Tiny paused, then dipped his head. “I guess I’ll just do my best to accept your gift graciously then.”
“Wow,” said Will. “You’ve polished your courtly graces since I saw you last.”
The big man’s brow’s lowered, casting a shadow on his features. “I’ve always been polite, Will. It’s how I was raised.”
Will held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “That’s true, I just meant you sound like you’ve been practicing your speech for court.”
Tiny straightened his back and squared his shoulders. “That’s probably because I have been. A squire is expected to learn how to conduct himself.”
His jaw dropped. “Squire? What? Who? How?” Becoming a squire put Tiny on the road to becoming a minor nobleman someday—maybe. It certainly made him a gentleman, and while technically anyone could be made a squire it was rare for anyone but those who were already sons of the nobility to be chosen.
“Sir Kyle,” said Tiny with a shrug. “There was an ambush during one of our patrols. He was unhorsed and things looked bad for us.”
“But you saved him?”
“Sort of. I knocked several men down getting to him, but when I tried to pull him back to his feet, they charged me so I threw the first thing that came to hand at them,” said Tiny, his cheeks coloring.
“What did you throw?”
“Sir Kyle.”
“You threw the captain?” Will’s mouth rounded into a large ‘o.’
“It was reflexive,” said Tiny with obvious embarrassment. “But it worked pretty well. Before they could recover, I snatched up a mace one of them had dropped and laid into them, then Sir Kyle got back on his feet and together we routed what was left of them.”
Will couldn’t help but shake his head. “That’s amazing, but I’m surprised he didn’t have you strung up afterward.”
“Turns out Sir Kyle has a pretty good sense of humor. He was just glad to be alive and after we finished running them off, well, you know how it is.” Tiny shrugged.
He did know. He and Tiny, along with Sven and Dave, had had a few moments like that, the kind they didn’t think they’d live through. Soldiers formed bonds with those they fought beside that were unlike any others. “Well, I’m glad it worked out for the best. How are you here in Cerria, though? Shouldn’t you still be in Barrowden?”
“Sir Kyle had to return to the capital for a while, and I had some leave saved. He asked if I wanted to come along.”
“How long will you be here?”
“A couple of weeks, possibly a month if Sir Kyle is kept longer.”
“And you’re staying with him?”
Tiny looked away somewhat shyly, a strangely absurd expression on such a massive man. “Actually, I thought maybe I could stay with you…”
Will felt like jumping up and down. “Absolutely!” The past few weeks he had isolated himself, and recent events had left him feeling as though there was no one he could trust. His heart swelled with sudden joy. “I can’t even tell you how glad I am you’re here! We have a lot to catch up on.”
His friend nodded in agreement, then looked to Blake. “I don’t suppose you have any bread or meat lying around, do you? I haven’t eaten since we got on the road this morning.”
Blake nodded cheerfully, but before he could answer Will put a hand over the man’s mouth. “Let’s not injure our guest with your cooking the moment he arrives.”
The manservant twisted away from him. “It’s just leftovers. I can still slice meat.”
Will shook his finger at the man. “I’m hungry too and this is a good occasion. I’ll put something together.” He glanced at Tiny. “Can you last an hour?”
The big man seemed uncertain. “I’m really hungry. Maybe I can help with the cooking.”
“That’s my job,” said Blake. “In fact, a certain someone is supposed to teach me a few of his secrets in the kitchen.”
Will shook his head. “Not this time. I need some privacy to consult with someone and this will be a good chance for that.”
“Consult?” Blake seemed confused.
Will looked at each of them. “I’ll trust you to police each other and refrain from eavesdropping.” Then he gave them a mysterious smile and turned away to head for the kitchen.
Chapter 13
Once in the kitchen, Will wasted no time, and since it was his old friend who had come to visit, he decided to use some of the special ingredients that Arrogan had tucked away in the limnthal. He summoned out fresh butter, the spice box, and choice cuts of beef and then went to check the stove to see what the temperature was like.
As usual, it needed some more fuel added and time to reach the proper heat, so he busied himself preparing the vegetables, and when he got to a place where he could think, he reactivated the limnthal and addressed the ring. “Why did she say there would be a slaughter?” he asked without preamble.
“It isn’t a certainty, but there’s a strong possibility,” answered Arrogan. “If the creature you encountered is one of the Drak’shar, and if it captured Tailtiu, well—”
Will remembered the word ‘drak’ from his studies, and he knew it was an old word for dragon. “Dragon? What does it have to do with dragons?”
“Very little, except they were first made using a twisted transformation of blood from a dragon.”
“That sounds fascinating.”
“No, it isn’t. It really, truly isn’t,” said Arrogan with genuine emphasis. “The creatures that were produced bear no hint of the noble pride that dragons are known for, nor are they truly alive.”
“They’re dead?”
“Undead. They’re what are popularly called vampires, and we thought they were gone.”
Will finished mincing the onion in front of him and began massaging it into the meat. “It makes sense. I remember seeing a spell in that necromantic tome that called for vampire blood. You should have explained them to me back then, when I asked.”
“You had more important things to worry about,” said the ring. “And I wouldn’t touch any spell involving the blood of the Drak’shar with a ten-foot pole, though there’s a potion that might be handy if you ever have the opportunity.”
“A potion?”
“Dragon’s Heart potion,” clarified the ring. “It doesn’t require a dragon’s heart, but it does need the blood of an immortal. It got the name because the wizard who invented it somehow had a supply of dragon’s blood to experiment with. Later on it was discovered that it could be made with different types of blood, so long as they came from an immortal.”