Scholar of Magic (Art of the Adept #3) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,192

argue with that. Deal. Let’s just hope this is over before we need to go to the bathroom.

She sighed, taking control of their lungs for a moment. “Why did you have to say that?” groaned Laina.

“Say what?” asked Darla, who was standing beside her within the earthen dome.

“Sorry,” said Laina, then Will nodded. “I was talking to myself.” Damn, this really is confusing, he thought. By the way, thank you.

Her response was a nonverbal feeling, a question without words.

For coming to help me tonight. I would be lost and doomed if you weren’t here, he explained.

You’re welcome, she replied, and the words carried her emotions with them, a surge of warmth that washed back and forth between them, like a wave caught perpetually between two shores. A resonance seemed to grow, and the wave became higher and higher, until at last she managed to put an end to it. Enough of that. I’m going to have nightmares for years after this.

He smiled inwardly.

Chapter 43

Darla wanted to return and wake Tiny, but Laina had changed her mind. Will wasn’t sure what was right, but since it was her body he felt it best to leave the decision to her. “We can’t leave him to run loose in Will’s body. The man is mad. He might well get killed, and then where would we be?” she said aloud.

I wouldn’t stay. This is only temporary, one way or another, Will reassured her silently.

Shut up, came Laina’s response. You can do stupid things and get yourself killed when you have your own body back. Until then don’t be an idiot. You’re in my care for now.

The Arkeshi sighed. “He will be easy to find, since he’s in the middle of all the commotion, but it’s unlikely you can approach without being seen.” She eyed Laina’s dress with mistrust.

“Speak for yourself,” said Will, lifting one hand. He quickly constructed a chameleon spell and then cast it on himself, fading into near-invisibility before adding a silent-armor spell to complete the set.

One of Darla’s brows went up. “I suppose there are advantages to having both of you in there.” She lifted the hood of her cloak, and the enchantment on it activated, producing a similar chameleon effect. A second later her turyn also shifted, blending and fading. It wasn’t a visible effect, but somehow it made her even harder to find. His eyes kept sliding away if he let his concentration slip.

“What is that second spell you’re using?” he asked suddenly.

“I don’t use spells,” she stated, no doubt in her voice.

“Is it the cloak then? You’re hard to find, even when I know where I should look. My eyes don’t want to go there.”

Inside their head, Laina’s interest was also piqued. What are you talking about?

It’s more than the chameleon effect, he explained. She’s doing something with her turyn.

Darla understood immediately. “It is no spell. It is the lim-leesi. A special technique the Arkeshi train in.”

“Wild magic,” Will realized, speaking out loud. “You’re using wild magic, like the fae. Can you teach me?”

The former assassin’s eyes narrowed. “The Arkeshi do not use magic,” she said emphatically. “And it is forbidden to teach outsiders the technique.”

“But you’re no longer part of the Arkeshi,” Laina pointed out.

“I have betrayed them, but my other oaths still hold. I will not break my teacher’s trust.”

Will had already learned to adjust his senses, stamina, strength, and speed, to varying degrees. By watching how Darla’s turyn moved, he was already beginning to get a feel for what she was doing. Ignoring the conversation, he began trying to emulate her, though his turyn moved clumsily at first.

The Arkeshi couldn’t see turyn, but after a moment she stopped talking and her gaze locked onto Laina’s body, then drifted slightly before returning. Her face grew alarmed. “You cannot!” she insisted.

Will’s tongue was sticking out to one side as he concentrated, an expression he imagined was probably cuter on his sister’s face. “Am I getting this right? It feels weird, but I think I’m close.”

“Impossible. This