They watched her go in silence, before Tiny finally remarked, “You’ve got to have balls the size of boulders to marry a woman like that.”

  Will gave his friend a surprised look. It was rare for Tiny to be so frank, much less vulgar, then he replied, “Or have rocks for brains.”

  “Oh,” said Tiny. “That makes more sense.” Will had already created a travel disk and he stepped onto it beside his friend. “When are you going to tell me what’s happening?”

  “Lognion is alive and Rimberlin House is the target of his retribution.”

  “Janice—and Sammy, of course,” muttered Tiny. The wind was already whipping at their faces as they glided down the road at breakneck speed. “Hurry.”

  Chapter 15

  Will explained what little he knew as they went. They were barely outside the city when he finished and that left them with little of practical importance to say for the rest of the two-hour journey. “Maybe I should stand in the front,” suggested Tiny.

  “This is my spell,” Will responded. “Why does it matter?”

  “Can you make it larger then?”

  “It won’t be as fast, and I might tire out before we get there.”

  “Then at least let me stand in front.”

  Will was truly puzzled. “Why?”

  “I’m supposed to protect you, remember?”

  “You can do that back there.” Will liked having the wind on his face, plus Tiny had taken the time to put on his armor. No matter how meticulous the wearer, armor always smelled bad. Will had some nostalgia around his time in the army, but none of it related to the obnoxious smell of sweaty leather and rusting iron.

  “I have a breastplate on,” said Tiny. “You didn’t even stop to put on your underarmor.”

  Will snorted. “Which is exactly why you should be behind me.”

  “You smell.”

  “Which is exactly why you should be behind me!” Will repeated, yelling. “Your armor is noxious.”

  “You must’ve thrown up on yourself yesterday, and if they gave you a bed bath, it wasn’t enough.”

  In point of fact, Will had gotten the insides of a number of people splattered across him the previous day, including some of what must have been in their stomachs. Whoever had cleaned him up hadn’t used Selene’s cleaning spell, but his own stink didn’t bother him nearly as much as the smell of Tiny’s armor. “One of us took an oath to serve,” he argued. “That means you ride behind me.”

  “You swore to aid and succor your vassal. My nose is badly in need of aid currently,” replied Tiny.

  “I’ll give you suc—” Will started to reply angrily before pausing. “Never mind, that didn’t come out right.” Another thought occurred to him then. He brought the disk to a rapid halt. “I’m an idiot.”

  Tiny nodded.

  “No. I mean I should have thought first. I can—” He paused, and Tiny was already nodding emphatically. “Smart ass. I can check on them. Watch me for a minute. I’m going to close my eyes. Make sure I don’t fall over.” Without further explanation, he took a deep breath and adjusted his mindset. Given all the excitement, it took him a minute or two, but then he was free of his body and Janice appeared before him.

  If he’d had cheeks, he would have blushed, for he found her in a personal moment on the privy. Quickly shifting his focus, he went to Sammy instead. He was instantly able to ascertain that there was no present danger, for Emory Tallowen was with her, and the two of them were exploring new uses for their lips beyond the mundane acts of eating or talking.

  Will snapped back to his body, furious. “We have to hurry.” He recast the travel spell immediately and Tiny stepped up behind him.

  “How bad is it? What’s happening?”

  “Janice is safe, but Emory and Sammy are kissing.”

  “Oh,” said Tiny, relaxing. “Next time, say that first. You nearly scared me to death.”

  They were up to speed in no time. “It’s an emergency.”

  “You’re a married man, Will. I’d expect you to be more worldly about these matters.”

  Will looked back long enough to give Tiny a nasty glare. “You’re an expert on such worldly matters now? Is that it?”

  Tiny gave him a patient look. “Enough to know that love isn’t an emergency.”

  Sarcasm dripped from his reply. “Have you forgotten why Janice stayed behind, great sage?”

  His friend’s cheeks grew pink. “Fair point.”

