Dreams of Fire and Gods 2: Fire by James Erich Read Free Book Online Page A

stepped in, conscious of the men in the hall craning their necks to see over his shoulder. But the guard stepped out of the room again, closing the door behind him.
    The chamber was small compared to the one Sael stayed in. But Geilin had always preferred modest accommodations. His one extravagance was books. Though he’d only been in the keep a matter of weeks, he had managed to amass quite a library, and wooden bookcases had been brought in to house all his leather-bound volumes and scrolls.
    There was a single bed and a small table with two upholstered chairs on either side of it. It was in one of these chairs that Geilin now sat. Or rather slumped, because he was clearly having difficulty keeping himself upright. He looked small in his gold-and-white robes, ancient and wizened like a man twice his age. The shimmering golden eye tattooed upon his shaved head was faint, almost impossible to see.
    Sael rushed to his former master and knelt before him, forgetting their recent shift in status. “Master Geilin!”
    “I’m fine, Your Lordship,” Geilin rasped, not sounding fine at all. His eyes opened for a moment but fluttered shut again, as if keeping them open required too much effort.
    One of the Taaweh—a woman— was standing silently to one side. She now stepped forward and addressed the dekan . “ Iinyeh Geilin is at a critical point. Though he has proven adept at learning some simple Taaweh magic, it has increased the conflict tearing his body apart. The Stronni magic is deeply embedded.”
    Sael was surprised Geilin had agreed to be trained by one of the female Taaweh. Vönan were always men, just as ömem were always women. That was the order of things, as decreed by the gods a thousand years ago. A woman could never presume to train a vönan — it was simply not possible. If the vönan gathered outside in the corridor knew of this, it was no wonder they were alarmed.
    But Sael had more pressing concerns at the moment. Geilin appeared to be seriously ill.
    “Perhaps you should rest for a while,” Sael told the old wizard.
Geilin opened his eyes again and raised them to look at Sael defiantly. “With all due respect, my lord, I have no intention of being defeated by some simple spells that any child could learn. Help me up, please.”
Sael knew Geilin would get up with or without his help, so he reluctantly offered his shoulder and steadied his mentor with an arm about the waist. “It doesn’t sound to me as if it’s the spells that are weakening you,” he pointed out.
“True,” Geilin responded, leaning heavily on Sael. “But I confess I’ve grown angry at the discovery that my body has been co-opted by the Stronni.”
The Taaweh said gently, “Stronni magic uses the human body as a vessel. Magical energy is stored by you until it can be used. While it is stored, it also maintains the body to a small degree. What you are feeling now is the loss of that small amount of sustenance.”
“It doesn’t feel ‘small’ to me,” Geilin retorted.
Sael was disconcerted by this, knowing the slight weariness and unease he’d been feeling over the past couple of weeks was caused by the same loss of energy Geilin was experiencing. It simply wasn’t as severe for Sael, since he’d been a mere apprentice. Other experienced vönan would be feeling ill as well.
“What about Taaweh magic?” Sael asked. “Aren’t you simply allowing a new form of magic to take control of your body now?”
“Taaweh magic works differently,” the woman said. “It flows through the body, rather than pooling there.”
Geilin frowned and said, quietly enough that only Sael could hear, “We’ll see.”
He stopped in the middle of the room and gestured for Sael to move away from him. Then the old wizard stood there, swaying unsteadily on his feet, as he looked down upon a single kanun seed lying on the floor before him.
Sael glanced down at the seed and asked, “What’s that?”
“The bane of my existence,” Geilin said