Laura Resnick - The Purifying Fire

Chandra remembered the feel of those coldly glowing white blades wrapping around her, constricting her, and trapping the flow of her fire. Imprisoning her power within her, so that she couldn’t fight or defend herself. Or even breathe…

It surprised her that this Gideon wielded magic. She hadn’t taken him for a mage. He looked like a warrior to her. Or maybe a tracker of some kind; one with special skills for an unusual quarry.

Chandra frowned, puzzled.

In that case, where was he now? Had he given her over, or had he abandoned his prey to superior forces?

Admittedly, Chandra hadn’t been at her best just then, but Gideon’s strength was impressive. Given that he was powerful, as well as quick with his hands, surely he didn’t have to back down in the face of a few soldiers?

Perhaps he had decided he couldn’t take on the soldiers and the gargoyles at the same time.

As Chandra watched the Enervants silently gliding through their pattern over and over in the dark dungeon, she realized that if Gideon had been ordered to kill her, then letting the Prelate’s men have her might accomplish his goal.

But she wasn’t sure he would leave such a thing to chance.

Chandra tugged against her chains, testing their strength as well as her own, and started thinking about how to get out of there.

She reached out with her senses, hoping to tap into the flow of mana. Even though she could feel its presence, she was having trouble concentrating enough to establish a solid bond.

What was wrong with her?

The Enervant who was guarding her suddenly hissed and turned its head away from her, which was something of a relief. She didn’t enjoy being the object of its unwavering, beady-eyed stare. Its attention was focused on the narrow metal door across the room. Chandra looked that way, too, wondering what had drawn its interest.

A moment later, the hinges whined a little as the door opened.

“Oh, goody,” Chandra said. “Visitors.”

Two of the Prelate’s soldiers entered, accompanied by another who she assumed was a telepath. Based on her physical appearance, Chandra assumed the woman belonged to the same order as the two mages who had died in the Sanctum of Stars earlier that day. Or had it been the day before? Come to think of it, Chandra had no idea how long she had been chained unconscious in this room, although the stiffness in her limbs suggested it had been a while.

The Enervants didn’t look up at the newcomers, didn’t even pause in their perambulations. They just kept moving back and forth silently, tracing their figure eight on the floor, over and over and over.

“Just watching them makes me tired,” Chandra said as the mage, moving around the snake-headed wizards, approached her.

“No,” said the woman. “It is not the watching. It is what you are watching.”

“That is not a very encouraging start to this conversation,” Chandra muttered.

“We are not here to encourage. Quite the opposite, really.”

Chandra eyed her.

“They are Enervants.” The mage nodded toward the six individuals moving steadily in their pattern. “This is their work.”

“Yes, I’ve been told. They’re gathering sssstrength,” said Chandra imitating her captor. “I don’t see why they have to gather it here, though.”

The woman nodded. “They are gathering your strength.”

“I thought they were having a little snake dance in my honor.” Chandra scowled.

But Chandra understood. This was dark magic. These strange creatures were sapping her strength. She could feel the direct assault on her energy now that she knew about it.

And they were effective. Considering how exhausted she felt, she suspected they could quickly turn an ordinary mage into a useless husk.

Chandra glared at the telepath. “Your friends tried to read me, and they died for their efforts. Quit while you’re ahead.”

“I can be patient,” the woman said coldly. “You may still be strong enough to resist now. You may even be strong enough to resist on my next visit. But you’re much weaker now than you were yesterday, and tomorrow you will be weaker still. And when you are weak enough, we will succeed. You will not be able to conceal it from me then. I will find out what you did with the scroll.”

“The scroll? That’s what you want? I don’t…” Cold surprise washed through Chandra.

The scroll.

“I don’t know where it is,” Chandra said, baffled by how they couldn’t know this.

“You seem convinced of that, yes. But there are many corners in the mind, many places for things to hide,” said the telepath, her clear blue eyes radiating in the dark of the room. “You didn’t succeed in killing everyone who was in the Sanctum of Stars, you know. Four soldiers survived. They saw you flee into the city streets with the scroll.”

“Uh-huh.” She wouldn’t let herself think about what had happened. Truth be told, she was too tired to think about it, anyway.

“If you want the scroll back,” Chandra said, “why not talk to the man who got it back last time?”

“The Prelate says he’s gone.” It was obvious the woman was only answering because she was curious to see what Chandra’s reaction would be.

“Gone where?”

“I do not question the Prelate.”

“No, of course not,” said Chandra, using the same tone of voice the telepath had used moments before.

“Where is the scroll?” the mage demanded, realizing she was being mocked.

“Why does it matter so much to you?”

“You risked death twice to acquire it. Why does it matter so much to you?’”

“If I tell you where the scroll is,” Chandra said, “what then?”

“You destroyed the Sanctum of Stars, a holy place filled with Kephalai’s most precious artifacts. You killed soldiers, guards, and mages dedicated to its protection. You damaged more than property. You damaged the will of the people of Kephalai. You created a city-wide panic. The death toll has not yet been measured.” The mage’s gaze was hostile. “But if you cooperate now and tell us where the scroll is, your sentence will be lenient.”

“How lenient?”

“You will be executed. Quickly and humanely. Otherwise, we will leave you to the Enervants, and they are not know for their humanity.”

“Well,” Chandra said. “It’s always nice to have choices.”

“If you do not cooperate,” the mage said, “if you force me to wait until you are weak enough for me to probe your mind for the answers we seek, then you will no longer have a choice. We will learn all that we want to know. I, personally, hope you decide to help us find the scroll. The Enervants’ ways are are repellant to me. No one deserves what they have in store for you.”

“All that you want to know?” Chandra said. “What answers are you looking for, besides the location of the scroll?”

“For starters, who are you, and what did you plan to do with the scroll?”

“I don’t really like to talk about myself,” Chandra said.

“Where were you born? Who are your people?”

“And I especially don’t talk about my past.”

The mage looked at her for a moment longer, then said, “It doesn’t matter. Soon, I will know all that I want to know.”

“You won’t find out where the scroll is,” Chandra said truthfully.

“Yes, I will. But, in any event, you have made your choice. I will inform the Prelate: death by slow torture.”

“I look forward to it.”

“I’m sure you do,” she looked at Chandra with what seemed to be pitty. “These guards will remain outside the door should you decide to give us the answers we seek.”

“How will they know when to come in?”

“This one is Dirk,” she said indicating one of the guards. “Call his name, and he will come.”