  They kept their conversation to a minimum for the rest of the trip, and in another hour and a half, they were skimming across the front lawn and toward the front entrance of Rimberlin House. The disk slowed just enough to allow them to switch to a brisk walk as they reached the front door. An unlocking spell, followed by a quick force-push spell, threw the doors open just in time to let them in without pausing.

  They split up immediately. “Janice’s room is still upstairs and down the left hall,” said Will. He headed for the front parlor, where he had seen his cousin earlier, but it turned out to be empty. “Sammy!” he yelled, making his voice resonate through the house. He ran back, thinking to check her room upstairs, but hoping she wouldn’t be there.

  Jeremy, the cook, looked out into the hall and stared at him in surprise. “Your Grace?”

  “Where’s Sammy?”

  Blake emerged from the opposite end of the hall, where his office was located. “She went for a walk a short while ago. We didn’t expect you back so soon.” Will didn’t waste words, heading instead for the front door, but Blake called out again, “The back garden, not the front.”

  Will turned sharply and took the door leading toward the sunroom and the back of the house. He nearly tripped when Sammy appeared from a side door. “Will, is that you?”

  He gaped at her, his eyes taking in her appearance, which was exceedingly normal. “Why were you in there?” he asked without preamble. Stepping past his cousin, he opened the door to what Selene called the ‘sewing room’ but generally served for a number of her crafty hobbies beyond lace and textiles.

  Sammy looked at him strangely. “I was practicing my tatting, but I’m not having much luck without Tabitha here. Did she come back with you?”

  “No,” said Will, examining the room carefully. There was a wardrobe against the opposite wall. Emory could potentially hide within, if it were empty.

  “What are you looking for?” asked Sammy.

  Striding past two chairs and stepping over a basket full of odds and ends, Will opened the wardrobe. There was no one hiding within. “I came back to make sure you were safe.”

  “Did something happen?”

  Will went back into the hall, where everyone was now gathering. Tiny and Janice were descending the main stairs, accompanied by Emory. “I killed the king, but he might not be completely dead,” he announced.

  Several people gasped, and there were obviously a lot of questions to be asked, but everyone waited. Sammy was the first to ask, “Was it because of Tabitha?”

  Will shook his head. “Yes, no—it wasn’t my idea. He caught me off-guard, tried to kill me in the middle of the event. Tabitha was wounded, I thought she died. Laina did die. Things devolved from there and a lot of people got hurt.” He paused, then reluctantly corrected himself. “To be more accurate, things devolved, and I killed a lot of people.”

  Blake spoke up. “Perhaps you shouldn’t speak so openly about it.” His eyes went to the sides, indicating the various maids, the cook, and the gardener who had just stepped in from outside. “Surely you’re tired from your journey.”

  “There’s bread and mutton left from lunch,” offered Jeremy. “Are you thirsty, milord?”

  Will nodded, then addressed everyone deliberately. “There’s no hiding it. What’s done is done. Selene is no longer a princess; she’ll be crowned queen soon.”

  Sammy tapped his arm. “Didn’t you just say the king might not be dead?”

  Blake clapped his hands together. “Everyone back to work.” As the servants reluctantly went back to their tasks, he looked at Will and those who remained. “Let’s have refreshments in the front room. I’ll have tea brought in along with whatever Jeremy can put together.”

  A few minutes later, they were settled in, and as soon as Blake returned, Will gave a somewhat better explanation of recent events, along with a simple explanation of the letter he had received. Emory was still processing the news, and Sammy was mainly grateful that Tabitha was alive and well, but Janice had an interesting observation to add. “Why did you assume he meant Rimberlin House?”

  Will frowned. “The letter said, ‘my home.’ There’s no one at the house in Cerria. Everyone I might worry about is here.”

  Janice didn’t beat around the bush. “You should check on your mother. You can see her astrally, right?”

