Read Online The Firemage's Vengeance by Garrett Robinson - Free Book Online

then?” said Ebon.
    “That is entirely possible, though not certain.”
    Ebon thought of Lilith. Surely if Yerrin were involved with Isra’s doings, then Lilith could be of help one way or another. But even as he opened his mouth to speak, Theren caught his eye. She looked anxious, or frightened, and gave him a quick shake of her head. Ebon closed his mouth again.
    The silence in the hall had stretched a moment too long, and Mako was peering at them. Theren spoke up quickly. “Yerrin, working with Isra? It seems unlikely. Her schemes brought them great suffering. Oren was murdered. Lilith was tortured, and would have been executed.”
    Mako shrugged. “That is hardly out of character for the Yerrins. Their thoughts and schemes stretch for years, and they are willing to prune some dead branches to ensure a healthy growth.”
    But Ebon was not so sure. He remembered Oren’s mutilated body, and the madness in Lilith’s eyes. Surely even the cruelest plan could not stand by such actions. He saw the same doubt in Kalem’s face.
    Their hesitation seemed to annoy Mako, for he gave a little growl. “Very well, then. Let us leave the Yerrins alone for now. But to search for Isra, I must start in the right place. Tell me what happened when I left you in Xain’s home—and I mean all that happened, with no detail added or left out.”
    Ebon stiffened in fear, and saw it reflected in the faces of his friends as well. Mako saw it, and smiled as he settled down on one of the benches at the head of the table.
    “This must be an interesting tale indeed.”
    “As she fled, I tried to stop her,” said Ebon. “I missed her, but I got hold of the amulet. Kekhit’s amulet, the one she used to cast mindwyrd, and also to hide her magic.”
    “I remember it,” said Mako. “What next?”
    “When we ourselves tried to leave, she was there. She had Xain’s son, and she took him prisoner.” Ebon shuddered as he remembered the fear in the boy’s eyes, his whimpering cries as Isra dragged him away. “She tried to kill me, and Kalem as well, but Theren recovered and saved us.”
    Mako’s eyes narrowed. “Why did you not give Theren the amulet? She could have stopped Isra, could she not?”
    “I had not yet thought of that,” said Ebon sharply. Then he stopped, and his eyes went wide.
    “Yet,” said Mako, his smile widening. “You had not yet thought of it. But you did think of it.”
    Theren shook. “Darkness take you, Ebon.”
    “He is trying to help,” Ebon told her. “We will do ourselves no favors by holding back. Yes, Mako, I thought of using mindwyrd. For when Isra fled, Dasko arrived. He is an instructor at—”
    “I know the man,” said Mako. “And I think that now I know the rest of your tale. He found you before you could get out of Xain’s home, and you were holding the amulet. You thought he would expose you—and you were right to think it. So you gave the amulet to Theren, and she used her mindwyrd to make him forget you had been there.”
    “Yes,” said Ebon. “You have it.”
    Theren turned to hide her face. Kalem’s head drooped, and carefully he took a seat at the table opposite Mako. Ebon sighed. To speak the truth so plainly … it was a relief, and yet he wished it had been to someone other than Mako.
    The bodyguard was studying his fingernails. He drew his knife and began to pick under one of them. “I am no wizard. Yet it seems I have heard something of mindwyrd—that if it is not maintained, it produces a sort of mind-sickness in the victim.”
    No one answered him. Theren met Ebon’s eyes, and he saw how haunted her expression had become.
    “I take it that your silence means I am right,” said Mako. “If that is so, you did not use mindwyrd upon Dasko once, and then let him be. You have been using it ever since.”
    “We have,” said Ebon quietly. Theren turned away again.
    “That is excellent,” said Mako. “Your new Dean Forredar has some knowledge of Yerrin. And Dasko will be