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.Heopened his eyes and bit his tongue on an exclamation.Flame shot from Blakely s fingertips.Fire, his element.Tamed Fire, acleansing element like water.WildFire, an agent of chaos.Ten lines of fire found fuel in the wine and oil onthe woman s body.The flames invaded her vagina and she arched and writhed,desperately trying to escape the pain.She screamed again and again, her criesechoing around the chamber.Hugh and I cringed, afraid to rush out to help thewoman.Deep-seated self-doubt kept us frozen in place.We beat at our temples,trying desperately to rush out, sword drawn, and murder the sorcerer.We were too late.Killing Blakely would not save the woman.We had failedagain to live up to our expectations of ourself.Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlBlakely smiled.The black aura grew.The red sparks lengthened into lightningbolts. Thank you, mistress whore.You have given me much power tonight, Blakelyannounced.Then he plunged a long vorpal-bladed athame his ritual knife intoher heart, silencing her screams forever.Chapter 17I DROPPED out of Hugh s mind and back into my own with stomach-jarringabruptness.I swallowed my revulsion but couldn t stop the shaking in my arms.Cold sweat poured down my face and back, between my breasts and under my arms.Hugh had not the talent to share death with the woman, so I did not have to.But the insanity, the senselessness of her death plagued me.Hugh thrashedback and forth, moaning.His arms flailed about, fighting the memory. Wake up, Hugh, I whispered.I clung to his shoulders shaking him slightly. Tis only a dream.Wake up, please. His eyes flew open.He stilled his body as he searched the shadows with aminimum of movement.The sheen of his perspiration gleamed in the faint lightfrom the oil lamp.Sensing his need for physical contact, I left my hand on his shoulder. You vehad a bad dream.Adream only, I whispered, soothing him with words as well as an extra pushfrom my mind.The intimacy of our previous contact allowed me easy access tothe vulnerable portions of his thoughts. Sleep now.Sleep easy and dream free. He heaved over onto his side, back turned to me. I ll not sleep again.I vehad this dream before, he muttered.My mind hit a wall of resistance.I couldn t penetrate his thoughts to forcehim into restful sleep.When I closed my eyes, the scene of torture and ritual murder played itselfover and over in vivid detail.When I stared into the shadows of the armory I saw Blakely s aura and thecrackling red demon faces hiding within it.Withchild! The accusation of thatnight of invasion and death at {Grkenwood nine years ago rang again in myhead.He had been my accuser then.Like seeking like.I shuddered again.Never.I had used magic of a sort.But I would never succumb to the temptationof following Blakely s example.Page 81 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlHe had made a pact with Satan s dark forces, that much was obvious.What couldhe do with the magical power he gained from the pact? I needed moreinformation.As much as I wanted to go home, hide myself in the healing peace atKirkenwood, I needed to stay close to King John and observe his pet assassin.No, Blakely was Satan s pet, not John s.But did John allow Blakely tomanipulate him? Did he know the forces Blakely tapped?For England s sake, I prayed John had become another innocent victim ofRadburn Blakely.He needed my help to separate himself from the dark aura thatextended to him and threatened to smother whatever goodness and wisdom wereleft.I would need control over my own powers to even hope to counteractBlakely s evil.I shivered with a new chill.To defeat Blakely I would have to resort tomagic, to condemn myself inGenerated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlGod s eyes by using Satan s own methods.The light guides me.I work for the light.I work with the light.Darkness has no power over the light.Let God s light shine through the ages.I murmured Uncle Henry s litany for reassurance. Rest easy, Lady Ana Griffin. Twas my dream, not yours, Hugh murmured. You have no need to fear thedarkness.I won t let anyone throw you into an oubliette. He rolled onto hisback.His hand crept across the pallet to touch mine.I entwined my fingers with his.Holy Mother! He read my dreams and innermostfears while I read his.We lay awake, for a long time, connected by our joined hands, his terriblememories, and my dream of portent.With the clarity that follows a long sleepless night, I knew what I had to do.I must spend long hours alone practicing my magic, relearning skills UncleHenry had tried to teach me but which I had resisted.Only with my magic intact and under full control could I ever hope to negateRadburn Blakely s evil influence upon King John and England.My first step was to recreate Uncle Henry s morning ritual, without UncleHenry s guiding hand.At the first lightening in the sky, I crawled out of my bed.As silently aspossible I rummaged through the tangle of blankets to find my bliaud,stockings, and shoes. What? Hugh whispered, rising upon one elbow.He looked at me suspiciouslythrough narrowed eyes
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