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Isana&039;s heart twisted in her chest, and her throat tightened "No," she whispered "No My brother isn&039;t-he&039;s not gone He can&039;t be"

Old Bitte looked down "His heart His breathing They&039;ve both stopped He just lost too one"

Stunned silence fell on the hall

"No," Isana said She felt dizzy, stunned, and she had to close her eyes "No Bernard" The enormity of that simple finality, of death, fell on her like afamily, and she had been close to him since before she could clearly remember She could not picture a world without her brother in it There had to be so She had been so close to securing the help she needed If Kord and his sons hadn&039;t been interfering, if they had only kept to themselves, there would have been two skilled watercrafters attending to Bernard before she was even awakened

Let the crows take Kord and his ht did he have to jeopardize the lives of others in order to protect his own position? Bernard could have been cared for He could have lived

She needed Bernard The steadholt needed him Tavi needed him

Tavi If anyone could find Tavi now, if anyone could help him, it was her brother She had to have his help She had to have hione forever He, too, could-

"No," Isana said aloud She took a breath, steeling herself She could not let Kord&039;s viciousness kill her brother and Tavi all in one moment She lifted her head and focused on Old Bitte "No, this isn&039;t over Get him into the tub"

Bitte looked up at Isana, her expression startled "What?"

"Get hi up her sleeves in brisk, short et over here and prepare your furies"

"Isana," Bitte hissed "Child, you cannot do this"

"She can," said Otto, his voice quiet, his pate gleaht of the fire "It&039;s been done before When I was young, just taking h the ice and into the mill pond He was under for nearly thirty h it, and he lived"

"Lived," spat Bitte "He sat in a chair drooling and never speaking again until fevers took hirimaced and put a frail hand on Otto&039;s shoulder "She&039;s right Even if we bring his body back, hiswith it"

Isana stood and faced the two men "I need him," she said "Tavi is out in the stor to help et out of my way"

"We&039;ll help," Otto offered at once

Roth let out a slow breath, his expression reluctant "Aye," he agreed "Furies willing, the attempt won&039;t kill you"

"I&039;m touched by your enthusiasm" Isana stalked to the copper tub Several of the holders, under Bitte&039;s direction, lowered Bernard&039;s li languidly out froe off," she instructed "It won&039;t matter now, one way or the other"

She knelt down by the head of the tub, reaching out to rest her fingers against Bernard&039;s te a hand down to touch the water, briefly "Rill, I need you" She felt the water swirl, slowly, as Rill entered the tub She could feel the fury&039;s reluctance, its ue and unsure-no, not Rill&039;s reluctance, but her oeariness As tired as Isana was, doubtless Rill could not hear her clearly, could not respond to her as well as the fury usually ht In a moment more, that would not be an issue

"Immi," Otto whispered Isana felt the portly Steadholder rest his hand on her shoulder, warhtly in support The waters stirred beneath her fingers anew, as the second fury entered the tub, a much smaller, more active presence than Rill&039;s

Roth put his hand on her opposite shoulder "Aler, more confident presence, the older Stead-holder&039;s fury carrying with it a sense of fluid strength

Isana took a deep breath, focusing through her weariness and her fear and her anger She pushed her wild concern for Tavi frohts, her uncertainty that she could help her brother She cleared everything away but her sense, through Rill, of the water in the tub and of the body it surrounded

There was a certain feel to a body sub out from the skin Isana willed Rill to surround Bernard, so that she could feel for that fragile energy around him, the tremors of life For a terrible

Then Rill quivered in response to the barest traces of life in the wounded man Isana felt her heart lurch in relief, and she murmured, "He&039;s still here But we have to hurry"

"Don&039;t risk it Isana," Roth said, his voice quiet "He&039;s too far gone"

"He&039;s ainst either side of Bernard&039;s thick neck "You and Otto seal up the wound I&039;ll do the rest"

She felt Otto&039;s hand tighten on her shoulder Roth let out a quiet, resigned sigh

"If you go in, you ain Even if you are successful in reviving him"

"I know" Isana closed her eyes, and leaned forward enough to plant a gentle kiss on her brother&039;s head "All right then," she said "Here we go"

Isana let out her breath in a long, slow exhalation and poured her attention, her focus, her will forward into the water The dull ache in her li tension in her back vanished All the sensations of her body, froers to the s She felt only the water, the fading energy around Bernard, and the nebulous presence of the furies in the water with her

Rill&039;s presence pressed close to her, soainst Isana&039;s awareness She touched Rill with her thoughts, giving the fury an ilided closer, into the same space Isana&039;s awareness occupied The sensation of the fury&039;s presence overlapped with her own until she could no longer readily distinguish the two Isana felt a brief surge of disorientation as she and the fury joined one another Then, as always, Rill&039;s perceptions began to flow into her in a slow rush of sounds, ible, tactile eue, pale shape of Bernard&039;s body, at the evenover him Roth and Otto&039;s furies hovered anxiously before her in the water, each visible to her, now, faint colors in a pair of cloudy forms