Cycle of Fire 03 - Shadowfane by Janny Wurts

Author:Janny Wurts [Wurts, Janny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy, General, Epic
ISBN: 9780061054709
Google: qJRsazpPqYwC
Amazon: 0061054704
Publisher: HarperPrism
Published: 1988-01-02T05:00:00+00:00

Taen's preoccupied silence passed unnoticed as the Kielmark shouted orders to his boatswain; feet thumped on planking, and crewmen surged up the ratlines to make sail. By itself, Jaric's dissent was a mere defiance of form; but when Stormwarden and Firelord were together, the Dreamweaver noticed each one guarded his thoughts. That uneasiness troubled her; for, to combat the demons of Shadowfane, the two sorcerers must work mind within mind, attuned in flawless rapport.

The boatswain shouted. Canvas cascaded from the yards with a crack and a slither of boltropes. Poised to work his mastery on the foredeck, the Stormwarden of Elrinfaer lifted his head, his eyes the grey of rain beneath an overcast. He wore a sailor's tunic of plain, bleached linen, knotted at the waist with a sash worked in silver. But simple clothes could never mask the magnitude of his powers. His touch with the wind seemed effortless, deft with a proficiency born through decades of experience.

Jaric watched the sails clap smartly into curves overhead, the mild, wistful expression Taen associated with admiration on his face. As the Ladywolf shuddered and steadied into a heel, he smiled, his hair tumbled by the eddies off the headsails. 'Anskiere's control is matchless. If I tried something comparable, like lighting the galley ire with sorcery, I'd probably crisp everything to the waterline.'

'You'll improve.' Taen leaned hard into her man's shoulder, heartened by his enthusiasm for his new craft. But her contentment faltered as the Stormwarden glanced aside and noticed the Firelord watching him.

Dark brows lowered almost to a frown; then, without greeting or encouragement, Anskiere strode aft.

Ivainson's exhilaration withered, and Taen felt tension harden the muscles of his forearm. 'What happened at the ice cliffs?' she demanded impulsively. 'Why should the Prince of Elrinfaer distrust you?'

Jaric considered his sword, as if inanimate Corlin steel might answer her query for him. His eyes turned deep, uncipherably intense, and he spoke at last with bitterness. 'Anskiere believes that one day I will betray my own kind as my father did.' Suddenly restless, he drew back, as if the very air might burn him. Taen clung to the rail. She did not follow as Jaric left her side. The quality of the Firelord's silence suggested that he had tried his utmost, in some manner even abandoned pride; still he had failed to assure Anskiere of Elrinfaer that his inheritance included no portion of his sire's mad malice.

Night fell, cloudy and fitful with gusts, over the Corine Sea. Despite the prevailing weather, the sky above Lady-wolf 's masthead remained star-strewn and clear; her sails curved to the steady winds of a broad reach. On deck, the Kielmark remained braced against the rail long after the gleam of Cliffhaven's light tower vanished astern. His brigantine fared alone upon the sea. The bulk of the fleet stayed behind to defend Mainstrait; except for the picked company of men on board, the campaign to recapture Morbrith depended upon garrison troops to be levied from Corlin. The Duke at

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