Disciple of War Disciple of War (Art of the Adept #4) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,155

did was a sneaky betrayal.” Looking at her plate, he asked, “Are you going to eat that?”

Janice glared back at him. “Unbelievable.” Then she finally took her first bite of the steak on her plate. An inarticulate sound of pleasure escaped her mouth as she began to chew.

Tiny pointed his knife in her direction. “See?”

Looking at Will, Janice entreated him. “Marry me, Will.”

Tiny got up and moved to sit between them. “Too late. I found him first.”

“Just so everyone knows, I’m already married. Remember?” said Will.

Janice finished her first mouthful and began confidently chewing her second bite. “First or not, you don’t have a chance. I’m prettier. Right, Will?”

“I’m not answering that one,” said Will quickly.

Tiny slapped his thigh. “He prefers ‘em big and meaty. A scrawny little bird like you wouldn’t be enough for him.”

The food was good, and all three of them were soon laughing. The mood might have remained good, but soon after they finished eating, Tailtiu returned. Janice created another force-dome, though Will noticed she gave herself and Tiny a little more room this time.

“Something smells good,” said his aunt when her transformation was complete.

“What did you find?” Will asked.

Tailtiu pointed west. “There’s no one in that direction.” Then she pointed east, in the direction of the road that led to Myrsta. “The enemy is hiding over that way, just a few miles from here in the woods close to the road. Beyond that are some of your soldiers, and farther on I think I caught hints of even more enemies, but I didn’t go far enough to see.”

Will frowned. “I thought they had broken out past the enemy to their rear.”

Tailtiu shrugged. “They’re not aware of the enemy on this side of them.”

“Why not?”

“They’re hiding. The trees are too thin, so they’ve cloaked themselves with a strange mixture of illusion and death magic.”

“Death magic?”

“I’m not sure what you call it. The poisonous sort that demons use. I don’t really understand how it works, but the effects are simple enough. They’re killing the plants and trees nearby and using the energy to fuel a persistent illusion that hides their soldiers.”

It was then that Will noticed something moving near her feet. It looked to be a piece of brown cloth, but after a few seconds he recognized it as a canvas bag. “What’s that?”

Tailtiu lifted the sack with one hand, then fished around in it with the other before drawing out a furry, wiggling mass. Small whimpers and a pink tongue confirmed the creature’s identity. It was a small white and brown puppy, somewhere around ten weeks of age. The fae woman held it up by the scruff, eyeing it clinically before settling it more comfortably in the crook of her arm. “This is Dinner,” she announced.

“No, it’s a dog,” corrected Will. “Why do you have a puppy?”

She sneered at him. “I know what it is, and obviously you weren’t listening. I just told you what I plan to do with it.” Tailtiu deftly slipped the small canine back into the sack.

Will felt sick at the thought. “You can’t do that. Where did you find it?”

His aunt shrugged. “I spotted it in the bushes beside the road a few miles from here. Some fool dropped his food, but his loss is my gain.”

“We don’t eat dogs,” he reiterated.

“Then you’re fools. Do you have any idea how tasty mortal flesh is? You’re lucky I don’t eat you.”

“The accord—”

“Only pertains to humans,” she said, cutting him off. “Not that it’s really a problem for me anymore, either way. As I said, you’re very fortunate that I haven’t decided to eat you.”

“You aren’t eating that puppy,” Will said, his tone that of a warning. “That’s an order.”

Tailtiu stared at him in surprise. “You’re serious? I’m here to provide you with help and assistance and you want to steal my rightful prize?”

“Dogs are friends, not food.”

“Fine,” she agreed, waving a hand to prevent him from starting a speech. Lifting the sack, she walked toward Janice and Tiny within their defensive dome. “I’ll just leave it over here and you can sort things out after we’re done.”

Will started to relax, but as soon as she had put some distance between them, he felt the turyn in the area shift. Mist started to envelop them, but Will dismantled the wild magic before it could get far. Unfortunately, though, that gave his aunt plenty of time to create even more space between them. Even on two legs, she was almost as fleet as a