Read Online Embers at Galdrilene by A. D. Trosper - Free Book Online Page B

same fire as you and Kellinar.”
    “You mean he can use magic?” Serena asked.
    “He can,” Emallya said.
    “And you healed me? With magic?”
    The woman nodded. “Yes, in a way.”
    “Kellinar said the blade nicked my heart.”
    Emallya nodded again. “And pierced a lung.”
    Serena looked at her in wonder. “I could never have healed something like that. Your gifts are very powerful.”
    “That power was not mine, Serena. One day, you will be able to heal things like that.”
    Kellinar sat next to Serena with his tea and food. “I guess we were lucky you happened to come along when that thing attacked?”
    “It was not luck. Your power runs very strong in all of you. It glows in my mind like a beacon. The hum you hear led me to you. After collecting Vaddoc, I was on my way to Trilene. Six days ago,” she turned her gaze on Kellinar, “I felt you Emerge.” She looked back at Serena. “There are two others, besides these two young men, who have Emerged since you, Serena. Until five days ago you were not moving despite my efforts. I wanted to know why.”
    “So the hum is supposed to be there? It doesn’t mean we’re going crazy?” Kellinar asked.
    Emallya smiled. “For you, it is supposed to be there and no, you are not going crazy.”
    “What do you mean, despite your efforts?” Serena asked, thinking of her inexplicable desire to travel north.
    “My powers deal with what is known as Spirit magic. Most minds are like an open book to me if I wish them to be. I sent you the desire to go in the direction I needed you to.”
    “You mean you can read everything we are thinking?” Kellinar asked, a wary expression on his face.
    Emallya rolled her eyes. “It would get very crowded inside my head if I tried to absorb everything running through your minds. I suppose I could read your every thought, but I have neither the time nor the inclination to do so. Besides, it would be rude.” She took a sip of her tea. “However, reading your basic feelings and state of mind is something that I can only turn down the intensity of. I cannot block it or get around sensing it. On rare occasions, certain thoughts are so clearly defined within your minds, I hear them whether I want to or not. But I do not go around reading your minds.”
    Kellinar rubbed his forehead and stared at the fire as if he sought answers in its flickering light. “You seemed to know that creature on the road.”
    “I have met him before, a long time ago.”
    Serena shivered and looked out into the night. Her skin crawled as if those red eyes looked at her again. “What was it? Why did it want us?”
    “They used to be men. Now they are called the Benduiren. They reside half in this world and half in the realm of the dead. They want you for the powers you possess,” Emallya answered.
    The black sphere surfaced in Serena’s memory. “What was that thing on his palm?
    Kellinar looked up. “And why did I feel like it was killing me?”
    Emallya stared at the fire. “It is called a soul sphere. It is the only offensive magic they have left to them.”
    Serena’s insides felt cold. “What would it have done if you didn’t show up?”
    Emallya looked up, her eyes a dark shade of purple in the firelight. “You would have died. A soul sphere pulls your soul away and locks it in darkness where it can never find the peace of Maiadar.”
    Vaddoc asked, “What was it that made him leave?”
    “I made him think I was not alone,” Emallya said shortly. Serena got the feeling the older woman left something important unsaid. Emallya looked at each of them. “I can offer you a place that is safe, both from the Keepers and the Benduiren.”
    Kellinar spoke up, “Why in the name of the Fates should we follow you? I mean, I’m grateful for your help, but how do we know your intentions are good?”
    “You are certainly free to run off in your own direction if you wish, Foundling. I have no hold on you. If you choose that path, you know now that