The Scrivener s Tale - By Fiona McIntosh Page 0,221

to hang out over the tower's window and brandish a fist at the man taunting him.

'We know you, demon, and we will destroy you.'

Wentzl was laughing with pure delight. 'Destroy me? Oh dear, King Tamas. I'd love to know how you found out about me, but perhaps whoever your informant is hasn't explained how incredibly strong I am. Combine that with Wentzl's formidable fighting skills and this is the result. Sorry, Florentyna, I hope these men weren't special in your life.'

Florentyna joined Tamas at the window and saw the bodies of two men, one hanging upside down beside his horse's legs, still trapped in the saddle, and the other splayed lifelessly on the ground. 'They're all special, Cyricus,' she snarled, determined that her voice, her expression would not betray her despair. 'You'll pay for their lives.'

His evident joy broadened. 'Ah, your lovely majesty, there you are. I did enjoy being your sister but I had to leave her. I wonder, has Tamas mentioned that it was he who was the one who killed her?' He made a tutting sound. 'It was so vicious!'

She didn't blink. 'And I thanked him for his courage, demon. Now she can rest in peace.'

'Perhaps. If you can find the tattered remains of her corpse, your majesty, I'm sure they can be bundled into the family tomb. I'll tell you what. I promise I'll see to that when I take over your body - I'm not without my kindnesses.'

'Go burn in Shar's flames, Cyricus!' Florentyna hurled down.

Her rage appeared to thrill the demon. Wentzl leapt down from his horse. 'I am so going to enjoy possessing you, your majesty, and using you to destroy your realm and your empire. Then we'll take ships and go hunting the Cipreans, shall we?'

'Over my dead body,' Tamas roared.

'That's my intention, Tamas,' Cyricus promised. 'Now, let's get this death and possession started, shall we?'
Chapter Thirty-Six
Cassien had looked at Ham, who'd given him a sad but reassuring nod. 'We will tempt him, I promise. Go now, I will watch over you.'

Ham leaned down and kissed his cheek. 'I've opened the link. We're all connected.'

Cassien closed his eyes. Gabe?

Let's do this, he heard his elder brother say in his mind.

Romaine?

Here, Cassien, she said, and he knew she used Ham as a channel. For a moment he felt a twinge of jealousy that it was Ham who could speak to his wolf, but he let the petty thought go, as he also let go of his body.

I love you. Look after Ham. He'll need the forest.

I know, she replied and then the link he felt with her became blurred as his link with Gabe intensified.

It's time, Cassien. Come into the Void now.

His spirit soared; he didn't know how to do what was being asked of him but he trusted Fynch. He hovered in the familiar weightlessness of his roaming magic and let his senses reach out.

Now! he heard Gabe call and felt himself being dragged at speed. Colours, sounds, even smells hurtled by him in a dazzling rush of images. He was disoriented, nauseated ... as though the roaming sickness was already attacking him, but he told himself he was imagining it.

In this form he felt no pain, no raging emotions, no ... His thoughts halted. No pain? No raging emotions? Is that what Fynch had set up all along? He had made him immune in the flesh to most of the other weaknesses of man, so that he would be ready for this moment. Cassien didn't need to ponder it to know this notion was true. He didn't even feel sad for himself.

Cassien could now feel a soft breeze; he could smell a familiar and not unpleasant aroma of slightly damp earth overlaid by a drifting scent of bitter almond, which he recognised as the sap of the colincal tree. Suddenly, the sense of movement stopped and his surrounds snapped into sharp focus.

The forest! How could it be?

Gabe?

Hamelyn's idea, came the answer, but not from Gabe. It was Romaine who spoke as she padded into the clearing where he stood.

I have my body?

Your younger brother is extremely clever ... and cunning, she said. Meanwhile, your elder brother is an extraordinary talent.

Gabe created this?

Yes. Hamelyn worked out how to let him see the forest through my eyes. He only needed to view it once and he has re-created it.

But where is the Void?

You're in it, Cassien. You see, Hamelyn reasoned that the Void, according to what Gabe told him, is an