Internally, Laina frowned. She wasn’t familiar with Will’s previous conversations with his teacher. Will came to the fore. “What other kind of spell could you have used?”
“There’s a force-disk spell that works in a similar fashion. It’s easier to use and far more efficient in the amount of turyn it requires,” answered Arrogan.
Will understood. “You don’t want to limit your options if we’re attacked.”
Arrogan nodded.
What does that mean? asked Laina.
You can only use one force-effect spell at a time. If he had a force-disk active, he couldn’t use the point-defense spell or a force-lance. But this is an elemental spell, so those are still available to him if we get attacked, explained Will.
Oh. I didn’t know that, said Laina, filing the information away.
Dulaney taught that in Spell Theory, Will reminded her.
Since we never learned anything about battle magics, I probably forgot, she admitted. It would seem rather pointless without that context.
He couldn’t argue with that logic.
A few minutes later and they were already past the school gates, leaving a contingent of guards gaping in their wake. Will figured he would have some explaining to do later, since several of them had almost certainly recognized him, or rather his body, as Arrogan sent them hurtling along. They reached the Alchemy building in record time and the disk slowly descended to the ground. When the spell was dismissed, it felt apart, leaving an ugly pile of crumbling stones and mortar on the walk. Will hoped no one noticed who had made the mess.
Back inside, they breezed past Lawrence with a quick series of hellos, and then they were up the stairs, heading for Will’s rented laboratory. Despite his anxiety, Will was relieved to see that Tiny was still there, safe and sound, sleeping on the floor.
“Holy Mother! Look at the size of him,” exclaimed Arrogan on seeing the slumbering squire. “This is your friend, Tiny?”
Laina nodded.
“The name is a little misleading, don’t you think? What do they feed him? A few more soldiers like him in the army and the kingdom will be bankrupt.”
Will felt himself beginning to prickle like a hedgehog. He wasn’t fond of people making fun of Tiny’s size. “Mind your tongue when I wake him,” he warned.
“Why? Is he violently disposed?”
He glared at his mentor. “No. He’s one of the kindest, most intelligent, thoughtful, and genuinely sincere people I have ever known. I won’t have you insulting him.”
“Wow. So he’s your complete opposite. Perhaps you two should consider making your relationship more public! I’m sure Selene would love that.”
Will and Laina growled synchronously.
Arrogan ignored them, but a thoughtful look came over his face. “I’m not going to get to see Selene, am I?” He dipped his head at Laina. “It was nice seeing your face, Miss Nerrow, and Tiny’s too. I hear about everyone through Will, and sometimes I get to hear conversations directly, but I haven’t had any faces to associate with the names.”
The sudden change in tone caught both Will and Laina off-guard, and Will felt a sudden surge of sadness as his eyes grew misty.
Arrogan winked. “Don’t go soft on me now, asshole. Let’s wake him up.” He turned away and began shaking Tiny’s shoulder.
Tiny woke with a start, scrambling back against the wall as his eyes took in the scene, and he tried to figure out what had happened. From his perspective, they had been just beginning to fight a moment ago. His eyes locked onto Laina’s dress, noting the dirt and damage. Then he glared at Arrogan. “What did you do?”
Will spoke first. “Tiny, it’s me! That’s Arrogan in my body currently.”
Tiny stared at him, then Arrogan, then he closed his eyes. “How long have I been asleep?”
“An hour, maybe two?” offered Will.
“When you say, ‘it’s me,’ you put a certain emphasis on it. Should I infer that you mean you’re someone other than Miss Nerrow?”
Arrogan began to chuckle while Will and Laina struggled to explain the bizarre twist of fate that had led to their current situation. Tiny remained calm throughout, asking pertinent questions now and again to help him understand. Will couldn’t help but admire the big man’s aplomb. He doubted he would have been so rational if the situation were reversed.
“So what do we do?” asked Tiny at last.
Arrogan took over from there. “First, Will must remove himself from Laina and return to his proper flesh. Once that’s done, I’ll talk him through the process of resuming control of his body.”
“Is it that difficult?” asked Laina.
Arrogan nodded. “Ethelgren is still in here, locked away in the same fashion he had Will trapped. When I return to my own place, he will be freed, and they’ll have to start their battle for supremacy over again.”
Will was dubious about his prospects, but Laina was thoroughly dismayed. “He already lost once! You think he can win this time?”
Thanks for the vote of confidence, observed Will.
Hush, I’m worried about you, she snapped without a trace of shame. A phrase like that would have deeply embarrassed her just two hours before.
“How do I extract myself?” asked Will.
“How did you get out of your first bodily prison?” asked Arrogan in return.
“I don’t like being trapped without being able to see or hear,” said Will.
Arrogan smiled. “Easy enough.” A source-link snapped out, and he paralyzed Laina’s body. A split second later he severed them from her senses as well. Will and Laina were trapped in a seemingly endless void.
Will had experienced it before, but Laina didn’t take it very well. A surge of panic shot through her, rocking Will as well. He struggled to contain her emotions, which only made matters worse. For the first time since his arrival, the two of them began to struggle against each other in earnest.
It went on for a short time, and Will finally realized that the struggle was necessary if they were to separate. It was painful, and yet it was the only way to tear themselves apart from each other. His own fear began to rise as they continued to fail, and then it was over. With a familiar popping sensation, he was out.
Arrogan spotted him floating in the air above them and promptly released Laina from the source-link, restoring her movement and senses. She opened her eyes and looked around, her expression vacant and empty. As the seconds passed, her features changed, going from numb to forlorn. Clutching her hands to her chest, Laina curled into a tight ball, hiding her face from view.