Scholar of Magic (Art of the Adept #3) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,149

“I can,” said Karlovic. “I won’t try to do the activations. I don’t intend to shorten my life, but I’ll do everything else. Get some sleep. I’ll wake you up for the part that sane wizards avoid like the plague.”

Will stared up at the man, barely able to think. Finally, he answered, “All right.” Then he flopped onto his side and closed his eyes. He was asleep within seconds.

Almost immediately, someone shook his shoulder. Will blinked, staring fuzzily at his antagonist. It was the professor again. “You told me to sleep,” he complained.

The other man smiled. “That was four hours ago. You need to activate the ingredients for the second stage.”

“Oh.” Will sat up, feeling muzzy and almost drunk, then he tried to stand and nearly fell. His right thigh was swollen and sore to the point that he was completely unable to move it. It took him a prolonged period of maneuvering with Karlovic’s assistance to get back to a standing position while keeping his right leg straight.

Finally, at the workbench, Will began drawing in turyn and tuning it to the specific types that the ingredients would need to be infused with. Externally, there was nothing to see, but he could feel Professor Karlovic watching him intently. “Are you hoping to discover my secret?” asked Will.

“Well, it’s clear that you haven’t suffered from all the potions you made last year, so I would dearly love to know how you do it without killing yourself,” said the older man honestly.

Will felt a similar urge to honesty. The Alchemy teacher had been good to him from the beginning, and while the man also made a small profit sourcing buyers for Will’s potions, he seemed to have an honest heart. “I wish I could teach it to you,” he admitted. “My original master said it’s something that has to be done when you’re young, and it’s best done before you learn to use magic.”

“So you did learn this through some special training,” muttered Karlovic. “Master Courtney has been speculating about that.”

“I haven’t been very forthcoming,” said Will. “I’m not sure who I can trust.”

“Afraid they’ll put you on a rack and torture it out of you?”

He nodded. “Or tie me to a table and dissect me.”

“Courtney wouldn’t do that,” insisted Karlovic. “He’s a good man, even if he’s a little odd. Are you worried I’ll tell him what you told me?”

Will shrugged. “I had to trust someone sooner or later.”

“And you chose me? I feel touched.”

He grinned. “We’ll see how it goes. One of us may regret it before too much time has passed.” Will finished the activations, then started organizing the materials for the next stage. Karlovic came over and shuffled him aside.

“Sleep some more. I’ll let you know when the potions are ready to be finalized.”

“Shouldn’t you be going home?”

“My wife is used to me keeping odd hours,” said the professor. “She’ll probably forgive me for coming home late again.”

Will didn’t argue. It took him longer to fall asleep this time, but after a few minutes he drifted away, grateful for the rest. The next time he awoke it wasn’t because someone was shaking him, but rather because his nose had detected something.

It was the smell of fresh bread, and something else. Tea? Will’s eyes popped open and he scanned the room. He spotted his teacher decanting the final product into small vials that would then wait for a final infusion of turyn to activate them. Off to one side, on a small table, was the object of Will’s desire, a plate filled with sweet buns. A small teapot sat beside it along with two empty cups.

Will moaned, then began struggling to get upright once more. Professor Karlovic turned and looked over one shoulder at him, smiling. “Oh, I see the food woke you.”

“Where did you get that?” Will asked, adoration in his voice.

“I sent one of the early-rising students over to the Residents’ Hall cafeteria. The tea should still be warm.”

“I could marry you.”

The professor laughed. “My wife might be grateful to have me