Disciple of War Disciple of War (Art of the Adept #4) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,70

torture her, but beyond that, he had no idea. “What would you like to do?”

“Can we kiss?”

Will laughed. “Be reasonable.”

It was her turn to frown. “That was reasonable. I didn’t ask you to mount me. You were very clear about your monogamy the last time I visited.” When she saw him rolling his eyes, she switched to a different topic. “Does anyone need killing? After what I’ve been through, it would be nice to relieve some stress.”

I’ve changed my mind, he thought, she’s still Tailtiu. “You can’t kill humans. We’ve been over that—”

“—unless you order me to,” she corrected.

“And I’m never going to do that,” he finished. “Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean I’ll allow it.”

“Surely you called me here for a reason. Isn’t there something you need?”

“Seeing you whole and in good health is enough.”

Disbelief showed on her face. “You dealt with Mother, just to make sure I was healthy?”

Will nodded. “I didn’t even know she was torturing you, otherwise I probably would have pressed her sooner.”

“Don’t do it again—please. She’s too dangerous. You have me now, and if for some reason you absolutely must deal with her again in the future, let me do it,” she insisted.

Once again, he found himself astounded by the change in her personality. “It wouldn’t matter. Grandmother has her eye on me. If she decides she wants something, or has some devious plan involving me, it won’t matter whether I talk to her in person or through an intermediary. She’ll find a way to get what she wants. But I appreciate your concern.”

“That may be true, but she has no hold over me anymore. I may be able to help more than you realize.” She paused, then added, “You’re sure you don’t need me?”

He smiled. “I’ll call if something comes up. Otherwise, just enjoy your freedom.”

“I will try,” she answered, and then Tailtiu’s body blurred. A moment later, a large owl rose into the air and flew away. Still unsure what to think, Will shook his head and turned back toward home.

He was surprised to see a carriage in front of the house. By the crest, he could tell it belonged to the Nerrow family. Will nodded at the driver who stood beside it and went to the front door. When he got there, he could just hear the sound of Laina’s voice, but no matter how he enhanced his hearing he couldn’t make out what she was saying. He glanced back at the coachman and nodded.

It was his home, but he couldn’t be seen to be eavesdropping, so he changed plans and walked around the house to the servants’ entrance by the kitchen. The door there was locked. Anyone who came that way was supposed to knock, but that was no obstacle for Will. He lifted his hand, but even as he prepared to construct the unlocking spell, he felt it come together without effort. As he expressed his turyn, the spell took hold and the latch inside opened.

He stood there for a moment, surprised. His daily practices were paying off, since he had just reflex cast the spell. But why was it that one? I don’t practice it except once a day during my routine. Meanwhile, he was repetitively casting both the light-darts spell and the iron-body transformation every day, but although he had gotten rather fast with them, they were definitely not yet instinctive. What was the difference? Complexity? While the iron-body spell was much harder, the light-darts spell was actually simpler than the unlocking spell, so that couldn’t be it. Was it a function of time? He’d learned the unlocking spell well over a year ago.

He thought about asking Arrogan, but he knew the ring would just tell him it was an unpredictable result of the unique differences that were innate to every wizard. Pushing that aside, Will cast the chameleon spell on himself and then the silent armor spell. He smiled. It had been a while since he’d done any sneaking about.

Will carefully eased the door open, stepped inside, then closed it behind him. As an afterthought, he decided to practice Darla’s grey turyn technique. It was wild magic, even if the former assassin refused to admit it. It also wasn’t really grey, but Will thought of it that way. It was a method of making one’s turyn blend in with the world. In a certain sense, it was analogous to what the chameleon spell did with light, but in practice it was actually more versatile. When Will