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there. Her body felt clean, but her skin still bore the stains. It seemed
wrong somehow, as if the magic alone should have been enough.
Averil's golden eyes stared at her. Elaine forced herself not to look away,
not to show that it bothered her. That would have been the height of rudeness.
The woman could not help what she looked like.
"How long have you been studying magic?"
Elaine thought about that. "Three days."
Averil's eyes widened. "Only three days? You are very accomplished for that
short space of time. I still can't cast a shield spell after four years of
study."
Elaine glanced at Gersalius. "He's a good teacher, I guess."
The wizard waved the compliment away. "It is not my tutoring but her natural
abilities. Elaine had delayed her formal study of magic until recently, but
she has been keeping her hand in, here and there."
Averil's stare was too intense, too thoughtful. It wasn't the alienness of her
eyes that made Elaine look away.
"A person can study for years, but natural talent like that " she shook her
head " it cannot be bought, or even learned." She looked envious.
"You are a good mage, Daughter."
She looked down at the elf still sitting on the snow. "But I will never have
ease such as she has, such as
Mother had."
The elf sighed. "Your mother was a great crafter, but what one can accomplish
with talent, another can accomplish with sheer hard work. Is that not so,
mage?"
Gersalius nodded. "Very true. You will find very few in Kartakass that have
Elaine's natural flare."
"Kartakass?" the elf said. "Is that the name of a nearby town?"
"I am afraid not," the wizard said.
Thordin strode forward. "I thought you all might be new to the land." He
didn't sound happy about it.
"What land?" Averil asked. "We crossed no borders."
"I'm afraid you did," Gersalius said.
With his daughter's help, the elf stood. "Something has happened, hasn't it?"
"Yes, my friend," Thordin said. His face was very sober, even sad. "You are in
a new land unlike whatever land you came from."
"Since you do not know our land, how can you be sure of that?"
"I am as sure of that as I am of my own nightmares," Thordin said.
"Nightmares?"
"Welcome to Kartakass," Thordin said softly.
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ELEVEN
The elf, Silvanus Brilliantine, took a deep, shaking breath. He held up his
remaining hand. "Will this be a long explanation?"
Thordin exchanged glances with Gersalius. "Yes," the warrior said, "it will be
long."
"Then let me see to my friends before night finds us in this accursed place."
"You are right on that," Thordin said.
"On what?" Silvanus asked.
"The land is cursed."
Silvanus waved that away as if he had no time for it. "My oldest friend lies
dead; that is curse enough for now." He walked toward the armored man.
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Elaine expected the elf to kneel in prayer over the body, to add some last
word of comfort to his friend's dead form. He did kneel, but then he laid his
one remaining hand on his friend's chest. He closed his eyes and let his head
fall back. His golden hair streamed down his back in a glimmering exclamation
point.
"What is he doing?" Elaine asked.
Thordin had a strange expression on his face, a look of both bitterness and
wonderment. Gersalius's look was one of resignation, as if he knew a great
disappointment was coming and could not stop it.
"What is happening?" she asked again.
Tereza shook her head. "I don't know." She was looking from warrior to mage.
"You know what he is doing." It was not a question. "Tell us."
It was Averil who said, "Have you never seen a cleric before?"
"No," Thordin said, "she never has not a real one."
"What do you mean a 'real' one?" she asked. Her voice was uneasy, almost
fearful.
Gersalius gave a deep sigh. "He seeks to raise the dead to life. It will not
work."
"I have seen my father raise the dead many times," she said. "Why should this
be different?."
"It is the land, itself," the wizard said.' "It will prevent it."
"We cannot permit him to raise a zombie," Jonathan said. "That is evil magic
of the worst kind. He must desist or be imprisoned."
"Not a zombie, Jonathan," Thordin said. "He believes he can bring his dead
friend back to life true life."
"He is mad," Konrad said.
"No," Thordin said, "I have seen it done myself, in my home world."
"The wizard is trying to do what?" Tereza asked.
"Raise the dead," the wizard said, as if it were quite mundane.
"Can wizards raise the dead?" Elaine asked.
"Not wizards, holy men," Gersalius corrected.
"No one can raise the dead to life," Tereza said.
"I have told you that healers could mend wounds by laying on of hands,"
Thordin said.
"Yes, but that is different," Tereza said.
"Not so different," Gersalius said. "I understand the principle behind the
spell, if not the actual mechanics."
Elaine stared at the kneeling elf. Something was happening. It wasn't the
skin-tingling, overwhelming rush of the magic Gersalius had shown her. This
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