Sharon Shinn - Reader And Raelynx

“I don’t know if she’ll actually hear you,” Ellynor warned. “She seemed very distant. Almost not present.”

“I understand,” Amalie said. “I will thank her anyway. It would be rude not to.”

Soon enough, Amalie and Ellynor were back among the soldiers. Cammon loitered nearby uncertainly, ready to run errands if necessary, ready to relay information if any came. Sensing the grimness in both Tayse and Justin, he could tell this day’s battle was not going well. Once again, the rebels were flinging themselves into combat with zeal and abandon.

Cammon glanced at the sky. The half moon was already out, more proof that the days were rushing by. They had been engaged in war a week and a half already; how much longer would they have to endure?

He turned his eyes back toward the battlefield, as if from this distance he could actually see the swipe and clash of blades, and instead he saw Coralinda Gisseltess.

She was standing a few yards away from him, a short, stocky figure dressed in black and silver. Her form was insubstantial enough that Cammon knew it wasn’t her true body. He had never heard of someone sending her spirit walking through the world, but obviously such a thing was possible-and Coralinda had mastered the trick. He could see the solid shapes of tent poles and supply wagons through the shimmering outline of her body. She was not strictly corporeal, but she was definitely there.

On her square face she wore a frown. She swept her gaze around her, seeming to dismiss everything she encountered, and pivoted slowly on her heel. She lifted one hand and tapped a finger to her mouth, as if considering.

Cammon glanced back at the tents, but Amalie and Kirra were out of sight. No one else was close enough to call.

He pressed his lips together, then strode over to the apparition, which had already moved a few paces on.

Cammon planted himself in her path. “Looking for somebody?” he asked.

By the way she jerked upright to stare at him, he could tell she was startled. Her face showed no alarm, however, merely narrowed to a look of calculation. “You can see me?” she replied.

He nodded. “I’m probably the only one who can.”

She sneered. “A boy with mystical ability, no doubt.”

He almost laughed at her. “You have mystical powers of your own, it seems.”

“No,” she said sharply. “The Pale Mother has lavished gifts upon me, but they are not magic. Magic is an abomination.”

“All magic flows from the gods, even yours,” he replied. “It is all sacred.”

Her face showed revulsion, and she waved a hand as if to brush away his words. “The Pale Mother reviles creatures such as you,” she declared. “You and all your sorcerous friends.”

“And is that what you have come here for,” he asked, “to look for mystics?”

“Do you know who I am?” she demanded.

“Coralinda Gisseltess. You call yourself the Lestra of Lumanen Convent.”

“I have come here to offer a bargain.”

A chance for a parley, after all? “I can summon Romar Brendyn,” he offered.

“No,” was the instant reply. “He means nothing to me. The goddess disregards him.”

“You want Senneth,” he said slowly.

Majestically, Coralinda nodded her translucent head. “Senneth Brassenthwaite,” she repeated. “Yes. She’s the one to whom I would make my offer.”

Sen. I need you, he sent the message out at that instant. Blessedly, she was not far, having left the battlefield for a brief respite. He knew she would receive nothing more than a vague but powerful sense of urgency that would nonetheless send her instantly running in his direction. But it took only a few seconds to send a second summons, distinctly worded in language that would be understood.

Amalie. Get Kirra. Come find me. I’m near the tents on the north side of camp.

Casually, as if he had not just called for reinforcements, he said, “And what offer would you make to her?”

She studied him, seeming to debate whether or not he was worthy of hearing her confidences. “A way to end this war quickly and decisively, taking on a single opponent.”

“You’ll have to be more specific.”

There was no sound, but he could feel Amalie and Kirra hurrying up behind him. From Kirra, he felt only bewilderment, but Amalie registered a sense of shock. So she, too, could perceive the spectral visitor. Don’t come any closer, he told her. I don’t want her to see you.

“A duel of sorts,” the Lestra replied. “Between Senneth-and me.”

He reared back at her words. “How would that work? She would try to scald you with flame while you tried to keep from catching on fire?”

“Simpler than that,” Coralinda Gisseltess said. “We would merely try to destroy each other.”

He heard running footsteps and knew that Senneth was almost upon them. “I don’t understand.”

Coralinda turned her head; apparently she had heard Senneth’s rapid approach as well. “Tell her I will meet her tomorrow at moonrise,” she said, and disappeared.

Cammon heard Amalie’s cry of wonder, Kirra’s quick questions, and the sound of Senneth’s voice, all coming at once. They had enveloped him in a small feminine circle before he could even turn around to seek them out.

“Cammon!” Amalie exclaimed. “How did she get here? What did she want?”

“Who? What? What in silver hell is going on?” Kirra exploded. “Senneth, why are you here?”

Senneth was still breathless from her race through camp. “Cammon called me. I don’t know why. Amalie’s not in danger?”

“I’m fine,” Amalie said. “Coralinda Gisseltess was here.”

That caused all sorts of commotion, and Cammon had to raise both hands to silence the others. “It wasn’t really her,” he explained. “It was her ghost or something. I think her body was back in her own camp, and she was just here looking around.”

“I couldn’t see her,” Senneth said.

“No, neither could I,” Kirra replied. “But Amalie could.”

Amalie nodded. “Very distinctly.”

“That’s not entirely surprising,” Senneth said, “if Amalie has the same kind of magic as Coralinda.”

“I’ll have to try to learn such a skill,” Amalie remarked. “It seems most useful.”

“She says she doesn’t have magic,” Cammon said.

Senneth smiled grimly. “Let her call it what she will, it’s magic. I’m just surprised she hasn’t used this particular talent before.”

“She has,” Cammon said. “I’ve seen her here a few times before. Just glimpses. Never to talk to.”

He saw the look Kirra exchanged with Senneth, but Senneth didn’t take time to laugh. “What did she want?” Senneth said. “This time?”

“To duel with you.”

There was a moment’s silence.

“And what does that mean?” Kirra said.

“I don’t know! She said she would make a bargain with Senneth. They would try to destroy each other. I asked if that meant Senneth would try to burn her up, and she would resist, but she said it was simpler than that. I have no idea what she was talking about.”

He looked at Senneth hopefully, but Senneth seemed mystified. “So-what? I’m supposed to throw my power at her without using fire? How will that work?”

“I think that’s probably exactly what it is,” Kirra said slowly. “It’s like the first time I tried to change someone other than myself. It was like I was shoving the magic outside of my body. I knew where it was going, but I was using it in a different way. I could almost feel it leaving my fingertips.”

“But I’ve never done anything like that!” Senneth exclaimed.

“She said she’d be back tomorrow,” Cammon said helpfully.