By Slanderous Tongues by Mercedes Lackey & Roberta Gellis

Author:Mercedes Lackey & Roberta Gellis [Lackey, Mercedes & Gellis, Roberta]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy
ISBN: 9781416521075
Goodreads: 13985
Publisher: Baen
Published: 2007-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

For some time after Pasgen left his reception room, Vidal simply sat, breathing and drawing in power to restore what Pasgen had drained from him. His first thought, when thought was possible, was gratitude for the quarrel with Aurilia that had left him alone when Pasgen arrived. The last thing he needed was a witness to—

His thoughts checked. What had Pasgen done? By a fierce exertion of his will, Vidal did not shudder. A Gate. A Gate right into the palace itself, right outside his very door so that he had no warning that Pasgen was coming. He knew Pasgen was an expert with Gates, but not that he was so powerful he could override the warding on Caer Mordwyn. That, Vidal told himself, was something he must not forget; he would need warding of a different kind, warding that would disrupt a Gate, anyone’s Gate, and send the traveler into the void.

His tense pose eased slightly. Surely if he had the warning he had expected to get, he would have been able to deal with that young upstart. But Vidal’s mind was clearing more and more and lying to himself was less easy. He thought of the shields against which his worst attacks shattered and his hand formed a tight fist. He should have expected that. He knew Pasgen was expert with shields, so why had he been so surprised when the shields held against him?

Vidal’s eyes closed and foul words trickled in a steady stream from his lips. He was surprised because the last times Pasgen and Rhoslyn had attended court, some of Vidal’s teasing little torments had got through Pasgen’s shield. The obscenities came quicker, louder, as he realized that either the shields had been deliberately imperfect or Pasgen and Rhoslyn had only been pretending to be hurt.

Rhoslyn, she was nothing. He would … The obscenities died on his lips. And then the memory he had tried to avoid came, wrenching his pride, tearing his confidence, generating … terror. He would do nothing because Pasgen had said that if Rhoslyn were hurt or even frightened, he would return, drain Vidal to true death, and turn Caer Mordwyn to dust.

How? How had Pasgen drawn power out of him? Vidal knew that healers and others could infuse power into another, but draw it out? His brow furrowed. Surely he had heard rumors—no, ridiculous. Those were only tales of horror … or were they? Had he not felt his shields ravel away and then a growing weakness and then—he shuddered again—that feeling as if the blood was being drawn out of his body.

The terror slowly faded away. Doubtless Pasgen, who was something of a scholar, had found evidence proving that tales of power-sucking creatures were true. So he had found them or found records that explained what they were and how they worked. What Pasgen had found, Vidal was sure he could find also. There were a few among the Dark Sidhe who would enjoy seeking such information.

Vidal jerked upright

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