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Keleios&039; eyes opened to dusk The sky had been bled dark The forest was a black bulk against a grey-silver sky where the last light of day struggled against the dark Keleios felt refreshed Magic was there for the calling again Her body felt good, as if she had slept for a week She wondered what had been in the potion the black healer gave her, for she felt remarkably well, better than she had expected

She could see Eroar the Dragon She marveled at his true form This would be only the third time she had seen it His scales were a rich blue like the ocean far froe was black, as were his claws; his true forht across her legs Keleios lay still, trying not to disturb the cat Her black and white fur was roo as if it caught a distant sound

Keleios smiled in the dusk Most wizards did not care for animals that did not earn their keep as familiar or worker Even Keleios would never ad the two fires, one for cooking and one for brewing potions She fed sticks to the fire, the orange gloing her face drawn and tired

Carrick&039;s nearly bald head showed above blankets The rise and fall of his chest told Keleios he was alive Keleios wondered if he too had been given a potion or if he would be allowed to sleep until healed How Carrick hatedthe livery of the High Council fire Breena stood and was joined by the brown-haired black healer The tallest one gave a rolled parchment to the when she touched it, very official

The tall one spoke in forh Council journeymen or teachers, traitors We have co"

Keleios had seen Breena truly angry only twice, each tilad that it was directed elsewhere "I can read Let h Councilman of Astrantha has ordered injured and unconscious people imprisoned"

The guards shifted uneasily, for it was considered ill luck to interfere with a healer

"Why doesn&039;t he take the children, too?"

"They are young and can be reconditioned in the proper Astranthian school"

"And the weapons master, Carrick, is he to be i the job he was paid to do There is no treachery in that"

Keleios sought outith her one up around the area Teleporting was not one of her better spells but she would have risked appearing inside a tree, or another person, to escape Nesbit&039;s net A teleport gone wrong was a very bad way to die, but the High Council you wish for death, any sort of death She felt strong enough to take the two guards and fight her way free If ic were useless, then there was always steel

Three uards appeared

Breena let her hand fall to her short sword "You are not taking the"

"Please, healer, do not ht you"

The black healer stepped forward "I proo into captivity asleep" He pushed his cloak behind his shoulder and rested his hand on his sword pommel

"I am not asleep"

Everyone jumped at the unexpected words and turned Keleios sat up and said, "I thank you both for defending me, but I am quite able to defend myself" Poth, who had been awake for soarding thevoice sounded "I, too, aht as he raised his head The eyes sparkled orange and fire-filled, and the dragon blew a questing breath of s nearer to each other like frightened children

A smooth voice came from the forest "There will be none of that, not unless you want to give bow trees Given a reason, they would kill all who stood in the clearing, except Eroar It would be a ht The wind shifted, and Keleios caught the sharp scent of crushed dragon&039;s bane Eroar blew another breath of s The archers did not step down "Be reasonable, Keleios"

"I am ready to be reasonable, Nesbit What did you have in mind?"

He motioned for an old peasant rey and his short body had boith age He held chains in his hands They rattled and clanked as he ic friends wear these while we transport you to exile"

Keleios narrowed her eyes and hissed, "I will not wear those foul things"

"It is that or" He let it trail off, but the alternatives were clear

Breena asked, "What is wrong with the chains?"

Lothor answered, rising fro No ainst them If you wear the are forbidden ic"

Nesbit simply smiled and stared at Keleios

"Nesbit, I cannot; I as will near kill me"

"That is the only safe way to transport such as you, and you know it"

"If I give my word not to escape, you can trust it"

"Your word is not good enough; no one&039;s is"

"Not even your own"

Nesbit waved it away and said, "We waste tiree to exile, or do we kill you here?"

Tobin rose and stood beside Keleios, "What you ask of her is unfair, and you know it"

"I know old wives&039; tales; nothing more" He waited only a moment and said, "Decide, Keleios, decide now"

She realized that he wanted an excuse to kill them all Martyrs or not, he was nervous now and wanted it taken care of one way or another Perhaps he had overstepped his bounds, and other council , other aristocrats "Very well"

Nesbit hed doith chains Eroar snaked his neck out, forcing the man to brush his fearsoon

Nesbit gave a short barking laugh "These little gaon will not hurt you, old man Go on!" The old on After all, dragons did not torture a man when you displeased the excluded all ic, not merely spells, but substance Nesbit called it old wives&039; tales, but those tales said runes of binding could kill elves

"Come, Keleios, have you decided or not? Live or die"

She held out her hands slowly, fists clenched The man&039;s thin blue-veined hands held out a set of bracelets too big for her small wrists The silver metal slipped round, clicked shut, and Nesbit spoke a word The metal shrank to fit her They snapped into place with a second spell, and Keleios was alone Her s The cat screeched Eroar bellowed, and the chain carrier sturound in a clatter of chains

"We can still kill her, dragon, so hold yourself in"

"I control myself, but there will cole to his feet and said, "Manacles"

"But, Lord Nesbit, she is but a girl"

"That girl could crush your skull with one hand"

The old man looked doubtful but shuffled forward and snapped them into place Keleios are of it, but it didn&039;t matter Was this how it felt to be oneKeleios behind She stood where she had been and yet was far away The air was close, heavy, and hard to breathe

Tobin was bound He stared around at the trees as if seeing the blind"

Keleios&039; voice was the faintest of sounds "Worse"

Lothor stepped forward His skin was its norlass "I a with her"