He knew he had to keep very still, but he could hear a struggle. He couldn't see what was going on directly without turning his head. The wound was only a couple vertebrae down from the base of his neck. It had been unthinkably close to instant death. If he moved wrong, it still could become so.

He was having trouble focusing outside of himself. There was grunting and groaning from off to his left. He could feel that Avern and Lloyd were grappling each other, rolling around and contesting for control of the knife. Avern was determined but Lloyd clearly had more strength than he should.

He was getting weaker, light headed. It was the room, and not his little light, that was getting dim and wobbly. He realized he wasn't breathing. His heart was still beating, pounding away, desperate for air that his lungs were not getting. His chest was not rising and falling. The margin between calm and panick shrank to almost nothing.

His light sputtered out as he used all the concentration he could muster to move his chest magically. Avern groaned in frustration as the light went out. Agmar tried to call out but he could not focus enough to push the air hard enough with his mind.

He heard Avern cry out once more. I can't help you, he thought into Avern's mind. He forced himself to bring back the light, losing grip on his breathing again. It seemed like long minutes before he was able to cause breathing while still keeping the light up.

Footsteps rushed down the entrance steps. Agmar saw Syred Allder with sword in hand. There were others with him as well.

"Avern!"

By this point Avern and Lloyd were standing, and Syred charged. Agmar was not able to see it all, but was mostly able to see Lloyd take multiple fatal sword blows before finally falling to the fifth.

He heard Syred swearing as he wiped his blade and slid it back into the scabbard.

"Jeff, Steve, get this body out of here. Eric, get some pressure on Avern's wounds. Slow the bleeding as best you can. Avern, concentrate on keeping awake, help is on its way." Syred moved over and knelt down over Agmar. To Agmar's relief, the man looked him over, but didn't touch anything yet. Agmar could see that the man had taken a slash across the chest, although it didn't look deep.

"Agmar, where are you hurt exactly? Talk to me."

Can't talk. Agmar was finding that even the simple act of sending words into another person's mind was difficult, and he used as few as possible. Back wound. Don't move me.

"I understand," Syred nodded, worry showing on his face. "Stay with us now. I sent someone to make sure Lynna was on her way, although I think the whole town heard you call her. I'm sure she'll be here in just a moment. Just -- focus -- or whatever it is you need to do."

The next few minutes felt like hours, as Agmar worked to stay conscious, continue breathing, and keep the light from going out. As it was, the light started to brighten and dim in time to his breathing. He found that he could use energy to lift his chest and breathe inward and then let gravity exhale for him. A short distance away, he heard Avern groaning in pain but he knew he couldn't afford to reach out and check how badly the mayor was injured. Near the stairs he heard people moving around, carrying Lloyd Marks' body out of the cellar.

How did I miss this coming? he thought angrily to himself. What the hell is this evil we're fighting that it was able to shield its approach like that? He realized that he had felt an empty space behind him before it had happened. That there had suddenly been nothing there, where normally he could just about feel the movement of the very air around him. He swore inwardly, reprimanding himself for not staying more alert. He felt the air around himself, carefully using as little energy as possible. As he did, he suddenly felt the same feeling of nothingness all around him, low to the ground. He was quite sure the hairs on his arms had risen again, even if he couldn't feel it.

Look out! Something's here! he warned mentally, trying to reach everyone there in the cellar with him. He tried to brighten the light some, hoping that it would help Syred see what was happening. He saw the man's face go white.

"Get Avern out of here. NOW!" The man suddenly threw himself over Agmar, trying to shield him without jostling him too much. The movement sent bolts of sheer pain raking across Agmar's mind and body and he heard himself scream both audibly and mentally. The light went out entirely again as Agmar turned his magic entirely inward to keep himself breathing and awake. It was harder to push his chest to inhale with Syred's weight on top of him, but in the darkness he heard the reason why. Syred pulled his cloak over their heads as hundreds of rats swarmed over them and started biting. He thought he heard the Mayor moaning in pain, but his voice seemed farther away than it had been before.

Syred had his teeth clenched, and Agmar could hear them grinding slightly. To his credit, the man hardly moved as the rats clawed and chewed at him, but every small grunting twitch the man made sent Agmar through another shocking jolt of pain. The blackness under the cloak was starting to turn a fuzzy gray at the edges of his vision. The sounds of the scuffling and squeaking of the frenzied rats was almost deafening.

"NO!" Lynna's voice seemed to shatter the darkness. He felt her drawing on the dark energy in the room, and mentally he could almost see it leaping towards her, like a moth to a flame, knowing she was about to do something violent. Her worry and anger was enhanced and amplified. When she shoved against the rats, he felt himself and Syred shoved some as well, and another round of pain washed across him as she sent every rat in the room smashing against the walls hard enough that they stuck and smeared instead of just bouncing back down to the floor. Syred crawled off of Agmar and lay on the floor beside him, breathing shallowly.

"The wound is in his back. I think you'd better hurry. He said he shouldn't be moved." Syred's voice was shaking as he spoke.

Lynna knelt down over Agmar, and he could see in her eyes that she was struggling to manage the amount of energy she had drawn to herself in destroying the rats. The room had an eerie glow to it, as the amount of magical energy displaced into the rats themselves lit up their corpses with a reddish light. He felt Lynna reaching into him mentally, and instinctively placed a barrier around his mind. A look of confusion fell over her face, and she withdrew.

"I can't see how to fix it," she said, looking panicked. "Agmar, you have to let me in. The wound connects to your mind too and I don't think I can fix it if I can't see where the pathways lead."

He focused carefully on keeping himself breathing, while meticulously dropping all the barriers he normally had up in his mind, including the one he'd just raised without meaning to, allowing her access to everything and anything within. He lay there feeling more naked than any lack of clothes could have ever made him feel, and more helpless than he had ever felt in his life, as he allowed the young woman total admittance into his mind so that she could heal him.

Chapter 22

She put her hand lightly on his chest, feeling the subdued motions of his breathing. Her mind reached in, focusing first on where the knife entered. The wound felt somehow slimy to her mind, as if the knife had been coated in evil that had been smeared within the wound.

