void for seven or eight hundred years? I think not. Trust me, child. I am not a cruel man. It’s best to let you go.
But—! And then the world went black as Will’s senses were cut off. He was once again locked within a black void.
***
Will opened his eyes slowly, examining the room around himself. Someone was leaning over him with a worried expression. Good lord, he’s immense! Will almost fell backward to escape the looming giant. “Back off!” he shouted.
Tiny frowned but stood back up. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine, ya great whopping beast of man! Step back, let a fellow breathe!” said Will testily. Then he noticed the stunning blonde sitting across the room. “Well, hello!” She frowned as he addressed her. “What’s your name, my sweet little dumpling?” She became visibly angry at that, and he realized his mistake. Holding up one hand, he took a moment to do a quick mental search. “Laina! Right?”
“I knew you were mad,” she replied. “First you were talking to strange voices and now you’re acting like a lunatic.”
Will winked at her, then turned his eyes back to the giant, pointing a finger at the man. “Tiny! Sorry if I startled you. My head was a little scrambled for a moment.” Getting up from the floor, Will stretched, marveling at the youthful vitality of his body. “Damn, that feels good.” He ran his hands over himself, exploring his arms and legs, then rubbed his groin for a moment. “Oh, this is very nice! I’m going to love this.”
Tiny was looking very concerned. “Will. Maybe you should lie down and have a rest. You don’t seem well.”
“Well, maybe you should lie down,” he responded. “I feel fine.”
“Will?” asked Tiny, a funny look on his face.
“Will I what? Make sense, man!” snapped Will.
“Something is wrong with him,” Laina told Tiny. “He isn’t usually this stupid.”
Will paused and searched through his memories a bit more, until finally he realized what was wrong, then he laughed. “Ha! I was just on a lark. You didn’t think I honestly forgot my own name, did you?”
Laina nodded almost imperceptibly to Tiny, indicating he should move behind Will. Then she smiled. “So, did you already finish attuning yourself to the relic?”
“Relic? Oh! This thing!” said Will, holding up Ethelgren’s Exhortation. “I’ve got it mastered now. It’s amazing the things it can do.”
She smiled, then winked, and Tiny moved to wrap one arm around Will’s chest while grabbing hold of the rod with his other hand. Or rather he tried to do so. Will turned and pushed one hand toward the big man, as though he was pushing air. Tiny flew backward, smacking into the wall with solid but not dangerous force. He remained there, held back as though by an invisible hand.
Will tutted gleefully at the big man’s discomfiture. “Not so fast, my overlarge friend.” Laina started to move behind him, but he turned and snapped his fingers. She froze in place, but not from a spell. The move had been so sudden and the sound of his fingers snapping so loud that she had feared some lethal effect.
Will smiled. “Don’t run off too quickly, darling. We need to talk.” Turning back, he looked at Tiny pensively for a moment while his mind rummaged around looking for details in his memories. A spell formed above his hand. “Tiny, my good friend, I’ll explain everything later, but for now you’ll need to take a rest. I do apologize.” The spell flew from his hand, and Tiny sagged, slowly collapsing to the floor, unconscious.
He turned back to Laina. “Don’t worry. He’s fine. Is there anywhere we can get something to eat? I’m famished!”
“What is wrong with you?” she demanded, fear and anger fighting for dominance in her expression and voice.
“Nothing a good meal and the arms of a good woman wouldn’t solve,” he responded rakishly, giving her another wink.
The look Laina gave him was one of absolute disgust. Finally, she answered, “It isn’t safe out tonight, so I wouldn’t trust one of the public houses.”
“Oh, the vampires? No need to worry.