King of Sword and Sky
Page 116

"Shei'tani, Rain is right." Dax took his truemate's hand.
"We can't even stop the Mage from killing the kitlings." Rain spat. He ran a hand through his hair and began to pace. "If Ellysetta is right, we have to figure out how to stop that first, or anything else we may do is meaningless. The only power the Eld truly fear is the might of the tairen. Can you imagine what they'd do if they could control that power for themselves?"
Ellysetta knew. She'd seen it in vivid, horrifying, blood-filled color in her nightmares. "The world would fall."
The warriors met one anothers' gazes with grim understanding. No mortal army would be able to stand against Eld armies led by Mage-claimed tairen. And if the Mages destroyed the Fey, no magical race would have the strength to defeat them either.
"It may already be too late," Tajik said. "If he's been stealing the souls of tairen since the Mage Wars, there's no telling how many Tairen Souls he's already created."
Gaelen gave a skeptical grunt. "If he had many, we'd have seen them already, vel Sibboreh."
"Would we?" Gil challenged. "Could be he's just biding his time and building his army."
"Or waiting for his Tairen Souls to find their wings," Rain suggested. "Ellysetta was a mere babe when she was smuggled out of Eld, and her power has yet to fully manifest itself."
"So how do we stop him?" Ellysetta interjected. "We can't do anything about the Tairen Souls he may have already created, but we have to find a way to keep him from making more."
"If he's stealing souls from the Well, then we must cut off his access to it—or find a way to separate the kitlings from the Well of Souls," Gaelen said. "Azrahn is the only way."
"Nei!" Gil, Tajik, Rain, and Dax roared as one.
"Azrahn is the enemy's tool, not ours," Tajik said.
"What we're talking about here is the manipulation and theft of souls," Gaelen snapped back. "What tool should we use to combat soul theft if not the soul magic?" He threw up his hands and stalked a short distance away. "Bright Lord save me from pompous fools."
"Pompous!" Tajik snarled. "Is it pompous to live with honor?"
"What honor is there in the destruction of everything we hold dear? I'd rather live as a reviled outcast and keep my people safe than die a noble corpse along with everyone I love."
"And that's precisely the thinking that led you down the Shadowed Path to begin with! Honor is the anchor that holds us to the Light."
"Oh, aiyah, an anchor indeed," Gaelen snapped. "But what happens when you're thrown overboard, still chained to that great scorching anchor? You flaming drown, that's what— along with every other brother chained to it with you."
"Dahl'reisen rultshart!" Tajik's red hair all but caught fire. He lunged for Gaelen, whose eyes flashed to blue ice just before he lunged too.
"Enough!" Rain stepped between the two of them, his arms outstretched, palms flat against the chests of the two snarling warriors. "Scorch you both! Save your fury for the Eld." He glared at Gaelen. "Azrahn is the forbidden magic. You accepted that when you returned to the Fading Lands. You will either live by our laws or be banished once more. Is that clear?"
Gaelen's eyes narrowed. "It's clear."
"Kabei." Rain shoved him away and turned to Tajik. "Dull the edge of that blade, vel Sibboreh. The Mage Wars would have happened with or without Gaelen, and your sister would still be dead. Do not forget: His own sister was the first to die."
A muscle jumped in Tajik's jaw. With a sullen nod, he turned away and stalked to a corner of the courtyard.
After a brief silence to let tempers settle, Marissya said, "Separating the kitlings from the Well wouldn't work in any case. If you sever that connection before they're born, you'd sever their souls from their bodies. They'd die."
Ellysetta's brows drew together. "Then isn't birth the obvious answer?" She glanced at Rain. "The Mage hasn't ever attacked tairen once they've hatched, has he?"
"Not in this manner," he acknowledged, "but this clutch was laid only three months past. It's far too soon for hatching. Tairen spend twelve months in the womb and eight months on the sands. No kitling with less than six months in the egg has ever survived."
"Can't a shei'dalins healing weave speed things up?" She turned to Marissya. "It's only a matter of a few months. Surely, if the most powerful healers can regrow severed limbs or hold a dying person to life, they ought to be able to accelerate the gestation of an unborn child."
Marissya shook her head. "It's not that easy, Ellysetta. Not even the most powerful shei'dalin can pull an infant's soul from the Well before its time, no matter how mature the child's body may be. As long as a soul lives more in the Well than the world, we can do nothing."
Ellysetta rubbed her tired eyes. "We should consult the scrolls again. Now that we know what we're looking for, perhaps we can find clues we've overlooked before. Marissya, can you call the shei'dalins to help us? We need as much assistance as we can get to search."
"Of course. I'll ask Venarra to summon them first thing in the morning."
Ellysetta glanced up. The eastern sky was already light. "That should be about now," she said with a wan smile.