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“Is Drew okay?” Daniel asked as they prepared to leave to deal with Emms.

“He’s getting there,” Sonia said. “I think he’d be in a worse state if he hadn’t had Naria’s help. I wonder what they’ll do about their bond.”

“You need to explain that sometime,” he said. “What do you mean by bond?” Read the rest of this entry »

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They were discussing plans over dinner when Harindan came rushing in, looking worried.

“Ystelyian-mirian, has Naria come to you? She must have woken up while I was dozing but I didn’t sense it and she’s gone from the room.”

“Calm down,” Ystelyan said firm. “If she was frenzying we’d know and I’m sure you would have sensed it if she’d woken.” He frowned thoughtfully. “And someone would have seen her if she was sleepwalking. This is strange.” Read the rest of this entry »

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For the most part, Marian’s vision was much like the others. But unlike the others it included Lydia’s family racing up the hill towards Emms. What happened next wasn’t clear but there was screaming and blood and then everything went black. Emms hadn’t turned to pay attention to them and they certainly hadn’t reached him yet.

Tara made a tutting sound and even with her eyes closed Lydia was sure the woman was frowning.

Well, that’s not good. We need to slow this down so we can see what happened. Can you do that, Marian? Read the rest of this entry »

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Sliding inside her mother’s mind was a freaky sensation. The way Sonia’s mind sucked at hers made stopping before the fusion was complete difficult, but her mother had made it clear that to act as anchor, she was to stop the merge before it was complete. Concentrating, she spread her mind out like a parachute – slowing then stopping her descent before she was completely submerged. In response, she heard a delighted mental clap from her mother.

Yes! That’s absolutely perfect. I told you she was talented, Sal, Sonia said. Only then did Lydia realise her mother was already fully merged with Sarah. Did your mentor teach you that, Lyd? Read the rest of this entry »

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“You want me to clarify Marian’s vision,” Tara asked. “That’s going to be hard with just one to go on. I generally need at least two or three. Unless…” She trailed off and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “Her vision was related to what he’s doing right?”

“Yes,” Matthias said. “Why?”

“Because those torn sky visions seem to be as well. It’s possible they are related enough for me to clarify them together.” She hesitated. “They are still proving opaque. This could be the key.” Read the rest of this entry »

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“She’s serious,” Lucas said after a few moments. He was biting his lip and his eyes were haunted. We’re going to have to keep her busy once we’re finished. She’s suicidal and even if she doesn’t give in to that she’s likely to relapse back into fugue, he added mentally.

“I thought she would be,” Matthias said. Hannah had the distinct impression that he was responding to both statements. He knelt down by Marian and laid a hand on her forearm. “You say he’s expecting us?” Read the rest of this entry »

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Lydia didn’t wait for him to stop talking. She shot a thought to Bennu and then blasted him with a stream of fire that had all of her strength behind it. Bennu shot a stream of fireballs at him simultaneously. A moment later a shower of bone fragments joined the attack as Takilyan came to her aid. She gave him a grateful look even as she kept up the stream of flame.

“Come on, everyone!” she said.

There was no verbal response but one by one other attacks joined hers, all centred on Jayden Emms. She sighed with relief as she saw him stagger back a few steps. He was bleeding from multiple small cuts. She’d been worried that they might not even be able to hurt him through his new strength. Still, they were hitting him with all they had got and he was still on his feet. He looked furious as well. Read the rest of this entry »

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Halia closed her eyes and began to glow softly. The light flowed from her hands and seeped down into Xania’s skin and began to flow outwards until her entire body was suffused with light.

After a few minutes, Xania groaned. Her eyelids fluttered open and she tried to sit up. Alaryia gently pushed her back down.

“Stay put, girl. You’ve burned through your essence. We’re healing you but it will be several hours before you can shift too much and several days before you should even think about using your power again.” Read the rest of this entry »

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“How long?” Sonia asked as she continued holding Andrew’s hand.

“Not long,” Alaryia said. “I’m just about through with unpicking the defences and then we can get him out. She glanced at Andrew. “How are you doing, kid?”

Andrew nodded. “I’m okay, I think. No pains since that first one. B-but I think that he killed all of the dragons I sent to attack him. I can’t feel them anymore.” He swallowed back a sob as he admitted that. Read the rest of this entry »

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The room beyond the shattered door didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the building. The farmhouse had not been near any cliffs yet this windowless room was practically a cave. It seemed to be hewn out of rock, as if it had backed onto one.

There were cracks all through the ceiling and the walls and floor were splattered with multi-hued bloodstains. Around the room were five collared dragons lying sprawled on the floor – whether dead or unconscious, Valeria couldn’t tell.

All of which made the island of calm at the centre stand out even more. Read the rest of this entry »