It was illusory. It was a lie. But it had felt so real to her, so viscerally true, it didn’t matter. Kaylin thought if they had died there, if they had been entirely devoured by Shadow, they wouldn’t have cared at all.
She had always thought that drugs were about being happy, somehow. Being ecstatic. Finding the high. Now she wasn’t so certain. And it didn’t matter. Edelonne was not going to, could not, go back, because Kaylin was an anchor. A shackle. A cage. What she needed from Edelonne wasn’t personal impressions. She needed to know—
Spike made a screeching noise that set Kaylin’s entire body vibrating.
Spike didn’t want her to approach the truth any further.It is your Adversary, he said, his voice causing Kaylin’s jaw to ache.The Barrani was offered power by that Adversary, and it is his knowledge that allowed the transformation. It is his knowledge that forms the foundation for the gate that is being built by the Barrani lords in their ignorance. Were they like Edelonne, we would be far too late; they are not.
They struggle in ignorance, with just enough knowledge to be a threat. They cannot see that threat—but, Chosen, they will if they cannot be stopped. We all will.
“You won’t.”
Iwill. There is a reason that I had to be freed from the constraints ofRavellon. If they succeed here, I will be trapped.
“Even if I anchor you?”
You will be dead. Do not ask for more now. It is possible that even her answer, spoken as it is, will be heard.
“They already know we’re here.”
Yes and no. They know that we are coming. But those who consider us their chief concern cannot yet perceive how.
“Anytime you’re ready to pay attention to our plan of action,” Sedarias said, and Kaylin swiveled.
“Sorry. Spike was talking, and it’s almost painful to the ears.”
“Tell him to shut up, then. Terrano says you can’t see what we can currently see.”
Kaylin nodded.
“He thinks it doesn’t matter. To us.”
She is wrong.
“But knowledge is, in theory, power. According to Terrano, three of our families are currently engaged in an attempt to summon Shadow—as if it were a simple element. Killing them—ah, forgive me,stoppingthem—will be our problem. Your problem, according to Teela, will be the guards. The ones you call Ferals. We have some rudimentary grasp of the Arcane—from Teela, before you ask. We are not as helpless as our enemies currently presume we will be.
“Teela, however, will accompany you.”
“What?”
“Kariannoswill not be of great use against the High Lords; it was not created with Barrani enemies in mind.”
“It wasn’t created to fight Shadow, either. It’s called adragonslayerfor a reason.”
“We can argue about that later.”
“What are your plans, then? You just intend to charge in and start killing High Lords?”
“As a matter of fact, yes.”
“That’s not aplan!”
“It’s all of the plan we have time for,” Sedarias snapped. “We expected opposition—but not on this scale; there is no subtlety being exercised at all.” And if they weren’t being subtle, Kaylin thought, Sedarias saw no need for subtle, either. “And according to Terrano, both your familiar and Spike feel that this might be death for our race.”
“Has it occurred to you that Arcanists might have a few deadly defenses on hand?”
“Yes, of course. But to use them, they’ll almost certainly have to interrupt what they’re doing.”
“Or try to do itfaster,” Kaylin snapped. “They’ll send the Ferals after you first. And, guys? These are notnormalFerals. They have way more power than the Ferals you’d sneer at in the fiefs, and they’retetheredto the Adversary’s power. They have way more power than most of the enemies you’d take down with swords. They’ll use it. Icanbreak that connection—but it takes time. Time for each of the eleven. In the worst possible case...”
