Moving to the ethereal and exiting through a non-burning cave seemed to be the safest route, but Will didn’t know a spell that would allow him to take everyone with him. Then he noticed Mahak pointing at his father, then motioning to the ceiling. Mark nodded, and the two of them worked out a non-verbal plan. They would be using the elemental to escape.

  That still put them at risk of an ambush when they emerged. Will caught his father’s eye and conjured a small light so the other man could see him clearly, then he pointed at Mahak and nodded agreement before pointing at himself and then at the burning entrance.

  Mark Nerrow frowned, but Will patted himself over his heart, hoping his father would understand he meant for him to trust his son. That done, he began constructing an ethereal-jaunt spell. Mahak and Theravan recognized the spell structure and nodded approvingly, while Mark’s earth elemental began creating a sloping tunnel that would lead them up to the surface.

  Will finished the spell, but waited until his father and vampires were partway up their new tunnel before dismissing his force-wall and transferring himself to the ethereal plane. His world immediately became much calmer. Gone were the flames and smoldering troll bodies, replaced by an empty grey cave that was virtually identical, except for a large boulder that occupied one side of the chamber.

  That seemed odd. The ground, earth, rivers, and similarly old things were generally identical between the two planes. The only things that varied were man-made structures and similar things. Oh, and the fact that the ethereal plane was nearly uninhabited, except for rare interdimensional hunters like…

  Phase spiders! Will’s realization came just as the giant arachnid unfolded with deceptively slow grace, then lunged at him with blinding speed. In appearance, it looked somewhat like a wolf spider, though he couldn’t be sure what color it was with his altered vision. Fangs and two razor-tipped legs stabbed at him, making a simple point-defense shield inadequate. Will used a force-wall instead, then followed with an iron-body spell. His heart was pounding so loudly it threatened to deafen him.

  The spider’s fangs struck the force effect and began to glow with a strange grey turyn that Will recognized. It was similar to the spell Androv had once used to destroy his force spells. Did they get the idea from studying these creatures? Will’s mind provided a wealth of questions, but his body was warning him that he needed to stay focused on the present. The phase spider’s entire body was now sheathed in the strange turyn, and he knew he could only hide behind his rapidly dissolving force-wall for a few seconds longer.

  As the first hole opened Will fired off a light-darts spell. The result was worse than ineffective; the spider’s carapace deflected the light missiles, sending them off in random directions. One even bounced back to strike part of the force wall.

  He had a teleport spell prepared, so he used it to move himself to the opposite side of the chamber then launched a fire-bolt. It wasn’t deflected, but it had no observable effect. A force-lance seemed to shake the creature slightly, but not much more—there was definitely no damage. The flowing grey power that sheathed the spider seemed to have some of the same properties as a force spell, with the exception that it was corrosive and flexible.

  The spider was already on him again.

  This time, Will opted for a more martial defense, with a heavy falchion in one hand and a steel buckler in the other. He used the buckler and a rapid-fire succession of point-defense shields to block the spider’s sharp, probing legs while he chopped at it with the sharp edge of the sword. The monster’s speed and power put his skills to the test, and the sheer mass of its body made him regret it whenever he was forced to use the buckler to block one of the attacks. He was being rapidly driven back toward the cave wall, and he didn’t have another teleport spell prepared.

  He didn’t have to be prescient to know what would happen once he was cornered. With a thought, he summoned a silver coin and used it to cast the silver-sword spell. Argent flames raced along the length of his falchion, enhancing its cutting power and lighting up the darkness of the cave. The effect on the spider was negligible.

  Desperate, Will unleashed a wind-wall, though he didn’t expect the area effect spell to do much against his heavily armored opponent. He was right, but one thing caught his eye. The spider’s grey turyn was ripped away briefly by the fierce wind, exposing matte black chitin. The edge of his falchion cut into the spider’s body slightly, marking the hard exoskeleton, though it still didn’t penetrate.

