“Physically?”
“Iron isn’t anywhere near as elastic as your skin is. The spell manages that by adjusting the effect as you move, but it isn’t perfect. The result is that every movement, even breathing, requires more effort than usual, while at the same time, the constant adjustments use extra turyn.”
At that point, Will was mashing up the turnips he’d boiled and seasoning them with butter, salt, and a small amount of fresh horseradish. “It sounds like I’m not going to be able to learn that spell soon enough to do me any good. Do vampires have any weaknesses like they do in the stories?”
“Forget the rubbish about churches and holy symbols.”
“Garlic?”
“Pisses them off, but only because they have sensitive noses.”
“Silver?”
“That’s poisonous to them, but it isn’t instantly fatal. It’s similar to how the fae react to iron.”
Will nodded. “Too bad it’s such a soft metal. It’s difficult to make effective weapons with silver.”
“Silver inlay on blades is enough to keep them from healing immediately after cuts, but it’s expensive,” said Arrogan. “Easier to burn them, or better still, if you can find the right spells, daylight will wreck them.”
“Light?”
“Daylight,” corrected Arrogan. “A certain portion of daylight absolutely ruins them. Depending on how strong it is, it can turn them to dust in seconds to minutes. As an added bonus, the spells require less energy than most fire spells since the output is primarily light without heat and flames. You should still have some fire spells ready, though. If you get a chance, look for Ethelgren’s Illumination.”
“Why, if light is so much more effective?”
“Because any vampire that has survived since my day will almost certainly be smart enough, and wizard enough, to have learned the right magic to protect himself from daylight.”
He was about to start organizing the plates for the meal, but Will froze at those words. “Some of them use magic?”
“Not many,” said Arrogan. “Being dead, they don’t have a source, so it’s hard for them to get started, but the ones that survive a long time are more likely to have learned. Also there’s the ones who were wizards before they were turned.”
“What are they like?”
“If they were first-order, or worse, like the wizards these days, then they aren’t much to worry about. Without a source to work from they’re crippled, magically speaking, but if they’re second- or in your case, third-order, then the change doesn’t bother them much.”
Will nodded. “Because we don’t use turyn from our source anyway. So if it happened to me…”
“At first, you’d be violent and insane, but you’d still be able to use spells. Later you’d probably adjust and then you’d be worse—you’d become a long-term threat, an undead monster smart enough to protect and hide itself, while also potentially powerful enough to do almost anything.”
“And immortal.”
“You’ve probably got almost eight hundred years ahead of you. That’s more than enough to get sick of it all. Trust me.”
“Do any of them ever stay good?” asked Will.
“Define good,” replied Arrogan. “If by good, you mean did any of them help people or refrain from murdering the innocent, then no. The best—and in my opinion also the worst—outcome has been those that gained enough control to stay hidden, which is probably why we are now facing this very old problem all over again.”
“What about the lich, Grim Talek—what’s he like? Did you and Aislinn fight him?”
“Clearly you overheard too much,” said the ring sourly. “For today you don’t need to worry about him. You should focus on the here and now.”
The meat was done resting, so it was time to serve and eat. He needed to finish the conversation. “What should I do then, in the here and now?”
“Learn the iron-skin transformation, expand your repertoire with fire, talk to Laina’s Arkeshi and see if she knows anything about Tailtiu, but above all else, don’t go anywhere by yourself after the sun sets. If you learn something and figure out where Tailtiu is, don’t attempt to rescue her alone.”
“I understand,” said Will, hoping to placate the ring.
“No, I’m very serious here. You’ve got power enough to destroy them, but you’re only human and these things are fast. If you get caught by surprise, caught off-guard, flanked, hell, if you just look the wrong way for a few seconds—they’ll rip you from throat to groin and your armor will barely slow them down.”
“Can they tear through mail?”
“No, but they can hit you hard enough to break bones with just their bare hands, and anywhere you have exposed flesh is a serious vulnerability.”
“Damn.”
“So, you do what wizards should always do. Prepare. Make sure you’ve got the right tools and never, ever, put yourself in a situation where you might face one alone. The best way to counter overwhelming speed and strength is to have plenty of allies with you. If they have to fight through your guards, you’ll have more time to do what you need to do.”
Blake called from the other room, “Something smells delicious. Is it almost ready or are you just torturing us?”
Will dismissed the limnthal and answered, “Come get your plates!”
Chapter 14
Tiny leaned back, pushing his now-empty plate away from him. The chair beneath him groaned faintly. “I haven’t eaten like that since I left home.”
Will smiled. “Your mother must have been a good cook.”
The big man sighed with satisfaction. “I won’t speak ill of her cooking now that I’ve eaten yours, but she knew how to fill me up.”
He laughed. Back when they’d been in the army together, Will had often shared his extras to help keep Tiny from going hungry. “I remembered how much you eat, so I tried to prepare accordingly. Aside from getting full, did you like it?”
“It wouldn’t be a lie to say that if I died right now, I would have no regrets. What was that mash on the side? I couldn’t figure out what it was, but I couldn’t stop eating it either.”
“Turnips.”
Tiny’s brows lifted in surprise. “I’ve never cared much for turnips, until now.”
“What about the bread crusts?” asked Blake. “Were those the stale leftovers we had from a few days ago?”