Savage Messiah

But so far there had been no progress, and the stress that their experimentation placed upon Jessamay tormented Faegan greatly.

All they had ascertained so far was that Failee had concocted a formula that could change the lean of a blood signature. The grimoire clearly outlined the formula, which combined both the craft and the science of herbmastery. But even Failee had been able only to force Jessamay's signature to morph from right-leaning to neutral. The grimoire gave no evidence that she had accomplished the other half of her work-completing the shift all of the way to the left.

Faegan and Jessamay's goal was to change the lean back to the right-returning Jessamay's blood signature to its original state. But the research meant reversing the late First Mistress' work step by agonizing step.

Faegan shook his head. Aside from Failee's initial experiments, this work was entirely without precedent in the craft, he thought. It made him wonder whether this dark area of study was really the kind of thing into which the Ones Who Came Before wanted craft-users to delve. It was a true wizard's conundrum. If they succeeded, the implications of the murky ethics of their accomplishment would be staggering. If they failed, they might never save the world from the Vagaries. They knew one thing: They had to forge ahead, regardless.

Jessamay pointed to a crooked symbol on one of the parchments. "Look at this," she said. Faegan glanced over.

"This symbol is shown over and over again in both Failee's writings and the Scroll of the Vigors," she said with excitement. "I believe that-"

Suddenly there came an urgent pounding on the door. Angry at the interruption, the wizard scowled.

"Enter!" he called out.

The double doors parted briskly, and Abbey, Shailiha, and Tyra

They walked to the table, and Tyra

"I'll make this simple," she said. "At least one third of the fleet is gone, as is half of the Minion cohort that sailed with us. The Black Ships went through us like we were made of parchment. By now they have no doubt reached the coast." She looked over at Jessamay.

"Wigg said that you once served aboard those vessels," she added.

"During the battle, they did things we had no idea they could do, things we couldn't begin to fight against! I think you have some explaining to do."

Tyra

Tyra

"First, give me your report," Faegan said to her.

Before begi

"As I just told you, we were defeated. I had sixty-two warships at my disposal-far more than enough, I thought, to deal with the enemy. But I was wrong. I have never seen anything like what happened out there in my life."

For the next quarter hour, Tyra

"When you served aboard the Black Ships three centuries ago, did they have these fantastic abilities?" he asked. "If so, why didn't you and Wigg tell us about them?"

Jessamay shook her head. She seemed as stu

"No," she insisted. "The Black Ships could soar above the waves, but never fly so high or as fast as Tyra

Faegan nodded. "Wulfgar has enhanced their capabilities," he said. He looked at Shailiha. "Were you able to determine what cargo the Black Ships carry?"

Shailiha shook her head. "Other than the swarms of demonslavers aboard, there was no way to tell."

"What about Sister Adrian and K'jarr?" Jessamay asked. "Did they survive?"

"Yes," Tyra

Faegan looked down at his hands. Sensing his distress, Shailiha put a hand on one of his. "How goes your research?" she asked.

The wizard sighed. "It does not go well," he answered. "But we are hopeful."

"What we are being forced to do is essentially reverse all of Failee's original work," Jessamay told them. She turned to Abbey. "We have discovered that the answer must be a complex combination of craft calculations and herbmastery," she said. "We could use your help."

Abbey smiled. "Of course," she answered. "But tell me-has there been any word from Tristan and his group?"

"No," Faegan answered. "But we mustn't take that as a bad sign."

"And what about the warriors who watch the pass through the Tolenkas and those who follow the orb?" the herbmistress went on.

"Have you heard from any of them?"

"No," Faegan answered. "But that does not mean bad news, either. If those at the pass haven't sent word, then that simply means that nothing has changed. And as for those who are trying to follow the orb-well, that was probably a wild-goose chase from the start."

"Why?" Abbey asked.

"The orb is in constant motion. In its natural state, it is invisible," he explained. "To be seen, it generally must be called into view by a practitioner of the craft-or, at least, that is how things used to be. But since the orb was wounded, it seems to be in view much more often. If it is randomly disappearing and reappearing, it must be giving fits to the warriors who were assigned to follow it."

"Wulfgar must be marching toward the Tolenkas by now," Shailiha said. "Only the Afterlife knows what havoc he is causing while we sit here and speculate. We have to do something!"

"Agreed," Faegan said. "We must send another force to attack him. Perhaps we can do on land what we could not do on water. I will have Traax organize the Minion forces and we will make a battle plan. If Wulfgar breaches the pass and unleashes the Heretic hordes, then nothing can stand in his way."

"Except perhaps for the blood of the Jin'Sai," Shailiha said softly. "Or mine. If we learn that Tristan is"-she faltered for a moment, then rallied-"dead, you must train me as fast as possible. I will do whatever it takes to stop Wulfgar and avenge my brother's death."

"Wulfgar would have anchored as deep as possible in the huge bay that stretches from Shadowood to Malvina Watch," Tyra

The wizard nodded. "Yes, and the outposts are already on alert. But given what I have heard here today, I can't hold much hope that they will be able to stop him by themselves." His face was very grave.

"May the Afterlife care for their souls," he said.