The Phoenix Transformed
Page 69
“I can’t believe you don’t know the difference between a promise and a prophecy,” Harrier said crossly. Even without the Dragonbond, Tiercel had learned a long time ago how to tell when Harrier was covering up worry for somebody’s safety with a show of bad temper.
“Destroyed is better than bound,” Ancaladar said firmly. “And—as I know well—while one may invoke the Ancient Powers, and even petition them, one may never compel them. All goes as the Wild Magic wills.”
“Oh, don’t mention the Wild Magic to me just now,” Harrier snapped, pulling Tiercel back toward the stairs. “The results are great, but I’m not happy with the methods. If the Wild Magic had wanted to finally pay off Vielly Whasises MagePrice, it could have come up with a better method than starting a war.”
Trust Harrier Gillain to decide that the Fourth Endarkened War was entirely designed by the Wild Magic to annoy him, Tiercel thought, digging in his heels. “Fine. There’s a tehuko right behind you, and I know you’ve got your Three Books with you right now. Toss them in and renounce the Wild Magic.” He hadn’t exactly meant it as a joke, but sometimes the only way you could get Harrier’s attention was to say something so outrageous that it made him stop and think. To Tiercel’s alarm, Harrier actually seemed to be taking his suggestion seriously. What would happen to the Bond if Harrier did renounce the Wild Magic? What would happen to him and to Ancaladar?
But after a moment, Harrier smiled just a little. “Somebody has to keep the two of you out of trouble, and I figure it’s probably going to take a Knight-Mage to do it. Come on. Let’s get out of here before this thing either explodes again or Saravasse decides to push me into it.”
Содержание
Cover
Title
Copyright
Dedication
Prologue: Shadows and Fire
Chapter One A Terrible Beauty
Chapter Two Between Sand and Star
Chapter Three A Journey Into Darkness
Chapter Four In the End Is the Beginning
Chapter Five The Stronghold of Illusion
Chapter Six Prelude to War
Chapter Seven Dark Deception
Chapter Eight An Unlikely Alliance
Chapter Nine Bitter Harvest
Chapter Ten The Slow War
Chapter Eleven Shadow Queen’s Gambit
Chapter Twelve The Quick and the Dead
Chapter Thirteen Discoveries and Alliances
Chapter Fourteen Clash of Wills
Chapter Fifteen Choosing Sides
Chapter Sixteen Chasing Death
Chapter Seventeen Catch Fire, Draw Flame
Chapter Eighteen A Stone of Flame
Chapter Nineteen To the Throat of the Crucible
Chapter Twenty Bones in the Desert