evening.” Then he waved his hand at the rest of them. “Please rise and be at ease.”
The baron, like the others in the room, was in the midst of an extended bow, which only ended once the king gave them leave to end their obeisance. Will as usual had remained recalcitrant, even though it made the others extremely uneasy. Mark straightened up and responded, “I felt ill at ease when I learned your son-in-law was planning to strike at the enemy this evening. My daughter insisted on accompanying him, and as her father, I could do no less.”
The king’s gaze focused on Laina. “I’m sure you couldn’t. With the people’s savior on this mission you cannot help but succeed, even if the avatar of Marduke were also beside you.” Lognion’s attention turned to Will as he finished the sentence. “Did you succeed, William?”
Will glanced at Elizabeth, then nodded. “Yes, Your Majesty, with the help of Lord Courtney and several talented researchers, such as Mistress Sundy here. I merely presented the need; they provided the solution.”
“Present your plan then,” said Lognion.
Everyone seemed hesitant, aside from the baron. Elizabeth seemed tempted to speak, but she kept looking at Will. In the end, he knew it was his responsibility. “The ritual will be organized by Mistress Sundy with me at its center. We will need to perform it in the cathedral to cover the entire city. As far as requirements, we need a minimum of one hundred and seventy-two sorcerers to participate.”
The king leaned forward in his seat and appeared to be counting them. “Do you have that many? I only see two with you.”
“I assumed Your Majesty would provide them,” said Will. “We brought the two hundred student candidates with us as well. Their number alone would be sufficient—”
“You presume too much, William. The ranks of the Driven have been severely affected by this crisis. These new candidates are barely enough to replenish them. If we lose them in this untested foray of yours, it will endanger the future of the kingdom, for I won’t have enough to cut the head from this undead snake.”
“Wurthaven has more students,” said Will coldly. “If we fail, recruit another two hundred. It won’t matter. Your plan will eliminate Wurthaven anyway. You may as well risk these lives knowing you can harvest another crop without any real loss tomorrow.” That earned him some strange looks from those around him.
“So jaded for one so young,” said the king. “What of protection? If I give you that number, how will you get them to the cathedral safely? One small ambush and your plan will fail.”
Laina stepped forward, her body tense with repressed anger. “Since you seem ill-disposed to order men to the task, what if I ask for volunteers?”
Lognion was unflustered. “Go right ahead, Miss Nerrow. The majority of my forces are not here. Unless you are willing to make a journey to the walls to recruit them, you may find a lack of manpower.” A newcomer entered the hall behind them and bowed from the waist. “You may rise and report, Lord Tintabel.”
Will was startled by the name, and it took him a moment to remember where he had heard it before. He’s the neighbor to the Nerrows, the one whose house I fought in front of. There was something else, though. His house was burned. I thought he was dead. He glanced at Laina, wondering what she thought since she probably knew the man better.
The expression on her face was one of extreme displeasure. It seemed she didn’t have a high opinion of her neighbor, although the baron’s face didn’t reveal anything similar. Will wondered if she had a personal grudge. It isn’t as though she’s the most likable person after all, he observed.
“The students have received their elementals. We can begin disseminating them among the troops as soon as you give the word, Your Majesty,” said Tintabel.
“It seems that won’t be necessary, Lord Tintabel. I’ve just promised them to my son-in-law here. If they survive the night they may take their new positions then,” said the king.
Lord Tintabel raised one brow, quite a feat given how thick and bushy they were. The man’s hair