Miranda’s eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed, slumping senseless to the ground. Blood dribbled from her nose.
Bells let loose a wailing cry along with a cluster of sorcery.
“By the ancestors,” groaned Caldan as he opened his well and scrabbled to link to his wristband. Despite the crafting being hot and close to failing, it was all he had left. Light sprang up around him and he clutched Miranda, covering her with his shield.
The air shook and cascaded with flashes of light as bright as the sun. Caldan squeezed his eyes shut. Beneath him, the ground shook with violence.
Under his crafted wristband, his skin sizzled… He couldn’t hold it any longer. If he did, it would fail and they would be destroyed in the process. Perhaps there was a chance they would survive Bell’s rage-driven destructive sorcery. He felt his wristband begin to fracture. Clutching Miranda to him, he cut the link to his well.
Pain exploded in his mind, then in a blink it stopped, though the assault continued. Not daring to open his eyes, he knew somehow he was being shielded.
The onslaught lasted longer than he thought possible. Eventually, the flashes through his eyelids ceased. An overpowering odor of dirt, molten metal, and above all lemons filled his nostrils.
He prized an eye open. Around him the air shimmered with dissipating heat.
Bells scrabbled towards Keys’ charred body, whimpering wordlessly.
A glow emanated from under Caldan’s shirt. He pulled on his chain and the bone ring spilled out, runes shinning with an inner light. The trinket on his finger lay inert and cold. The bone ring shielded me? he thought incredulously. That’s not possible… it wasn’t crafted or a trinket. Or was it? There was only one explanation. He shook his head, stunned by the implication. It had to be a trinket. Never had he heard of one not made of metal, an alloy sorcerers for generations had tried without success to replicate, the supposed secret of crafting trinkets. Hundreds of years of failed experiments and theories, all based on a false assumption. This was why his family had been murdered — for this bone trinket.
Amerdan walked out of the darkness towards Caldan, clothes singed, hair covered in dust. He held a hand out. “I think I have much to learn,” he said cryptically, face expressionless.
Caldan allowed the shopkeeper to drag him to his knees, hand clutched to his stomach. Blood oozed through his fingers. Miranda lay on the ground unmoving.
He tore off his shirt and tied it as best he could around his waist to stop the bleeding. His head, arm and stomach throbbed with pain. Gingerly, he struggled to his feet, staggering towards Miranda. A quick look at Bells and he decided she was no threat for the moment. The sorcerer cradled Keys in her arms, fingers entwined in his hair. She sobbed the same words over and over: “Keys, my love, stay with me.” Her eyes were open and unmoving.
Caldan had to check on Miranda. It would only take a few moments, then he could kill Bells.
He shuffled to Miranda’s side, knelt, and gathered her to him. She stared at him blankly and then blinked, as if in slow motion. A trickle of saliva ran from the corner of her mouth.
“Wha…” she began, then swallowed. “Wha…” she tried again then frowned. She looked down at her trembling hands.
Physically, she was whole, but mentally… whatever sorcery they used must have been wrenched out when Keys died. Her mind lay in disarray. No, not Miranda as well.
Caldan began to weep.
A hand clasped his shoulder, and he looked up into Amerdan’s face.
“She has been damaged. We should leave her.”
Caldan couldn’t believe his ears. He shook his head vehemently. “No. I can heal her. I…” With rising dread, he realized he couldn’t heal Miranda. Only someone versed in coercive sorcery would know what was wrong with her mind and how to restore it.
He motioned for Amerdan to see to Miranda and looked towards Bells.
She paid no attention to Caldan’s approach. He stood behind her, bent over in pain. Slowly, he drew his sword, the trinket entrusted to him by Master Simmon. He raised the sword then brought it down, twisting at the last moment to strike Bells in the head with the flat of the blade.
With a sickening thud, she crumpled unconscious, silver bells tinkling.
Grabbing her by one arm, he dragged her over to Miranda, who still sat in the dirt, Amerdan hovering next to her.
With a deep breath, Caldan wiped his eyes, though they refused to obey him and leaked tears. He stood numbly, helping Miranda regain her feet. She stumbled. He picked her up in his arms.
“Bells,” he grated through the pain. “Get her.”
Amerdan nodded and lifted the limp sorcerer.
They trudged after Elpidia and Bees, leaving Keys behind.
Aftermath
To the south, in a sheltered cove along the coast, the ship containing Gazija, Quiss, Vasile and Aidan dropped anchor in the shallows and awaited news from Anasoma.
Gazija had tasked Vasile with convincing Aidan to join with them and he spent his time secluded in a cabin arguing with Aidan and his companions.
He expected objections, and he wasn’t disappointed.
Savine Khedevis approached the keep in Anasoma, surrounded by a dozen of his followers. Inside, within the cool stone walls, he was greeted briefly by a high-ranked Indryallan soldier, face haggard and marked by strain. Savine motioned to his faction and they knelt before the Indryallan commander.
For the time being, he thought to himself, hiding his grimace of distaste. Once Gazija was dead, he could lead his people along the righteous path.
In the morning light, Caldan took a bowl of porridge from a cook fire and began the laborious task of feeding Miranda. She swallowed mechanically, eyes blank, and it took a long time before he was satisfied she’d eaten enough.
To one side lay Bells, bound with rope and gagged with cloth, though she remained unconscious. He took a knife and set to cutting the crafted bells out of the sorcerer’s hair, stuffing them into his pockets.
As they left, Caldan supported Miranda along the road. She made slow progress with erratic steps.
Far to the north, Kelhak, God-Emperor of Indryalla, received news his forces had taken Anasoma, though at a cost of two of his children. Aboard his personal warship, having sailed for Anasoma some time ago, he commanded the captain to urge the ship to greater speeds.
This ends A Crucible of Souls.
What happens next is recounted in
Book Two of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapte
r Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Aftermath
To the Reader,
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Aftermath
To the Reader,
A Crucible of Souls (Book One of the Sorcery Ascendant Sequence) (Volume 1) Paperback Page 57