Heirs of Prophecy - Lisa Smedman [124]
"It's… silver." he gasped. "It burns like… poison."
Leifander had reacted swiftly, braid flying out behind as he whipped around to face the spot from which the magical attack had originated. In a voice tight with urgency, he began chanting the words to a spell in the flowing language of the forest elves.
Speedy though his reaction had been, it wasn't fast enough. A voice in the woods barked three quick, cluttering words, and Leifander's prayer suddenly stopped. His eyes glazed and his tattooed face fell into a slack-jawed expression. A moment later, he started to drool. He stared stupidly around, a confused look on his face. His lips moved, trying to form words, but all that came out was a soft grunt.
As soon as she had seen the magic energy streaking toward Tal, Larajin began to pray. The glow around the locket intensified, and the smell of Hanali's Heart filled the air. Larajin abandoned her healing spell. Instead she beseeched her goddesses for one of the first spells they'd ever bestowed upon her.
As Drakkar stepped out of the forest, she shouted at him with all of the power she could muster: "Flee!"
Though the floral smell intensified and the glow from the locket became as bright as a small campfire, nothing happened. Drakkar stared down at her, unperturbed, then flicked his fingers in her direction. She found herself unable to move, save for blinking and breathing. She resisted his spell with all of her willpower, but though sweat broke out on her brow and her fingers trembled,
her body remained rigid. Her jaw was locked shut and her lips wouldn't even twitch. There would be no more prayers. She looked wildly around, heart hammering in her chest, silently hoping that Rylith, Doriantha-or even Goldheart-would appear to rescue her. They didn't.
Blinking back tears of frustration, Larajin stared up at Drakkar. Was his resistance to magic really so strong that he had resisted the combined power of two goddesses? Had her spells failed her?
No, she told herself. The floral scent of Hanali's Heart still hung in the air, and though the glow from the locket was dimming, Larajin could still feel the warmth of Sune's magic pulsing from it. The goddesses hadn't denied Larajin their blessing-they'd just altered the form she'd expected it to take, just as they had at Lake Sember, when they'd granted Larajin a spell that enabled her to breathe water instead of to walk upon it.
They wanted her to cast a different spell, but which?
Drakkar leaned on his thorn-studded staff, staring at Larajin, his posture one of pure malice. A strand of cobweb still clung to his jet-black hair. Absently, he brushed it away.
"Well now, if it isn't the serving girl from Selgaunt who likes tressym so much she became one," he wheezed, sarcasm dripping from his voice. "What are you doing, so far from home? Spying, I'll warrant. Let's find out what you learned."
Studying his staff, he plucked a thorn from it. He circled around Leifander, who stared dully at the wizard as he walked by, then bent over Larajin.
He paused, sniffing the air. The floral fragrance hung heavily around Larajin. Did he realize what it signified?
He glanced at the red glow that shone between the fingers of Larajin's right hand-the one clasping the locket-and spoke a word in the drow tongue. A moment later, the glow faded altogether, but though the visible manifestation of Sune's magic was gone, the magic itself
remained. Larajin felt its warmth flow out of the locket and up her arm to coalesce deep within her, around her heart.
Picking up a stick, Drakkar used it to pry Larajin's lower lip down but could not force open her clenched jaw. He