Will walked across the street and took a few seconds to cast a spell to unlock the front gate, then he went to the door and repeated the spell. He didn’t hurry. He might not be able to run away from the problem, but he wasn’t going to rush to his death either.
Opening the door was a bit stressful, but nothing came charging out at him, and after a second or two he had adjusted his vision to the dim gloom. Seeing no enemies, he sent a quick pulse of turyn to the rod and felt a gentle chime of magic rush outward in all directions.
The sound was illusory, and only he could hear it, as it was merely part of the spell designed to inform him of its result. The brief pulse of magic covered an area roughly fifty feet around him, and as it passed through objects it measured two things, transparency to sound and visible light. Normal objects affected both, but a creature using a chameleon spell would cause the spell to return a deeper, more ominous tone, warning the caster of a hidden foe.
Subsequent pulses could narrow down the range and direction. Will had wondered why the spell didn’t cover a greater distance, since it didn’t require much energy. Ethelgren had replied, Because, you usually use the spell indoors. Greater range just confuses things.
This time the spell returned an ‘all clear’ chime, so Will stepped into the entry hall. Taking another nervous breath, Will cast a silent-armor spell on himself to muffle sounds. While he might not be actively sneaking, there was no reason to give his presence away any earlier than was absolutely necessary.
After several tense minutes of searching, Will was certain the house was empty, so there was nothing left but for him to move on to where he knew they must be. The storage closet under the stairs was still as he remembered it, but inside the hidden door that Selene had sealed with stone was now a gaping arch without any door at all. Beyond that, the old stone stairs led down just as they had before. The only thing covering the opening was the illusion of a stone wall.
The closet was empty, both of clutter and dust. The stairs beyond were also clear and obviously had been used a lot recently. Will guessed that was because the king had been sending crews of workers down to prepare the chamber for his new ritual. He stepped through the illusory wall and began moving down the stairs, shifting his vision to see by heart-light as he went.
As before, it was a long descent, but this time the goddamn cat wasn’t with him. He almost wished it were a demon-lord he was facing again, just so he would have the demigod’s help. Halfway down the long stairs, he saw a small gray figure sitting on one of the steps, as if his thoughts had summoned it.
Will stopped. “You.”
The goddamn cat stared at him without blinking for a long period, then slowly blinked.
“Are you here to help?”
“I’m here to warn you that I won’t be helping. Don’t expect any intervention. If you go down there you likely won’t come back, and if you do come back it will probably be as an undead abomination.”
“Thanks for calming my nerves. If that’s all you had to say you could have just skipped coming here,” Will replied.
“If you go in there it will further the agendas of some who you might prefer not to aid.”
“If I die, or if I succeed?”
“Either,” answered the Cath Bawlg. “Your ally is also your enemy, and she plays both sides of the game.”
Aislinn, thought Will. “Why are you telling me this? What outcome would you prefer?”
“Your death might be nice. If the accord collapses, my opportunities to seek revenge against the fae will increase. That is why I won’t aid you.”
“Then you may as well have not come,” observed Will. “Or are you playing both sides too? Do you have something to gain if I live?”
“Sammy would prefer it.”
Will couldn’t help but laugh. Had his cousin really won over a demigod simply by scratching his head and tying bows in his hair? He felt the knot in his chest loosen. Whatever would come, would come. It was best to face it with a clear head. The goddamn cat might not be willing to help, but if Sammy had won him over, at least he didn’t have to worry about her.
The cat began bathing himself, and Will stepped over him so he could proceed down the stairs. The Cath Bawlg’s voice said one more thing to his back. “Do you know why I choose the form of a cat?”
Will kept walking.
“Cats keep themselves clean.”
Utterly confused, Will turned around to look back, but the cat was nowhere to be seen. Shaking his head, he resumed his trip downward.
Chapter 56
The small room at the bottom of the stairs was still as it had been, though the powerful ward that protected the archway leading into the ritual chamber was no longer present. Will had destroyed it last time, to allow the goddamn cat to enter and confront the demon-lord Leykachak.
He could hear voices in the next room. Lognion and Lord Tintabel were talking to each other.
“There’s really no point in waiting, Your Majesty,” said Tintabel. “My scouts reported to me just before I came down. Your son-in-law and the others failed. Most of them are dead, and those who aren’t will soon number among our enemies. We have no other options remaining.”
The king sighed. “I had high hopes for him. At the very least, since he’s hidden my daughter, I can be sure she remains safe.”
“A great comfort, I am sure.”
“Assuming she returns and gives me a child. If not, I may have to marry again, and that’s always tiresome.”
Will stepped through the archway. “You may as well remarry then, for I’ll never let you have any child of mine and Selene’s.”
The king whipped around in surprise, his eyes snapping to Will’s face. “You?” He glanced at Tintabel. “But you just said…”
“He must have run from the battle,” suggested Tintabel.
“Or I succeeded and have come to report so to the king,” countered Will.
Lognion’s eyes were moving quickly between the two of them, and his face was full of suspicion. Will understood why. He’s trying to figure out how we could both believe we were telling the truth when the facts should be obvious to both of us.
Tintabel moved to stand protectively in front of the king. “Careful, Your Majesty. The vampire rumored to be leading them may have the ability to disguise his form.”
Will smiled. “Funny. That’s what I was just about to say. Instead, maybe I should point out that your entire family died in a fire a few days ago, but somehow you alone miraculously survived. Would that be because you couldn’t fool them into believing you were the real Lord Tintabel?”
The king acted suddenly and without hesitation. Taking two steps back, he raised a force-dome around himself. “The question is easily solved. Let me see which of you bleeds.” An earth elemental manifested by the archway leading to the stairs, and stone flowed up to block the exit. “Neither of you will leave this place until I am sure that the one who lies is the one who dies.” More elementals began to appear around the edges of the room.