Key of Behliseth by Lou Hoffmann

Author:Lou Hoffmann [Hoffmann, Lou]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press
Published: 2014-09-10T20:00:00+00:00

THE INTERRUPTION caused by Lucky’s eavesdropping had broken the tension between Han and Thurlock. As they passed on the stairs outside Lucky’s door, Han said, “I’m starving.”

He went to the kitchen and started a roast in the microwave. “I just love this thing,” he said. He assembled a pie and stuck it in the oven, peeled potatoes into a pot of water, set biscuit dough to rise in the bowl, snapped green beans into a colander to be ready for steaming at the last minute.

Carrying two glasses of tea, he went out to the front porch, where he knew he would find Thurlock in the rocker, watching the shadows change as the sun began to fall.

“Sir,” Han said, handing Thurlock a glass and sinking into the vacant chair at his right.

“You must have been reading my mind,” the wizard said, and they both smiled. “But since I can’t read yours, tell me. You never found it?”

“The Amber Knife?”

“I assume that’s what you were after when you dove into the creek.”

“I found no trace, not even a tingle of the Blade’s magic.”

“L’Aria’s doing, perhaps. She didn’t have it on her when she got home to the Sisterhold, or Lili would have known, but she could have hidden it on the way. Given enough water, her magic nearly equals her father’s, aside from Tiro’s ability to shape-shift.”

“She stays in human skin, but she may as well be in otter fur.” Han held his cold glass up to the cut on his brow. “It’s convenient, the way they travel. They can go anywhere, if there’s a river. Or even a pond.”

“They’re called ‘Tir’ for a reason. It’s the old language, but roughly it means ‘river song.’ But they can only travel by water in Earth or Ethra, between these two worlds. I think their magic is the only kind that has survived from before these two worlds split. Some people think it’s what binds these worlds together, as well.”

“Power like that….”

“Tiro holds great power, surely, and L’Aria’s likely will grow as she grows. But it’s limited, for practical purposes. They can create Portals in water. They can tinker with an unprotected mind or heart, since so much of what makes up living beings is water. Tiro can change shape. As you know, of course, no one else in Ethra can do that. But no parlor tricks for either of them, no household spells, no wizardry, and they can’t read minds, either. Still, I wonder how Isa’s people managed to capture her.”

“We were lucky to find her.”

“And luck can’t be counted on.”

“Did Lili and Rose tell her to stay home, once she got there?”

Thurlock rolled his eyes and snorted. “Oh yes, they told her. About five minutes before she left again.”

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