  The fluid grey turyn flowed back over the spider’s body, protecting it once more, and at the same time, Will felt hard stone against his back. He was out of time.

  Drawing strongly on his reserves, Will released a second wind-wall. He infused it with power for only a second, then dropped the spell and launched a force-lance straight into the arachnid’s hissing face—right between the fangs. The monster’s head crumpled inward, but Will didn’t pause to examine the effect of his strike. He followed it with another, and another—five, six, seven force-lances slammed into the vulnerable spider’s carapace.

  The creature was dead and nearly unrecognizable when Will finally reined himself in, his body shaking with adrenaline. In his mind, all he could see were the dripping fangs inches from his face. That close, I was that close to dying, he told himself, trying to shake off the fear that washed over him now that the fight was over. He didn’t have time to waste, though.

  He started moving back toward the cave entrance, drawing turyn in rapidly to replenish his spent reserves; depending on what he found outside, he might need to respond quickly. Less than a minute later, he was outside, blinking against the weak glare of the ethereal sun. His eyes adjusted quickly, but Will took an active hand in the process, adjusting them to see into the spectrum that crossed between the material and ethereal planes.

  Four trolls were gathered around the cave entrance, which now appeared to be partially blocked with large stones and small tree trunks. Smoke was billowing out through the gaps, testifying to the powerful blaze burning deeper in. As Will watched, the trolls seemed to take note of something, lifting their heads and scanning the area before moving uphill. At different points, they would stop and put a clawed hand against the rocky soil, feeling for something that couldn’t be seen. It wasn’t hard to guess what they were searching for. They can feel or hear the ground shifting as Mark and his elemental tunnel upward.

  The trolls spread out, arming themselves with broken saplings that made effective clubs. One went back to the cave entrance for a moment, only to return with a great sword that despite its size would only serve the troll as a one-handed weapon. Will guessed that the one with the stolen sword must be the leader.

  Having four trolls swinging at them with clubs when they emerged from the earth wasn’t an ideal way to make an exit. Will trusted that his father and the two ancient vampire wizards would be expecting something of the sort, but he didn’t want to risk the outcome. Instead, he formed an impromptu plan and immediately moved to implement it, before caution and reason could instill the fear that would keep him from acting.

  He moved to place himself directly behind the leader, made sure he had enough turyn, then released his ethereal-jaunt spell, allowing himself to rematerialize. In the past, he might have used a wind-wall, but he wasn’t sure the destructive force would be enough to incapacitate the trolls even briefly. Cutting them wasn’t enough; their limbs would need to be sheared through to stop them, and trolls had very thick arms and legs—plus there was the nightmare scenario of trying to locate all the troll bits afterward to make sure they were burned.

  Rather than deal with that, Will chose a wild magic solution. Using his talent with lightning, he sent arcing bolts of power through all four of the nearby trolls before they could react to his sudden appearance. This was unlike when he drew down lightning from the sky—that would have taken time and a massive amount of turyn to form the connection to the clouds above. In this case, he was attacking directly and paying the cost directly from his own turyn reserves as he would with regular spells.

  It was quick and dirty, and for most opponents it would have been fatal, but Will was under no delusions about how long it would keep the trolls twitching and helpless. Summoning his falchion, he began stabbing the now prone trolls in the groin, moving quickly from one to the next and then back again. A direct attack against the brain could keep one helpless for a minute, sometimes longer. He simply had to keep it up until his father and the vampires could safely exit and get to the business of burning the bodies.

  The next five minutes played out as a strange, macabre dance, and Will was beginning to worry that the others would never arrive, but eventually they did. Once things had calmed down and the underwater breathing spells had been dismissed, his father made an observation. “You did so well with these four by yourself, I’m wondering if you really needed us at all.”

  “I wanted you to feel useful,” countered Will with a lopsided grin. “Besides, there were more than four in the cave, not to mention it’s hard to burn them while running back and forth stabbing them over and over.” He didn’t even bother bringing up the phase spider he had encountered.

