“Maybe. The best thing you can do is put it out of your mind until you see her again. Fretting over it won’t do you any good.”
“All right, one more question, though. How did I find her if I didn’t even know where she was?”
“It’s a mental dimension. There are no physical places. You’ve learned already that you move by focusing your attention on people; the same thing applies. Your mind took you to her. In contrast, going to a place rather than a person is incredibly difficult. Usually it’s impossible unless you have a lot of memories in a particular spot. So, most of the time, the only places you can go are places where there’s someone you know very well.”
Inspiration struck him. “Could I find Tailtiu that way?”
“I wouldn’t recommend it. First, it probably wouldn’t work because it’s unlikely that you’ve developed the necessary bond.”
“She’s family,” insisted Will.
“No, William, she isn’t. I’ve been telling you that since the beginning. She’s only my daughter in the most technical sense. When Aislinn went to live in Faerie, our child was slowly replaced by the essence of that realm. My true daughter died in the womb, replaced by something unable to truly understand love, affection, or mortality. Even if you care for her, she’ll never feel the same way about you.”
At some level, Will knew Arrogan’s counsel was the truth, but on another he couldn’t accept it. “Maybe Aislinn is twisted, but Tailtiu isn’t,” he argued. “She may not be human, but I know she cares on a certain level. Maybe not the way I do, but she isn’t as heartless as you think.”
“The proof will be in the fact that you won’t be able to find her by projecting yourself astrally,” said Arrogan firmly.
“You’re suggesting I don’t really care about her?”
“No, I’m suggesting she doesn’t really care about you. The bond, relationship—whatever you want to call it—it has to work both ways. It doesn’t necessarily have to be love either. Any strong emotion can forge a link, but it has to be reciprocal. Whatever you feel for my changeling daughter won’t be reciprocated, because she doesn’t have true emotions.”
“We’ll see when I test the theory.” He paused for a moment, then asked, “How do I test the theory?”
An evil cackle issued from the ring. “I’m not helping you. Go ask your father-in-law to whip you half to death. It worked once, maybe it will work again. I will tell you this. You need to learn a spell to protect yourself against possession.”
“Possession? Why?”
“Because although those spells are meant to keep others out of your body, they also work to keep you inside. Now that you’ve gotten so sensitive that you’re projecting in your sleep, you need to start taking measures to keep yourself from traveling inadvertently. Other than that piece of advice I’m not going to help you. It’s too dangerous. One of those vampires is almost certainly a wizard, and maybe not one of the piss-ant variety they have these days. If it senses you trespassing, you could be banished. While that won’t kill you, it will hurt you badly.”
“How does banishment work?”
“Look up the spells,” said Arrogan. “The important thing to know is that it’s very much a contest of wills, except the person casting the spell has the upper hand usually. If you’re not certain you’re a lot stronger than the person doing the banishing, don’t fight it, just go with the flow, otherwise the damage could be much worse.”
“So there’s spells to keep me from leaving my body at night, and there’s spells to banish someone, what about to initiate an astral projection?”
“I wouldn’t tell you if there was, but in this case, I don’t have to lie. There aren’t any. It’s an ability you have to figure out for yourself. I still recommend you wait a few years. You have too many other things to learn before you should bother risking yourself on something like this.”
“It might be the only way to find her,” said Will.
“No. Because it won’t work. You’ll see. You’ll just be risking yourself for no purpose.”
Will released the limnthal, ending his conversation. Arrogan had been confident he wouldn’t be able to project himself out of his body of his own volition, and from his previous attempt he knew it wouldn’t be easy, but the ring’s remark about letting the king whip him had given him an idea. Repeat the conditions of one of the instances in which he had left his body, and he might be able to do it again.
With a faint grin, he turned and walked back to the house. The workmen were gone and Tiny was back with Janice. He found them gathered in the parlor and saw they had brought someone else with them.
Rob gave him a shy wave as Will entered. Surprised, Will stopped for a moment. “Glad you’re here,” he said at last.
“Sorry about last time,” said Rob. “I was really angry at myself, but I took it out on you.”
Will shook his head. “No, you were right. I’ve been an ass. Did they tell you about…?”
Rob nodded. “Yes, and to be honest, I’m scared shitless.”
“We all are,” agreed Tiny.
“But you’ve faced them already,” said Rob, seeming surprised.
The big man shrugged. “Just because I’m big and covered in steel doesn’t mean I don’t need to change my trousers after fighting something like that.”
Will snorted. “You didn’t shit yourself.” After a second, he added, “But I wouldn’t blame you if you did. I was scared out of my mind. By the way, I have an idea for what to do next.”
Tiny grimaced. “Do I need my armor?”
Will smiled. “Yes, but it’s just a precaution.”
“Do you want me to go?” asked Rob, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed nervously.
“I appreciate the offer, but no. I need your particular skills for a different task.” He quickly laid out his simple plan. Tiny would accompany him to the trader’s warehouse, where he would attempt to enter by asking to buy some of the phosphorous. The large squire would stay close by, hidden by a chameleon spell and ready to intervene if thing went badly. Meanwhile Rob would spend the rest of the day gathering news from around the city.
Ordinarily Rob was only interested in the big things—the doings of nobility, scandals, or items that involved the college. Will wanted him to see if he could discover whether there had been an increase in things like people going missing. If the vampires had been careful, it might not be easy, for they would have stuck to prey that wouldn’t be missed. Will left it to his friend to figure out the best way to suss out that information.