Secrets and Spellcraft Read online

  “I’m feeling less inclined to talk to you, Cartwright. Why don’t we skip to the part where you bleed on the ground and kiss the soles of my shoes?”

  “But I’m really curious!” Will said loudly as he danced back a few feet to maintain his distance. He could see people looking out the doors of both dormitories now, and some of the windows had opened. A lot more people were listening.

  “I want to know if you drug girls for sex because you don’t know how to talk to them, or is it the fact that once they see your tiny dick, they run screaming?”

  Chris lunged at him and Will stepped forward, planting a fist in the other boy’s stomach, causing him to double over. Then he dodged sideways to avoid a grab from Brett.

  “Are you afraid of me, Dennis?” he yelled. “Is that why you brought so many friends? Or is this how you normally operate? I guess you need at least two friends to hold girls down for you to rape, don’t you?” Brett started running toward him, so Will turned and broke into a sprint, heading for the corner of the building. Chris was still trying to get his breath back.

  As soon as he turned the corner, Will stopped and turned back. He caught Brett with a surprise punch as he came around the corner and followed it with a knee to the head when the other boy doubled over. Then he started back toward the entrance.

  Dennis stared at him as he advanced, backing slowly away. “Don’t even think about it, Cartwright!” he yelled.

  “Or what?” demanded Will. “You’ll bleed on me? Why don’t you tuck tail and run, you goddamn coward?” He kept coming.

  Dennis might have held his ground, but Chris broke and ran. Lacking support, Dennis followed suit.

  “You’re a fucking rapist, Dennis Spry!” screamed Will, doing his best to keep his voice loud and clear. “And I’m going to make sure everyone in this school knows about it!” Having made his point, he turned and glanced around, making sure his audience had stayed until the end. He felt pleased by what he saw.

  A few students approached Will before he went inside. “What was that about?” asked a girl that he recognized as Rebecca Swafford.

  “Be careful if you go to any parties and Dennis is around,” said Will. “He’s not above drugging girls to get what he wants.” With that, he left them and went inside.

  Rob was standing just inside the door. “Are you insane?” he exclaimed. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because it’s true,” said Will. “I’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. That bastard tried to drug a girl and sell her to his friends.” He kept his voice loud enough that everyone in the vicinity could hear him clearly.

  Rob’s face went pale. “You can’t just go around saying—”

  “I can,” said Will. “I was there. He offered her to me first. That’s how I know what a despicable asshole he is. If I hadn’t said something then and there, I can’t imagine what would have happened.” That was stretching the truth, but Will didn’t care. The bigger and nastier the rumor became, the better it would be for him.

  “Who was it?” asked someone behind him.

  Will turned and saw a student he didn’t recognize. “I’m not going to say, since I don’t want to drag her into it. Dennis knows what he did, and I was there to catch him out. Ask him and see if he dares own up to the truth!”

  He started for the stairs, but another voice stopped him in his tracks. “William! Come here.” It was Dianne Young.

  Will went quietly, and the resident assistant led him to her office and closed the door. “Do you mind telling me what that was all about?” she asked.

  “Dennis Spry invited me to a party at Malview House yesterday evening,” said Will plainly. “While I was there, I saw him put something in a girl’s wine. I followed him upstairs after she passed out and he offered to let me sleep with her. He had several other guys offering him money for turns with her.”

  Dianne’s face blanched at his directness. “Who was the girl?”

  “I’d rather not say. She’s got enough trouble already.”

  “With you shouting about it, do you think her identity will remain a secret for long?” demanded Dianne. “You’re not doing her any favors.”

  “If I don’t say something, he’ll try to do it again.”

  “And if you’re not willing to give names or she doesn’t step forward, that rich asshole will have you expelled, or worse. He could take you to court for slander,” warned the resident assistant. “Do you think that will help her cause?”