  Will checked his tracking spell, and sure enough it had ended, meaning he had killed the troll with the mark. If there were any more, they’d have to find them with other methods. The vampire warriors spread out and searched the hillside until the other exit was found. It was only partly traversable, however, since the trolls had collapsed it some distance inside the hill to trap them. They found no trace of other trolls, aside from the ones they had already killed and burned.

  A discussion ensued, during which it was agreed that the vampires would spend a few nights searching the area to see if any traces of other trolls could be found. The governor would return to his troops and patrol the surrounding region for a week before returning to Myrsta, assuming no more trolls were found. Will, on the other hand, would leave. He had a larger task to attend to.

  “Will.”

  He froze, feeling an overwhelming sense of Selene’s presence around him. The voice had been hers, although it hadn’t truly been her actual voice. It was a spirit voice, heard only by him, thanks to their connection in the astral plane. Turning slowly, Will saw her ghostly form hovering close beside him. Somehow, she had left her body and traveled to him, just as he had done with her in the past.

  Several terrible thoughts passed through his head in quick succession. Was she dead? If so, she might cling to their world long enough to visit him. Alternatively, she might have been dispossessed of her body as he had once been. She didn’t appear distressed, though. If anything, the feeling he got from her was one of extreme irritation, which meant she had probably learned to project herself.

  He had some explaining to do. Shit.

  “Are you all right? Did you learn to leave your body, or…?”

  Will felt a flash of anger from her as she replied, “Someone else taught me, no thanks to you. I tried to reach you last night, but something blocked me.”

  “I use an anti-possession spell when I sleep. It keeps me from wandering accidentally, but it also prevents these connections, similar to the barrier of a force spell,” he explained hurriedly. A second later, he asked, “Wait. He’s teaching you?”

  “Yes. He’s an excellent teacher, compared to a certain husband I won’t bother to name.” Will didn’t answer. He didn’t know what to say, and eventually she continued, “You need to start talking, husband.” The last word was emphasized in a way that made him think perhaps the phase spider hadn’t been as frightening as he had originally thought.

  A hand fell on his shoulder. “William? Who are you talking to?” It was his father.

  “Selene,” he replied instantly, not taking his eyes off of her. “I think I’d better go. Will you be all right here?”

  The governor was probably nervous about being left alone with so many vampires, especially since the sorcerers he had brought with him were gone. Will glanced at Theravan, who for some reason he felt especially able to trust. The vampire wizard nodded, and Will knew he understood. Mark Nerrow answered then, his pride refusing to admit to any anxiousness. “Do as you will. I can get back to my command without assistance.”

  “Thanks, Father.” He still wasn’t used to saying it, but he wanted to. He had always wanted to, despite his former grievances. Then he focused on Selene. “Are you alone? We should talk in person.”

  Her reply was acidic. “I wouldn’t leave my body unless it was secure.”

  “Return to your body. I’ll be there as soon as I can construct a teleport.”

  She frowned. “How? Did you figure out the spell?”

  He nodded.

  Her features registered a fresh pain. “You didn’t tell me you found a solution. More secrets?”

  Frustration ate into him. “It’s not a secret. It was recent. Just wait, I’ll be there in a few minutes.” She was gone before he finished the sentence. If the mountain air hadn’t been so brisk, he might have started sweating.

  Wasting no time, he began preparing a fresh teleport spell.

  Chapter 29

  As soon as Will arrived, he stepped toward Selene. It was a natural reaction after their separation; despite everything that had passed, he needed to hold her. Even angry, she would understand that.

  Selene took two rapid steps backward, maintaining the distance between them. She raised her hands as a barrier. “Not so fast.”

  Will felt a stab of pain at her denial. “I’ll explain everything in a moment. I’ve just missed you t—”

  Her eyes narrowed. “First let’s make certain you are who you appear to be.”

