Ellysetta laid a hand on his face, her touch cool and calming.
Rain covered her hand with his.«I will do nothing to endanger us, shei’tani.»
«I know you will not.»Her trust in him was simple—and absolute.
He swallowed his hatred, tamping it down as, behind them, the Eld stopped beside the rocky outcropping. Part of him—perhaps the still sane part—didn’t believe her trust was warranted, but he prayed to the gods he would not fail her.
“Here as well,” one of the soldiers announced in an authoritative voice.
There was a bit of grumbling. “The Tairen Soul himself gets shot down, and Primage Keldo has us hangingjaffingrocks on trees.”
“We all do our part, corporal. If it bothers you, perhaps you’d like to discuss it with the Primage yourself?” There was a snap to the squad leader’s voice.
“No, sergeant,” the corporal replied sullenly.
“Good. Then hang thechemarevery hundred paces, as the honored Primage has ordered. If the Tairen Soul passes this way, we’ll have been the ones to set the trap.”
The squad of soldiers moved away, leaving the grumbling corporal behind to finish his task. “Perhaps you’d like to discuss it with the Primage yourself?” he sneered under his breath. “Scorching brown-nose. Bet you wear a dress and bend over any time the Primage gets a stiff one.”
From the sack at his waist, the corporal yanked out a small round stone set in what looked like some sort of pendant, then he pulled hammer and nails from another pouch. He slapped the stone against the tree trunk at shoulder height, pinned the nail through the bale loop at the top of the stone, and swung his hammer. His foot slipped on a pile of slick leaves, and the hammer slammed down on his thumb instead of the nail head.
“Krekk!” The white stone fell to the ground and skidded across the slick blanket of fallen leaves, down an incline. The Eld soldier loosed a stream of colorful swearing and shook his smashed thumb.
“Son of a pole-shriveling bone-hag. Miserablecherviljaffing, krekk-gobblingrultshart.”The corporal stuck his thumb in his mouth and sucked on it as he stomped after the fallen stone, which had come to rest near a small rocky outcropping. “I’ll bet they’ve already found him. I’ll bet they’re roasting his Hells-flamed Fey changeling ass over Mage Fire right this very moment, and I’m missing out on the lot of it.” He snatched up the fallen stone.
He stopped short, his gaze freezing on the shadowed outline of two pairs of booted feet visible within a translucent gray veil of stone. “What the… ?” He squinted and stepped closer. The boots were connected to legs and whole bodies. It looked as if two people had been entombed in the stone.
Understanding, unfortunately late, bloomed in the young man’s brain as he looked up, straight through the weak Spirit weave into Rain Tairen Soul’s glowing eyes.
Thechemardropped from the corporal’s nerveless fingers.
“Krekk.”
CHAPTERTEN
Rain’s Fey’cha flew true, burying hilt-deep in the Elden soldier’s throat. Tairen venom did its job. The young man’s eyes rolled back instantly, and he dropped to the ground.
A shout rang out from the squad farther up the road.
“Come on!” Rain grabbed Ellysetta’s hand, launched out of their hiding place, and headed due south. The time for backtracking to a safer crossing was over. They needed to get to the river—and fast.
He sent a blast of Fire up the road and whispered his return word to retrieve his red Fey’cha from the fallen soldier’s throat. As they sprinted across the dirt road, Earth rumbled to Ellysetta’s command, shifting beneath the feet of the squad of soldiers. A chorus of screams rose as trees toppled down on top of them, and another gout of flame lit a deadly bonfire.
One of the white stones on the trees began to glow as Rain and Ellysetta ran past, and a glowing rune appeared in its center, as if written in fire.
“What is that?” Ellysetta pointed at the glowing stone.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be good. Run faster,shei’tani.”
She put on a burst of speed, then faltered as a wave of ice washed up her spine, and her knees went weak. “Rain… My legs…” Her legs abruptly folded, and she went sprawling into the bracken. Rain circled back and snatched her up off the ground, but her trembling legs would not hold her weight. She collapsed against him, clinging to him to hold herself upright. “I’m sorry.”
“Las.There is nothing for which you should be sorry.” He scooped her up against his chest and continued to run. Behind them, the screams of the burning soldiers died out, leaving only the crackling of Rain’s Fire.
Ellysetta’s trembling increased until her entire body shivered uncontrollably with the familiar sensation of ice spiders crawling up her spine. Her temples ached, and there was a strange pressure at the backs of her eyes, not unlike the burn of unshed tears. She stared over Rain’s shoulder as he ran, and watched in horror as a black spot began to widen in the place where the glowingchemarstone had been.
“Rain! It’s the Well! The Well of Souls is opening!” Her fingers clawed into his shoulders as a sudden, powerful blast of cold, gagging sweetness swept over her. Robed Mages rushed out of the Well, globes of deadly blue-white fire whirling in their hands.
“Run!” she cried. She flung a series of five-fold weaves behind her, but thesel’dorweakened her threads, and the Mages easily batted them aside.
