” she announced.

“You might have to go through all the other weird shit he put me through first before you can do it,” Will theorized.

“Did he teach you that?”

“No. One of the fae did.”

“Are you going to explain that?” she asked. “In fact, we still haven’t talked about how we got here, or what that thing in the cave was.”

“Are you going to tell me who you were talking to the other night?” Selene remained silent. “How about this, are you going to report anything I tell you to whoever that was?”

In the dark, he could see her biting her lip. “Yes.”

“Then we’re done talking about those other things, but thank you for being truthful—this time.”

She growled, “I’d smack you if I could see where your face is.”

“At least we’re being honest with each other now,” he said brightly. “I don’t share any of my secrets, and you don’t tell me a thing about yourself.”

“You don’t trust me at all, do you?”

Will helped her around several bushes. “Actually, I trust you a little—now that we’re being honest—but I don’t trust whoever is pulling your strings.”

“You would trust him, if I could tell you.”

“Then tell me!”

“I can’t.”

He wanted to shake her, but he restrained himself. They had a mission to accomplish, so he held his tongue and continued leading her down the game trail. A few minutes later she spoke again. “I can’t tell you for two reasons. One, I’m bound by an oath, and two, once you know we won’t be able to be friends anymore.”

“You said I would trust him. Trusting and being friends goes hand in hand.”

“Not where I come from.”

He could see the lights from Barrowden beginning to show through the trees, though they were probably still too far away for Selene to see. Will stopped. “We’re close. You said you could make my armor quiet, right?”

Golden runes appeared over her hand, flowing together into a spell composed of around fifteen parts. Once they had connected, she reached out and pressed it against his chest, where it immediately fizzled out. As far as Will could tell, it hadn’t done anything. “Can you please stop doing that?” asked Selene.

“Oh, sorry.” He made a conscious effort to stop absorbing turyn. “Try again.”

She repeated the spell, and this time it sank into his armor and clothing, spreading out over his body. “It will last about an hour,” she told him. “During that time your clothing won’t make any sound. That includes your boots but doesn’t include your hands or any other part of your body that’s exposed.”

“Why not?”

“So you can talk, for one,” she replied, “though I’m starting to doubt the wisdom of that part. It was the simplest way to make the spell practical, but the upshot is that if you break wind, sneeze, cough, or yell, it can be heard.” She repeated the spell for her own clothing.

“Too bad we can still be seen,” Will muttered. “Can you make a mist?”

“I can,” she told him. “Syllannus, my water elemental, is good for that, but he can’t cover the entire town, just a hundred yards or so. A mist that small would be suspicious, and any mages in the town will recognize the magic. Besides, we couldn’t see through it.”

Will grinned, an expression that was wasted since she couldn’t see his face. “Make some mist. Just a