Darkness shaped Praz? The thought excited her.
7s that what's been drawing me to him? Is that what draws him to me?
She knew she had no real feelings for Praz. She had no emotional attachments to anyone except her father, but something about him, something inside him ...
"Darkness shaped Praz?" she asked.
Xhristos' answer was a scream of pain. "Yes!"
"How?"
The demon glared at her through the smoky barrier. "I don't know! I've told you everything I know! SET ME FREE!" He hurled himself against the barrier only to go flying away in a blaze of sparks. He landed in a shivering heap, the smoldering fires steadily consuming his flesh.
Lissella was about to ask another question when a knock came at the door.
10
As late as it was, Lissella had no idea who it could be. The only person who ever came around this late to try and win her over was ... Praz.
Excitement coursed through her. She left her bedroom and headed for the living room, smiling in anticipation.
Had her confrontation with River angered him enough to seek her out? It couldn't have happened at a better time.
Confident of her guess, Lissella opened the door.
But instead of Praz, Commander Lenik stood in the hallway with at least five armed guards.
"Good evening, Lissella," Lenik said as he held his lantern high, "I hope I didn't awaken you?”
"What are you doing here?" Lissella demanded.
"We've had reports of a prowler," Lenik said, looking around convincingly "Maybe the unexpected storm brought someone in from the taverns."
Suspicion crystallized in Lissella's heart. She'd never liked or trusted the Circle of Steel Tower's second-in-command.
"There's no prowler here," she said.
Lenik's reptilian face appeared downcast as the glittering light of the lantern played across the pebbled scales of his face. "I would have felt remiss if I hadn't checked on you."
"Are you checking all the rooms?" Lissella asked. "Why are you here? Eldrar's Tower has its own guards."
Lenik's eyes narrowed.
"I was already here on business when the reports came in," he replied. "I'm just helping out."
"What business?" Lissella asked.
Lenik glanced inside the room. "Are you alone?"
"Of course I am," she replied indignantly. "My father would be appalled that you even asked such a question."
Lenik nodded and let out a deep sigh.
"Good. That will make this much easier." He shoved her door in, knocking her backward.
Surprised by Lenik's move, Lissella shot her hand out and gathered her power, but she couldn't quite get control of it.
Lenik moved with blinding speed, balling his fist and throwing it straight for Lissella's face. Her jaw snapped back and her senses swam. The power coiling in her hand faded into wispy cobwebs.
Lenik slipped a leather cord into her mouth and tied it tightly behind her head. A large ball rested on her tongue, preventing her from speaking spells. A goblin bound her hands behind her back so she couldn't use gestures.
One of the Minotaurs picked her up and draped her over his shoulder as they heard screaming in another room.
"What is that?" Lenik asked.
"I don't know," one of the Minotaurs answered.
Lenik drew his sword and walked into Lissella's bedroom.
On the floor before him, a small demon jumped around inside a magical barrier as burning embers ate into his flesh.
"Lissella!" the demon shouted, "Release me!"
Lenik cursed and stayed back from the circle.
Inside the smoke-filled dome, Xhristos crumpled to his knees. His shrieks climbed beyond human hearing, but the goblin and a Minotaur twitched their ears madly.
Lenik peered in fascination at the burning figure within until Xhristos gave a final convulsive shiver and lay still.
"So," he said, "it seems even our little Lissella has secrets to hide."
Praz packed quickly in his room, but kept an ear cocked toward the door in case Bo came back.
Probably giving me time alone, he realized. But that wasn't really what he wanted. Packing his clothes and taking out things he had acquired for nearly fourteen years, Praz began to remember the pain and loneliness he'd felt when he was taken away from his mistress. He still wanted to leave and finally learn about himself, but it was tearing at him because he never thought about what he'd be leaving behind.
A knock sounded and Praz stopped for a moment, but he ignored it. Bo wouldn't have knocked at the main door, and the young warrior didn't feel like speaking to anyone else.
The knock sounded again, more insistent this time.
Praz gazed around his room, wondering if there was anything he'd forgotten. Most of his weapons, he carried on his person. He had clothes and some food, and of course a few spellbooks he hadn't yet mastered, but other than that there was nothing.
The door rattled in its casements again and a loud peal of thunder rang out. Praz couldn't take it anymore. He yanked the door open with an angry face and saw Telop standing there ready to knock again.
Water pooled from the elf's garments onto the hallway floor.
"Is Magistrate Bo here?" he asked, peering behind Praz.
"No," Praz said, letting go of the door and leaving it open.
Telop smiled.
"Well then," he said jovially, "talk to me. What happened?"
"I'm leaving," Praz said.
Surprise covered Telop's face.
"The Magistrate is kicking you out?"
"No," Praz said irritably. "I'm leaving for another school."
Telop scrunched his face.
"Another school? When were you going to tell me? On the way out of town?"
Lightning flashed outside the Tower, bathing the living room in blinding white light.
"If I stay here," Praz said, "the Magistracy is going to kick me out." "Why?"
"They want me to select a Tower of study, and that's not going to happen."
