Son of Khyber_ Thorn of Breland - Keith Baker [84]
“No,” Daine said. “There is no haven in Sharn. Not anymore. My orders to our brethren were to evacuate as soon as we left. If Cannith hasn’t found it yet, they will soon.”
“So where are we going?” Drego asked. “Xu’sasar can’t fight.”
“And she will not be joining us,” Daine replied. “I will speak to her alone. As for us, we have one more angel to find.”
“What do you mean?” Drego said.
“I want you to take us to the Cardinal Point.”
“The Cardinal Point?” Drego said. “You mean …”
“Yes,” Daine said. His mark gleamed against his skin. “Tonight we face the Angel of Flame.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Fallen
Lharvion 22, 999 YK
I am the Angel of Flame. The words from her dream echoed in Thorn’s mind, and she found that her hand had tightened around Steel’s hilt. “We’re going to fight a dragon?”
If Daine meant her any harm, she could see no sign of it. He frowned, puzzled. “No. An angel, an embodiment of fire. I do not know its proper titles, only that it holds power over flame. Drego, perhaps you could enlighten us?”
The Thrane nodded, but Thorn could tell that he was surprised by the topic. As before, he wove a pattern with his fingers, creating a ward that shimmered in the air. “The guardian of the Cardinal Point is one of the Burning Host of Syrania, the vanguard that stands against the fiends of Shavarath. She is Vyrael, the Ashen Sword, Eighth among the Burning Host.” As before, the translucent sigil caught fire and burned away in the air. “Hers is the strength of smoke and flame. Less subtle by far than our fallen foe but easily as dangerous in battle. Why her?”
“Do you have another suggestion?” Daine asked. “I found tools in the Cannith vault that will help us survive the battle. And her defeat will give me the power that I need.”
Steel was buzzing in the back of Thorn’s mind, but she was already asking the question. “Power to do what exactly?”
“I told you before. I liberated a weapon from the Cannith forgehold, and now I intend to turn it against the houses. If I can absorb enough power into my mark, I can shut down all house operations in Sharn.”
Thorn nodded. “Yes. And that’s where we began. The forgehold was illegal and operated without Brelish sanction. Defeating this monster was a service to the people of Sharn. Shutting down legitimate businesses … That does nothing but hurt Breland.”
“It’s not about Breland!” Daine roared, his mark blazing with crimson light. “Why can’t you see that? The Five Nations are dying, and with each day the Twelve become more powerful. I have seen the horrors they can unleash. Forget your petty nationalism for one day and look to the fate of the world! The houses must be stopped!”
His fury was as powerful as it was unexpected. Thorn could see faint veins of darkness running along the lines of his mark, and she guessed that the strain of absorbing Vorlintar was still weighing upon him.
“This weapon is one more tool that they made without your knowledge—one more tool that they would use against your people. Let me turn it against them, and you will see the horrors they were prepared to unleash—and gain a weapon you can use against them, when the time comes. Tarkanan cannot win this war alone. We know that now. The Twelve turned the world against us. Now we will reveal them for what they truly are.”
His mental state is continuing to deteriorate, Steel said. Safer by far to take this weapon from him, whatever it may be. If it is as vital as he says, better to have the artificers of the Citadel study it.
Unless it can only be wielded by the Son of Khyber, Thorn thought. It all seemed incredible, but what if he was telling the truth? What if he had been preserved from Dolurrh, drawn through time to change the course of the future? Her encounters with Merrix and Sorghan mingled together with her disturbing dreams and Daine’s dark tale of the War of the Mark.
“Why now?” she asked.
“Because there may not be another time. Sharn is Syrania’s latrine, where the angels throw their refuse. Here we can prey upon