She reached in to the partially cut spinal cord and it was as if she could see lights running through his body through the nerves above the wound. There were only very dim lights running past the wound to most of his body. She felt the edges of his mind, and there was no boundary pushing her away. Instead she felt like she was standing on a sandy slope. She felt herself slide.

The images came in a rush. A man comforting a crying woman, her protesting angrily about something being not fair. A city more grand than anything she had ever envisioned. Tall towers reaching up to the sky, everything bright and clean and in good repair.

She saw a building that looked like a black orb hanging in the air. A narrow stairway ascended to it. Closer she could see that there were windows and balconies concealed in shadows so that they did not interrupt the round silhouette.

She saw great long halls with impossibly tall ceilings. She saw people in exotic clothes and robes and gowns of every color, and the people were graceful and beautiful. She saw one man whose age she could not begin to guess, and somehow she knew that he had no other name but Teacher.

And there were darker images, as well, and they terrified her, but she could not escape. She saw a man with skin more black than the blackest ink she had ever seen, and he wielded a sword of flame. She saw multi-headed monsters and she stood on the deck of a ship being lifted out of the water.

There was a woman, smiling yet sad, and she felt a love for her stronger than words. She felt the anger watching the funeral fire consume her body.

There was a forest, and flowers of every color, and dancing faeries. Music came to her, joyful music.

And she saw a painting of a city in ruins. She saw a map, and a straight line across it was dotted with Xs crossing out cities and towns. Another map, a newer map, with the same line, but there were no Xs yet... just a circle at the place in the map marked Eagle's Harbor.

The image shattered before her at the sound of something nearby falling to the ground. Blinking, she looked around the cellar, realizing that the light was coming from the rats she'd sent flying. It was an eerie red glow that was slowly fading, and the rats themselves had begun falling from where they'd stuck when hitting the walls. A few had flown high, and the sound that had startled her had been one of those smacking suddenly down to the ground. Others began to peel away from the wall and slip to the floor with wet thumping noises. She saw some that just slid down the wall, leaving smears of blood and entrails behind on the stone walls, some embedded in the crevices between stones. A wave of nausea overtook her momentarily before the glowing corpses suddenly winked out all at once, leaving her kneeling there in almost total darkness.

Trying to keep calm, Lynna turned her attention back to the wound in Agmar's back. With her mind, she gently took either end of the cut section and tried to will them to rejoin again. They stretched towards each other, but refused to connect. She realized she couldn't tell for sure which ends needed to be connected to which. Fear washed cold over her body and she froze for a moment, unsure how to proceed. She nearly leapt out of her skin entirely when a hand suddenly touched her shoulder.

"Lynna? How is he?" Margaret's voice was soft, and her face was creased with worry in the light of the candle she carried, encased in a brass lantern with panes of glass to protect the flame from the wind.

"Margaret -- I -- I don't know what to do!" she blurted out, realizing she was wailing like a small child as she said it. "He's dying. If I don't heal him, he'll die. But I don't know how to fix it!"

"Focus, Lynna." Syred's voice came out of the darkness next to Agmar. She had forgotten he was there, though she knew he was wounded too.

"But father's injured too! He said to help Agmar first, but I've never seen him so --"

"Your father has some time yet. They've slowed the bleeding, and I think I can patch him up if you can't help him, so don't you worry. Tell me about Agmar's wound. Describe what you see to me and I'll try and help guide you." Margaret's voice was soft and calm, and she sat down next to Lynna, her hand still on her shoulder.

Lynna took a deep breath and took her mind back into Agmar's body and focused on the wound again. Agmar's breathing seemed shallower than before, and she realized he was forcing his body to do it magically.

"The knife wound is in the back, and it went between some of the bones that run up the center. It cut the spinal cord. Not completely, but a lot of lines of energy that run through are severed. I can see them glowing, although there's this -- oily -- feeling across the ends of them, as if the evil left a taint behind when the blade came out. And I don't know which ends match up with which other ends."

I could show you. You must work quickly if I do. It would take all my focus. Agmar's voice in her mind seemed afraid. She wanted to cry, feeling as if she was letting him down.

"He says he can show me how they connect," she told Margaret. "But I'll have to heal quickly."

"Just stay focused then," Margaret squeezed her shoulder reassuringly. "I'm right here with you, in case I can assist somehow."

You can do this. I need you to do this. Trust your heart. You have good healing instincts - use them. I'm going to show you the path.

Lynna focused all of her concentration onto the wounded part of the spinal cord, and suddenly she saw the different lines of energy change colors. She could tell that the different colors were indicating the different lines that connected to each other, and she pulled with her mind, bringing lines of the same color towards each other to connect again. When she brought the first to into contact, they seemed to slide away from each other, and the oily substance glowed slightly.

"No!" she cried. "There was something on the blade! It's keeping the ends from connecting again!"

"Can you hold it steady while we turn him over? So we don't make the wound worse? Can you do that Lynna?" Margaret's voice was soft but insistent in her ear. "I'll flush the wound with water to clean it out." Lynna realized that Margaret had brought her bag with her, and was rummaging through it until she came up with a metal flask and what looked like a miniature bellows.

"I'll try. Do it quick." She focused on keeping the lines still within his back while Syred helped Margaret turn him over onto his stomach. Margaret took the bellows and pulled water out of the flask with them, before squeezing hard to make the water spray against the wound on his back. Inside, Lynna could see that the oily substance had been diluted some.

"More," she said, gritting her teeth in frustration. She could still feel his mind, but Agmar was no longer breathing. Margaret repeated the process, flushing more water into the wound twice more before Lynna could make the first connection stick. Agmar's mind felt small, as if he was drifting away from her, and she worked quickly, reconnecting the lines to their matching colors as fast as her mind could make them. A couple of times they slipped, and she had to try again to make the connection she'd been trying for. Once she was done, she sealed the rest of the wound.

She couldn't feel Agmar's mind touching hers.

"He's stopped breathing," Margaret said. "I've got to flip him over again. Lynna, we have to get him breathing."