  Which is exactly why I have to make him so mad he can’t see straight, thought Will. He lowered his head and tried out his acting skills. “I don’t know what else to do! It isn’t right!”

  Her face softened. “If you’ll give me her name, I can pass it along. Some of the faculty here care more about this sort of thing than you might imagine.”

  “Enough to kick that jerk out of Wurthaven?” he asked pointedly.

  Dianne shook her head sadly. “I wish, but no. At the very least some of them will keep an eye on her and try to help if he starts trying to bully her.”

  Will glanced up, giving her a hopeful look. “And they won’t tell everyone? If her name gets out, she’ll be embarrassed beyond belief.”

  “I’ll only tell those I trust to keep it quiet,” she answered. “The vice-chancellor and the proctors take this sort of thing seriously. They’ll do as much as they can.”

  He wanted to smile. That was better than he had hoped. Seeding the administration with the news in advance might help his case when the time came. “It was Janice Edelman,” said Will quietly. “I got her out of the house before they could do anything to her, even though Dennis had her drugged to the point of unconsciousness.”

  “Do you know what drug it was?”

  “I think it was tincture of opium,” said Will. “He had a vial of it in his coat pocket.”

  “How do you know what it was? Did he tell you?”

  “My mother is an herbalist,” he answered. “I recognized the symptoms.”

  “Thank you for telling me, Will.”

  “What else should I do?” he asked, affecting an air of uncertainty.

  Dianne leaned back. “Nothing. You’ve caused enough of an uproar already. If Dennis tries to approach you, you should stay calm. It won’t help if people think you’re spoiling for a fight. Let the proctors handle it.”

  “I’ll do as you say,” said Will meekly. Until Monday, he added silently.

  Chapter 14

  Will spent that evening practicing the ‘Silent Thief’ spell, though he didn’t try to cast it. He needed to improve his skills before he would try that. Instead he just attempted to complete the construct since it was a bit more complicated than anything he had done before. He wouldn’t have the brigandine in time for Monday anyway, so the spell was more of an investment in the future.

  Once morning arrived, he ate breakfast and made the trip to the weapon-smith’s shop to collect his sword. He was pleased with the edge when he inspected it. The forward-facing edge was nearly razor sharp, as well as the first six inches of the back side of the point. After his time in the army, he had a great respect for the damage sharp steel could do to a human body, and he wouldn’t have wanted to face a weapon like the saber without armor.

  But that’s what I’m going to do, he told himself, suppressing a shudder.

  He belted the sword on and walked back to the dorm, taking a roundabout path to make certain that at least a few of Dennis’ friends saw him wearing it. A lot of anger and a little bit of fear, he told himself. I have to get the mixture just right.

  A few of the male students asked him about the weapon. Generally speaking, the only students who wore such things were the sons of nobles, and even they usually only wore them as status symbols at certain social events, or if they went into the city. No one walked about the campus with one. It simply wasn’t done.

  Will’s general response was to feign surprise. “Oh. I’ll put it away then. It’s just that he threatened to kill me. I didn’t know
what else to do.”

  Selene would be proud of me, thought Will after he got back to his room. My acting has improved considerably.

  He spent the rest of the day in his room, practicing the technique that the ring had described. His roommate wasn’t pleased, however. From Seth’s perspective, all he saw was Will continually lunging back and forth across the room, which made it impossible for the other boy to study, write, or even think.

  “Please, Will, will you stop? You’re driving me to nervous exhaustion,” exclaimed Seth.

  “Imagine how I feel,” Will countered. “He threatened to kill me!” In actuality, Dennis had never said those words, though Will didn’t doubt the young lordling would have if he had had the opportunity. The important thing was that he repeat them to as many people as possible before the next morning arrived.

  A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Will opened the door to find a young man he didn’t recognize outside the door. “Mom says to come down. Someone wants to see you.”

  Will went down, and Dianne directed him toward the cushioned chairs in the common room. “She wanted to talk to you.”

