After a few days of being confined to the property, Wil didn’t want to be stuck there anymore. He enjoyed it at first. It was hard not to enjoy free access to multiple libraries, food on demand, beautiful grounds he was allowed to explore with Isom, and the magical manor itself. Just exploring the artwork and the secret crevices for hours on end thrilled Wil, but at what cost?

He hadn’t seen Chinis in four days, and no one official had sent any messages to him or asked after him, as far as Wil could tell. He’d asked Maddy a few times, but that hadn’t gone anywhere.

“You’ll be summoned when they want you,” said the maid with a shrug. “I can’t help you beyond that.”

“Isn’t there someone who runs this place I can talk to?” Wil asked, growing increasingly worried about his predicament. “Or at least make a trip into town and explore the capital for a day or two?”

“I’m afraid not.” Maddy shook her head, clicking her tongue sympathetically. “Most people who come here do so with an invitation to study or rest while conducting business. You, however, are something of a special case. I am told that if you were to try to leave or cause a fuss, you might be moved to…less pleasant surroundings.”

Wil had understood the message loud and clear. He was a prisoner until further notice, but they were extending some trust to him. If he abused that trust…well. There were far worse places to be captive. He had a lot more sympathy for Bram and the others, after their stay in Faerie.

Of course, they had each other to spend the time with. Wil only had Isom, but the wampus cat proved to be a poor conversationalist, focused mostly on his own sensory indulgences and a constant urge to hunt, stalk, and bother people. In other words, he was a cat, through and through.

Everyone else at the manor seemed intent on avoiding him as much as possible. It hurt, but Wil understood. These were the best of the best, masters, grandmasters, mages and archmages. The biggest movers and shakers of human magic, and he was just a dumb, reckless kid.

He recognized so many of them. Rand Sandoval, one of the most prolific artisans in Calipan, spent plenty of time in the lounge chatting with others. He revolutionized rune work involving different metals, and was a popular man. Niobe Jameson was one of the strongest in earth magic there was, and Jim Rance discovered a more efficient way of spellcasting for those who used power words extensively. Titans, all of them.

Whenever Wil came across them, his eyes would widen in recognition, and so would theirs. He dared not approach most of them, and they didn’t approach him. They chatted with each other freely, and while he understood, it still stung.

So he spent most of his time alone, all of his other needs met. The library nearest to his quarters was his favorite place, and he quickly found a pile of books to go through while waiting for news about the investigation. The first was on the manor itself, and Morgan Marlowe’s increasingly strange behavior as he cleared the land and built it from scratch.

It was dry reading, with tons of numbers on how many rooms and floors it had, the materials used to construct it, and a breakdown of some of the more obvious enchantments. Frustratingly, it didn’t go into any real details, but it was enough to whet Wil’s appetite. Next, he checked out books on magical geometry and leylines, hoping to maybe learn more about his seemingly impossible feat.

Magical geometry was simple enough, on the surface. Shapes, both two and three dimensional, held a lot of power in their structure when aligned correctly. The nature of runic magic was based on this study, with runic configurations that were shorthand for spells. After reading through the book, he had no idea what the subject could’ve meant when it came to the house’s placement. So he moved on to leylines.

He quickly discovered that he already knew most of the basics. They were rivers of power running through the world, and the ones in Calipan were known for being particularly strong. It was one of many reasons for Albetosia’s colonization, before Calipan broke away and continued their work.

They could be tapped into for power by individuals and individual spells could be tied into them. When leylines were used, spells were more powerful and took longer to degrade, but they were still only usable by wizards or magical creatures. The research began and ended at their discovered use. The only mention of trying to change a leyline had been one wizard blowing himself up in the attempt.

He had just finished reading his third book on the subject when a dark haired man a few years older than Wil approached. He wore a casual suit with a bowtie, and had a sly smile. “Are you Master McKenzie?” he asked.

Instantly, Wil was on guard. This was the first time someone other than manor staff had come up to him. “Who wants to know?”

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The man extended his hand. “Master Thomas Elliot, at your service. I heard people talking about you, and thought I’d see what all the fuss is about.”

Wil eyed the hand, then got on his feet and took it. “Was the talk positive, or negative?”

Thomas made an exaggerated face. “Well, it depends. No one can decide if what they heard about you is true.”

“That depends on what you heard. I’m all ears, Master Elliot. Tell me what they’re saying.” Wil released his hand and sat down.