  “But he doesn’t know where she lives,” said Will, his voice tapering off. Arrogan’s old house, now his mother’s home, was a closely guarded secret. His mother’s safety was the one thing he’d never worried about, especially when the goddamn cat had been keeping watch.

  But the Cath Bawlg was dead.

  “Selene was there, wasn’t she? Before you went to Wurthaven? Back when she was still bound by the heart-stone enchantment—couldn’t her father have forced the information from her then?” asked Janice.

  Will still remembered the night he had caught Selene reporting to the king while everyone was asleep. His heart stopped. There might have been other conversations. She might have been forced to forget, like Laina. He was out of his chair and on his feet, a growing sense of panic washing over him. “I’ll be upstairs.”

  The chair in his study was the best place. It was comfortable and the room was quiet. Will could slip into the astral plane pretty easily now, but he still preferred the privacy of his study. He shut the door and sat down quickly, then was surprised by a bump against his leg. Glancing down, he saw Evie staring up at him.

  Reaching down, he gave her a quick scratch between the ears. “Hello. I’ve missed you, but I’m in a hurry.” He leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes. Seconds later, he saw his mother’s face and felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

  Erisa was sitting in the front yard with another woman. A collection of clothes hung drying on lines in the breeze and sunshine. Will didn’t recognize the other woman, but that hardly mattered. A short distance from them, a toddler played in the grass, Oliver.

  He assumed it was Annabelle’s child, anyway. It had been a while since he’d been home, and the boy had been an infant the last time he’d seen him. How old is he now? Will wondered. Three, maybe? It hardly seemed possible. The little boy called out, “Momma!” Oliver was holding up a rock he’d found.

  Will felt a strange pang of jealousy, but he pushed it away, knowing it was childish. For some reason he’d assumed Oliver would learn to call her ‘Auntie’ or something similar, but it didn’t really make sense. If Erisa raised him, why wouldn’t he call her mother? Didn’t the child deserve a mother? One word had sent Will into a whirlwind of confused emotions.

  Erisa smiled at the child and made encouraging noises before turning back to her companion. “Is Johnathan expecting you back today or can you stay?”

  The woman smiled. “He’s making deliveries to Branscombe again. I don’t like staying in an empty house.”

  “I love the company,” said Erisa. She continued talking, but Will hardly heard. His mind was trying to understand what he’d learned. Uncle Johnathan has a mistress? Or did he marry? Does Sammy know? His attention returned just in time to hear his mother respond to something he had missed, “I appreciate the offer, Tish, but my son insists we stay here. It’s a little lonely, but he thinks it safer for us.”

  “Who is that?” asked Tish, looking off to one side.

  Erisa stood immediately, a grin spreading across her features. “What are the odds? That’s him now! William!” She waved happily.

  What? Will panicked for a moment, thinking they saw him, then he shifted his field of view. Approaching from the edge of the forest, was—himself. A cold wave of shock washed over him. Was it the lich? Was it Lognion somehow? He didn’t like any of the possible answers.

  The stranger waved back and walked over quickly, urgency in his stride. For a moment, his eyes stared directly at Will, and he smirked, then his gaze returned to Erisa. “Mom! I have news, but first we…”

  A shadow passed over everything, followed by a sound that seemed to shake the trees. Erisa looked up, and her eyes widened in terror. Will shifted his view again but missed whatever she had seen. The sun was back, and his doppelganger had reached the two women. The man looked directly at Will and said, “Too late again, William. You can’t help anyone in that form. You’re going to have to do better.”

  Erisa was clutching the imposter’s arm. “What was that thing? Who’re you talking to?”

  “Just talking to myself—,” said the false-Will. “And that thing was death incarnate. But first, we need some privacy.” His eyes returned to Will and a spell rippled from his fingers.

  Pain ripped into him as the magic tore at his mind. Will screamed and almost lost focus, but his desperation to save his mother somehow kept him anchored. It felt as if he was swimming against a wind made of razor blades. It was with some irony that he recognized the spell as an exorcism to drive away spirits.