Lynna sat back, in shock. I've failed, she thought to herself. No! He has to still be in there! She pushed deep, forcing her mind into one of the glowing lines she had reconnected, and following it up into his skull. She searched, pushing hard against his physical brain, following pathways until she thought she saw a glimmering area. She was vaguely aware of Margaret pushing her aside as she pounded on Agmar's chest and breathed into his mouth to try and get him breathing again. Lynna dove forward into the glimmer, caught it in her own mind, and then suddenly found herself consumed by it.

She stood next to Agmar, looking out a window as a storm brewed and destroyed boats that bobbed up and down like toys on the violent waves of the sea. She looked at him. His hair was gray and his face wrinkled and weathered from age.

"I was not meant for a normal life. I should be dead already," he said.

She looked out the window again, and this time it overlooked a battlefield littered with charred and broken bodies. Agmar stood upon the field, a sword glowing in his hands and his clothes covered in blood.

"We need you here," she said. "Agmar, please... I don't know what to do."

He looked at her, his eyes cold and distant as if he didn't really see her.

"I never asked for this."

"You said it was a gift. But I don't know enough to use mine. I need you to teach me, Agmar. And we'll all die if you don't help us," she pleaded. She wanted to throw her arms around him to either shake him or comfort him, but she couldn't seem to make herself move. Outside the window, a darkness seemed to be setting across Eagle's Harbor and she could see people screaming for help as they burned inside their homes, their fists banging against the glass of windows that refused to break. Agmar seemed confused by the scene, and Lynna suddenly realized that it had come from her own mind and not his, and then she knew how it all worked. She reached and then she was next to him, putting her hand on his arm.

"Please, Agmar. Don't go." His eyes filled with pain and he turned away from her. She saw images flash in front of the window in a shifting stream. She saw the woman again and again, as well as the Teacher. She also saw thousands of dead bodies, some lying where they fell and others prepared for burial. The Agmar standing beside her took a long breath and straightened his shoulders.

"I have an obligation to mankind. Such is my calling and my destiny. I will not ignore my responsibility." He said it as if reciting it to remind himself. Suddenly, she found herself flying backwards, away from him. She threw her arms up, to cover her face, as she catapulted towards a stone wall...

"Damnit, Agmar! BREATHE! Come on!"

Lynna found herself sitting next to Agmar on the stone floor of the cellar, her hands thrown up in front of her face as Margaret continued to pound on Agmar's chest. Suddenly the wizard sputtered and gasped for air, turning on his side and curling up into a fetal position.

It took a couple of minutes before Agmar sat up. He still looked weak and dazed, but he was moving.

"Thank you," he said to her. His voice was soft and a little shaky. "Now go help your father."

She stood up, and she noticed that the odd sensation she had first felt when she had entered the cellar was gone. She moved up the stairs, worried at what condition her father would be in. Margaret followed her up.

Avern was leaning against a remaining piece of foundation, clutching his chest. His face showed the pain he was feeling. She rushed over to him.

"Daddy!" He had cuts on his arms, a little one on his cheek, and there was too much blood on the front of his shirt. "What happened?"

"Lloyd Marks," he said with obvious difficulty.

"Wait. Let me help you first," she insisted. There were bandages around cuts on his arms, and he was pressing a towel over his stomach. His face was pale, but he was able to look at her. Maybe it's not as bad as it looks.

Margaret helped her lay her father down. She took the towel away and had to open up his shirt to find the black stab wound. Margaret called for more water, and Steve and Jeff, the two young men Syred taught swordsmanship to other than his son-in-law Eric, both rushed to help.

Margaret was gently prodding her fingers on and around his chest while they waited, until Avern inhaled sharply when she reached a specific spot on the left side of his chest. He groaned, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"Father?" she'd been focused on the stab wound, seeing that it had nearly torn clear through the other side of the section of intestine it had cut open. She was silently grateful for Mr. Tarrence's nature lessons and the time he'd made them group up to cut open frogs to see what was inside. He'd made a big deal about comparing the frog's innards to the ones that would be found inside people at the time. She'd originally found the whole lesson repulsive, but now she realized she had some idea of what she was looking at when she was healing people. She realized that they would need to clean the stab wound thoroughly to avoid infection from the stuff leaking out of the intestine as much as to get rid of the oily substance from Lloyd's knife.

"He's got a broken rib too. I think it's pierced the lung. That's why he's having so much chest pain and trouble breathing."

Lynna gulped and did her best to focus, nodding at Margaret.

"You're going to have to move the rib back out of the lung and then heal the lung first. Then you can put the rib back into place." Margaret pulled the shirt away from that part of his chest, and Lynna saw what looked like a large puple and yellow bruise across the lower left part of his torso. Steve came up next to them and whistled as he set down a full bucket of water next to them.

"That don't look so good," he remarked.

"Thank you Steve. Why don't you boys go see if you can help Syred up here so we can look at him next."

"Yes ma'am." Steve headed off towards the cellar, calling Eric and Jeff to help him, just as Stott came running up gasping for breath.

"How did -- so fast?" He sat down on the ground next to them to catch his breath.

Lynna realized she didn't know how she'd gotten there so quickly. She had heard Agmar's call and told Margaret she had to go. Margaret had grabbed her bag, saying she'd come with, and they had left the inn. Somehow it had taken them only moments to get across town when it should have taken much longer. She made a note to ask Agmar about it later, suspecting she'd done something magic without realizing it again.

"See if you can heal the lung and rib while I get this stab wound cleaned out," Margaret directed. Lynna placed her hand on her father's chest, just next to the wound, being careful not to put any pressure near the wounded rib. She closed her eyes and felt with her mind, seeing the rib broken in two places and the tear it made where one jagged edge had pierced into his lung.

"This might hurt," she said, hoping she was wrong.

"Do it, Lynna," he grunted through clenched teeth.

