coloured beams powerful enough to split a tree in two. Even on a frosty plateau where the sun seemed hardly to have any strength at all, the potential was obvious.
There wasn’t time to physically prepare the pattern required. He would have to do all the hard work with his mind alone. Keeping his cold-numbed hand tight against the rock, he bent forward and squeezed his eyes tightly shut, imagining a series of concentric circles radiating out from him, through the entrance of the cave and onto the beach. Adjacent circles spun in opposing directions, creating a strange, highly stressed tension in the air. He could feel the Change throbbing all around him. Beside him, Marmion drew in a sharp breath.
That was only the beginning of the charm. The art lay in what came next. Ordinarily a mage would draw the lines together, forming a cone leading from the focus up into the sky, to where the sun hung overhead. The cone would concentrate the sun’s radiant energy, which could then be directed away from the mage in whatever direction he or she chose. Skender didn’t want a tight beam. That wouldn’t be distracting enough. Instead he gathered what sunlight he could from as wide an area as he could reach, held it for a moment, feeling as though he was holding the world’s breath in a giant set of lungs. Then he set it free.
Even in the cave with his eyes shut, he saw the charm take effect. Dull afternoon turned to brilliant daylight in an instant — and went beyond even that, to a powerful, searing glare that burned the skin where it touched and made ice crystals flash instantly into steam. It pulsed to a rhythm much faster than a heartbeat, a rhythm he could almost hear with his ears as well as see through his closed eyelids. Around him, Marmion, Rosevear and the twins fell back with their hands over their eyes.
Not too much, he told himself. He didn’t want to blind anyone. Tweaking the charm again, he encouraged the light to focus on a patch of earth midway between the balloon’s crash site and the village. With luck, the tentacles would be drawn to that spot, to the energy concentrated there, rather than follow the life signs of those fleeing from it.
The light ebbed in the cave. Someone edged towards the entrance. A moment later, one of the twins — Seth — said, ‘It’s working. They’re getting away.’
‘That’s amazing, Skender,’ added the other twin. ‘How do you do that? It’s like magic’
‘Who says it isn’t?’ asked Seth. ‘A spell by any other name…’
‘Tell me when they’re safe,’ Skender grated through clenched teeth. The necessary concentration was taking its toll. He could feel himself rocking back and forth on the spot. His arms tightly clutched his stomach and sides, as though holding his insides in. Kelloman and the sun might have provided the energy for the distraction, but he was responsible for making it behave in an unnatural way. There was a price to be paid for that.
‘Give them a bit longer,’ Hadrian urged him. ‘Almost there, almost there… That’s it. You can kill it now.’
Skender let his concentration unravel and fell back with a gasp. His hand came free from the stone with an audible snap, like a miniature lightning strike. He flexed his fingers, wondering if he would ever feel them again. Bonelessly, helplessly, he slumped over onto his side.
Chu was safe.
‘That was very well done,’ said Rosevear, putting a cool hand against his forehead and peeling back both eyelids to inspect his condition. ‘You’ll be okay, and so will the others, thanks to your quick thinking.’
‘What’s happening down on the beach?’ he asked. ‘Is it leaving?’
‘No,’ Marmion said from the cave entrance. ‘It’s spreading out again, searching for us.’
‘I’m sure it’s Yod now,’ said Seth.
‘So am I,’ added Hadrian.
Marmion didn’t argue. ‘That would make sense.’
‘We call it the Death,’ said a voice from deeper inside the
There wasn’t time to physically prepare the pattern required. He would have to do all the hard work with his mind alone. Keeping his cold-numbed hand tight against the rock, he bent forward and squeezed his eyes tightly shut, imagining a series of concentric circles radiating out from him, through the entrance of the cave and onto the beach. Adjacent circles spun in opposing directions, creating a strange, highly stressed tension in the air. He could feel the Change throbbing all around him. Beside him, Marmion drew in a sharp breath.
That was only the beginning of the charm. The art lay in what came next. Ordinarily a mage would draw the lines together, forming a cone leading from the focus up into the sky, to where the sun hung overhead. The cone would concentrate the sun’s radiant energy, which could then be directed away from the mage in whatever direction he or she chose. Skender didn’t want a tight beam. That wouldn’t be distracting enough. Instead he gathered what sunlight he could from as wide an area as he could reach, held it for a moment, feeling as though he was holding the world’s breath in a giant set of lungs. Then he set it free.
Even in the cave with his eyes shut, he saw the charm take effect. Dull afternoon turned to brilliant daylight in an instant — and went beyond even that, to a powerful, searing glare that burned the skin where it touched and made ice crystals flash instantly into steam. It pulsed to a rhythm much faster than a heartbeat, a rhythm he could almost hear with his ears as well as see through his closed eyelids. Around him, Marmion, Rosevear and the twins fell back with their hands over their eyes.
Not too much, he told himself. He didn’t want to blind anyone. Tweaking the charm again, he encouraged the light to focus on a patch of earth midway between the balloon’s crash site and the village. With luck, the tentacles would be drawn to that spot, to the energy concentrated there, rather than follow the life signs of those fleeing from it.
The light ebbed in the cave. Someone edged towards the entrance. A moment later, one of the twins — Seth — said, ‘It’s working. They’re getting away.’
‘That’s amazing, Skender,’ added the other twin. ‘How do you do that? It’s like magic’
‘Who says it isn’t?’ asked Seth. ‘A spell by any other name…’
‘Tell me when they’re safe,’ Skender grated through clenched teeth. The necessary concentration was taking its toll. He could feel himself rocking back and forth on the spot. His arms tightly clutched his stomach and sides, as though holding his insides in. Kelloman and the sun might have provided the energy for the distraction, but he was responsible for making it behave in an unnatural way. There was a price to be paid for that.
‘Give them a bit longer,’ Hadrian urged him. ‘Almost there, almost there… That’s it. You can kill it now.’
Skender let his concentration unravel and fell back with a gasp. His hand came free from the stone with an audible snap, like a miniature lightning strike. He flexed his fingers, wondering if he would ever feel them again. Bonelessly, helplessly, he slumped over onto his side.
Chu was safe.
‘That was very well done,’ said Rosevear, putting a cool hand against his forehead and peeling back both eyelids to inspect his condition. ‘You’ll be okay, and so will the others, thanks to your quick thinking.’
‘What’s happening down on the beach?’ he asked. ‘Is it leaving?’
‘No,’ Marmion said from the cave entrance. ‘It’s spreading out again, searching for us.’
‘I’m sure it’s Yod now,’ said Seth.
‘So am I,’ added Hadrian.
Marmion didn’t argue. ‘That would make sense.’
‘We call it the Death,’ said a voice from deeper inside the
Similar Books