  “Will! Will! What’s going on?” It was Sammy’s voice. In the distance, he could hear someone pounding against his study door. His view wavered, and he saw a ghostly image of his study surrounding him, overlaid against the image of his mother’s house. He’d never experienced anything like it before. His will warred against the exorcism spell while physical reality tried to bring him back to his body, and as a result he found his mind juxtaposed between two places simultaneously.

  In the past, his astral ability had been too ephemeral. He would have snapped back to his physical self instantly, but this time he refused to let go. Pushing forward, Will saw his own ghostly hand reaching toward his mother.

  My hand! It came to him in a flash. The ghostly image was his physical hand. If he was moving it, then he was also in command of his body, and if he was in control of that then… With a thought, he brought out one of his prepared spell constructs. His mother was still in view, and if he could cast the spell, then perhaps he could reach her in time.

  The other Will grinned, then created a force-dome over them. They disappeared from view, and Will lost his connection. Screaming in fury, he fell back into his own body. “No!”

  “Will, are you all right? I’m going to break down the door if you don’t answer!” That was Tiny’s voice.

  In perfect counterpoint, a menacing growl came from the desktop, where Evie stood puffed up and angry. If Will hadn’t already been upset, it might have been funny, but he wasn’t in the mood. “I’m fine!” he yelled, then he spoke to the cat. “Don’t worry, Evie. We aren’t in danger.” When did she get so big?

  He blinked, and she was back to her normal size, but for a moment he would have sworn she was almost too large to stand on top of the desk. Did I imagine it? That couldn’t have just been her fur. The cat looked at him with green-gold eyes, then jumped down to pace around the edge of the room, her tail flicking back and forth in obvious agitation.

  There was no sign of magic or excessive turyn in the air, other than his own. Shaking his head, Will hurried to open the door. He had other things to worry about.

  Tiny, Sammy, and everyone else was standing outside. “Janice was right,” said Will.

  Sammy blinked. “Aunt Erisa, is she—?”

  The look on her face broke his heart. It was his mother, but for Sammy it was just as bad. She’d lost nearly her entire family. Her mother, her brothers—only her father remained, and her aunt had been a vital link to sanity and stability after she had lost almost everyone else. Will understood. Losing Aunt Doreen had been nearly as hard for him, and he still had his own mom. Choking down his fears, he answered as calmly as he could, “I don’t know. Something happened, and then I was blocked, but…”

  “But what?” Sammy demanded. Everyone else kept their silence.

  “I don’t know,” he replied. “But she was in a lot of danger.” She’s dead, screamed the voice inside his head. Everyone you love winds up dead, and you’re too much of a coward to admit it to her! Ignoring his dark thoughts, Will looked at Tiny. “We have to go.”

  Sammy grabbed onto his sleeve. “Take me along.”

  Will understood. He knew the feeling so well he wanted to scream. It was a struggle to keep his expression calm as he looked at everyone gathered around. They all expected something. They were all afraid. They all wanted something. The emotions and expectations seemed to rush at him from every side, and for a moment he felt claustrophobic.

  One thought kept him from doing something stupid. Selene. Will focused on his breathing, tried to think, then focused on the person he liked the least, Emory Tallowen. “We need to talk.” Will pointed at the study door. “Join me for a moment.”

  Janice and Tiny exchanged worried looks, but Will ignored them. Emory stepped inside and Will closed the door behind them. He didn’t waste any time. “Are you in love with her?”

  “What?” Emory’s normally smooth voice shot up half an octave.

  “I know what you did,” said Will.

  “I didn’t…”

  Will moved forward, forcing the young noble to back up until his shoulders met the wall. “You did. I can see it in your eyes.” It was a lie, but he had seen enough to make it seem true.

  “No. You don’t understand,” said Emory, trying to regain his composure.

  “She’s my only cousin,” said Will. “She’s nearly the only family I have left. We grew up together. I wasn’t raised a noble either. Do you know what the people in our village do to men who—”