Scholar of Magic (Art of the Adept #3) - Michael G. Manning Page 0,96

explained Janice’s discovery regarding the white phosphorous buyer.

When he finished, the ring took a moment to digest everything. “None of that sounds good.”

“Except the fact that at least I have somewhere to start looking.”

“That’s nice, but what really worries me is that there hasn’t been a slaughter as I predicted a few days ago.”

Will frowned. “Are you disappointed that a bunch of people haven’t died?”

“No, but I’m more worried that whoever is in charge is obviously smart enough to keep his underlings from nibbling on their fae captive. First, you have to realize that for them, she’s more tempting than a steak to a dog. The inexperienced ones would lose control immediately. That means that either all the vampires that have come to the city are old and wise, or that the one in charge has an incredible degree of control over his underlings.”

“That sounds more dangerous for me,” said Will, “but safer for the city as a whole.”

“Safer for the vampires too. If the public becomes aware of them, the citizens are liable to turn the city upside down ferreting them out. In a panic like that, they’ll get every last one of the vampires and probably kill a lot of innocent people along the way. A mob rarely thinks clearly.”

Will was only listening with half an ear. He knew it was selfish and in the grand scheme of things, unimportant, but all he could think about was his dream of Selene. It had felt intensely real. Without warning, he changed the subject. “Is it possible to travel astrally while asleep?”

“Define travel for me,” said Arrogan cautiously.

“Could I accidentally leave my body and travel to another place, even if I don’t know where it is?”

Although the ring didn’t have lungs, or need to breathe, it released an audible sigh. “Yes, that’s possible and very dangerous.”

“Even though I don’t know where she is?”

“You saw Selene?”

Will’s chest cramped suddenly, as though his heart had tightened into a solid lump. It took him a moment to reply. “I think I did.”

Arrogan must have heard the emotion in his voice, for he answered carefully. “Listen to me, Will. Astral travel while sleeping is dangerous on multiple levels. Obviously you returned safely, so I’ll move on to the less obvious dangers.”

“What are the obvious dangers?”

“Getting lost and dying in your sleep. Can I finish?” Arrogan sounded mildly exasperated. “The big problem is that since you were asleep, you don’t know where the line is between what you observed and what you merely dreamt. Do you understand? Because of your anxiety or fear, you may have seen her but mixed it all together with a nightmare.”

“How do you know I saw something bad?”

“Because you sound like a man who just watched his house burn down.”

“Could it have all been real?”

“Maybe. The best thing you can do is put it out of your mind until you see her again. Fretting over it won’t do you any good.”

“All right, one more question, though. How did I find her if I didn’t even know where she was?”

“It’s a mental dimension. There are no physical places. You’ve learned already that you move by focusing your attention on people; the same thing applies. Your mind took you to her. In contrast, going to a place rather than a person is incredibly difficult. Usually it’s impossible unless you have a lot of memories in a particular spot. So, most of the time, the only places you can go are places where there’s someone you know very well.”

Inspiration struck him. “Could I find Tailtiu that way?”

“I wouldn’t recommend it. First, it probably wouldn’t work because it’s unlikely that you’ve developed the necessary bond.”

“She’s family,” insisted Will.

“No, William, she isn’t. I’ve been telling you that since the beginning. She’s only my daughter in the most technical sense. When Aislinn went to live in Faerie, our child was slowly replaced by the essence of that realm. My true daughter died in the womb, replaced by something unable to truly understand love, affection, or