Curse of the Shadowmage by Anthony Mark

Finally she gasped a single word.
    “What?”
    “You heard my orders, Al’maren.” Thantarth’s voice was cold, hard stone.
    She shook her head dully. Gradually, anger flared to life inside her. She welcomed it, letting the fire burn away the vast sickness in her gut. Slowly she straightened, locking gazes with the image of Thantarth in the shining sphere. “With all due respect, Master Thantarth,
    I cannot believe what I have just heard,” she said incredulously. “Caledan is one of the greatest Harpers alive. Perhaps the greatest. And you would simply have him disposed of like some broken tool that is no longer needed?”
    “I am well aware of Caldorien’s accomplishments as a Harper, Al’maren,” Thantarth thundered angrily. “I hardly need a mere journeyman to instruct me. It is tragic that a hero of Caldorien’s caliber must be destroyed. But the Harpers cannot allow the evil of a shadowking to be loosed upon the world once more. We have no choice. Caledan Caldorien must die. And you have been chosen to perform the deed.”
    Thantarth would not be swayed. Mari’s rage melted into numbness. “I… can’t do it.”
    “I know of your feelings for Caldorien, Al’maren. I do not envy your position. However, you must put your feelings aside in favor of the oath you swore to the Harpers.”
    She shook her head in disbelief. “You don’t know what you’re asking of me. I can’t … I can’t destroy the man I … I …”
    Thantarth’s booming voice shook the timbers of the inn. “You are wrong, Al’maren. You will do it, becaiise I command you to do so. Your vow to the Harpers stands above all. You have no choice!”
    That was his mistake. Mari realized she did have a choice. A thrill of fear coursed through her as she thought about what she must do, but it was quickly replaced by cool calm. She raised a hand to the silver moon-and-harp pin on her green jacket—the badge of the Harpers. When she spoke, her voice was steady.
    “If as a Harper I must obey you, Thantarth, then this day I am a Harper no longer.”
    She tore the silver badge from her jacket.
    Thantarth’s expression was livid. ‘You cannot do this,
    Mari Al’maren!”
    “It’s too late. I already have.”
    His voice became a growl. “Do you understand what this means, Al’maren? You will be branded a renegade. Every Harper will have the right to hunt you down and slay you. And by all the gods, they will be obliged to do it!”
    “I know,” she said sadly. “I know.”
    Within the glowing sphere, Thantarth shook a fist at her, his face crimson. “Stop this foolishness now, Al’maren. Stop it, or I swear you will—”
    Mari did not wait to hear what awful fate he intended for her. In one swift motion, she picked up the chair and hurled it at the shimmering sphere. There was a brilliant flash and a sound like shattering glass as the orb burst into a thousand azure shards. Mari shut her eyes against the blinding glare. When she dared open them again, the magical sphere was gone. All that was left of the chair were a few charred sticks of wood scattered on the floor. They looked like nothing so much as burnt bones.
    I never believed it would come to this, Mari thought with a mixture of apprehension and peculiar exultation. I never believed that I, Mari Al’maren, would become a renegade Harper.
    Yet that was exactly what she was now. A renegade, a fugitive, and an outlaw. The full realization of what she had done crashed down upon her, and she slumped down into a chair. She had just given up everything she had ever fought for, everything she had ever believed in. But she could not destroy Caledan, and she would not let anyone else destroy him. There had to be a way to stop Caledan’s dark metamorphosis. I promised you, Kera. I told him good-bye, but I will be damned to the Abyss if I’ll turn my back on him.
    “Are they going to kill my father, Mari?”
    She had forgotten Kellen. He stood beside her chair, his green eyes overly