She gently slid the bone backwards out of the lung and sealed the hole it had made before putting the pieces of bone the right way and fusing them together again. A small piece had snapped off at some point and it took her a moment to find it before she fused it back into place as well. The process left her sweating from focusing so hard and ignoring her father's howls of pain as she worked. When she finished she realized her hands were shaking and tears were streaming down her cheeks. She turned quickly to the stab wound, which Margaret had flushed thoroughly with water, and found that healing it was much simpler as she pulled the pieces of intestine closed again, followed by the flesh leading to it. After she'd finished that, she allowed her mind to course across his whole body and she quickly healed up all the smaller cuts that the bandages on his arms were covering. When she sat back she realized she was exhausted and had used up all of the extra energy she'd pulled into herself when she had first arrived at the cellar. She couldn't keep her hands from shaking and she felt so cold her teeth seemed to chatter. The people around her were looking at her in alarm. Her father sat up, color already returning to his face, and he pulled her into his arms and rocked her gently back and forth.

"It's alright sweetie. You used more than you had is all. It will pass soon. I saw your mother do it once too." He stroked her hair and held her for a while. She could feel the love pouring into her through his arms and buried herself in it until she finally felt herself returning to normal again.

She sat there in her father’s arms a couple minutes longer than strictly necessary. She felt warm and safe and loved.

"Never be ashamed of what you are or what you can do," he said to her. "I'm proud of you, and I know that some of your brightest moments are just coming."

She hugged him back while Eric and Jeff helped Syred out of the cellar. Agmar came up with them. Agmar walked out on his own, but the movements were a little stiff. Lynna helped Avern stand up. It looked to her like he didn't need the help so much as he took it anyway.

"Are you alright, Agmar?" Avern asked.

"There is still damage that Lynna was not able to repair, but it will heal over the next few days. She has learned a lot in a short time."

"She has, hasn't she?" Lynna blushed, uncomfortable at being talked about, so she moved over to Syred. He had a slash on his chest and a lot of bites and little cuts but did not actually look too bad off. She felt that she had to concentrate to help him, but it was not a huge effort. She took her time with it, and closed his wounds up.

"A lot of people thanking you lately, huh?" he said to her humbly. She could see that there was more that he was not saying, and she purposefully held back from reading him. Curious as she was, she was also tired and she knew she needed to be more in the habit of reigning herself in.

"Yeah, I guess," she replied. "I wish there were less people getting hurt though."

"Have to agree with you there," Syred said, nodding.

"I am sorry to say that it is only likely to get worse today and tomorrow," Agmar said as he came over to them.

"I hate to think of what that means," Avern said, sighing. "Although it would be best if you didn't say that too often, Agmar, or morale around here will plummet. I've been trying to help people keep a positive outlook, you know."

"Considering the fact that I very nearly died a few moments ago, I would have to say that my own outlook is slightly less than positive, Avern. The evil has shown itself to be more than just a force of rage, but instead shows that it can be cunning and directly effect certain things. It managed to shadow Lloyd Marks so that I could not detect his arrival until it was too late. It also tainted the knife. Lloyd Marks was being used in the same manner as the evil used Stott's brother, but the rest of this is new. It is trying to adapt its methods to the people it is preying upon."

A silence fell over the small group, and several of them glanced over at Lloyd Marks' body, which lay in the grass still leaking blood that soaked into the earth beneath it.

"We're not gonna make it, are we?" Steve's face had gone pale, and he fidgeted with the leather wrapping on the hilt of the sword that hung in its scabbard attached to his belt. It looked very plain when compared to the one that Syred carried.

"It's always better to fight on terrain you know, Steve," Syred said quietly. "This town is ours, and we know the people in it. We still have the advantage."

"Exactly," Avern nodded. "Good point, Captain. Now let's see about getting some of that food out of the cellar and move it to the inns."

Lynna watched as her father went into "mayor mode", handing out tasks to Steve, Jeff, Eric, and Syred. Stott helped Margaret gather up things to put back into her bag. She turned to Agmar to see what he wanted her to do next. She realized that he hadn't established a mental contact with her again yet, and wondered why. They had been in touch mentally almost constantly since the night before. The look on his face suggested he was thinking, so she stood there awkwardly, not wanting to interrupt. While she waited, she briefly reviewed some of the images she had seen in his mind when she had been trying to heal him.

Other people started showing up and gathering to ask what had happened. Most of the town had heard Agmar's call for her. Agmar sat and leaned against the foundation remains near where her father had been sitting.

Avern took the people that were arriving and gave them tasks to do. Some he sent away for handcarts, while others started moving supplies from the cellar up to the street. The supplies needed to be inventoried and sorted and divided between the different groups.

Agmar waved her over to him. "Sit," he suggested. "Avern or I will have to give another speech soon, but I want to show you something while we have a minute yet."

"Are you alright?"

"Mostly. --I will be. The damage is not completely healed. Spinal nerves do not just reconnect that easily. I can speed up the healing, but it still takes a little bit of time. It would heal faster with sleep, but that is not an option right now. Do not worry, you did your part very well."

"Here, feel with your mind the air above my hand," he said, holding his hand out, palm up. She focused on the spot, not knowing what she was supposed to notice.

She felt the air at that spot thicken, as if it was being gathered and packed together like loose snow packed into a snowball. Once it reached a certain...firmness she saw Agmar add some extra energy to it. It started glowing.

"Light that can't start fires. You will want to get very good at this. Now you try it."

She put out her hand and tried, but the air seemed to keep pushing back out, like a sponge.

"You are pushing the air together, which it does not want to do. Have you ever seen a magnet?"

She nodded, remembering a class when Mr. Tarrence had passed around two large pieces of metal that were shaped like horseshoes and seemed to grab up little pieces of metal. She had remembered thinking that it might as well have been magic for all she understood about how it worked.

"Think of a spot above the palm of your hand as being a magnet and the air around it as being metal that the magnet wants to attract. Pull the air and energy to you. Draw it in instead of forcing it."

It took her a few tries before she got the air to stay together at the same thickness she'd seen Agmar get it to, but finally she got it there. She added some energy, as he had done, and the small globe of thickened air glowed for a moment before dissipating into thousands of tiny little glowing embers that winked out as they floated away.

"You have to maintain it. The same as the sound barrier needs to be held in place, this does too. Once you get the hang of it it only takes a small amount of energy to keep it going though." He gave her a smile. "Keep trying. You will get it."

