Shadowheart

'Which is?' asked The Unknown.

'Sha-Kaan,' said Hirad. 'There's a casting to get him home. That has to happen before the battle. Denser?'

Denser turned a carefully neutral face to him. 'Why must it be done before the battle?'

'Because we can't take the risk of dying and leaving him stranded here. Not now we have the knowledge.'

'Old friends dying is a risk of war, as you so ably pointed out yesterday morning,' said Denser. ‘Ineed my stamina to protect this college. He'll have to wait.'

Hirad stood quietly for a moment, Izack watching his face. It betrayed no anger though his body had tensed.

'That isn't acceptable,' said Hirad.

'Rough justice,' said Denser. 'If he can wait six years, he can wait another few days.'

Hirad thumped the table. 'No!' he shouted. 'He has to go now, today. I spoke to him last night. The flight nearly killed him. He has so little left that a few Xeteskian mages could take him down. Think, Denser. And do the right thing.'

'Hark at you, Coldheart.' Denser shook his head. 'The right thing is what you think at the time, isn't it? Well, no dice. This time, I'm in the chair and I decide. And there's nothing you can do about it.'

Hirad breathed in deeply. His shoulder muscles bunched then relaxed and he held up a hand. 'Denser, please. If there is one i

Denser looked at Hirad askance and then turned fully to face him. 'You know, Hirad, I'm genuinely impressed by that. And I'll not often say that after hearing you talk. Look, let's get this meeting over with and I'll go and check the texts I took from the catacombs. If I'm right, it shouldn't take too long. All he needs from me is a line to follow, after all.'

Hirad beamed but then remembered himself and nodded solemnly.

'Thank you, Denser.'

Denser shrugged.

'And I'm sorry, all right?'

'Later, Hirad. Let's discuss it later.'

Hirad slapped the table. 'So, General, what's the big idea?'

Chapter 39

Erie

Probably, they didn't. And a part of her didn't blame them because they made the same decisions about themselves and lived or died by them. But the larger part thought of them as playing gods because they mentioned her name and assumed her compliance without knowing any longer what she was capable of doing. They remembered her Dordovan magical skills. She didn't think she could use them any more.

She tried to tell them but they wouldn't listen. All they could find to say was that they would help her, that they would be there and that they were The Raven. So instead she walked out into the sunlight to watch the attempt to raise the Heart. She didn't feel much of the warmth of the sun and everything seemed a little detached. She knew why. The One was probing her senses, keeping her away from the people she needed in any way it could. It was trying to deprive her of her humanity. Her hearing, her sight and her touch all seemed to be under attack.

Erie

Pheone stood next to Dila'heth, the elf relaying the human's instructions. A thought clear as spring water came to Erie

Feeling an almost voyeuristic excitement, Erie

The Heart itself exhibited all the signs of a mortally sick organ. It pulsed rather than flowed at its deepest level, sending vibrations into the flow around it. Its energy was low, constricted by the shadow that sought to crush the life from it altogether..

What should have been a brilliant yellow oval, imbuing every Julatsan mage, was in reality a stuttering tarnished teardrop. The desperation to raise the Heart was all too easy to understand. It had to be returned to its exact previous position to stop it deteriorating further. Like a sundial partially hidden in shadow, it had to be moved to where its effect could be maximised. And then enough Julatsan mages had to be trained to build its strength. Pheone had asked her opinion on Geren's theory. She had thought him almost certainly right. That meant raising the Heart was only one step on a long trail back to strength.

Erie

The combination of the elements was so potent. Beguiling almost. She knew she could draw on any of it, all of it. That the failure of all the colleges would not stop her practising magic. She could be the only mage, giving true title to the name of her magic. One.

Erie

Like so many core castings, the structure was inherently simple.

To Erie

All of these links were mirrored by poles of mana on the outside of the splint, one representing each mind. The formation was quick and without error, each mage feeding in as much energy as the next to keep the balance perfect.

When it was done, they paused. Erie

Now it got tricky. Slowly, on a single command, all the mages tensed their minds in unison, clenching their fists for emphasis and raising their arms gradually as their minds gripped, dragging the Heart upwards, agonisingly slowly. But move it did. Inching upwards, the mages taking the strain.

Erie