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knew about this sword of mine.
There s stories, but frankly, lady
Keth. I, as Tarma would tell you, am no lady.
That brought a glimmer of smile. Keth, then. Well, none of MS have ever seen that blade do
any-thing but heal.
Need s better at causing wounds than curing them, at least in my hands, Kethry told her.
That s her gift to me; in a fight, she makes a mage the equal of any Swordswornan born. If it
comes to magic, though, she s pretty well useless for my purposes it s to a fighter she gives
magic immunity. But I ll tell you what, I ve got a notion. If it comes to battle by magery, I ll
try and get her to you before I get involved in a duel arcane; she ll shield you from even a
godling s magic. Tarma proved that, once. She may even be able to shield more than one, if you
all crowd together.
There was a Hash of interest at that, and a hint of relief. Then I think I ll worry less about you.
Well_there s a reason three that we re riding tail: if we find we ve ridden straight into ambush at
trail s end, we re the lot that s got the best chance of getting one of us back to tell Leamount.
Gah. Grim reasons, all of them can we stop here for a breath or two?
They had just topped a ridge, with sufficient space between them and the next in line that a few
moments spent halted wouldn t hamper his progress any. Jodi looked about her, grimaced, then
nodded with reluctance. A bit exposed to my mind, but
This won t take long. Kethry gathered the threads of earth-magic, the subtlest and least de-
tectable of all the mage-energies, and whispered a command along those particular threads that
traced their path across the hills. There was an almost imperceptible shift in the energy flows,
then the spell settled into place and became invisible even to the one who had set it. The
difference was that Kethry was now at one with the path; she felt the path through the hills, from
end to end, like a whisper of sand across the surface of her mental skin. If the path was going to
collapse, the backlash would alert her.
Let s go
That s all there is to it? Jodi looked at her askance.
Magery isn t all lightnings and thunders. The best magery is as subtle as a tripwire, and as hard
to detect.
Well. Jodi sent her mount picking a careful path down the hillside, and looked back at Kethry
with an almost-smile. I think I could get to appreciate magery.*
Kethry grinned outright, remembering that Jodi s other specialty was subterfuge, infiltration, and
assassination. Take my word for it, the real difference between a Masterclass mage and an
apprentice is not in the amount of power, it s in the usage. You ve been over this trail already;
what do you think are we going to make trail s end by dark?.
Jodi narrowed her eyes, taking a moment. No, she said finally, I don t think so. That s when
I ll take point, when it starts to get dark. And that s when we ll have to be most alert.
Kethry nodded, absently, and pulled her hood closer about her neck against a lick of wind. If an
attack comes, it s likely to be then. And the same goes for accident?
Aye.
It was growing dark, far faster than Kethry liked, and there was still no end to the trail in sight.
But there had also been no sign that their movement was being followed
Suddenly her nerves twanged like an ill-tuned harpstring. For one short, disorienting moment, she
vibrated in backlash, for that heartbeat or two of time completely helpless to think or act. Then
nearly fifteen years of training and practice took over, and without even being aware of it, she
gathered mage-energy from the core of her very being and formed a net of it a net to catch what
was even now about to fall.
Just in time; up ahead in the darkness, she heard the slide of rock, a horse s fear-ridden shriek,
and the harsh cry of a man seeing his own death looming in his face. She felt the energy-net sag,
strain then hold.
She clamped her knees around Hellsbane s barrel and dropped her reins, telling the horse mutely
to stand. The battlesteed obeyed, bracing all four hooves, far steadier than the rocks about her.
Kethry firmed her concentration until it was adamantine, and closed her eyes against distraction.
Since she could not see what she was doing, this would take every wisp of her attention
Gently, this must be done as gently as tumbling a pemvyhird chick new-hatched. If she frightened
the horse, and it writhed out of her energy-net horse and rider would plummet to their doom.
She cupped her hands before her, echoing the form of the power-net, and contemplated it.
Broken lines of power showed her where the path had collapsed, and the positioning of her net
told her without her seeing the trail ahead just where her captives were cradled.
Keth Jodi s voice came from the darkness ahead, calm and steady; no sign of panic there.
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