  Janice Edelman was sitting in the direction she pointed. Will went over immediately. “Hey,” he said, giving a small wave.

  His classmate appeared visibly upset. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

  Will took a seat across from her. “Drawing a boil.”

  “Huh?” She stared at him as though had grown two heads. “What does that mean?”

  “When you have a boil on your skin, you have to use a salve to draw it out, such as coal tar. It makes the boil angry and red, until it festers to the surface. Once it rears its ugly head, you can lance it,” explained Will.

  Janice shook her head. “You’re only making things worse for everyone. People keep asking me if I know who the girl was. Not only that, but Dennis is beyond angry. I thought maybe he’d calm down, but you’ve injured his pride. He’s not going to let this go. Do you realize the things he could do to you?”

  “Not really,” said Will, playing dumb. “List them out for me.”

  “His father could convince the chancellor to have you expelled, for starters. They could take you to court and have you locked up for slander. You could go to prison! And those are the nice options. They could hire men to wait for you in town.”

  He nodded, relieved that she hadn’t named anything that he hadn’t already considered.

  “Not to mention me,” she continued. “I’m almost certain to lose my sponsorship. If you make things any worse, he’s bound to do something to my family.”

  “Lindham is more than two weeks from here,” said Will. “Dennis will have to send a letter to get his father involved.”

  “And your point is?”

  He’s not going to get a chance to send a letter, thought Will. And by the time anyone does, I’ll be the only one they mention. He remained silent, lacking a good answer since he couldn’t share his plan.

  Janice leaned forward intently. “Are you doing this because you think it’s brave, or that I’ll like you? Do you have some demented idea of chivalry in the back of your head? All you’re doing is ruining your life, and quite possibly mine along with you.”

  Will returned her gaze evenly. “I’m not doing this for you.”

  “Then why?”

  It was something he’d given a lot of thought to over the past couple of days. “I wasn’t even sure myself,” he admitted. “Not at first. But I understand myself better now. I’m doing this for me. I’m doing it so I can look myself in the mirror. I don’t want to live in a world where people like him get to do whatever they please and damn everyone else, and one way or another, I won’t. I’m also doing this for all the other people that little turd might hurt in the future.”

  “Well nothing you’re doing is going to help any of that,” said Janice in exasperation.

  Will shrugged, then stood to leave. “He threatened to kill me,” he added at the end, seeding his lie in one more pair of ears.

  Janice watched him go, but he picked up her last words as he reached the stairs. “You’re an idiot, William Cartwright,” she muttered to herself.

  ***

  Monday morning arrived after an interminably long night. Will had tried to sleep but with only limited success. Nevertheless, his nerves were wound too tightly for him to feel sleepy as he headed to fencing practice almost an hour early. Under his arm he carried a long, slender bundle wrapped in his cloak.

  He was the first to arrive at the gym, but he had no doubt someone else would show up soon. He’ll want to confront me before practice, Will told himself, hoping it was true.

  Making use of his time alone, he went and stowed his bundle in one of the equipment lockers, then did a few exercises to stretch out his muscles and use up some of his nervous energy. It wasn’t long before his prediction came true. Dennis Spry appeared, accompanied by Chris Burnham.

  “Look who it is,” challenged the young noble.

  Will looked his enemy up and down, noting the sword on Dennis’ hip. “Feeling brave now that you’re armed?” he asked.

  “I heard you were carrying one,” said Dennis. “As violent and deranged as you are, I didn’t want to get murdered coming to class, so I took precautions.”

  “And I heard that it’s in poor taste to carry weapons around Wurthaven,” said Will, “but then, a dog like you wouldn’t know anything about taste, would you?”

  “You’re a lying braggart, Cartwright,” said Dennis. “A churl like you wouldn’t even own a saber. You were probably walking around campus with a kitchen knife yesterday, trying to scare the other underclassmen.”

