Page 20 (1/2)

Da at hi place He wanted to howl as its savagery filled hied instincts blinded his ability to think Araw and viciously clear- heavily despite the cold and the rain, Jared created a large ball of witchlight

On the facing sides of the posts, someone had carved the thirteen ancient symbols of power deep into the stone--six on the left post, seven on the right

Hoas he supposed to choose the right three?

Jared paused, then shook his head Of course it was three

He found the syer hesitated over it beforeCraft, he traced the triangle’s deep lines with one finger, filling thele of Consort, Steward, and Master of the Guard forhtest bond with the Queen They were companions, advisors, protectors

None of the other syht His finger traced the outline of the symbol for female

The le was the core of a court, but the Queen, the female, was always its heart

He sank to his knees and traced the last symbol carved into the post, the Blood’s most revered symbol--the symbol for the Darkness

The Blood honored the Darkness because it s; it was the fertile dark of land and womb that nurtured the seeds of life; it was the psychic river the Blood came from and returned to; it was the abyss the Self descended into to reach its own strength; it was the vastness that contained the spiderweb-shaped psychic roadways called the Winds It was all those things, and ht, Jared felt the jolt of power funneling into the stone posts The witchlight in the syht he had to squint It flashed once and then faded, the little bit of power he’d used to create it already expended

In that le form between the three symbols before it, too, faded

The protection spells quieted The psychic storm quickly dissipated Rekeyed, the illusion spell turned a wood pole strung with vines into thick, unpassable undergrowth

Jared stayed on his knees, too tired and shaken to stand up He sank back on his heels, his head bent, his hands resting loosely on his thighs This exhaustion wasn’t caused by draining tooIt wasn’t even caused by the sharp fear he’d felt

For a few er had filled him, he had felt so alive and whole Now he felt eain, and it cut at him But he wasn’t sure he was ready to fully embrace that part of himself, to bind himself to that kind of responsibility, and until he was

Strong hands gripped his arms and pulled him up Blaed set you inside," Brock said

"The horses" Jared’s voice sounded thick

"I’ll help Thayne and Randolf with the horses"

"I can--"

"You’ve done enough," Brock said sharply

"You’ve done enough," Blaed agreed quietly

Jared gave in, needing their support more than he wanted to ad, Garth hurried up to the man studied Jared’s face for a runt of satisfaction, and hurried away

Thayne smiled shyly and raised his hand in a casual salute

Randolf stood by the corral, watching Garth, his expression unreadable

Jared was too tired for Randolfs moods, but he couldn’t quite dismiss the man’s animosity for the broken Warlord

"We should pay more attention to Garth," Jared said quietly as they neared the building

Brock made an exasperated sound "Garth’s not that bad It could’ve happened to any of us"

"He knew about those protection spells before the rest of us did"

A brittle silence followed Jared’s words

"He was the last one," Jared insisted "Nothing started to happen while he was still on the path, so I’d guess there’s soues have ti It’s the last person in who has to rekey the illusion spell in order to stop the defensive spells fro If I’d paid attention to his distress, ould have had ure out the key before the storm came down on us"