The demon rushed at him. Rain stood his ground and plunged both shining blades into the center of the dark being. Throwing open the barriers in his mind, Rain called power to him and channeled it down his arms, down the magic-woven blades, into the bitter black heart of the demon. The essence of life crashed into the embodiment of death. The demon wailed, a screeching cry of denial and fury. Its dark form flashed bright for a blinding instant, then was gone, leaving nothing behind but a scorched gash in the wooden floor.
Sol stared at his daughter, the dead Fey, and the destruction of his home. He swallowed hard and met Rain’s eyes. “I release you from our contract.”
“Sol!”
The woodcarver put a hand on his wife’s arm. “Hush, Laurie. We can’t protect her, and you know it. Our only hope is that the Fey can.” He turned back to Rain. “Marry her and leave tomorrow, if you think that’s best. Just, for the gods’ sake, keep her safe.”
Chapter Eleven
Live well.
Love deep.
Tomorrow, we die.
Fey Warriors’ Creed
“What happened? What was that thing?” Ellysetta stared in horror first at the place where the demon had disappeared, then at the dead Fey lying on the living-room floor. Mama and Papa had taken the twins out back while the warriors put the Baristani home back in order and took care of Dajan’s body.
“That was the proof Dorian has been wanting,” Rain told her grimly. “That was a demon, summoned by Azrahn. The Elden Mages are here, and already at work.”
“What?” Her head jerked upwards. A sudden stabbing pain behind her eyes made her cry out and press the heels of her palms to her temples.
Rain’s concern, sweet and fierce, enveloped her senses. “You are injured.” A spate of rapid Feyan followed, commands snapped out with a force that had warriors scurrying to obey.
“Nei... no, I’m not injured. But my head feels like someone is jabbing a knife in my brain.” What had happened to her? One moment she’d been arguing with Rain, and the next, she was surrounded by her quintet watching some horrible black, formless creature attack him. And Dajan, the bright-eyed warrior whousually guarded her front door, was lying gray and dead on her family’s living-room floor. “You say the Mages sent it? For me?”
“Aiyah.”His eyes, pale and piercing, searched her face. “Do you not remember?”
“No.” She frowned, trying to recall. “You and I were arguing. I turned and knocked over a pile of wedding presents. You helped me pick them up. The next thing I remember, Bel was holding me while that thing... that demon... was attacking you.”
“You don’t remember opening the gift?”
“What gift?”
He lifted a hand and gestured to a point across the room. The remains of the music box and a collection of strange black chips rose into the air and flew into his hands. “This one.”
“I’ve never seen that before. Are you sure this came from the Mages?”
“See these shards?” He showed her the handful of black chips that looked like shattered crystal. “This isselkahr. Tairen’s Eye corrupted by Azrahn and other Eld magic. The Mages make it. No other race knows the secret—not even the Fey. If this doesn’t convince Dorian to invokeprimus, nothing will.”
“Rain.” Bel murmured an apology as he interrupted. “Will you send our brother’s body back to the elements?”
Rain’s fingers closed around theselkahrshards, and the anger on his face faded briefly to grief, then stony blankness. “The honor is yours, my friend.”
At Bel’s signal, Ellysetta’s quintet circled Dajan’s body. In low, melodious voices they sang a spare, mournful elegy commending the dead Fey’s bravery and honor, and summoned their power. She could see the magic in the air. Five separate strands—one from each warrior—folded into a single fiercely glowing ply that they used to form a shining net between them. Still chanting the death song, the warriors lowered the shining net. It settled over Dajan like a blanket of light, and the chant ended.
“Soar high, Dajan,” Bel said, “and laugh on the wind. May youfind joy before we meet again.” He looked at the other four who each held a thread of the weave, sharing a silent communication. As one, they bowed their heads. The weave they had placed over Dajan’s body flashed painfully bright for an instant. Ellie shielded her eyes.
When the light dimmed, the shining weave was gone, and so was Dajan. Nothing remained save a single round stone, Dajan’ssorreisu kiyr, which Bel picked up and handed to Kieran. The younger Fey cupped the crystal in the palm of his hand, and his blue eyes glowed green for several long moments. A matching green glow surrounded the crystal. When the glow faded, he opened his hands to reveal Dajan’s Soul Quest crystal, now set in an oval lozenge of gold filigree suspended from a gold chain.
“Dajan’s crystal is yours now, Ellysetta,” Bel said. “Fey custom dictates that when a warrior dies in the service of ashei’tani, hissorreisu kiyrgoes to her.”
He placed the dark, shining jewel in her palm. It felt surprisingly warm, almost as if it were alive. Her skin tingled where it touched the crystal, and the pounding in her head seemed to grow fainter. She stared into the whirling rainbow of light flickering in the crystal’s depths.
“Why didn’t the crystal disappear along with Dajan’s body?” she asked.
“Tairen’s Eye is made of a magic beyond our powers,” Rain said. “Fey can neither make nor destroy it.”
