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Vic stepped closer Five paces away now Dorian was frozen, one eye exposed Surely Vic would see them He had to! And if Dorian didn’t raise some defense, Vic would murder them where they stood But if he did raise a defense, Vic would sense it Either as a decision

It wasn’t the voice of the God It was the voice of fear I can take them

Dorian stepped out of the crevice and lashed out at Vic with fire nized his mistake the moment the missiles diverted and flen the tunnel toward Vic’s brother The boys were twins Fraternal twins or Dorian would have recognized it at once Twins could make a weave to protect each other at the expense of protecting theer than a ive hier than he should have been capable of It was a ha blue cone that in his youthful enthusias fist Rather than dodge it, Dorian had to stop it completely to make sure it didn’t kill Jenine behind hi stones down fro of the tunnel Dorian blocked it, too, suddenly aware of howexhausted

With fingers of ic, he reached beneath Vic’s shield and twisted it onto himself It surprised the boy so much that he abandoned his next attack Down the hall, his twin did not His next haht circle by the shield that was now protecting Dorian, and arced into Vic instead It crushed his body flat against the tunnel wall

Dorian flung a single fire missile down the hall With Vic dead, the tas now unshielded, and the fireup Vic’s staff--the da’s blows ht to have been--Dorian pulled Jenine down the hall They could still e It was close now The last hallas clear, and though the ate was closed, the sally port opened frohty double gates were flung open The rancid stench of vir washed over Dorian and Jenine Four young men stood before them, their skin aith the knotted dark tattoo-like vir They were ready; they’d sensed Dorian co

Dorian threw up a hurried shield, as thick as he could e with the rest of his Talent, and turned to flee The damned amplifiae didn’t help at all; it was attuned to vir In rapid succession, the shield absorbed a haht fire missiles, the staccato jabs of a needler, and the diffuse flaue, meant to finish an opponent after his shields were down But Dorian’s shields weren’t down, he could survive another wave so long as none of the man called out triumphantly fros, blocking the hall’s other exit The first group stopped attacking Dorian instantly

Dorian looked from one camp to the other, and they looked at him He and Jenine were trapped between them "Hold!" Dorian shouted "I aed my name from the records, but I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors I’m real, and you can’t afford to attack me"

Tavi spat "You’re not even a meister"

"Why?" Draef asked at the sao down easily If either of you attack me, you’ll leave yourselves open to be attacked by the other But I am an Ursuul of the twelfth shu’ra" Just a touch, just a touch He could e that much and still not surrender to the vir

Dorian reached down, and the vir rushed from the depths like a leviathan and rode the surface of his skin in great knots that obscured almost all of his skin Quickly, he pushed it back

The aethelings, all of them sixteen or seventeen years old atwith Tavi looked on the verge of bolting

"An illusion!" Tavi shouted, hysteria edging his voice

"An illusion that smells?" Draef asked contemptuously Yes, Draef is the first of this seed class Tavi’s the pretender "What do you want?" Draef asked