Shadowheart

'Assassins,' he said.

'So kill him and let me rest,' she said, her voice rough and dry. ‘Imust have rest.'

'We're dealing with it, love,' said Denser. 'But there's another one. You could pinpoint him. You know you have the talent.'

She was on her feet now. Thraun could see her expression clearly when she looked at her husband. It held contempt and impatience but she forced those alien thoughts away, leaving Thraun to see the struggle she was enduring and the fear when her face relaxed.

‘Idon't know if I can stop it if I start it,' she said, her voice now small and desperate.

'What are we debating this for?' asked Hirad. 'I'm with Erie

'Ever the diplomat, Hirad,' said Denser.

'We have a Code,' added The Unknown.

Hirad scoffed. 'Assassins have no honour. I will show them none in return.'

He spun round, his movement quick enough to surprise even Thraun and Takyn started violently. The barbarian's sword point prodded Takyn's chest above his heart. 'Any of you think you're quick enough to stop me?'

Erie

Thraun watched Erie

'Sorry, Takyn,' he said.

Takyn shrugged. 'It's why we want her.'

'Not another word,' said Hirad.

'Gythen, drop your weapon,' said The Unknown as Darrick moved purposefully towards him. 'Right now. Hirad, lower your sword.'

'Un-'

'Now!'

Thraun watched the conflict on Hirad's face. His respect for the big man prevailed over his desire for more revenge. His swordpoint dropped and he pushed his face into Takyn's.

'Consider yourself one lucky bastard.'

Next to Thraun, Erie

'Darrick, bring him over here. Denser, you can forget the Orbs now, I think deep sleep is more what they need. And us, for that matter. Man on watch guards them too.' He nodded in some satisfaction. 'Reckon that makes us safe tonight, don't you?'

Erie

The effort of adopting the structure allowing her to see Gythen had taken such energy. The technicalities of the casting were simple, enough. Stopping the One from using it as a route to vent power was not.

The Al-Drechar had taught her so much in the short time they had been with her. The possibilities and the dangers, so closely co

Every moment of her training in Dordover had taught her that magic was an element controlled purely by the mind, formed into shapes by the mind and using physical movements merely to focus the mind to perfect the desired construct. Physical tiredness was the result of the mental effort. She had brought this doctrine to her dealings with the One.

But the One was so different. The One demanded, if you were to control it for any length of time, the use of the whole body. Muscles were flexed, tendons tightened and arteries swollen, with the blood driven through them in pulses. Mana was just one element of the larger magic. Everything else was open to her too and the One entity attracted the raw fuel like moths to light. From metal deposits, to water and the air around her, to verdant foliage and the living earth. Anything with a vitality that could be stripped.

The problem was, it was an unbalanced magic. Where mana would dissipate on casting, returning to its natural chaotic state, the One magic did not, making it potentially so much more destructive. It could not simply be formed into structures and let go. The structures of the One, through which power was vented in a controlled fashion, had to be disassembled to make it safe. Otherwise a structure could drag elemental energy from around itself, becoming almost self-perpetuating while it slowly unravelled. How easy now to understand why the storms and disasters Lya

Her poor daughter's body had simply been too small to exert the physical control and her mind alone was helpless to contain the power it held. That was what the Al-Drechar had been trying to explain since the begi

Erie

What her body did was cha

Now she understood, truly understood, the challenge that faced her. She would never fully control or cap the energy the One contained. All she could do was suppress it. And whenever she cast she had to use just exactly the right amount of power to achieve her end. That right amount being dependent on the strength of her body and the freshness of her mind combined. Too much at the wrong moment and she was lost. Not enough and the casting would fail.

Erie

A more peaceful sleep overcame her now. Her last thought before the shouting woke her at dawn the next morning was that she was going to have to get to know herself all over again. She hoped her husband would understand.