He frowned. “But the blood was just a component, and the ritual diagram was designed to summon from the demon realm. That doesn’t make sense.”

  “Ward, William, a blood ward—it’s a barrier, not a part of the ritual design,” Selene replied patiently. “It’s keyed to me, or rather, it’s keyed to Lognion and his children.”

  Of course, the body of the man Selene had known as her father was actually that of her older brother, possessed by the dragon known as Lognion, but the principle was clear. The dragon had taken his first human body millennia before and had designed the protections for his nest to respond only to those descended from that human. The dragon probably didn’t need the blood to enter, but while continuing his human charade, he needed it if he wanted to check on the eggs. Will’s eyes widened as the realizations hit him one after another. That was why he was obsessed with Selene providing an heir. He probably could have used anyone’s body to maintain his fiction, but he wanted to have easy access to the nest, thought Will.

  Then he remembered Androv overpowering the king in that same chamber. The master vampire had opened a vein on the king’s wrist and used the blood to heal himself, but if Will hadn’t interfered, the lich’s servant would have probably done much more. He wanted to see if Lognion was the dragon’s host, and if so, whether he could find an entrance to the nest there, Will realized. “I stopped Androv from using your father’s blood in the chamber,” he muttered.

  “He’s not my father,” snapped Selene. “And yes, you got in his way, but you also saved the city.”

  Another terrible thought occurred to him. “How much blood does it take?”

  Selene smiled softly at his concern. “We don’t know, but I don’t think you need to worry. It’s probably very little, maybe just a drop. It would be pretty inconvenient if Lognion had to bleed his host to death every time he wanted to check on the nest.”

  “Have you tested it?”

  She shook her head. “Grim Talek is worried that a test will alert the dragon. He wants to wait until we’re prepared to finish the task all at once.”

  “So you don’t know.” Will could easily imagine that a creature with a lifespan measured in millennia might have a different concept of what was inconvenient. “What if he only checks the nest when switching bodies? Maybe he sacrifices one host and takes another at the same time? Bleeding a human to death might not be a problem—it could be a security measure.” Frustrated, he continued, “What if the nest isn’t there? Since you haven’t tested it, we don’t know for certain.”

  “When Androv was there, they still weren’t certain that the king was the dragon’s pawn. Grim Talek worried that the dragon might be working through an underling or servant, someone hidden behind the king. Confirming that Lognion was actually the host removed most of their uncertainty. Since then, your lich has gone down and inspected the chamber. He doesn’t know the full details, but he was able to detect the entrance to a hidden pocket dimension,” she explained. “He’s pretty certain.”

  Without warning, the door opened, and a man’s head popped around the doorframe. Will recognized him as Doctor Morris, the physician who had saved his life in the past. “Your Majesty, we’re ready to begin the procedure. Oh!” His eyes fixed on Will. “My apologies, Your Highness, I didn’t realize you were here.” The doctor made a quick bow, then asked, “Will you be observing the operation?”

  Confused, Will started to respond, but Selene intervened. “No. My husband has other duties to attend to. Give us a moment. I’ll be with you shortly, then we can start.”

  The doctor bowed again. “Very good. I’ll let Dame Shaw know. She said her husband is starting to fidget.” With that the physician backed out and closed the door.

  Will turned the name over in his mind. Dame Shaw? As much as he had studied the nobility under Selene’s direction, the name wasn’t familiar, and yet somehow it was. He stared at Selene quizzically for a moment before his mouth asked the question that his brain hadn’t quite formulated. “Shaw is Tiny’s last name, but he isn’t married yet, is he?”

  Selene stood again, smoothing the plain wool dress she wore. The same dress she had worn when working in the field hospital, years ago. Her face gave away nothing as she answered, “It’s amazing how quickly things can happen when people communicate properly and all the facts are out in the open.” The sting of knowing his best friend had married in his absence was only barely beginning to sink in when she added, “It was a small ceremony. The other students served as groomsmen and bridesmaids.”

