Scholar of Magic (Art of the Adept #3) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,87

chuckle. “I’m married, Tiny. What do you think I’d do?”

The big man blushed, then looked away. “I didn’t say anything.”

Janice put her elbow into Will’s midribs. “He’s just looking out for me. Don’t embarrass him.”

Will stared at her quizzically. Surely, I’m imagining this. After a second, he waved at Tiny. “Come with us. You can be our chaperone.”

Chapter 19

Will went through his apothecary and found the recipe for the Dragon’s Heart potion. He gave it a quick study, making sure the procedure wouldn’t be too difficult, and then copied out the ingredients he would need to purchase. After that was done, he found the next item he was interested in, alchemical fire. The ingredients for that were simple, though one in particular was exceedingly dangerous. “White phosphorous,” he muttered to himself. He’d never used it before, or even seen it, though he was fairly sure the Alchemy Department had access to it. He hoped it wasn’t too expensive.

He added everything to his list, then handed it over. “I hope it doesn’t cost too much, but unless it’s astronomical I’ll find a way to pay for everything. Tell Karlovic they can put everything in the laboratory I’ve been renting.”

She took the paper, folded it up, and slipped it into an opening in the side of her kirtle. “Do I need to take some coin with me?”

“The professor trusts me,” said Will. “I can settle accounts with him later as long as it doesn’t run into hundreds of marks.”

“What will you do in the meantime?” asked Janice.

“Learn some new spells,” he answered. “I’d like to be better prepared tonight. If it hadn’t been for Tiny, I wouldn’t have lived to see the dawn today.”

She smiled—at Tiny, not him. “Anyone would feel safer with such a friend nearby,” she remarked. “It was a pleasure meeting you, John.”

Tiny dipped his head. “And you, Miss Edelman.”

“Janice,” she corrected as she made her way to the door. “Try to stay safe tonight.” There was a short pause, then she added, “Both of you.”

After the door closed, Will couldn’t help but laugh, whereupon Tiny gave him a mild punch to the shoulder. At least, he assumed it was supposed to have been a mild punch, as he collected himself from where he had fallen. The big man didn’t ordinarily engage in horseplay, for reasons that were now obvious to him.

“Sorry,” said Tiny.

Will rubbed his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have laughed.”

“I don’t know why I did that. I’m just a little punchy since last night.”

Sure, that’s what it is, thought Will sarcastically, but he held his tongue. “My nerves aren’t much better,” he sympathized.

“I’m going to clean my armor and gear. Since you’re going to be busy learning spells, do you want me to do yours too?” offered Tiny.

It was a generous offer, but Will had to decline. Selene’s spell had done the trick when he had cast it that morning. He hadn’t known it could handle armor, but apparently his brilliant wife had thought of just about everything when she had designed it. “I did mine this morning,” he explained.

“I won’t disturb you until you come down. See you this evening.” Although Will knew his friend wanted nothing more than to not have to go back out, the big warrior didn’t whine or wheedle about it. Some might have said it was because he was a professional soldier, and while there was some truth to that, Will knew that soldiers loved to bitch and complain as a form of stress relief. Tiny was just solid. Rock solid.

Damn, I’m getting sentimental again, thought Will. Shaking his head, he sat down and tried to concentrate. The first spell he was interested in learning was Ethelgren’s Illumination, which turned out to be approximately sixth-order, in terms of difficulty. Of course, there was no official rating listed with the spell—it was too old for that. Will judged it based on prior experience.

Given the difficulty, he guessed it would take him an hour or two to successfully construct the first time and possibly several days before he could recreate it without referring to