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"It iss nowhere and everywhere" Draca pointed at his feet "Your feet must be bare Flessh musst touch the web" When Saetan had stripped off his shoes and socks, Draca pointed to a tether line "Begin here Walk sslowly to the center, letting the web draw you into itsself When you reach the center, possition yoursself behind the Jewel sso you are facing the tether line closesst to Beldon Mor"
"And then?"
Draca studied Saetan, her thoughts hidden "And the Blood sshall ssing to the Blood Your blood, darkened by your sstrength, will feed the web You will direct the power fro sso it iss channeled to the one tether line you need You in"
"And then?"
"And then you will ssee what you have come here to ssee"
Saetan tapped into the reserve strength in his Black Jewels and stepped on the tether line The power in the web stabbed into his heel like a needle He sucked in his breath and began walking
Each step drove the power of the web upward By the time he reached the center, his whole body vibrated with the hu one foot in contact with the web, Saetan positioned himself behind the Jewel, his eyes and will focused on that one tether line
He held out his right wrist and opened his vein
His blood hissed when it hit the Jewel in the center of the web’, foran to inch its way along the tether line
Drop by drop, the thread moved toward Chaillot, toward Beldon Mor
For a th away from the Jewel chip, blocked Then it crept upward, a red vine cli an invisible wall, until a handspan above the floor, it was over, flowing back along the tether line
He had breached Jaenelle’s mist The moment the blood thread touched the Jewel chip, he would be able to probe Beldon Mor
The thread touched the Jewel chip
Saetan’s eyes widened "Hell’s fire, what--"
"Don’t move!" Draca’s voice seemed so far away
What had Daee Sinking beneath the cacophony of the lesser Jewels, Saetan searched the Black, the too-still Black There should have been threereach There was only one, the one farthest out, the one at the Dark Altar
Keeping his eyes locked on the Jewel chip, Saetan sent a thought along the thread, spear to spear "Namesake?"
His ansas a brief, annoyed flicker
Saetan tried again, spear to distaff "Witch-child?"
For a ht flickered around him
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw all the Jewel chips begin to glow, all the silver strands of the web blaze with a fiery cold light
Soht More like a soap bubble cocooned in mist Faster and faster it sped toward the web
The sudden light from the Jewel at his feet blinded him He threw his arm up over his eyes
The bubble reached the Jewel chip and burst, and the cavern
The cavern vibrated with the sound of a child screa stopped
Surreal raced across Briarwood’s empty laard the hidden door The Gray Jewel around her neck blazed with her anger Tonight there wasn’t a lock anywhere in Beldon Mor strong enough to keep her out Once inside, however, she had no idea how to find the one she sought
A few strides away from the door, so to the right, she saw Rose gesturing frantically
"They’re too strong," Rose said, grabbing Surreal’s ar hiot the rooh"
"Where?" There was a stitch in Surreal’s side fros It rier
Rose pointed at the wall "Can you make the pass?"
Surreal stared at the wall, probing Pain and confusion Rage and despair And courage "Why isn’t she fighting back?"
"Too many et out" Rose tugged on Surreal’s sleeve "Please help her We don’t want her to die We don’t want her to be like us!"
Her lips pressed into a tight, angry line, Surreal reached for the knife sheathed against her right thigh, but her hand swung across her body and pulled out the knife from the left sheath
Titian’s knife
A slow s her eyes away from the wall, she held out her other hand to Rose "Come with me," she said as she stepped forward and melted into the wall
Briarwood’s outer walls were thick Surreal didn’t notice
This timeThis time she would wash the walls in blood
The shield was there, braided by the strength of two Fools Two Reds ht have slowed her down if they were aware of her presence But Kartane and Uncle Bobby? Never Never
Surreal unleashed one short blast of power from her Gray Jewel The shield around the roo in the small room, she whirled to face the man on the bed Even as he thrust into the too-still body under him, he raised his head, his face twisted with hatred and lust
Lunging forward, Surreal grabbed his hair with one hand and slashed Titian’s knife across his throat
The blood sang as the white walls turned red