Lynna noticed that it was easier to form the globe this time, and when she lit it she kept a thin line of energy going into it. It flickered and threatened to go out again until she found the right amount needed to maintain it.

"Good. After you do that enough times it becomes almost instinctive." He let the little light in his own hand disappear.

"Are - are you angry with me?" she asked him nervously.

"No. Why would you think that?" His brow creased as he looked at her.

"You haven't... I mean... usually you've been staying connected." She tapped her fingertip against the side of her head. "And I accidentally sort of slipped into your memories I think. I didn't mean to, honestly. I just sort of slid. And..." she gulped a little before continuing. "You didn't seem to want to come back." She lowered her eyes and looked at the little ball of light as it seemed to dance around in her palm. She heard him sigh.

"I am not angry with you, Lynna," he replied, lowering his voice so others wouldn't hear. "I had to let you in so that you could heal me and I expected that you might see some things as a result. I trust that you will keep those things to yourself. I am much older than I appear and have seen and done many things in my life. For a moment there I did not want to come back. Death seemed far easier and less painful. Earlier today you believed you would be safe inside the warmth of fire and you let it burn you. I was in a similar place. The evil we are facing preys upon such moments."

"The reason I have not connected to you again yet is twofold," he continued, lowering his voice even more. "For one, you are right here. I have no need to tell you things magically when I can save my energy and talk to you as any other person might. The other reason, however, is that I am using much of my energies right now for other tasks. My body understands how to breathe on its own again, but it doesn't yet understand, for example, that the connection to my legs has been restored. Until it remembers I must divert some of my energy to help my body perform certain tasks."

"Oh." She regarded him with some astonishment. "You can't walk? Could I fix it?"

"You already have," he assured her. "But some things the body must do on its own. I cannot just force my mind to know that my legs are connected again. It must find its own way. In the meantime I can magically force my body to perform normally which will help the healing along. I suspect it would also be bad for morale if people were to know that I can't currently walk of my own accord."

"Well, there's probably no need to tell anyone...yeah, I think people would worry more if they knew," she agreed.

"So, um, if you don't mind my asking...how old are you?"

Agmar laughed softly for a moment before answering. "Older than I look. Older than anyone you know. Older than anyone in this town has ever known, probably. I will not live forever, but considerably longer than most."

"Oh." That didn't seem like much of an answer, but she let it go. "So does that mean I'll live longer, too? It is a magic thing?"

"It can be, if you choose to. Many things affect it. The earlier you start, for one. The more power you have, for another. Just using magic can slow the aging process, but using more than you have can accelerate it.

"Remember that right now you are in effect using borrowed power. When this is over some of the things that are easier now will take more effort for you."

He had mentioned that before. Part of her was worried that she would miss the power, and part of her thought she would be relieved when it was gone. She didn't want to hurt anyone, and she did understand that that was a very real possibility while she had more power than she knew how to use.

"However, I do not want you to think that greater or lesser strength makes what you can do more or less significant. You can do things that very few people can do. The fact that some people can do them better than you does not make you less extraordinary.

"And that is also why I so often talk about control. You will find that there are two ways to use magick. One is through direct strength. Some wizards have abundant strength. With brute force you can smash open a door. But what fewer have is subtlety and finesse, and subtlety, although not as direct and not as flashy, can be even more effective in its own right.

"When you healed my back, it was not through direct strength. When you listened and looked into other rooms, it was not through direct strength. When you hear people's thoughts, and understand what they are feeling, that is not direct strength. Later you will learn that those things are only the beginnings of what you can learn to do."

Agmar let his last sentence trail off and she wondered how much power she actually had by herself. She had been reading people for a long time, almost naturally. Now he had said that making light would come naturally. She wondered what other things would come naturally years from now.

Her train of thought was interrupted as Stott came over to join them.

"What's next, then?" he asked, with a slight grin. Lynna found herself blushing, despite herself. Ever since he'd kissed her she had been feeling different around him. A part of her wanted nothing more than the chance to be alone with him, but she knew that right now wasn't the time to indulge in such things. She was surprised at how easily her father seemed to be taking it, after he had seen them kissing. She'd somehow always expected her father to immediately despise any boy she might take an interest in.

"So eager for the next disaster, Stott?" Agmar asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh no! No sir! I just - um..." he trailed off, his smile fading and concern washing over his face. "I just want to help is all, I'm not looking for there to be more trouble."

Agmar chuckled slightly. "I did not really believe that you did, Stott."

"Oh good." Stott looked visibly relieved.

"So, how are you really?" Margaret came up behind Stott, looking at Agmar dubiously.

"I am healing, Margaret. I will require some time before I am fully recovered, but I am healing," he replied with a nod.

"That would would have killed anyone else. I had you pegged as the one I wouldn't have to watch over during this ordeal, so try not to get mortally wounded again, yes?" She gave him a stern look.

"I shall do my utmost to comply with that request, believe me." Agmar stood up, and Lynna wondered briefly how he was doing the magicks he used to make his body work.

"I am going to head back to the Surf and Sleep. Should Lynna and Stott continue with me or will they be staying with you now?" Margaret asked.

"I think we are all heading back to the Surf and Sleep for the moment, actually," he answered. "I expect that we are coming close to the expected time for the evening meeting, and I was hoping to scrounge up a small something to eat first. I am quite sure Lynna is hungry as well. Magic can sometimes be no less taxing that physical work. It merely uses different energies."

Lynna realized, as he said it, that her stomach was aching. She hadn't remembered to eat anything since the brief breakfast she'd managed to get in before eggs had started hatching in the kitchen at the inn. It occurred to her that she hadn't really had much of a chance for anything since then, including a little rest. She nodded at Margaret, who had glanced over at her while Agmar had been speaking.

"I could use something to eat about now," she said. "I imagine that Stott's hungry too." She didn't really know if Stott was hungry or not, although she expected he might be as he'd been at her side nearly all day and probably hadn't eaten any more than she had. Mostly, she wanted him nearby.

Eventually the last of the supplies were sorted out and divided into stacks for each location. Avern reviewed how it was all being distributed, and Agmar nodded approvingly. Lynna realized she would have had no idea how to decide which location needed what.