  Other students—Will took that to mean Sammy and Emory, along with Tabitha and Shawn—in essence everyone at Rimberlin House, except for Will. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but there were other, more important questions. “What operation are you performing? Is the baby all right?” It was still far too early for the baby to be born, but he couldn’t help but worry.

  Selene waved a hand dismissively as she headed for the door. “Janice and the baby are fine. This is unrelated. I need to go.”

  “What secret are you keeping from me?” he demanded.

  His wife gave him a pitying smile as she opened the door. “Secrets are terrible, aren’t they? It’s much nicer when we all work together. Never fear, this is for your benefit. I’m sure Grim Talek will explain it to you in due course, so we can coordinate our plans at the end.” She stepped out, started to close the door, then opened it again briefly. “You should teleport out, so no one sees you. Prince William will be cross if he sees you here interfering in his end of things.” The door clicked shut and she was gone.

  Chapter 30

  Will stared at the door for a solid minute while quietly rehearsing every lesson in bad language he had ever learned. Given that his teacher had been Arrogan, and that he had spent time in the army, it took a considerable amount of time to run through all the creative phrases he had heard. Then he considered following her in spite of her snide warning. It was a testimony to his advancing maturity that he remained in place.

  After regaining his composure, he considered his teleportation options. Sitting down, he meditated briefly and slipped out of his body with relative ease, then he began testing various astral connections. He didn’t want to return to Myrsta, so he skipped his father and checked his other friends and family first.

  Interestingly, he was unable to find Selene, Janice, or Tiny, which meant they had probably shielded the room they were in. Will swore silently before continuing his search. Tabitha was with her mother, whom he definitely didn’t want to see presently. Sammy was studying with Emory, and while they were sitting shoulder-to-shoulder, there didn’t appear to be anything happening he could complain about.

  None of those were good options, so he tried Jeremy the cook, but had no luck. Apparently his relationship with the chef wasn’t strong enough. Finally, he tried Blake Word, his butler and sometimes arms-trainer, and was rewarded with a solid connection. The older man appeared to be outside doing some solitary sword practice. Without waiting to reconsider, Will shifted partway back to his body and activated his teleport spell, appearing beside his friend.

  Blake reacted as Will should have expected. “Mother’s tits!” the old soldier swore, jumping to one side and bringing his blade up into a guard position between them.

  Will would have laughed, but at the same time, he stepped back to create more room and stepped on a large rock, which cost him his footing. Stumbling, he fell onto his backside and found himself staring up at his astonished butler, who had his sword pointed firmly at Will’s face.

  A rumbling growl came from behind Will, causing him to turn his head while simultaneously apologizing. “Sorry about that, Blake…” The words died in his throat as he saw a massive panther stepping around him, its eyes fixed firmly on the sword-wielding butler.

  Eyes wide, Blake backed slowly away. “What in Temarah’s name is that?”

  For a moment, Will’s heart seized in his throat, for the only cat of such size he had ever seen was the Cath Bawlg, but as he took in what he was seeing, he realized the cat beside him didn’t look the same. It had white fur on its chest and legs, giving the impression of socks. The tail was a thick, bushy grey while the ears were tipped with white curls, similar to a lynx. All in all, despite being the size of a small pony, it bore identical markings to another cat he knew.

  “Evie?”

  Her tail swished over him like a cloud, but the cat never took her eyes from Blake.

  “It’s all right, Evie. We weren’t fighting. I just scared him,” said Will in a soothing tone. Then he addressed Blake. “I think you should put the sword away, so she knows you’re not threatening me.”

  The old veteran glanced nervously at him. “You sure about that?”

  Will nodded. “I don’t think the blade would do you much good anyway.”

  Blake kept his eyes on the cat while slowly bending his knees to place the sword on the ground. “Good kitty. See? I’m not going to hurt him.” The growling faded, and he gingerly stepped back.

