a flash, and a ball of white light burst forth and slammed into Caina.
She bit back a scream of pain as a surge of arcane power roiled through her like a wave of knives. The ball of light covered her left hand, and then shrank and flattened. The sensation of arcane power faded to a manageable tingle, and the ball of light shrank further.
Then suddenly it was gone entirely, and instead a bracelet rested against her left wrist.
A pyrikon.
Caina blinked in astonishment.
“Are you all right?” said Kylon.
“I…I think so,” said Caina. She wondered if Annarah’s pyrikon had returned, but the loremaster still held her bronze staff. The bracelet around Caina’s wrist wasn’t bronze, but silvery, though it was lighter and stronger than silver…
Ghostsilver.
“What just happened?” said Kylon.
“I…don’t really know,” said Caina.
“A spirit of defense has chosen you as its bearer, Ghost,” said Annarah, offering a deep bow in Caina’s direction. “It was drawn to your valor, and has chosen you to employ its power in the mortal world. That is how the loremasters gained their pyrikons before Callatas slew us. We went to the netherworld and undertook a trial of courage and valor. Casting your defiance into the teeth of Kotuluk Iblis himself certainly counts.”
“The great demon of the desert?” said Malcolm. He was standing near Azaces, Nerina slumped against him, keeping a wary eye on the towering warrior. “A myth.”
“I fear he is not, husband,” said Nerina.
“One of the spirits of defense I summoned was impressed by your courage,” said Annarah, “and has chosen you.”
“Oh,” said Caina, flexing her left hand. “Well. Isn’t that…nice?” She was not thrilled about carrying yet another object of sorcery with her. Still, she supposed it was not technically an object of sorcery but instead a spirit bound in material form, which hardly made her feel better. Annarah’s pyrikon had saved her life several times, and perhaps this new ghostsilver pyrikon could do the same.
“It is a great honor, Ciaran,” said Nasser. “Now we must turn our attention to escaping the Inferno at once.”
Annarah stared at him, her green eyes growing wide.
“Yes,” said Caina, shaking her head to clear it. Somehow she had not expected to survive the netherworld for a fourth time. “As soon as someone notices that Malcolm is missing and those Immortals are dead Rolukhan will likely order a search of the Inferno from top to bottom.” An idea started to come to her. “But he won’t search the Halls of the Dead. Why bother? He doesn’t know about Annarah or the pyrikons. Annarah and Malcom can hide in the Halls of the Dead until the search is called off, and then…”
“Lord Prince,” said Annarah, her voice stunned.
They all looked at her.
Annarah took a step towards Nasser, her eyes wide. “After so long? Is it truly you?”
“Loremaster,” said Nasser with a deep bow, “it is. You have done great service to your order and to your nation, far more than I could ever have asked of you.”
“A hundred and fifty years,” whispered Annarah. “That was such a span of time. Such a burden.” She looked from Morgant to Nasser. “No one could have asked you to bear that.”
“Loremaster,” said Nasser. “Do not rebuke yourself. It has been a century and a half, yes…but because of your wisdom, Callatas has been stymied for every single one of those years. He has searched the Desert of Candles from end to end for the regalia of the Princes, and he failed to find the Staff and the Seal. No doubt he thought to work his Apotheosis within a few years after the destruction of Iramis. Instead he has spent a hundred and fifty years searching and never finding.”
“I do not remember where I concealed the Staff and the Seal, my lord,” said Annarah. “I removed the memory and secured it in my journal.” She looked at Morgant. “Did…”
“I gave it to Callatas, along with your pyrikon,” said Morgant.
“And earlier this year, with Master Ciaran’s help,” said Nasser, gesturing at Caina, “we recovered both the journal and your pyrikon.”
“Do you have the journal with you?” said Annarah. “I can unlock it here and now…”
“No,” said Nasser. “Keeping you and the journal in the same location is far too much of a risk. Once we have escaped the Inferno, we can unlock its secret at our leisure.”
“I see,” said Annarah. She turned and smiled at Morgant. Like Nasser, her teeth seemed brilliantly white in her dark face. “Thank you for coming back for me.”
Morgant shrugged. “As