  Will met the other boy’s gaze calmly. “I’m not carrying a sword, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have one—you pus-ridden little rapist.” He spotted movement then, and saw Matthew Holmgren arriving through the side door. Finally, a witness, he thought to himself.

  “Take it back and apologize this instant!” commanded Dennis, his hand falling to the hilt of his weapon.

  Will leaned in, pitching his voice just loud enough that both Dennis and Chris could hear him. “Or what? You’ll offer me a glass of wine? No, thanks.”

  Dennis snapped. Whipping out his saber he screamed at Will, spittle flying from his lips. “I’ll gut you like a pig, Cartwright!”

  Will retreated. “Are you challenging me to a duel, Dennis?” he asked loudly, making sure Matthew was listening.

  Dennis froze, sanity returning for a moment. Glancing around, he saw Matthew and Chris both staring at him with keen interest. “Well…” he started to fumble his words as he realized he had backed himself into a corner.

  “So you just bared your steel to threaten me?” asked Will calmly. “I knew you were spineless. I can’t wait to tell everyone once class starts.” He could see a couple more students entering the gym already.

  “I do challenge you!” shouted Dennis boldly, then he added. “Too bad you don’t have a sword, otherwise I’d spill your blood right here.”

  Will grinned. “Oh, but I do have a sword. One moment.” He walked over to the equipment lockers and retrieved his bundle, then removed the saber in its sheath. “This should do,” he announced.

  Dennis’ eyes bulged. “I didn’t mean we should duel right this minute,” he said, backpedaling.

  “Why? So, you can find a way to back out of it? Or maybe you think you can have some of your friends catch me alone somewhere?” Will turned to the others. “You heard him. He challenged me.” Then he looked back at Dennis. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want. I understand if you’re too scared.”

  “Instructor Rhodes will be here in a few minutes,” offered Dennis. “We should probably wait.”

  “It’s early,” said Will. “He won’t be here for at least a quarter of an hour. How long do you need?”

  His opponent clenched his jaw. “Fine. You asked for this.”

  Will shook his head. “No. I didn’t.” He wa
ved his hands at the other students. “And these are my witnesses. You challenged me, not the other way around.” He raised his voice. “Does anyone dispute that?”

  Matthew Holmgren spoke up. “No. I heard him. He definitely challenged you.” The others nodded.

  Unsheathing his blade, Will bowed slightly in Dennis’ direction. “How do you want to do this, to the death, or just first blood?”

  “First blood,” said Dennis immediately, his body tense to the point of making his movements jerky.

  “Fine with me. Matthew, will you referee for us?”

  Matthew readily agreed and moved to stand midway between them, lifting his arm in the air. Meanwhile, Will contracted his turyn. He had expanded his personal boundary a few minutes earlier, allowing him to absorb more than usual. Drawing it in, he could feel his heart speeding up as his muscles grew hot. It almost felt like his very bones were vibrating.

  Extending his arm, he pointed the tip of his saber at Dennis, keeping the point low. His opponent did likewise. From the past week everyone already knew that Dennis was the best fencer in the class. But we aren’t sparring, Will reminded himself. Someone’s about to get hurt, and he’s never stared down a sharp sword pointed in his direction before.

  Will had never tried to stand out in the class. He might have been close to the top of their rankings if he had, but he still wouldn’t have been as good as Dennis Spry. The young noble had been practicing the sport for years. What Will had done, however, was pay attention. He already knew a few things about the way Dennis liked to spar, and he had little doubt the man would try to repeat what usually worked for him.

  Matthew’s arm dropped and Dennis leapt forward, his point dipping down for Will’s thigh, much as he had expected. Rather than retreat, which was the normal response when someone else had the initiative, Will lunged forward as well.

  The world seemed to slow as he brought the point of his saber up. Arrogan’s trick for increasing speed worked, but it wouldn’t be enough to overcome the difference in skill between the two of them. But it didn’t need to overcome that gap, for they weren’t in a match. It was a duel.