People from the gathered crowd were enlisted for transporting the goods to each location. Mary's inn was the only location not represented here yet, but one group promised to run there with the message.

"Syred," Agmar began, "I would like you and your men to stay here and guard over all this. Keep it orderly and organized, and keep it safe. Make sure groups remain groups of four. I think that will be a safer number."

"If Jacob Bentz shows up," Avern piped in, "tell him everything has been divided up and if he needs anything he'll have to talk to me first."

Syred chuckled. "I figured that's what Agmar meant by keep it safe..."

Agmar, Avern, Margarent, Stott and Lynna all went to the Surf and Sleep, followed by a group of four with bags and a hand cart of supplies. Stott, not having been recently wounded, lent a hand as well.

The sky was dark with heavy clouds. There were angry flashes within the clouds, but nothing strong enough to be actual lightning yet.

"For today the evil still has to recover some after each attack it makes," Agmar warned. "Tomorrow, and perhaps even tonight, it will be able to bring its full power to bear. It will be able to act in more than one place at once, and will need no resting or pausing." He looked up at the clouds, "Be ready for a storm unlike any you have seen before."

"I think we will be," Avern said as the Surf and Sleep came into sight ahead.

Some people had started gathering early, but they did not seem to be milling about nervously. Lynna saw a few munching on breads and apples. There was a boy she didn't recognize absently running his fingers through his hair. Larna Tannin was nursing her little boy. Little Tarmy was almost a year old. It was a crowd gathering to hear news. It did not feel like a crowd gathered out of fear. Lynna hoped Agmar or Avern would be able to tell them something cheerful to preserve the mood.

Mary and Elsa were waiting on the porch. Mary sat in the rickety rocking chair that was normally there, and it looked as if someone had pulled one of the chairs from the dining room out onto the porch for Elsa. Both of them stood up as they saw the group arriving, and Lynna suddenly realized with some distress that everyone gathered so far had turned to look at them. It seemed as if most of them were watching either her or Agmar.

Do not let it concern you, Agmar's mental voice came softly in her mind. I believe the entire town heard my call for you. I did not have the time, nor energy, available to limit it so only you would hear. It is natural that they would be curious to see what caused such a call.

Is it alright for you to talk to me like this? she asked. I wouldn't want you to lose focus on walking...

My magical strength is returning some already, so yes. he answered. But if there is something else I need to concentrate on I will be unable to maintain a connection with you. If you need me, you will have to actively seek me out from now on. I may have to continue maintaining my legs and a few other functions for the next couple of days, which will divide my energy.

"I suggest we all get a bite to eat before the meeting begins," Agmar said audibly.

"Agreed," Lynna's father concurred. "I suspect that there will be some relieved faces in the kitchen when we show up with all of this. It will make the rations a lot heartier for the next couple of days."

When they ascended the steps onto the porch, Elsa and Margaret immediately moved to each other, sharing details of what had been going on while they had been in different places. Mary moved quickly towards Avern, but then stopped a couple of steps away, looking uncertain. Lynna smiled as she watched her father stride over to her without hesitation and put out his arm. She took a quick, nervous glance at the growing crowd, many of whom were still watching the group head into the inn, before she slipped her arm into his and headed into the inn at his side. Lynna held herself back from the desire to peer in and see what each of them were feeling as she followed them towards the kitchen.

The effects of the kitchen fire earlier had already been cleaned up, and the only evidence of the near disaster was some black charring of the rafters nearest the stove. Pots and bowls were covering most of the countertops, many covered over with cheesecloth, and it appeared that the cooks had taken their kitchen back for the most part. There was one countertop which appeared to hold nothing but bottles, packets, jars and jugs relating to Margaret's herbs, but otherwise the items being chopped and cleaned in the kitchen seemed to all be food-related, as the employees of the Surf and Sleep bustled about, organizing what they had.

Lynna noticed that everything seemed to be divided into sections based on whether or not it was cooked, needed to be cooked, or was the type of food, like fruit, that came ready to eat. Lynna listened patiently while the cook explained the logistics of it all to Avern, who filled her in on what other items they had brought. In the meantime, some of the serving girls handed out bowls of a cold stew with pieces of bread to everyone who had just arrived. She started eating eagerly, finding herself even more hungry at the smell. She could tell it would have been much tastier if it had still been hot, but she was hungry enough not to care.

Agmar found a place to sit while he ate, and he remained there until it was time for the meeting. Lynna sat with him, although neither of them spoke. Lynna wanted to be around him in case there was some way that she could help him. She suspected he would be reluctant to ask, but she didn't want him doing more than he should just because she wasn't around.

She did manage to take his bowl away from him when he was finished. She had finished before him. When he was finished she promptly stood and held her hand out for the bowl. He smiled as he handed it over.

The kitchen felt more or less normal, if more crowded and busy than normal. Every serving dish in the inn had been used, plus some that people had brought from nearby homes. Lynna added the two bowls to one of several piles, and even offered to help. She was turned away, so she wandered back to Agmar.

He was still where she had left him. His body was still in the chair and his mind was still lost wherever it was wandering. She left him to think in peace and moved to the porch, where she found Mary still in the rickety rocker.

Somewhere someone was playing a lute. While it wasn't enough to seem festive, it did lend a lighter air to the crowd that was mostly gathered.

"So how are you feeling?" she asked Mary.

"I think maybe you've spent too much time around Margaret," Mary teased. "I'm gradually feeling better. Food helps, but I can only eat so much.

"Mostly I feel like I should be at my own inn instead of here. Here I'm just someone sitting around in the way. At home I could be sitting around supervising and watching over my girls." A concerned look snuck across Mary's face, but Lynna let it go unquestioned for now.

The lute ended when Avern came out. Agmar followed. The hubbub of the crowd died down as conversations ended or trailed away.

Lynna listened quietly while her father spoke to the crowd. She only half-heard the things her father was saying as she found herself listening to the mental voices of the crowd instead. She didn't try and read them deeply, but opened her mind to hearing the lull of surface thoughts that came as they listened to Avern addressing them.

