Sun in Glory and Other Tales of Valdemar by Lackey Mercedes

Author:Lackey, Mercedes [Lackey, Mercedes]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group
Published: 2003-12-02T05:00:00+00:00

“Herald.”

Vess blinked, finding himself elsewhere. Not Starhaven, not Solmark—not the Palace or his mother’s manor. He was somewhere where his Whites seemed to glow with their own light, and everything was the gray of twilight.

“Herald,” the voice said again, “I want to thank you.”

Vess sat up, and saw a man standing over him, his face in shadows but his hand extended out to him.

“All my life, I’ve been that wizard’s puppet,” the man said. “He used me to destroy Starhaven, and when he realized that I wasn’t a suitable vessel for his power, he worked through my daughter and grandchild for the same. I’m sorry, Herald. Please know that anything I said to you—the mouth and the voice were mine, but the words were his.”

“Sevastan?” Vess said, reaching up to take the man’s hand. “What—”

“Take care of my granddaughter, Herald,” Sevastan said as his warm, dry fingers closed around Vess’ hand. “Please let her know that even with that bastard’s hand on my mind, I tried my best to love her.”

:Chosen!:

Vess came around to too-bright sunlight. The aura of a reaction headache was building behind his eyes, and he tasted copper in his mouth.

:Chosen! Wake up!:

“I’m alive,” Vess said, his voice feeble. “And sweet Kernos, how I wish I weren’t.”

A sob cut the air and, grimacing, Vess climbed to his knees, fighting nausea and dizziness. His hands were shaking and his skin felt clammy. He had definitely overextended himself.

Juni had thrown herself over her grandfather and was crying hysterically. Vess’ mind was still painfully open to thoughts—Juni’s grief-stricken regrets and stunned questioning of what had just transpired, and the telling silence coming from the body of Sevastan.

I killed him, he thought, reaching out to pull the veils of his shields around his mind.

:No,: said the woman’s voice in his mind. :I killed him. You broke his concentration long enough to give me the opportunity to throw the bastard into the node—which, thank the god of my fathers, actually worked this time.: A sad sigh. :Unfortunately—the trauma was too much for Sevastan himself—damnit.:

Vess turned slightly, looking in the direction of the ghostly mage, her arms folded across her chest and one slender eyebrow raised.

“What’s a node?” he asked.

She rolled her eyes. :Naïve outlanders. Never mind. He’s gone.: Her face softened. :And you have done me a great service.: She smiled. :I knew, that first time I saw you, that you’d be something special. Farewell, Herald. I’m off to the place I should have been long, long ago. . . .:

She dissolved before his eyes, reforming into a broad-winged white crow that launched itself upward, flying up toward the sun. He tried to watch her go, but the impending headache and his own physical weakness dissuaded the notion.

“Good-bye,” he said. “Good rest.”

And then there was just the matter of Juni.

Vess heard the muffled bell-tone of Companion hooves behind him. Kestric, no doubt—though Vess wasn’t sure how he’d gotten behind him. The Companion came up alongside, and Vess grabbed hold of the saddle to pull himself up—

Wait a moment.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.