  With that, the enormous cat turned her head to Will, completely dismissing the butler’s existence. She nudged him with a massive forehead, ruining his attempt at standing as a rumbling purr began to emanate from her chest.

  “Dare I ask where you came from, or what kind of cat this is?” Blake’s expression had shifted from outright alarm to wary anxiousness.

  Sitting now, Will scratched between Evie’s ears with one hand and under her chin with the other. In the space of an eye blink, her size had gone from that of a pony to something close to that of a large dog. “I teleported here from Cerria, and I think this isn’t really a cat at all.” A torrent of emotions ran through him as he added, “I think it’s a demigod, or the child of one, or maybe a rebirth. It’s confusing.”

  The butler slowly recovered his sword and sheathed it, being careful not to make any sudden moves. “The cat-god that helped you with the demon-lords?”

  Will nodded. “The goddamn cat was immortal, possibly more immortal than I understood.”

  “That doesn’t make much sense.”

  Will laughed. “It does when you’ve dealt with as many different immortals as I have. They’re all undying, but that doesn’t mean some of them can’t be killed. Vampires, the fae, demon-lords—they’re hard to kill and they have different strengths, but I’ve managed to kill all of them one way or another. I think the Cath Bawlg is different.”

  Blake snorted. “I’ve never had a cat make me nearly piss myself until now, that’s for sure. Didn’t you say the cat-god died, though?”

  His throat was thick as he answered, “I thought he did. No, I’m sure he did. This isn’t him, but yet it is. I don’t think Evie has his memories, and she seems female. I’m guessing his spirit reincarnates somehow.”

  Blake rubbed his chin. “Like the legend of the phoenix, reborn from its ashes?”

  “Something like that, but real, rather than myth.”

  “From what you said before, it was capable of killing demon-lords. That kind of power could be really handy—”

  “No,” snapped Will harshly, cutting the older man off. “My friends aren’t tools or assets to be counted. Besides, she’s still essentially a kitten.”

  “An immortal being that’s existed for uncountable eons,” said Will’s friend quietly.

  “A child spirit that’s only known a year in the world. A friend that somehow found me again after losing everything.” Will wiped his face with one sleeve. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Blake looked down. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply anything. Are you hungry?” He gestured toward the house. “I’ve worked up an appetite, and I think Jeremy has something good almost ready to serve. Maybe with Sir John absent, there will be enough for seconds.”

  Getting to his feet, Will followed Blake toward the main house. “I need to keep my presence here fairly quiet.”

  “The queen said as much when she was here.”

  “Selene was here?”

  His old friend looked slightly embarrassed. “For the wedding. Sir John and Miss Edelman decided to—”

  “I heard,” interrupted Will. “How are they doing?”

  The butler shrugged. “Dame Shaw is positively glowing, and your big friend is bigger than ever, although he seems to have lost a little weight.”

  The last Will had seen him, Tiny was already fairly trim, so that surprised him. “Is he eating enough?”

  Blake laughed. “More than enough, enough for an entire garrison. It’s the exercise. I honestly don’t think it’s healthy to train that much. He’s going to hurt himself. Despite eating a wagonload at every meal, he looks gaunt.”

  “Is he sick?”

  The older man tapped his temple. “Up here perhaps. There’s just not much fat left on him. While he was here, he spent all day either at the pells or practicing with spears.” After a brief pause, the butler added, “He asked me not to tell you about it. Said you’d worry.”

  Will was worried. “True enough, but I’m glad you did.” Taking a moment to study Blake’s face, he could see that there was still more to tell. “What haven’t you told me yet?”

  “It really isn’t my place,” said Blake reluctantly.

  “Consider it an order then.”

  The old soldier stopped walking and turned to face him. “He’s abusing the potions you gave him.”

  That was entirely unexpected. “What do you mean?”

