speed up the recovery of his turyn. Fortunately, the room was full of turyn, as he had already seen, which made the process faster. Thirty seconds, he thought. That’s all I need. If the commander got close enough, he planned to draw his sword and stab the mage before he could be trapped again.
The enemy commander didn’t get close, however. He studied Will warily. “Still conscious? How odd. What sort of assassin are you?”
He’s not going to give me a chance by getting close, thought Will. The man was already suspicious. Will didn’t dare wait any longer, so he shifted his plan. Forming the runes as quickly as he could, he attempted to link to the commander in the same manner as had been done to him.
But the stranger was faster. The mage leapt back several feet and caught Will with the source-link spell in the blink of an eye. “A wizard?”
Will focused all his attention on the link, and this time he caught his opponent as the man tried to separate him from his source. Pulling, Will tried to drain the other man’s turyn, and a battle of wills ensued. Clenching his jaw, Will fought silently with the enemy commander, and as the seconds ticked by he felt his opponent begin to weaken.
“Damn,” cursed the commander. “You’re strong.” Then he smiled. “But it won’t matter. “Raiha, Selvaren, Trant, Laira, defend me!”
Will saw the turyn in the room shifting as four massive elementals began to answer the call of their master, coming from whatever strange place they were kept, but he ignored that. Keeping his will iron-hard, he drew his sword and lunged forward, driving the point through the sorcerer’s chest.
He had missed the heart, but his sword must have hit something equally vital, for the commander’s eyes glazed over almost immediately as the man slid into first unconsciousness and then death. “Next time you shouldn’t forget that even a simple sword can kill.” Then, just because he figured his grandfather would have appreciated it, he added, “Fucking sorcerers.”
There were still other presences in the room, however, and when Will looked up he saw that he was surrounded by four elementals, two of earth and two of fire. They didn’t attack, but remained quiet, watching him. Thin, almost invisible lines of turyn ran from them to the dead man, and as Will looked closer, he saw there was still magic glowing softly in the chest of the commander. The heart-stone enchantments, he realized.
Reaching down with his left hand, he felt something tug at him and four knots of intricately wound turyn rose from the sorcerer’s chest. They looked very similar to the limnthal his grandfather had given him, and he summoned it just so he could compare them. But for a few minor differences, they were almost identical.
He was tempted to take them. Will could feel the magic seeking a new home, a new master, him, but he resisted the urge to take them. The elementals were still watching him, and he felt a sense of sadness emanating from them. He remembered what Arrogan had done when he defeated the sorcerer in Barrowden. Could he do the same?
Lightly touching the heart-stone enchantments, he thought he could feel the emotions of the primal spirits, but there were no distinct thoughts. I am not a sorcerer, Will thought, trying to project his intention through the enchantments. I will free you instead. Will you do a favor for me before you go?
As one, the four elementals bowed. Will decided that was as close to a ‘yes’ as he could hope for. Carefully, he began plucking at the knotted enchantments. Once you are released, destroy the camp. These soldiers are trying to conquer my homeland. Help me keep my people free. Please.
He continued teasing the knots apart until first one, then another fell apart. It took another couple of minutes before he had destroyed all four.
The two earth elementals sank into the ground, while the two fire elementals swelled, growing larger by the second. The tent caught fire as Will ran out, and he almost fell as the earth began to shake. Tailtiu waited outside with one hand on her hip.
“I knew you were a fool. That sorcerer nearly killed you, didn’t he?” she accused. The tent exploded in a fireball as she spoke, but the fae woman ignored the conflagration.
“You knew I was fighting?”
“I heard everything,” she answered.
Will glared at her. “Why didn’t you help?”
“You told me to wait outside. Be careful what