His Cure For Magic (Book 2)
you well?" he asked.  
    Eryn shifted slightly in the leather harness that was holding them off the ground. "I'm scared."
    Silas smiled. "So am I, my dear. So am I."
    They rocked and shifted as the wagon trundled forward, the makeshift straps groaning beneath their weight and threatening to spill them to the ground at any moment. The merchants around them were talking to one another, a nervous banter meant to try to fool the soldiers into thinking they belonged, though Silas was sure it would be a failed effort.
    They spoke about their children, they spoke about their wives. They spoke of the simple pleasures like fishing and whittling, of minstrels and mummers. They tried to hide their fear. They tried to stand up to it and face it down. They showed the courage of a hundred soldiers, though none had ever picked up a sword in their lives.
    Until tonight.
    Silas heard the hoofbeats of the approaching soldiers. Judging by the speed of the caravan, they were almost two thirds of the way to the front gates. Luck was with them - they had gotten further than he had hoped.
    He couldn't see the mines, but he didn't need to. His nose caught the scent of heat and sweat and death, and in that moment he remembered. Not this mine, but the mines of Killorn, where ten times or more the number of people worked day and night to dig out the ores that he craved so desperately. How many people had General Talon Rast brought to those mines? How much pain and suffering was he responsible for?
    "Hold!" The soldiers reached them. The wagons rolled to a stop.
    "We... We have a delivery of supplies. A... A special replacement order." The merchants had put Oli in charge of speaking. He was the eldest among them, a kind old man who had lost half of his left hand in a farming accident years ago. Silas could hear him fumbling with the papers Davin had forged. A special letter from Overlord Prezi verifying the cargo.
    "Give me that."
    The paper rustled again while the soldier unfolded it. Silas could see the hooves of the other soldier's destrier, trotting slowly along the line.  
    "The seal is missing," the soldier said.  
    "Wh.. What?" Oli's fear made his voice crack.
    "I said the seal is missing, old man. What are you trying to pull?"
    "We have a message from the rebellion," Oli said. "Silas is coming. He's going to die, and you're going to die with him ."
    Silas heard the sound of old swords being lifted from the front of the wagons. He held his breath and closed his eyes. "Too soon," he whispered.
    Oli's scream followed a moment later, and the second soldier charged the nearest merchant. Another cry echoed in the night, and the two horses turned and raced away, back towards the mines.
    "Where are they going?" Eryn asked. Her own voice was thick with fear.
    "It's time." He reached over and twisted his wrist, pulling on the strap and causing it to drop them to the ground. They could see the merchants' feet shifting around the wagons while they tried to figure out what to do. "Eryn, save us."
    She closed her eyes. "Obex," she whispered.  
    Heartbeats passed in tense silence. It appeared as though nothing was happening.  
    Then the world exploded around them.
      It occurred in the space of one breath to another. The merchants shifted from foot to foot, uneasy, not knowing what to expect. The sky brightened as though it was daytime, and a rush of air blew leaves and bent the grass around them. Next came heat, unbelievable heat, and it poured down on the caravan like it had been dropped from the sky, igniting the wagons and their contents as no more than tinder, igniting the clothes the merchants wore and scattering them while they burned alive.
    Silas and Eryn rested below the center wagon. The flames spread around them, but where they lay was cool and calm. Eryn's eyes were closed, her face peaceful and focused. He knew she wasn't aware of what was happening because she was so intent on holding back their enemy's power.  
    Forgive me for what I've

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