Page 52 (1/2)

The deent by huh that was far more than the ent, but its as strong It wanted only to protect itsto achieve that end Renna stood in its way, and it struggled against her desperately

But while the de its mind, for Renna, all humanity was at stake All humanity, and Arlenwould be lost, and she iven in and let her father have his way, as Lainie had What good was her entire worthless life, if she could not do this?

She caught theits essence It burst apart in a shower of one

Jardir drove the butt end of the Spear of Kaji into the frozen stone one last ti the final piece that held hiai prince, but his Sharule throw of the spear, and he could end theai he had ever faced He could end theht whatever chaos had arisen froreenlanders’ resistance would collapse, and in the abyss, Nie’s servants would shake with terror at the power of Everam’s warriors

All he had to do was throw, and live with betrayal a second tireat, if it e in Sharak Ka?

We ht them The Par’chin’s words echoed in his ht, before I betray ain

He slipped the spear into its harness on his back, pulled the hood of his Cloak of Unsight over his head, and reached into the pouch at his waist

The de Arlen could feel it While he could Draw upon the power of Anoch Sun, the , and its reserves were fast e his match He had needed to cut power to the wards that kept it fro his skin in order to maintain the choke hold, and the bones and skin of its scrawny neck had hardened into what felt like dia his hands as ht It can’t

The deums and dozens of needle teeth The jaws stretched i the teeth closer and closer to his face He could taste the foul reek of its rancid breath Its spittle struck his cheek, and he retched

But then a fist struck the jaws, shattering teeth and knocking the to see Jardir, but it was Renna who stood there, as bright with ic as he had ever seen her Her face was set with hard deterth

He felt tears welling in his eyes and wanted to speak, but it was all he could do to keep his hold as she haain

Then, suddenly, Jardir appeared behind the de the silver chain Arlen had spent countless hours warding over its head Before it could catch a breath, Arlen let go his hold, and Jardir pulled the chain tight, its wards flaring

The de to dissipate, but that poas robbed fro to find soht, and when the demon seemed unable to shrink farther, Arlen slipped a warded padlock into the links, snapping it shut

All three of the with the sht each of the de a hog at the Solstice festival It fell to one knee, then face-first on the ground After a le, and its aura went flat Arlen snapped another lock two links looser about its throat and undid the first, letting the unconscious creature draw a shallow breath

They had fought too hard to let it die now

Only then did he turn his attention to the rest of the roo collapsed in the struggle There was no sign of the mimic apart from a few blackened stains on the rock

In the doorway, battle still raged Shanvah, quiver empty and spear broken, held her shield on one ar both to hold back the tide of de at the door Her feet had put cracks in the sandstone floor as she held against the press