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Then, with a frown where a smile had once been, he moved around her and strode to
the door. He opened it and she gazed out at three men in uniform, the crest of their king
emblazoned on their chests. Soldiers, sent by Lord Moradon. She fought to suppress the
shiver that threatened her. The soldiers never brought good news.
 What do you want? Cruor asked, ever to the point. He was in the king s service,
but as a mage, he commanded enough power to speak as he sought fit. Within reason.
 His Lordship requests ten new battle-ready spells by sun-up. We take Kinestaire
tomorrow night. You will be in attendance, equipped as my liege has commanded.
Cruor stared out at the armored man. The mage s expression was one of shock. And
then of anger.
 No mage can fathom ten spells in one night, soldier. You re mad. He stepped
toward the soldiers, forcing them to retreat backwards. Raven grew concerned and moved
up behind him. He held one hand back, directed at her, silently insisting that she remain
inside, out of the way.
But something drew her forward.
So, she followed as the four men moved their discussion into the front yard, beneath
the bright lights of the double full moons.
 And even if I could do it, Cruor continued, ire causing his voice to raise,  I would
not. I ve other commitments.
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Heather Killough-Walden
At that, the soldiers turned from him to look at her. She placed a hand to her stomach
protectively. Dread welled up inside of her. The scene was familiar. Ancient, forgotten,
but not entirely so.
The soldiers eyed her in silence for several moments. And then their leader nodded,
once. He turned and his subordinates followed. He mounted his horse, and the other two
soldiers mounted their horses after him.
He looked down at the mage and leveled him with an ice-cold glare.  You ll have the
spells by sun-up, mage, or your life is forfeit. He glanced once again at Raven and his
expression hardened.  And to make certain you are not distracted from your true duties,
he pulled a dagger from a sheath at his waist,  I ll rid you of your other  commitments .
He then and threw the dagger, expertly, at Raven.
She watched it flip end over end through the space between them, its blade flashing
in the moonlight. Time slowed and she knew what was coming, remembered it, and
waited for it.
The blade embedded itself in her stomach in one quick piercing moment. The
physical pain she suffered was minimal. As she gazed down at the hilt protruding from
her swollen abdomen, she felt her unborn infant kick one last time.
And then fall still. Silent.
Her knees gave out. The world spun around her. In the periphery of her vision, she
saw her husband cast a spell. And then another. She heard screams, knew the soldiers
were dead.
And then he was holding her in his arms. His fingers gripped her body bruisingly
tight. She opened her eyes and gazed up at him. He was crying. She d never seen him cry.
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The Chosen Soul
 I can t heal you. I can t heal you! he screamed as he rocked her back and forth.
Her husband had never learned healing magic. He had never tried.
She said nothing. With the last of her waning strength, she reached for his right hand
and placed it atop her stomach.
Then she closed her eyes.
And opened them to a white-washed world, bitter cold and desolate. She stared up at
the man before her. His sapphire eyes were familiar now.
 I didn t know until I touched you& In the forest. He had been dumbfounded to
find the familiarity there, shocked to feel her body, once known so well by his own,
beneath his caressing fingers. He d been shaken. And then angry. Furious that fate had
punished him in this final manner, forcing him to destroy the one thing he had ever cared
for in order to finish that which he d sworn to do long ago.
And then he d decided, as he d turned away from her in that clearing, that he would
not surrender to the pain that destiny had attempted to deal. He would have her soul, take
it within himself, and revel in it. After all, what better way to become close to his wife
once more?
And, as he d faced her once again, his anger had given way to lust. He had been
telling the truth when he d told her she was more beautiful than any other. No one had
ever been more beautiful to him than his wife. Ever.
He would kiss her, taste her, feel her one last time. He would have the woman he d
had thousands of years ago. She was already his.
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Heather Killough-Walden
He gazed down at her now and a muscle ticked in his jaw.  I swore revenge against
man. And I had it. He said, his voice cracking beneath the weight of untold emotion. She
waited several moments, saying nothing.
Then she raised her left hand and gently cupped the side of his face. He closed his
eyes. Only for a second.
 You ve lived an immortality of hatred, Cruor. It has turned you as cold as the ice on
which we stand. You do not see that you have become the soldier in this field, she
paused, glancing at the frost-hewn plane around them,  and humanity, the mage.
He gazed down at her, his brow furrowed, his lips quivering, and for once did not
have an answer.
And then she pulled away from him and placed her hand to her stomach.
He looked from her face to her hand, and his entire body stilled.
She closed her eyes and concentrated. She knew in her heart that she had the power
she needed to perform this one final piece of magic. It would take most, if not all of her
strength. But Drake s blood flowed strong through her veins, and all doubt fell away, as
useless as fear, as she turned her thoughts inward, searching within herself.
She saw the long hall then, a corridor with a thousand doors. Each one opened as she
passed, and a being appeared. She passed them without pause, their ethereal shapes
acknowledging her and then moving aside. A man named Herald. A little girl named
Rhianna. An old woman named Bella. A chipmunk, a middle-aged farmer, an old man, a
shark, a little boy, a pink pig, a dapple gray mare&
At the end of the hall lay the last door. It was white, in contrast to the others. The
knob shone polished gold. She turned the handle, and the door swung open.
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The Chosen Soul
She embraced the spirit there, held it to her breast, rocked it gently in her folded
arms, as she had never had the chance to do in life.
And then she opened her eyes. The white landscape replaced the corridor in her soul.
But she d brought the presence with her. She held out her hands, cupped together, as if
they held something in them.
Cruor gazed down at her as light began to form in her outstretched palms. He
watched as the light grew, and began to take form, amassing into a tiny, glowing shape
that he recognized instantly. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]