palm of his hand.
Focusing his mind into it, through to its sister pendants, Caetl peered out of Dalan’s artifact. Almost immediately, the perspective shifted, the world growing darker. Caetl thought he saw feathers just before the view disappeared. With the connection severed, Caetl’s awareness launched abruptly back into his surroundings, his hand still on the force field. Nothing like that had happened before.
He’d been watching through Dalan’s artifact the night before as well. When the boy had raised his arms in the chaos of the fight, Caetl had noticed fur sprouting from his forearms. At the time, Caetl had wondered if Dalan secretly belonged to another clan in Nyr’s tribe. Now he wasn’t so certain.
Bracing himself against the force field, Caetl closed his eyes and focused his mind through to Nyr’s artifact. Her other necklaces partly obscured the view. Despite the long distance, he heard Nyr as clearly as if she stood beside him.
“Where’d he go?” She whirled, scanning the horizon in every direction.
The Wizard wouldn’t permit his plan for Nyr and Dalan to be disrupted by conflicting stories, so Caetl kept silent. When Nyr proceeded alone toward the ravine, Caetl opened his eyes, letting go of the connection.
Dalan had almost become some furred creature the night before, and today he’d flown off as a bird before Nyr noticed. The boy wasn’t from one of Nyr’s sister clans; no, he was a far more powerful Changeling. This would explain why the Wizard had persuaded Nyr to give one of the artifacts to Dalan.
The force field created a barrier across the doorway, and without any other doors or windows, the back room transformed into the perfect holding cell. Caetl exhaled his frustration and stared through the force field at the unconscious man on the other side. Most of the time, Caetl could tap sleeping people’s minds, but trying to access Gryid’s thoughts felt like punching a wall. He couldn’t tell the Wizard, or he might realize Caetl often had trouble tapping his mind as well.
Natural light spilled over Caetl and he turned toward the exterior door to find the Changeling named Azaiah framed in the light, his tail twining in the air. Well-muscled and unwilling to question his master, the man represented the Wizard’s perfect follower. His hairless head, two sets of eyes, and prehensile tail made him intimidating to Purebreeds and other Changelings alike.
Caetl straightened. He’d disliked the man the moment he’d first met him. Azaiah glanced around the room and nodded toward the side doorway, which led to the hut’s only bedroom. Caetl nodded back to confirm the Wizard remained in his room.
Azaiah shuffled past several tables stacked with mechanical pieces and tools to join Caetl by the force field across the doorway. “Is the prisoner’s mind still silent to you, mystic?” Azaiah asked, putting a hand to his broad, tanned jawline in feigned concern.
Caetl stepped away from the force field and said, “Yes.” His opaque hand print disappeared, and the spot turned translucent again. “But I may know a way to change that.”
As Azaiah gazed in at Gryid, his other two hazel eyes blinked from the back of his head at Caetl. “How?”
“He’s wearing an artifact too, there, around his belt.” Caetl pointed, wondering why Nyr hadn’t taken it when she’d stolen the others from Gryid’s hut. A black cord looped around Gryid’s belt, its purple pendant dangling above the floor.
“And? How would that help?” Azaiah’s tone grated on Caetl’s nerves.
Azaiah considered Caetl a threat to his position as the most favored of the Wizard’s followers. A mystic’s mysterious mental powers might be enough to intimidate most other Changelings, but Azaiah knew retaliation on Caetl’s part would displease their master. So they kept an uneasy truce.
“Perhaps putting it on him would give me the extra leverage I need to awaken his mind.”
Azaiah’s tail snapped in the
Focusing his mind into it, through to its sister pendants, Caetl peered out of Dalan’s artifact. Almost immediately, the perspective shifted, the world growing darker. Caetl thought he saw feathers just before the view disappeared. With the connection severed, Caetl’s awareness launched abruptly back into his surroundings, his hand still on the force field. Nothing like that had happened before.
He’d been watching through Dalan’s artifact the night before as well. When the boy had raised his arms in the chaos of the fight, Caetl had noticed fur sprouting from his forearms. At the time, Caetl had wondered if Dalan secretly belonged to another clan in Nyr’s tribe. Now he wasn’t so certain.
Bracing himself against the force field, Caetl closed his eyes and focused his mind through to Nyr’s artifact. Her other necklaces partly obscured the view. Despite the long distance, he heard Nyr as clearly as if she stood beside him.
“Where’d he go?” She whirled, scanning the horizon in every direction.
The Wizard wouldn’t permit his plan for Nyr and Dalan to be disrupted by conflicting stories, so Caetl kept silent. When Nyr proceeded alone toward the ravine, Caetl opened his eyes, letting go of the connection.
Dalan had almost become some furred creature the night before, and today he’d flown off as a bird before Nyr noticed. The boy wasn’t from one of Nyr’s sister clans; no, he was a far more powerful Changeling. This would explain why the Wizard had persuaded Nyr to give one of the artifacts to Dalan.
The force field created a barrier across the doorway, and without any other doors or windows, the back room transformed into the perfect holding cell. Caetl exhaled his frustration and stared through the force field at the unconscious man on the other side. Most of the time, Caetl could tap sleeping people’s minds, but trying to access Gryid’s thoughts felt like punching a wall. He couldn’t tell the Wizard, or he might realize Caetl often had trouble tapping his mind as well.
Natural light spilled over Caetl and he turned toward the exterior door to find the Changeling named Azaiah framed in the light, his tail twining in the air. Well-muscled and unwilling to question his master, the man represented the Wizard’s perfect follower. His hairless head, two sets of eyes, and prehensile tail made him intimidating to Purebreeds and other Changelings alike.
Caetl straightened. He’d disliked the man the moment he’d first met him. Azaiah glanced around the room and nodded toward the side doorway, which led to the hut’s only bedroom. Caetl nodded back to confirm the Wizard remained in his room.
Azaiah shuffled past several tables stacked with mechanical pieces and tools to join Caetl by the force field across the doorway. “Is the prisoner’s mind still silent to you, mystic?” Azaiah asked, putting a hand to his broad, tanned jawline in feigned concern.
Caetl stepped away from the force field and said, “Yes.” His opaque hand print disappeared, and the spot turned translucent again. “But I may know a way to change that.”
As Azaiah gazed in at Gryid, his other two hazel eyes blinked from the back of his head at Caetl. “How?”
“He’s wearing an artifact too, there, around his belt.” Caetl pointed, wondering why Nyr hadn’t taken it when she’d stolen the others from Gryid’s hut. A black cord looped around Gryid’s belt, its purple pendant dangling above the floor.
“And? How would that help?” Azaiah’s tone grated on Caetl’s nerves.
Azaiah considered Caetl a threat to his position as the most favored of the Wizard’s followers. A mystic’s mysterious mental powers might be enough to intimidate most other Changelings, but Azaiah knew retaliation on Caetl’s part would displease their master. So they kept an uneasy truce.
“Perhaps putting it on him would give me the extra leverage I need to awaken his mind.”
Azaiah’s tail snapped in the
Similar Books