She heard a mixture of responses to the news of Lloyd Marks' death, varying from disbelief or sadness to some who thought it served him right. Most seemed relieved to hear about the food that had been retrieved from the cellar, however. She noticed her father glossed over the details surrounding Agmar's injury and how Lloyd Marks had actually died, although everything he did tell them was truthful.

Most seemed to have gotten the news about cookfires, and a few people reported other fires that had gotten out of hand briefly, but had been dealt with quickly enough to avoid any real injury. Some concern was expressed over the clouds and lightning, which Agmar addressed, warning people that the lightning would likely become worse tomorrow, and people would be safer indoors.

Avern answered a few questions, and suggested that he make a circuit two or three times the next day, to each location, instead of having everyone leave the shelter of the buildings for meetings. The crowd seemed to accept that idea, and he told them he would make the first circuit starting after breakfast. He reminded them all that the Surf and Sleep was going to be the best place to bring anyone that was injured or sick, and then finished up with another short morale-boosting bit about how the town was at it's best when everyone worked together. No one spoke it, but Lynna heard several people wonder how together the town really was with Jacob Bentz's crowd having separated themselves. She also heard a couple of rude thoughts aimed in Mary's direction, suggesting she was attempting to move "above herself" by moving in on him during a difficult time, as well as suggesting that her father might forget to keep them informed because of her "distracting" him. She clenched her teeth a little, noting which of the people had been thinking such things, without looking at them directly. She put them on her mental list of people who might still cause trouble, even with Bentz's group separated out.

The meeting adjourned and the mood was still reasonably light and hopeful as people began dispersing to head back to their respective quarters for the night. Several people stayed to catch her father's attention and ask a couple more questions that wouldn't have pertained to the whole crowd, and Avern did his best to answer each of them. She also saw him seek out a couple people that he wanted to speak to himself.

Agmar leaned up against one wall, looking casual, and answered a few questions that were directed at him. The distant look he had when he wasn't speaking to anyone directly suggested to Lynna that he may have been listening to the crowd too, feeling out the overall mood if nothing else. She found herself wondering if he always did that when in or near a crowd of people, and what other things he might do with his magicks that came naturally or he found useful to use often. She knew now that she wanted to know more, and wondered how much she could learn from him before Agmar left for the next town. Then again, she didn't know if the town would still accept her after this was all over, and wondered if it wouldn't be wise to go with Agmar when he left.

But what about father? And he's with Mary now - what about that? And... her thoughts raced around in circles, and what about Stott? Her stomach drew into knots at the thought of leaving before she had a chance to see where things were headed with Stott. Frustrated at how complicated it all seemed, she put the whole thing out of her mind for the moment and turned back to Mary.

"Maybe Margaret can give you some idea as to when you can go back to your inn. If nothing else, you might be able to go in the morning when my father goes to check up on things there."

"I don't like the idea of being away all night right now, Lynna. I'd just feel better if I could watch over things myself." Lynna could tell that Mary was trying to mask some deeper fears, but somehow had the feeling it wasn't something she wanted to discuss. She sat there quietly, not wanting to pry and keeping herself from peeking into the woman's mind just to satisfy a curiosity. It did occur to her, however, that the woman seemed to think of the girls who worked at her inn more like daughters than employees. She wondered who was looking out for them right now, while Mary was sitting here instead.

It took a while before the crowd thinned away to nothing. A few other people loitered on the porch. She could hear a bustle and murmur from inside. It was growing dark two hours early, and most were gathered inside with safely enclosed candle lanterns. Eventually Avern, Agmar, Stott, and her were the only ones still standing around Mary.

Lightning flashed through the sky, briefly bringing to life harsh shadows. It was immediately over the town and the total lack of thunder was deeply eerie. Lynna shivered.

"Avern," Mary said, "I need to be at my inn. I'm needed there, and here I'm just in the way."

"I'll go with you--walk you there."

"Take others with you," Agmar reminded the mayor.

"I think Syred's still around, I'll gather up him and a couple of his men. That'll be a safe escort there and back."

"Good enough. Do not be gone long; your presence here has considerable effect."

"Yes, Master Wizard..." Avern teased with a grin.

"Do not get me started, young one," Agmar joked back before turning and heading inside."

"He has a sense of humor...who would've thought," Stott said with a laugh once Agmar was well inside.

"I think there's a lot to him we don't know," was all Lynna said on the matter. Avern shook his head and went inside--to find Syred, she supposed.

"I suspect that that one has more secrets than this entire town put together," Mary said. "But he is unlikely to be sharing much with the likes of us. That wizard not much for trusting us simple folk. Most aren't, actually."

"You've known wizards before?" Stott looked at her with some surprise.

"Some more intimately than others, but yes. I new one or two before I came here. But this entire continent is generally against magicks. I'd say ninety percent of the religions seem to think than anyone using magic is making a pact with the devil or some other such nonsense. But port cities show more tolerance for wizards passing through. Just so long as they don't try to settle down or there's likely to be a lynching." She rolled her eyes. "But then most people ought to be smarter than to try and lynch a wizard. I heard of one instance where the wizard didn't take too kindly to them wanting him dead, and burned their church to the ground with most of the priests still inside. The fire never spread past that one building, but it took almost a week to put it out. The wizard supposedly took the next boat out of town once the ashes had cooled. Based on what I saw was left of Lloyd's tavern, it wouldn't surprise me if Agmar could pull off something like that if he wanted to."

"I didn't know you were full of stories," Stott said, chuckling.

"I'm full of a lot of things, Stott. But then most people don't consider my inn to be the place to come to for tales of adventure. And most of my stories are second-hand. I've only a few secrets of my own, and they aren't really worth the telling, to be honest."

"Not all stories worth telling are filled with action. Sometimes it's just in how you tell it. There's lots of books and songs filled with nothing but romance or loss of loved ones, for example."

"And it's likely you've read them all by now," she said, smiling.

Stott started to protest, but was interrupted by Avern coming back out of the inn with Syred and Eric.

"Your escort, M'lady," Avern said with a slight bow. Mary blushed and rose from the chair to take the arm he offered her. Lynna gave her father a smile as he looked at her.

