Elfsorrow

'You will not hasten an end to the college war by intervening. I want to see magic returned to balance, not exterminated. We must end this war by negotiation and strength of will. And while I am angry that there is war and disgusted at the actions taken by Xetesk and Dordover, I will not condone opportunists like you attempting to weaken the colleges to the point of collapse. Balaia must have magic.'

'The colleges have no will other than to tear each other apart and damn the consequences for this country,' said Selik, the fire back in his eyes.

'And I and the barons that are with me will pressure for peace at every stage. You well know Heryst is a force for that peace and my allegiance is with him. Meanwhile, my borders are strong and my mages are loyal to me and wish the conflict ended as fervently as I do.'

'The righteous will prevail,' said Selik.

'Yes, they will,' said Blackthorne. 'And you are not among them. This country has magic ru

Selik laughed, a rattling unpleasant sound. 'I have made my point, I have offered you alliance and now I know your allegiance. The people will not forget where you stand, Blackthorne. Nor you, Gresse. And when the army of justice rides south, remember my words.'

'Leave.' Blackthorne turned away to his sergeant. 'See he leaves our lands and pass the word. They are not to be tolerated here again.'

'Yes, my Lord.'

Blackthorne and Gresse walked to their horses.

'So why didn't you arrest him then and there?' asked the older baron.

'My dear Gresse, there are times when you must gamble and this is one of those times. Something must be done to draw the colleges together, for them to unite as they did when the Wytch Lords threatened. And I can think of nothing better than a Black Wing attack, can you?'

'And the i

Blackthorne sighed. 'Regrettable. Regrettable but inevitable. Come, Gresse, we have places to be and I want to wash the taste of that meeting away with a good drop of ale.'

Chapter 22

Ilkar's quick summary of his conversations with Kild'aar and Rebraal had given Erie

'She says you're not welcome. She says you will not defile the body of the Al-Arynaar.'

'Tell her I agree, I will not defile his body,' said Erie

It was late and Erie

'She says the panther will claw out your eyes if you do wrong to the body.'

Denser looked at Ren with the expression Erie

'It wouldn't get within five yards,' he said, and stalked inside.

They went left as directed into a candle-lit and chokingly scented room containing a single bed on which lay the shrouded figure of Mercuun. Kild'aar followed them in and stood to watch, arms folded in silent disapproval.

Erie

She placed her hands on his chest, hearing a hiss of indrawn breath from Kild'aar. The skin was cold, hard and waxy. She ignored the unpleasant sensation and tuned herself to the mana spectrum, directing a sheet of mana across the body slowly from head to toe, her fingers picking up everything it touched and penetrated.

Almost immediately she felt a surge of nausea, like gulping rancid air. She fought to keep her concentration, focussing hard on her task, driving her mind to analyse what the mana stream fed back to her. The construct she was using borrowed heavily from the Body-Cast spell, but Mercuun couldn't have been saved even by this most powerful healer casting. It could knit bone, repair muscle and organ, stop bleeding and soothe bruising. But it couldn't reverse rot and decay.

She withdrew from Mercuun's body, nodding at Denser to replace the shroud. For a moment she remained on her knees, rubbing her hands slowly down the top of her thighs. She breathed deeply to clear her head of the fetid sensations she'd experienced and returned her mind to its normal state.

'All right, love?' asked Denser, squatting down beside her and stroking her cheek.

'Yes,' she said, and looked across at Ren. 'I need to know some things. Ask her how long he's been dead.'

Ren nodded and asked the question.

'Two days,' she relayed. 'They are waiting for Rebraal before they commit his body to the forest.'

Erie

'They were,' came the delayed reply. 'They could be treated and they responded. Still he died.'

'That's because they weren't the problem,' said Erie

'Nothing,' translated Ren. 'He never regained consciousness.'

'And what about the others who are sick?' Erie

There was a longer delay, Ren listening to what she was hearing with a frown deepening on her beautiful features. She asked a couple of questions then took a deep breath and turned to Erie

'It sounds horrible,' she said. 'Loss of balance, bleeding from ears, nose and anus, grinding pain in the gut and chest, loss of vision and hearing, muscle weakness and the clawing of hands and feet. I think there's probably more but that covers the most common symptoms. The worst thing is, nothing seems to reverse or even ease the symptoms, and death has occurred in as little as four days. No one has survived yet.'

'I'm not surprised,' said Erie

'A hundred and thirty-three.'

'Oh no,' said Erie

Erie

'I'm sorry, Kild'aar,' said Erie

Kild'aar nodded but didn't understand her words, only her expression and the emotion in her voice. Ren translated Erie

'She wants to know what you found.'

Erie