"So you'd rather go to—" Telop stopped. "Where is it that you're going?"
Praz looked away.
"Murlank."
Telop's eyes went wide. "A stronghold of the Dark? Why are you going there?"
Praz pushed out a deep breath. "Because I need to. There's a lot about me that you don't know, Telop. A lot I don't even know."
Telop thought for a moment.
"Are you going by yourself?"
Praz started to answer when he noticed a shadow moving through the hallway to his right.
"A smart man wouldn't travel alone," a feminine voice said. "He'd have a companion at his side—someone well versed in overland travel and living off the land. Someone like me."
River stepped from the shadows and pulled her hood back. Like Telop, she was drenched from the rainstorm but wore her travel pack strapped to her back.
Guard members raced through the other end of the hallway and Praz watched them. Usually the Eldrar's Tower was empty of guards, since the various spells protected the building.
"A truly smart man wouldn't go at all," Telop pointed out. "Murlak is said to be haunted. And there are traps and competitions to the death. Why would you go there?"
Praz looked away.
"I don't know."
"And who sent you the invitation?" Telop asked. "I'm assuming you were invited." Praz shook his head. "I don't know." Telop snorted.
"You know, Praz, as long as we've been doing business together, you've never jumped at something so lame-brained."
Praz gave him an angry glare. "This is personal."
"Let him go," River said.
"But you're just starting to get through to Lissella," Telop pleaded. "I mean, after tonight you've got to know that you mean something to her."
Praz perked up and looked at Telop.
"You think she's starting to thaw?"
"Hell yes," Telop said. He wrapped his arms around himself and pulled his cloak tighter as he shivered. "What do you think that whole scene in Sage's Rebuttal was about? She never goes there."
Another group of guards sprinted through the halls and caught Praz's eye.
"What's going on?" he asked.
River looked around the room.
"I don't know," she said unconvincingly. "Maybe training exercises."
Praz gazed at her.
"In the dead of night? And during a storm? What's going on?"
River held his gaze for just a moment.
"Okay," she sighed. "Devlin Morely and Lissella are missing from their quarters."
11
If the mysterious storm hadn't blown in from nowhere and the letter hadn't arrived today and his foster father hadn't told him about it tonight, maybe Praz would have brushed his curiosity away and waited till morning. After all, Lissella had made it painfully clear that she did things for her own reasons and when she was good and ready. But something about it happening all at once made him feel something was wrong.
"Lissella's always in her room this time of night," Praz said.
Telop lifted his eyebrows but didn't say anything.
"The Guards have already checked there," River said. "I overheard them talking about it when I passed. They also mentioned something about a circle of protection in her bedroom!”
"A circle of protection?" Praz repeated. "Are you sure?"
River nodded.
"I went to see it for myself. Lissella wasn't there, but there was a stench of Minotaur."
"Lissella wouldn't have anything to do with a Minotaur," Praz interrupted. At least, he didn't think she would; Lissella had always thought the more bestial races in the world were somewhat beneath her. None of this was making any sense.
"What about the circle of protection?" River asked. "You don't use one of those unless you're consorting with demons."
"Communicating," Telop corrected, clearing his throat, "not consorting."
"What about Devlin Morely?" Praz asked. "He's usually in the library stacks at this time of night."
River breathed out a heavy sigh and looked away. This wasn't going as planned at all. "What?" Praz asked. River shrugged.
"Some of the guards I overheard think Morely was kidnapped." "By who?" Telop asked.
She shot Telop a glance. "They don't know."
"Why would they think Morely was kidnapped?" Praz demanded.
River folded her arms. "Three students who were in the library at the same time were assaulted. Another was killed. A dead goblin guard was also found in the library."
Praz and Telop looked at each other.
"A guard from where?" Praz asked.
"I didn't get to hear the whole conversation," River snapped.
Praz swore and left Telop and River standing at the open door. He jogged down the hallway as others on the floor began opening their doors, obviously aware now that something was amiss. The young warrior called out to one of the passing guards.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Nothing," the guard replied. "Go back to your room."
"I'm Magistrate Bo's son," Praz said, pulling rank. "I'm sure my father would want me to know everything that's going on in his Tower."
The guard swallowed hard. "Well, we're following up on reports that—"
"Let me make it easier for you," Praz said. "I know that Devlin and Lissella Morely have been reported as missing. And I know about the dead guard in the library where Professor Morely was taken. I want to know who the dead guard belonged to:"
"We're not certain," he replied. "One of the other guards identified the man as belonging to Commander Lenik's squad."
Lenik? Praz thought, but the only link that Lenik's name brought to mind was Fahd Mandel.
The guard excused himself and headed back down the hallway.
"Praz," Telop said, "maybe we ought to leave this to the guards. They know more about this sort of thing than we do."
"You're kidding," Praz snapped. "You and I have tracked hundreds of men through the Six Shards."
"Oh yeah," Telop said sheepishly, trying to think of another way out of doing any actual work.
Something bit at the back of Praz's mind but he couldn't quite grasp it. He paced restlessly, remaining in the hallway as residents talked quietly among themselves.