The Choice of Magic - Michael G. Manning Page 0,47

Eric angrily. “What do you want? We’re busy.”

“Hi, Eric,” said Will, grateful for the interruption.

“Baron Nerrow is at your mom’s house,” said his cousin excitedly. “He’s looking for you.”

“Tell that two-bit goat wrangler to fuck off,” said Arrogan harshly.

Eric gaped at the old man’s invective, then looked straight at Will. “Your mom told him that you were at our house. He won’t leave without seeing you. Dad sent me to fetch you before Lord Nerrow loses his temper.”

Will’s grandfather was swearing quietly to himself. “Pompous ass! Who does the think he is?”

“I should go, Grandfather,” said Will. “I don’t want anything to happen to Mom.”

“This is her fault to begin with,” spat his guardian. “Erisa can take care of her own problems.”

Eric spoke up. “If Will doesn’t come, she might be forced to tell Lord Nerrow to come here.”

Will was already moving. Leaning his staff against the house, he took a moment to brush the dust and dirt off his clothing. “Let’s go,” he told his cousin.

“Hold on,” commanded Arrogan, his voice projecting authority. Will and Eric stopped and looked at him. The old man pointed at Eric. “Go stand over there. I need to talk to Will for a moment, privately.”

Once Eric had moved off a short distance, his grandfather took him aside. “You need to be very careful when you meet Lord Nerrow. He can’t know anything about your training.”

Will understood. He hadn’t forgotten that his grandfather was some sort of wanted criminal. “I won’t say anything about you.”

“This isn’t just for my sake,” said the old man. “It’s for yours as well.” He made a gesture with one hand and Will felt the spell encasing his turyn vanish. “We don’t want him to see that spell, but don’t think you’re off the hook,” warned Arrogan. “Keep your turyn tightly suppressed. The spell goes back on when you get back.”

“He’s a sorcerer,” reminded Will. “Won’t he see that my turyn is too small to be normal?”

His grandfather cuffed the side of his head. “Fool. Haven’t you been paying attention? Can you see mine?”

Will shook his head. He had a vague sense that his grandfather’s turyn was somewhat smaller than usual, but he couldn’t visualize it directly. He certainly couldn’t tell it was the tiny ember that the old man had once shown him.

“That’s the point of the candle spell,” lectured Arrogan. “In time, you’ll be able to gauge almost exactly what your turyn is doing, based on experience and instinct, but judging someone else’s is even more difficult. You can see the flows of magic around yourself and others, but seeing what lies within someone else is nearly impossible.” He paused for a moment, then went on, “That’s right, I almost forgot the candle. Give it to me.”

He did, and the flame winked out, causing Will a moment of panic. He had grown so used to constantly observing it that seeing the flame vanish made him think he had died for a split second. Arrogan tucked the now-extinguished candle into a pocket. “I’ll restore this spell as well, after you get back.”

Thinking they were done, Will started to leave, but his grandfather caught his shoulder. “Not yet. You need to be ready for what you will see, not just what he might see.”

“Huh?”

“The last time you saw Lord Nerrow, you didn’t have the sight, and as far as he knows, you still don’t,” explained Arrogan.

Will frowned. “He’s not going to know what I can see just by looking at me.”

“He will if you act surprised,” said his guardian. “Sorcerers usually have one or more elementals with them. They aren’t visible to normal people unless they call on them, or when they want to impress people, but you are almost bound to see one around him, and it can be jarring. If you respond with shock or fear he’s going to know.”

“How bad could it be?”

“Mark Nerrow comes from a very prestigious line of sorcerers, even though his rank among the nobility is fairly modest. He will very likely have a major fire elemental with him. Seeing something like that can be very unsettling. Try not to shit yourself,” advised his grandfather. “At its biggest, it could be as big as a large house, though it will almost certainly be compressed into a tiny form, like a ball of fire floating over his shoulder.”

Despite the warning, Will found himself more curious than ever. His training with Arrogan had been singularly boring, except for the painful parts. Seeing an elemental