up, rubbing his eyes and squinting into the sunlight. “Are you mad?” he demanded.
“I managed to shut the Gate down, for now,” Amric said, “but I see no way to disable or destroy it from this side. We are at the mercy of the Adepts as long as those devices can be used to leech the life from worlds such as ours. The Adepts, the Gates, the Nar’ath, they all owe their origins to Aetheria in some way. Aetheria holds the key to our survival. It must be done, and there is no one else.”
“You will need swords you can trust to guard your back,” Valkarr insisted, folding his arms across his chest. At his side, Sariel gave a fierce nod of agreement.
“And no one could ask for better than the two of you,” Amric said with a sad smile. “But you are needed to lead our people, and a world steeped in magic is no place for Sil’ath warriors. You saw what just one Adept was able to do. I need to lose myself among them and seek out their secrets, not put them to the sword.”
Valkarr set his jaw and regarded Amric with a deepening scowl. Amric’s steel-grey eyes did not waver. There was both warmth and regret in his tone when he said, “If I must, I will make it my final command as your warmaster.”
“And as the new warmaster, I will promptly disregard the order,” Valkarr growled.
Amric shook his head. “Your head and your heart are giving you different advice, my friend. A leader must listen to both, and yet hold duty above all.”
They stared at each other, unmoving. A minute slid by, followed by another. At last, Valkarr blew out a long breath and said, “As you wish.” He jabbed a finger at his friend. “But this is not farewell, merely farewell for now.”
They stood and clasped forearms, and then Valkarr drew him into a very human embrace. Sariel did the same by turn, her dark eyes shining.
“There is one more thing I can do for you,” Amric said. “If you will permit it.”
He stepped back and faced away from them on the platform, focusing his will. It was more difficult than before; the borrowed knowledge was elusive for a moment, and he grasped at it like a fading memory. With a sharp gesture and a grunt of effort, he opened a Way in the air before him. An ache rose in his chest as he looked through the glowing aperture and beheld the sun-dappled woods of home. The plain, stalwart spires of Lyden were white in the distance, and the tall grass rippled in a breeze that carried familiar, comforting scents through the portal. His gaze lingered on the well-worn path that led, in no more than half a mile, to the simple dwellings of his Sil’ath tribe.
He wrenched his gaze away. The Sil’ath warriors were staring as well, transfixed.
“Unless, of course, you would rather trek through this forest and the wasteland beyond without supplies or mounts,” Amric said with the corner of his mouth quirking upward.
“I do not trust magic,” Valkarr said with a chuckle. “But I trust you. And I have had my fill of the creatures in this forest for a time.”
Sariel stepped through the Way, and Valkarr moved to follow. At the last moment, he hesitated and turned aside to Amric once more. “Return safely,” he said softly. “We will be waiting.”
“I will, if it be within my power,” Amric responded. “And perhaps I will have discovered something of myself, on the other side.”
Valkarr let out a roar of laughter. “I have known you all my life, my friend, my brother. Wherever you go, you bring change and draw others together. Your heart and your spirit, however, do not change. I think it is this Aetheria that will do the discovering.”
His friend clapped his shoulder and then passed through the opening. The Sil’ath warriors broke into a loping, mile-eating run on the path, never looking back, and were soon lost to sight. Amric closed the Way and stood in silence.
Halthak drew his attention with a gentle clearing of the throat. “He was right, you know.”
“How do you mean?” Amric asked with a slight frown.
“You brought us together,” the healer responded. “Each of us a half-breed in our own way, caught between worlds just as you are, at home in none. Some of us cannot hide our heritage, like me and Syth. Some carry deeper secrets, like Bellimar. Like you. And