reason he seemed to have lost his facility with words. While Janice’s eyes were elsewhere, Will mouthed, Don’t help me anymore, to Tiny. Off to one side, Blake continued to silently enjoy the show.
“Well?” asked Janice.
“What Tiny said wasn’t technically wrong, it just sounded wrong. I was possessed by Ethelgren’s relic and then I escaped, but there was nowhere for me to go…” The quick explanation took ten minutes, and at the end Janice was still asking more questions. “Listen, we need to find Professor Dulaney,” said Will. “I have a ritual to prepare, otherwise the king is going to raze the city tomorrow.”
Blake stepped up as they started to leave. “Um, should I come with you, sir?”
Will could hear the argument brewing in the house. Baron Nerrow’s voice was carrying well beyond the walls. He had no mercy for Blake, however. “Wait here. I may need the baron’s assistance when I get back later.”
The manservant’s face fell, but he turned back to the house. The rest of them walked toward the central part of the campus. “Does Dulaney have classes this morning?” asked Will.
“That shows how out-of-touch you are. Classes were canceled yesterday. Hundreds of people in the city are missing, and after last night that number is probably thousands. The entire city is on the verge of panic,” said Janice. “It doesn’t help that the king has closed the gates and is refusing to let anyone in or out of the city.”
Will couldn’t really blame them. “How will we find Professor Dulaney then?”
“I’m pretty sure there’s a lot going on at the main Administration building. At the very least there will be someone who can tell us where to go,” she responded.
They followed her suggestion, though as they walked Will noticed Tiny was acting strangely. “Why do you keep touching your lips like that?” he asked.
“I wasn’t,” declared Tiny as his arm swept out and nearly knocked Will to the ground. His face shaded to pink. “Sorry, I’m a little tense this morning.”
Will covered his smile. “We all are.” Just to be safe, he stood on the other side of Janice after that.
At the Administration building, they quickly learned that the chancellor had called an early meeting, but it had already ended. Dulaney would be found in his office within the General Class building next door. It was an office Will had been to many times in the past.
The door was open when they arrived, and the professor seemed to be in a rush, collecting books and papers and piling them on his desk. Will knocked on the door to catch his attention.
Professor Dulaney looked up with distracted eyes. “William.”
“I need your help, Professor.”
“This isn’t really a good time, William. The king has called on the school to cease educational activities and provide manpower for his new war effort.”
Will was stunned. “War effort? We haven’t declared a war.” Yet.
“We are to provide two hundred senior students, though I don’t think you need to worry about your name being put on the list, given your wife,” said Dulaney brusquely.
“Two hundred? That’s nearly—” His mind went blank.
Janice finished his thought for him. “—A third of the student body. What good will wizards do him in a war, though?”
“His Majesty plans to elevate them, this afternoon. Each will receive an elemental before being assigned to work with various parts of the military. I daresay it’s a great opportunity for most of them, assuming they aren’t killed.”
Will’s mind was running in other directions, though. How many Driven did he lose last night that he’s that desperate to create new sorcerers? He stared at Dulaney. “Sir, the reason I came is regarding a task that His Majesty has given me.”
That got the man’s attention. Dulaney put the books down and straightened up to look directly at him. “What task?”
Will explained it to him with as much detail as he could manage.
“You. You’re supposed to come up with a ritual large enough to purge the entire city?” The professor gaped at him as though he had grown an extra