Will’s eyes met Sammy’s and she shrugged, indicating she had no idea what her mother was referring to either.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone where I’m at,” said Will. “I told Annabelle Withy that I’m studying medicine.”
Sammy spoke up. “Don’t worry. We’ve been pleading ignorance whenever the neighbors ask.”
His aunt looked displeased. “You shouldn’t lie, Will.”
“Well, it’s sort of true,” he said helplessly. Trying to change the topic, he asked, “Where’s Eric?”
“Johnathan took the boys to the city with him to deliver a new wagon to a buyer,” responded Doreen. “They probably won’t be back until tomorrow.” She looked at him again, then added, “You should eat with us.”
The smell of lamb was already beginning to drive him mad, but the pain of Arrogan’s spell was steadily increasing. It felt as though ants were crawling over him. He didn’t want to be there when it got too bad for him to hide. “I have to get back soon,” he answered quickly. “I just wanted to give Eric and Sammy something for the cot and pillow they brought me.” He held out his hand with the gold crown shining in his palm.
Doreen’s eyes bulged slightly. “Where did you get that?”
“Gr—my master asked me to give it to you,” said Will, silently kicking himself for almost saying ‘Grandfather.’ He knew Eric had already discussed it with his dad, but he was afraid of bringing up another uncomfortable topic.
“It’s far too much,” declared his aunt.
“Please take it,” said Will. “He’ll be upset with me if you don’t.”
“I can’t even make change for this,” complained Doreen. “Besides, it was a gift. You shouldn’t pay us anything—hey!”
Will was backing out the front door. He dropped the coin on a shelf as he went. “Just take it. I don’t think the old man cares about money, anyway. I really need to get going.” He darted outside and started jogging away.
His aunt followed him out, calling to him, “Wait! You didn’t even take any food. We can’t take this!” Then she pushed her daughter in his direction. “Go after him! Tell him to come get some food to carry home.”
He kept going, while Sammy chased his steps. With her shorter legs, she couldn’t have caught him, but he pulled up once he was outside the village. She glared at him as she reached him, but she was panting too hard to speak immediately.
“Sorry about that,” he told her. “I was afraid your mom wouldn’t take the money if I didn’t leave it and run.”
“You’ve gotten really weird since you left home,” said Sammy as she caught her breath. Then she pointed at his bag. “Where’d you get that?”
“The Tanners,” he said simply.
She nodded, understanding immediately. “Oh.” After another breath she added, “You really should take some food. There’s too much with Dad and the boys out of the house.”
“I really can’t wait,” said Will. The pain was getting worse, so he began jogging in place, earning him another strange look from his cousin.
“There’s something else I wanted to tell you,” Sammy informed him. “A messenger came from Cerria yesterday. He went to your mom’s house. After that, he stopped in the village and asked several people about you.”
A feeling of alarm passed through Will, and his pain increased for a moment. “What did he want to know?”
“Can you hold still for a second?” asked Sammy. “It’s too weird trying to talk to you like this.”
“Sorry, I have to burn off some energy,” said Will honestly.
She sighed. “He was asking general questions. How you’ve been, where you’re living, that sort of thing, but he spent several minutes with the Tanners. Who knows what they told him?”
Will had no answer for that. He couldn’t even speculate, but he doubted it would be anything good for him in the long run.
“Would you just stop?” said Sammy, frustrated. “All that bobbing is making me dizzy.”
He did, and she put her arms around him, giving him a hug. “I don’t know what you’re into these days, but be safe.”
Will hugged her back, then broke away. “Thanks for the pillow, Sammy. I really love it.” Then he began running, leaving her behind.
As he went, he heard her parting comment. “Weirdo.”
Chapter 15
Will ran as hard as he could back to Arrogan’s house, but despite his best efforts the pain continued to build. His body simply couldn’t do enough to burn off his extra energy, and when he was forced to stop and catch his breath, things only got worse.
The old man began cackling as soon as he returned. “Oh, this is too good.”
“It’s not funny,” insisted Will. “It really hurts!” He was jogging in place inside the house.
“It’s hilarious from where I’m sitting,” said Arrogan, grinning. “Maybe you should try dancing. It’d be more entertaining.”
“Stop making fun of me!” said Will, desperate. “My body feels like it’s on fire! Help me!”
His grandfather sighed. “Don’t be so dramatic. Let me explain…”
“I don’t need explanations. I need you to take the spell off of me!” Will was jumping up and down now.
The old man held up a hand, and once again a green line of power shot forth, spearing into Will’s chest. A second later, his body stopped moving, and other than breathing, he was completely paralyzed. His mouth didn’t work either, so he couldn’t even protest. Arrogan stepped closer and pushed, causing him to fall backward.
He would probably have cracked his head on the floor, but something caught him in midfall and he found himself floating toward his cot, where he was gently deposited. His guardian walked over to stare down at him. “Now perhaps we can talk without all that ridiculous jumping and whining.”
Will glared hatefully at his tormentor. The pain was growing worse, but he was entirely unable to move or otherwise express his distress.
“Apparently your best idea was to use your muscles to burn off some of your turyn,” said Arrogan, “and while this shows that you do indeed have a capacity for thought, I’m afraid it’s a hopeless solution for your problem.
“As you have discovered, physical activity does use some of your turyn, but it’s a small amount. If you were a little smarter, you might have tried keeping your emotions in check, since those can affect it as well, but that’s ultimately a dead-end also.
“The only effective way to use up your turyn quickly is by doing magic of one form or another,” the old man smiled maliciously. “Which is why learning this lesson is much easier if you don’t know how to do that. What you’re supposed to learn here is how to reduce the amount of turyn you produce.
“Unfortunately, that’s really hard to do. It’s akin to learning how to not breathe. The longer you hold your breath, the more it feels as though your lungs are about to explode. Your body will fight you all the way.” His grandfather straightened up and walked away. “I’ll start dinner while you work on it.”