  “Those dragon potions, I forget what you call them. The ones that make you stronger, faster—every day he was here, he would take one during the last hour of practice. After that, he was unbelievable. I watched him and I still couldn’t fathom it. Someone that big shouldn’t move that fast! By the end of it, he’d collapse, half-dead. I’m pretty sure he had broken bones as well. He’d take another potion then before collapsing, and we’d have to get a palette and every man with a strong back on the property to help cart him back to bed.”

  Alarmed, Will asked, “And Janice allowed that? What about Selene?”

  Blake scowled. “Told me to mind my own damn business, thank you very much. Not in those words, of course, but you get what I mean. Sir John was more willing to talk than they were.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Just that if you wanted to fight properly with that kind of speed you had to train with it, which is just a lame excuse for self-torture if you ask me.”

  They resumed walking toward the garden gate that would lead them into the back side of Rimberlin House while Will mentally tried to tally up how many dragon-heart potions he had given Tiny. He was certain it was no more than fifteen and the rest were safely stored in his limnthal, along with the desiccated and mostly dead vampire that provided the blood to make them. Unless Selene and Janice had captured another vampire, they couldn’t possibly be making more of the potions. That set a hard limit on how often Tiny could abuse himself for the sake of this so-called ‘training.’ It also made the expenditure of such a valuable and limited resource even stranger.

  Once they reached the house, Will used a camouflage spell and cautioned his friend once more, “Don’t mention my presence to anyone other than Sammy. Just tell her to check my room. She’ll understand.”

  “You really are paranoid.”

  “I trust you, but there’s every chance Lognion has a spy among the servants. I don’t want him to know of my comings and goings.” Or to notice that I’m in two places at once, he added mentally. Smoothing his turyn and silencing his movements, Will effectively vanished as he followed the other man through the door and into the house.

  Going upstairs, he went to his study, closed the door, and locked it. Then he summoned the enchanted silver plate he had used to contact the vampires a few days previously. This time, he had someone else he needed to talk to.

  With the proper investment of focus and turyn, a face appeared on the mirror-like surface, his own. “I thought you might contact me. Fortunately, I’m alone. I was going to talk to you tonight anyway.”

  “What have you been teaching my wife?” demanded Will, letting his anger show.

  “Anything she asks, within reason,” answered the lich. “Nothing that would endanger her, naturally, since that would go against our agreement.”

  A non-answer if Will had ever heard one, and he’d heard plenty of them from Arrogan over the years. “Knowledge is a tool. You could argue either way regarding virtually anything, including necromancy.”

  “Most knowledge is neutral, you’re right,” agreed his doppelganger, “but some knowledge is dangerous simply in the knowing. You’ve read my book—you should understand that now. I haven’t taught her anything that might drive her mad, like Erica’s spell to pierce the veil.”

  “Erica?”

  His face was so smug as it answered that Will wanted to punch himself. “I forget they didn’t include their names in the book. Erica was the tenth writer in my old journal. I’m assuming you chose to retain the knowledge when you finished.”

  Will understood immediately. The tenth writer had been the one to study the outsiders, and also the one who had gone insane. It was her barrier spell he intended to adapt to his own purposes, which made him feel vaguely guilty of some unnamed crime. He pushed that thought aside. “Point taken, but I still don’t want you teaching Selene necromancy.”

  “Too bad,” said Grim Talek. “The spells are useful, and she’s doing something important with the knowledge. Do you want children to die, William? Do you want people to suffer needlessly? Your wife has a noble purpose and the intelligence to improve the human condition on a scale not seen since the forgotten age when I was a child.”

  “Then why didn’t you do it, if you’re so concerned about humankind?”

  The lich hadn’t blinked for an unnatural span of time, and his face was completely expressionless when he replied, “Because I thoroughly despise you. Intellectual integrity and hatred for the dragon are the only two reasons I’ve continued this charade called existence. Once this is over, I expect full payment from you, otherwise…”