“Call me Thomas, please.” He plopped down on the plush, garishly purple armchair next to Wil. “Formalities have their time and place, but trading scandalous gossip isn’t it. Is it true you killed Jefferson?”

Wil couldn’t help but flinch. Of course that was the first thing asked. “He went rogue,” Wil answered carefully. “He was trying to attack a foreign country and start a war against explicit orders.”

“Then it’s true?” Thomas looked delighted. “You did the world a service. If alcohol cost us anything here, I’d buy you a drink. He was a rabid dog.”

Guilt was a funny thing. It didn’t hit Wil like he thought it would. Rather than feeling remorse over Jefferson’s death and his role in making it happen, the pain came from how easy it had been. The realization made Wil sick to his stomach. He felt worse over how fine he felt about it. It had been necessary.

“What else have they been saying?” Wil said, wanting to move on before he thought too hard about it.

“Nothing big. Just that you went a bit rogue yourself and somehow managed to broker a trade deal and peace with our former enemies and also may have made a discovery that fundamentally changes how we understand leylines.” He folded his hands over his chest and smirked.

Wil blew out a breath. “I didn’t realize word would get around so fast. Especially when it’s an active investigation. I should probably not talk about it much, for my own safety.”

Thomas waved him off. “That’s where you’re wrong, my friend. You should be actively campaigning to get people on your side. These are the wizards and mages who will share their terribly important opinions about you to the big bosses who will be deciding your fate. Do nothing, and the only thing they’ll know are the rumors making the rounds.”

It made a certain amount of sense, and Wil hated it. With the way people had been looking at him, it brought him all the way back to his childhood, where the other kids would watch him, waiting for him to do something wrong. Approaching any of them and cutting past the awkwardness would be painful.

“And what’s your angle on this?” Wil finally asked. “You’re the only person who’s come to talk to me and find out for yourself. I know that most of the people here are big and important, but, and I mean no offense, I’m unfamiliar with you.”

Thomas chuckled, shaking his head. “Think nothing of it. I grew up near Cloverton, and had private schooling. Up until recently, I was apprenticed under Grandmaster Vincent Ferrovani. Perhaps you’ve heard of him.”

Wil’s eyes bugged out. “You worked with the man who figured out how to make a car powered by a wizard’s own magic? That’s incredible! I used some of his designs when making a flying carpet last summer. Are you a master of runes, then?”

Thomas shook his head with a chuckle. “Not at all. I’m pretty good at them, but my specialty is divination. I’m excellent at conjuring visions of experiments after they happen, to better understand what went wrong and how. The way I see it, every discovery, every major innovation is a puzzle, and I have all the tools I need to find out how to fit everything together.”

It didn’t take long for Wil to connect the dots. “What’s your interest with leylines?”

“Pretty key to producing faricite for making batteries,” said Thomas, leaning closer. “As well as a great deal of time and raw work. As of now, we can anchor simple spells to objects and places, but they’ll still wear down over time. What if we could dig deeper, and tap into the leylines more efficiently, maybe even permanently?”

Wil nodded, taking a breath. “I’m not sure I should talk about it. Especially not until I’m more sure about how it works. Apparently the last guy who tried to do that blew himself and several acres of land up trying.” He still didn’t understand how that happened, when his leyline had merely torn.

“How about we grab a drink and I shamelessly try to change your mind? You could be sitting on the discovery of a lifetime. Think of the money, the fame, and how many lives you could change if you shared your knowledge.” Thomas stood, offering his hand.

“Funny order you have them in,” Wil said, looking at the hand but not taking it.

“Everyone has their priorities,” Thomas said, undeterred. “Mine just happens to make personal gain and altruism line up perfectly. You or I could be rich and famous for our efforts, and the people of Calipan’s lives get easier. Everybody wins. Especially you, if you’re willing to work with me.”

“It’s not that I’m unwilling to work with you,” said Wil, finally taking the hand and using it to pull himself to his feet. “It’s more that I need to know more before I can discuss it with anyone. It’s for my own legal protection. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course, of course,” said Thomas. “Doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying, but I’ll stop for now. Good enough?”

Wil smiled. “I suppose it’ll have to do. What do you have in mind?”

The other master wizard grinned. “How about we get drunk and drive around, and I show you Ferrovani’s latest prototype?”

“You know,” said Wil, “that sounds great.”