  He frowned. “You found me. The astral connection can’t be faked. Then I teleported here, which also requires an astral connection. Who else could I be?”

  Selene replied in a calm voice that nevertheless held an edge of suppressed fury. “That’s an assumption that I doubt you have evidence to support. I’ve already been deceived in ways that I didn’t think possible. I won’t assume anything. Hold out your hand, palm up.”

  With an air of resignation, he did so while his wife reached into a small pouch and removed something small. Her hand flashed forward so quickly that if it had been anyone else, he might have shielded himself, or at least flinched back. Since it was her, he kept his hand steady. A new pain, this one entirely physical, shot through his hand. Selene pulled her hand away, revealing a tiny knife blade—no, it was a scalpel, he realized. Blood welled and began to drip from a wound on his palm.

  She had stabbed the steel implement deep into the meat of his palm. As he watched, she rubbed some of his blood between her fingertips, sniffed it, and then even dared to taste it with her tongue. That done, she crafted a quick spell and used it on the blood. A wisp of turyn floated above her hand, and though Will couldn’t see the image it showed her he guessed it was a picture of himself. The spell was reminiscent of a tracking and identification spell she had used years before to catch him leaving an anonymous message.

  “Given the truth of what you said, I should probably learn that spell as well,” he observed.

  Looking up at him with damp yet angry eyes, she agreed, “You should.”

  “You didn’t need that much blood, did you?” His hand was dripping steadily onto the floor.

  “A pin prick would have been sufficient. It only takes a drop.”

  Will nodded. “I probably deserved it.” Taking a moment, he constructed a minor healing spell, then started to use it on his bleeding palm.

  Selene waved a finger through his spell construct. Rather than resist, he let her disrupt the spell. “That will only seal the skin. It was a deep cut.”

  “It’s not worth a regeneration potion.”

  She tsked at him. “There’s a lot of medical magic between a simple suture spell and regeneration.” A complex spell construct formed rapidly over her palm as she spoke. When it was ready, she closed her eyes and pressed it into his cut.

  Will tried not to hiss as the turyn wove in and out, drawing together not just the skin, but the fat, fascia, and the damaged muscle beneath. He’d seen similar spells demonstrated during his one class covering healing magic, and he knew that such spells required more than simply memorizing a rune structure. The caster had to have intimate knowledge of anatomy and physiology in order to apply the spell properly. Specialized spell versions took into account a variety of factors, including the type of tissue, the orientation of the muscle, the number of different muscles, which body part was being worked on—the list of variables was nearly endless. Magic used to heal physical trauma was exceedingly complex, and that was just in the case of wounds to relatively healthy individuals. The treatment of longstanding diseases and illnesses was an entirely different matter.

  He had once shown some unusual success adapting wild magic and herbs to treat septic wounds, but that was a small thing compared to the techniques used by wizardly specialists, like Doctor Morris at Wurthaven, who coincidentally was the only person he had seen demonstrate such magic. Glancing at the room around them, Will asked, “Are we in the Healing and Psyche building?”

  Selene nodded. “I stepped into one of the private consult rooms before I tried to contact you.”

  Will rubbed at his palm, trying to rub away the dull ache that remained. “Isn’t there supposed to be an anesthetic component to those spells?”

  Her eyes glinted maliciously. “I took it out.” Then she opened her arms. “You get one embrace, then you have a lot of talking to do.”

  He hesitated. “Promise you won’t stab me again? Are you hiding a weapon?”

  “No promises.”

  Wrapping her in his arms, Will pulled her tightly against his chest. Her arms wound around his waist, and he felt her hands curl into fists as she gripped the back of his tunic. It was the sort of hug that spoke of fear, loneliness, and quiet desperation, and it made his heart ache to think of what her recent weeks had been like. It probably would have been hard regardless, but the fact that he had left her to face it alone had made it much harder. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.