Page 107 of Take No Prisoners
"You know there isn't." She smiled up at Niall. "There's no time to debate." She turned back to the remaining four council members. "Any objections?"
Jermain and Frost both looked stunned, but they hid their hands behind their backs and bowed their heads as a sign of agreement. Then, they looked to Allora.
This was the first time Niall had seen the island's illusive enchantress. While Renald was probably tall for a boy of twelve, he and Allora were the same height. Her long white hair hung in a loose braid down her back, and her brown skin had golden undertones. She locked gazes with his grandmother and took the same stance as the others, head bowed with hands behind her back. Martiz still stared at her, stunned, but he didn't protest.
"Good." His grandmother sighed. "This is between me and my grandson. Continue the trial while we are gone. Start with the children. If we haven't returned by the time they are finished, continue with the seeker, and then Efren."
"As you say," Martiz motioned for the others to take their seats and motioned for the two children to step forward.
Niall followed his grandmother to a narrow fissure in the cavern wall behind the council. Until they passed through it, Niall had assumed it was nothing more than a large crack, but it led to a tunnel. The sound of water dripping seemed overloud, though there was no water in sight. The only light was a glowing yellow orb hovering overhead. It moved with them as the passage widened. They turned away from the sound of crashing waves and rounded another turn. When Niall swore they'd reached a dead end, his grandmother waved her hand, displaying a cavern the size of an alcove.
A white statue the size and shape of a portable balanced scale filled the recessed space. "We've never been able to identify the stone, nor where it came from," his grandmother said. "I've only ever used it once, to remove a fire weaver's power. Before Emperor Hesse outlawed the practice, bounty hunters used to bring the heads of fire weavers to the palace in Hearthstone for a reward. There was a superstition that magic power diminished exponentially by the number of people who could wield it. The ruling family of Embertide has always been strong with fire magic. A particularly weak descendant believed the superstition and started the barbaric practice."
She grimaced. "There are virtually no fire weavers outside the royal family now."
"Gulde." That's why he'd felt such a strange connection to her. He could feel his grandmother's magic on her.
"Yes. Now, I need you to remove my power, and leave nothing, no matter what you learn in the process. Is that understood?"
Niall studied his grandmother, certain there was something she wasn't telling him. He wanted to ask more questions, but she removed the statue from its shelf.
"There's no time," she said. "Hold the scale in place with one hand, and place the other on the balance."
He did as she instructed, and she grabbed hold of the other side.
Niall felt the object pull on all of his elements at once, a giant rush of power that latched onto his grandmother, as well.
"This isn't just a way to remove a weaver's power."His grandmother's voice echoed in his head, coming from everywhere, but mostly concentrated within the object in their hands."I can give you my power. Coryn will lose her link to me, and you will be stronger."
"Strong enough to defeat her?"He didn't have a way to filter his thoughts before they echoed in the same small place between them.
"There will still be stronger weavers with only one or two specialties. Hannah. Vadim. Jermain. Emperor Hugo, if I had to guess. You and Efren will be evenly matched in water with my added stores. Do you accept my power?"
"What if I don't?"
"It will return to the ether."Niall experienced a vision, then, of his grandmother and Gulde holding the balance, and of Gulde's power leeching into the island itself, and then dissipating."This is the first time I've attempted a balance transfer."
If there was a chance he could end Coryn's tyranny by overpowering her, he would take it. He nodded his consent, and power rushed into him. He couldn't tell where his power ended and his grandmother's began, and he almost panicked when he thought of the sliver of Efren's core embedded within him. Thinking of it brought it to the surface of his thoughts, and of his power. His connection with Efren was still there, and the captain was proud of Niall for being brave. He was also filled with sorrow.
"Something's wrong with Efren."
"No, dear."
"He's sad!"
"He is. He knew what I came here to do."She let go of the scales, and the remaining power funneled into him with a loud pop in his ears.
"What do you mean?" He couldn't hear his own voice, but he couldn't wait another moment to ask.
"I won't be here when you return from Hearthstone." She took the statue from him and placed it back on its shelf. When she stepped back, the cavern wall closed over it again, once more a dead-end cave.
"Where will you go?"
She grabbed his arm, and this time it felt different from before. Her arm trembled against his, and she leaned on him for support. "I'm not going anywhere, Niall. I will always be a part of you now."
He checked her over for a single ailment, but found nothing he could latch onto, nothing he could heal or cure.
"It's old age, Niall. It comes for all of us. I've staved it off longer than most."
