Scholar of Magic (Art of the Adept #3) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,159

however, this time they wasted no time in their assault. By the time I was able to respond, they had already thrown more alchemical bombs at the house. Everything was in flames. The house burned so quickly it was all we could do to gather the servants and get into the cellar.”

“I’m sorry for all that you’ve lost. The house must have held many items that were precious to you,” said Will. He noticed that Tiny gave him a look of approval as he said it.

“Things we can replace,” said the baroness, looking around the table gratefully at her family. “We saved everything that was important to us.” She noticed that her younger daughter was fidgeting, so she asked, “Is there something you wanted to say, Tabitha?”

Tabitha grinned, then winked at Will. “Just that I think it’s terribly unfair that Selene found William first and married him without giving anyone else a chance.” She glanced at her sister. “Don’t you think that was terrible of her, Laina?”

Will almost had a spoonful of peas to his mouth, but he was so startled that he missed, and the peas scattered across his plate. Laina glared and her hand moved suddenly to one side, knocking the gravy boat onto Tabitha’s lap. “Oh! I am so sorry, Tabby! I’m so clumsy today,” apologized the older sister.

Tabitha’s eyes could have burned a hole through Laina. “You did that on purpose!”

“Why would I do that?” asked Laina in mock innocence.

“This is the only dress I have left! You’ve ruined it.”

Agnes’ voice cut through the brewing storm. “Girls!”

Will took the chaos as an opportunity and stood up, pushing his chair back. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some things to attend to.” He gave Tiny an emphatic look, and the big man rose from his seat as well. A few minutes later, they were standing outside the back door, but before they could leave, Mark Nerrow stepped out.

“William, before you leave…”

Will turned back. He also had a few things he wanted to say. “I don’t mind you staying here,” he told his father, “but I’m not sure you’ll be safe. They’ve already broken in once when I wasn’t here.”

The older man frowned. “I wanted to say thanks once again. I’m not sure there’s anywhere safer that we could be. With you, me, Laina, not to mention Darla, Blake, and your giant friend here”—he nodded appreciatively at Tiny—“I’m not sure how better we could be protected.”

“I’m not sure where I will be tonight,” said Will honestly. “I wasn’t watching your home the night it burned either, so I’m worried about what will happen tonight.”

“Then stay here,” suggested his father. “I realize you may bear some ill will after what I said to you—”

“I do,” Will interrupted, “but that has nothing to do with my concern for the people in that house. Their safety is important to me and not just because they’re under my roof.”

“Then it makes sense that we concentrate our strength here.”

Will shook his head. “What about the rest of the college, the rest of the city? I caught over a hundred of them in a warehouse that night, feeding on a friend of mine. They went wild and some of them escaped. From what I understand any new vampires created need strict control and supervision to keep them from running wild during the beginning of their undead existence. They’ve lost control, and if lots of people have gone missing then it means we’re only a day or two away from the entire city being turned upside down.”

“Which is the king’s problem,” countered Mark. “He has the resources, the power, the authority, and the men to deal with it. Right now, my only job is to keep my family safe.”

He grimaced. “As you pointed out so bluntly a few days ago, it’s your family, not mine. I’ll do everything I can, but I’m only one person, and I’m not counting on the king to save the city. Before I commit to hiding here with you, I’ll be doing everything I can to get ahead of this problem. I’ll only be here tonight if I fail to find a better