[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

disarmed him easily. Then he fled. I chased him and& I don t know what happened. I
just knew I wanted to punish him for what he did to Raesa. I didn t even realize what I
had done until they came for me.
There were at least two dozen men and women surrounding him as he stood there
over Brin s body, his sword still dripping with the man s lifeblood. They would have
taken him away and meted out justice had not the authorities arrived on the scene.
 That man, Vanlyn said.  He reminds me of Magisteri Hale.
 He is was Hale s grandfather, Dane said.  We were related, but we d been
good friends all our lives.
Hale escorted Dane to the guard station and, with many apologies, placed Dane in
one of the small holding cells. He didn t leave. He sat with Dane on the cot and asked
Dane to tell him exactly what had happened. Dane did not meet Hale s eyes the whole
time. He looked at his hands. There was dirt, but all Dane could see was blood.
Hale left him to go and speak with Raesa. Dane sat and stared, the scene of Brin s
death playing itself out in his mind in graphic detail. Things became clear to him as he sat
there. One of the younger guards brought him a tray with a bowl of chicken and
dumplings and some ale, but Dane ignored it.
It seemed only a short time later that Hale returned. Dane didn t notice him standing
there right away. When Dane raised his head and met Hale s gaze, the look in his friend s
eyes told all.
 She played me for a fool, didn t she?
Hale sighed.  It appears so. He entered the cell and sat down next to Dane again.
 Dane, I m sorry. When I arrived, there was a man there.
Dane s hands fisted where they lay on his knees. His chest tightened, and he had to
fight for each breath. To his shame, unshed tears burned beneath his closed lids. No, I will
not weep over a scheming whore!
Hale went on to tell him how Raesa claimed that Dane was harassing her, coming by
uninvited, trying to coerce her into having an affair. When she refused, Dane gave her the
bruises. Raesa went on to tell Hale that the servants were witnesses to all of this. Hale
spoke with some of them, and they corroborated Raesa s words, telling him how Raesa
screamed for Dane not to hurt Delfior. Thinking to aid her mistress, the young maid
summoned her brother, the local blacksmith, and he gathered friends and neighbors to
pursue Dane.
Then of course, there was the young man who, in Hale s opinion, was an arrogant
prick who loudly voiced his opinion on what punishment to enact on Dane and how he
was there to offer comfort. This said while running his hand up and down Raesa s back
who looked rather content for a woman newly widowed.
 I know you, Dane. I know you wouldn t kill anyone without provocation.
 I appreciate your trust.
 We re going to need more than that to prove your innocence, Hale said.  Very
well. Here s what I ll do. First, I ll have the necromancer do a calling and see what
information we can glean from Brin s wraith.
Dane flinched but nodded.
 I also want to have a look around Brin s manor, Hale said.  Our young widow may
have left some trace of her treachery in letters and 
His words to cut short by the sound of glass shattering which brought Hale swiftly to
his feet.  What the hell?
 Captain! one of the guards cried out as the room filled with the sounds of
screaming voices. The crowd came spilling into their line of vision, their faces twisted in
rage as they wielded the crude weapons of farmers and laborers.
 Stop! Cease this insanity! Hale exited the cell and tried to close the door behind
him. Hands grabbed at him, pulling him into the midst of the tumult.
 No! Dane cried.  Don t hurt him! I ll go with you, please!
Two men Dane didn t know dragged him from the cell and threw him to the mob.
Caught up in the murderous wave, Dane could only let the tide push him where it may.
His ears filled with their curses on him and dire oaths that he would pay. They dragged
him out into the street, where the curious citizens made way and watched with eyes that
went from interest to shock to loathing within the space of a few heartbeats.
Dane lost all sense of time and place. There was only the suffocating press of bodies
with their stench of sour sweat. The buildings of the city gave way to an open meadow.
The crowd continued until they reached a lone tree, an isolated sentinel on the flat
expanse of grass. It was not difficult to guess their plans.
Someone brought a horse. They tied Dane s wrists behind him. Dane felt his first
stirrings of fear then, which he found strange. He knew from the beginning these people
were going to kill him. He thought somewhere during this last walk that he had accepted
his fate. Why was he fearful now?
He refused to struggle. Refused to show them how terrified he was. He was guilty.
He faced his punishment even as his mind screamed for him to escape. He had the power.
He could cast any number of illusions. He would have to leave Penryn forever, be a
fugitive, never see his family again.
Then something happened that changed all of his plans.
An explosion of fire drew the crowd s attention away.  Stop, damn you all!
That voice! Oh gods, no!
His family. They were there. His father, brothers and sisters rode up to the edge of
the crowd. Amalia had conjured the flame.
 Are you people insane? Release my son this instant!
 He murdered Delfior Brin in cold blood!
 He stalked Brin s wife like a common rogue!
 That s preposterous, and you all know this! His father moved his horse forward,
 Now release him!
 No! The crowd surged forward, surrounding his family, swarming like ants over
an injured prey.
 Drag them from their mounts!
 Bring them to justice! Let them die with the murdering bastard!
 Oh, gods, please, no! In desperation, Dane gathered every dram of his power
around him like a granite wall and then caused it to shatter, sending it streaming through
the crowd in shimmering waves. He poured everything that he was into those final
illusions.
He surrounded himself with an aura of malevolence. A putrid stench of rotting
corpses that sent a shudder of revulsion through all those present. He was an ugly
disgusting thing that deserved to die.
At the same time, he cloaked his family in an aura of warmth and protection. They
were merely a soft breeze against the cheek, barely noticeable, something so common
that the crowd no longer gave them a thought. Within the aura, Dane weaved special
illusions for each of them.
He continued even as they lifted him onto the horse, even as the noose tightened
around his neck. Tears threatened, but he refused to let them fall. He had to work so his
terrible grief would not taint the illusions surrounding his family.
Right before the end came, something moved just outside his line of vision. Dane
turned his head slightly to the left and saw the lone figure standing away from the crowd.
No one seemed to notice him. Even at that distance, Dane knew who he was.
Delfior Brin.
Dane didn t know why he could see the wraith. Perhaps because he was so close to
death himself, the veils had opened, ready to accept him into their embrace. Dane
expected the wraith to appear angry or triumphant that Dane was receiving his due.
Instead, Brin looked sad.
Though the man never spoke aloud, Dane heard his words. I m sorry, Dane. She
betrayed us both.
It was too much for Dane, and he lost all composure. He wept openly. Please don t [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]