Raven's Strike (Raven #2)(136)

"You are a solsenti," she told the Shadowed in the voice Papa always said could freeze a man to death quicker than any blizzard. "A mere illusionist who can only ape his betters by stealing magic that doesn't belong to him."

Jes felt the impact of her words, the fury loosed in the Shadowed in response to his mother's mockery. He tried to urge the Guardian to action, but the Shadowed's response was swifter.

The solsenti wizard gestured and Seraph flew backward, slamming into the road. She bounced once, then lay still.

With a soundless snarl the Guardian raced to her side, still camouflaged from view. The relief of seeing her ribcage rise shook the Guardian's resolve. Mother was his to protect as well.

"You are not but a dirty little thief," said Hennea, who had stepped between the others and the Shadowed.

Willon, still enraged, screamed out a smattering of unintelligible syllables that both Jes and the Guardian knew must be some sort of solsenti spell. The Guardian, knowing himself helpless, watched Hennea hold up her hand.

Nothing happened to her.

"A dirty little thief," Hennea said again, dusting her hands.

Rain began to fall from the clouds Rinnie had been gathering. As the cold drops hit his mother's face, she opened her eyes. After a moment she sat up slowly. The Guardian started to touch her, but his attention was drawn back to the Shadowed as Willon suddenly staggered and fell.

For a moment Jes thought it was something Hennea had done, but then he saw a knife on the ground and realized Lehr had thrown it with such force it had knocked the Shadowed off his feet. The blade hadn't penetrated, though, just cut the cloth of Willon's tunic so the links of chainmail showed beneath.

Phoran sprinted forward, Toarsen a half step behind; but it was too late - Willon had recovered from his surprise.

Hennea shouted, a wordless sound, and Jes could feel her desire to protect the others, but Willon's magic still sent all three men stumbling backwards. Hennea swayed and he knew the sharp pain that sliced through her at the backlash of the Shadowed's imperfectly deflected spell.

Mother struggled to get up, and the Guardian helped her to her feet.

"Papa wants me to kill the Shadowed," the Guardian told her urgently, as he steadied her. "But it will kill Jes or drive him mad. An empath can't take another's life - not a strong empath like Jes."

She shivered as if she were cold, the mist of her breath a testimony to the Guardian's distress. Unable to break through the Guardian's protective concealment. "You underestimate Jes," she said. "He is stronger than you believe."

Yes, said Jes.

Papa, still singing, walked between Willon and the Emperor, setting himself in front of Willon. He walked with a limp, and Jes knew his left knee ached from the old injury. But the knee was as nothing to the torment of the Stalker's music. He tucked the lute against his body to shield it from the rain as best he could.

Willon raised his hands again, and Rinnie ran between them, shouting, "No!"

It was too much for the Guardian. For Rinnie, for Papa, for his family, both he and Jes were willing to die.

Lightning struck Willon with a deafening crack. He staggered and sobbed, his flesh smoking in the chill of Rinnie's storm. Lightning struck again, but Willon didn't fall down. He ran at Rinnie.

But the Guardian was there first. There was no finesse in his attack, but none was needed. Willon didn't see him until the Guardian hit him the first time. As his fists hit flesh, the fever of battle rose, and the wizard, half-stunned by Rinnie's lightning, was not much of a challenge - not as long as Papa kept playing so Willon had no access to the Stalker's power.

"Wait," said Phoran's Memory wrapping a hand around the Guardian's wrist, stopping his strike.

As soon as he was still, the Memory released him. "Hold him for me," it said.

At the sound of the Memory's voice, the Shadowed took a step back. The Guardian stepped in and took him in a wrestling hold, pinning the struggling mage to the ground.

The Memory settled beside them and took Willon's head in its hands. The wizard showed the whites of his eyes and a rising tide of fear poured off him. The Memory bent over him.

Willon screamed and Jes pulled the Guardian around him, letting the Guardian protect him from the worst of Willon's experience. The firmly muscled body beneath the Guardian began to shrink, the softness of flesh replaced by something dry and hard. When at last the thing the Guardian held quit struggling, and the Memory pulled away, the Shadowed bore no resemblance to Willon, merchant of Redern.

Thick dark hair had been reduced to a few strands of white on his scalp. He looked as though something had sucked all the moisture from his body. His skin was color of oiled wood and had the texture of parfleche. His lips had shrunk with the rest of him, leaving his teeth exposed. He looked like a corpse left to dry in the sun, but Jes knew he was very much alive.

The Guardian released his grip before the Shadowed's terror had a chance to damage Jes.

"I cannot kill him," said the Memory. "That task is yours, Guardian."

"I'll do it," said Lehr.

The Guardian smiled at his brother, then met Hennea's gaze briefly.

"No," he said. "Death is my gift." And he snapped the brittle neck.

Jes screamed, ripped from the safe cocoon the Guardian had tried to envelope him in. The pain was far beyond anything he had ever undergone, but that wasn't the worst of it.