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"Raine, we have a situation," Kesyn said

Mirabai looked at the floor around the altar and juainstblackfast Admittedly, I’d been a little preoccupied, but I should have noticed that I was fused to the Saghred and couldn’t escape, but Kesyn could

"Kesyn, run!" I screae had seen it before I had, and not only did he not run; he stayed right where he was I grabbed his ar hi you," Kesyn toldyourself killed?"

In the next two seconds, the wall of mist was almost up to my waist Parts of it broke off from the rest and rapidly spiraled upward even farther to forer and barely touched a single bar of mist My hand instantly went nu "Don’t worry Getting killed is not going to happen"

No This was not happening I didn’t nearly get the Scythe only to lose the Scythe, only to albehindabout any of it

"It’s a Level Thirteen ward," Kesyn continued, seeet in"

The crazy coot "Wards only go to twelve," I snarled

Kesyn shrugged "These pricks are real go-getters This level of work is beyond what I’ve ever seen"

Not only was he crazy; he was hallucinating "What pricks?"

"Re over there with Carnades?" Kesyn asked mildly "Well, apparently they never left I could kickfeebleh they do have the best damned veils I’ve ever seen"

I looked into the shadows behind the altar There had been several Khrynsani blackwith Carnades They weren’t there now I hadn’t seen theo anywhere, and with their fancy robes, I would have noticed that

I stopped and sniffed Spices and incense Dammit, I could still son breath flying around here, I hadn’t noticed that the spicy sh there was no incense burning The bastards were still here, and obviously they weren’t just standing around any hard If I hadn’t already been hurt enough, I would have s so stupid Sarad Nukpana would have been prepared for anything He wasn’t depending on hred safe The Khrynsani had been trying to get the Saghred back for nearly a thousand years They would never leave it unguarded

And it wasn’t unguarded now

Why did Nukpana’s best black hred in a ward? Maybe it had taken theet the ward started Carnades had said that he couldn’t activate a mirror in less than fifteen minutes; maybe this was similar I didn’t know and it didn’t matter That Kesyn and I were stuck in a ith five of Nukpana’s biggest and baddest did Even if Mychael or Taood if they couldn’t get it to es hadn’t dropped their veils, but thetheir shapes One of the bastards was standing less than three feet away and I’d been co around us looked like black ht like thousands of deust "These are Sarad’s top spellslingers; and the grandstanding sons of bitches can’t resist showing off" He snorted "Spells with sparklies Why didn’t they just tie a bow around it?"

"Do soic in here," he said "We’d fry They wouldn’t"

"There’s nothing you can do? Because there sure as hell isn’t anything I can do"

"I didn’t say that It’s taking all the strength and concentration this bunch has to hold the ward together They can’t even risk letting their concentration waver to lower their veils, and I doubt they can even spare the thought to listen to us They’ve positioned themselves between two layers of wards, so they’re shielded froic, weapons, and sound So spellsongs won’t work, either" The old goblin leaned back and twisted fro on your lover boy to get back with that dagger Though I do wish he’d hurry I wouldn’t want this happening prematurely"

I was teet in!"

The old goblin gavehis dragons to slaughter the Resistance; he wasn’t defending the Saghred, because he kneas being taken care of He knew that I wasn’t going anywhere and neither was the Saghred To keep the two of us right where he wanted us until he dealt with the Resistance, Nukpana had tasked his top blackus in a lethal Level Thirteen blanket