"We'll come straight back after we've seen Mary home," he told her. "Stay safe until then."

"I will father."

Avern gave Stott a quick nod and then headed down the stairs with Syred and Eric taking positions at either side of the couple. Lynna could hear the four of them start talking Myrah and Eric's new baby as they headed down the road. After they turned a corner and were out of sight, she suddenly realized that she and Stott were alone on the porch. The street had cleared of people, although the Surf and Sleep seemed to hum with voices and footsteps, causing a light vibration of the porch floorboards beneath her feet. She turned to look at Stott, and found him regarding her with such intensity in his eyes that she nearly took a step back.

"Looks like we have a moment to ourselves," he said quietly.

"Yeah," she breathed. She could feel her face flushing under his gaze.

Stott took a small step forward, closing the distance between them and bringing one arm around her waist to pull her close to him as he kissed her.

For the few moments that followed, the events of the day drifted away, and Lynna's only thought was Stott Jacobs and how wonderful it felt to be in his embrace, kissing him.

Chapter 23

"Sorry to interrupt..." Margaret said with a smile. "There are more private places, but maybe everyone should stay with others right now?"

"No, you're right," Lynna said. She took him by the hand. "Come on, Stott, let's go find a place to sit inside." Margaret followed them back inside.

The scene inside had been transformed yet again. Gone were the mattresses for birthing mothers. There were no obvious wounded laying about recovering. The room was crowded with people and the room was festive.

Several people about town had musical instruments, and a few off boats and ships did as well. They had gathered together into an impromptu band, and were trying to play together. They had too wide a range of styles and tastes, and not all were as proficient as the others. No one took it with anything other than good humor, and they were making a show of performing badly and laughing at themselves. The crowd was laughing as well. There was singing and laughing and dancing.

"Not quite like any town celebration I remember," he said. "No," Lynna laughed. Should we be this relaxed and comfortable? The display made Stott more nervous than relaxed, but he tried not to let it show.

He found himself thinking of other town celebrations over the years. Usually he had as a rule sat off to the side somewhere to watch. Here there was nowhere to sit off to the side. Nowhere to hide, that's what it comes down to, isn't it? Lynna still had his hand and was leading him towards the makeshift stage. He wanted to ask what she had in mind, but the words didn't come out.

Stott's throat went dry as they headed into the cluster of people stomping and dancing just in front of the musicians.

I can't dance, he thought nervously. Does she want to dance? What do I do? People shouldn't be dancing, it will wear them out! How can they stay awake if they are worn out from dancing? Maybe if I mention that, she won't want to dance.

"Lynna..." his voice was lost in the crowd, as people nearby sang along to the music in loud, hearty voices. This all feels wrong.

Much to his relief, she led them through the crowd entirely, heading towards the far wall and Emilee Rayton, who was cradling a newborn in her arms. Her husband, Josh, was sitting next to her with one arm around her waist and the other reaching in and fidgeting with the blankets around the screaming infant. Unlike the gaity in the rest of the room, the couple both looked concerned.

"Hey, Emmy! How's the baby?" she asked, crouching down to try and get a better look. "Did you name him yet?"

"Um... hey, Lynna," Emilee replied. Stott couldn't help but notice her hug the baby a little closer as she looked at Lynna with some skepticism. "He's fine. Really. Just fine." She bounced the baby, looking anxious to have it stop crying. Josh seemed to move in closer, as if to protect them from something.

"Can I see? I've been so busy, I'm sorry I haven't been able to come see you sooner..."

"It's okay, Lynna, really," Emilee interrupted. "I'm sure you've got plenty of things to do now. We're fine." Emilee's eyes darted around the room before looking back down at the blanketed bundle wriggling in her arms.

"Emmy? What's wrong? Is there something wrong with the baby, or...?" she trailed off, worry washing over her face again.

"She said we're fine Lynna!" Josh said, a little too loudly. Some of the nearby people turned to look, and he lowered his voice again. "Your magicks aren't needed here. You've done quite enough already." He looked up at Lynna with dark, angry eyes.

"Hey, there's no need to get upset..." Stott said, taking a step between them. "Emilee, I thought you and Lynna were friends?"

"Yeah, I know." Emilee said softly. Stott could see her eyes welling with tears. He thought she looked scared.

"What do you mean, I've done enough already, Josh? What are you talking about?" Lynna asked.

"Josh, I still don't think..." tears flowed freely down Emilee's face as trailed off.

"You stay out of this Jacobs. This is none of your concern. And I'd feel a lot better if you stayed away from my family now that you've murdered your own!" Josh stood up, his voice getting loud again, and the music happened to die off as he finished his sentence. Suddenly everyone in the room turned to look at them. Stott felt his heart drop to his stomach and all the blood leave his face.

"Josh! What's come over you?" Lynna protested.

"Stay away from us, witch! We don't want your black magicks anywhere near our son!" Josh moved forward and shoved Lynna backwards towards the crowd. Stott lost hold of her hand and she fell to the floor as people parted behind her, getting out of the way. The look of shock on her face was unbearable, and he felt anger flood through him as he turned back to Josh.

"Josh, please!" Emilee's voice pleaded as Stott's fist crossed the distance to Josh's jaw where it landed solidly, sending the man backwards against the wall.

Josh quickly came back, and Stott felt the wind go out of him as Josh hit him squarely in the stomach. That was the point when it occurred to Stott to realize that Josh was bigger than he was. But it didn't seem to matter. He saw Lynna standing up out of the corner of his eye as he turned and hit Josh again, this time getting him near the eye. Josh retaliated, and Stott felt something in his nose snap as the fist pounded hard across his face. He though he could feel blood dripping down from it, but stayed focused on Josh, trying to decide where to hit the man next. In the background, he thought he heard the crowd chanting something and people circled around to get a better view.

"NO!" Lynna screamed, stepping between Stott and Josh. Suddenly Stott felt himself shoved backwards by an invisible force of some kind, eminating directly from Lynna. She saw Josh fall backwards into the wall as well.

"This must stop NOW!" Agmar's voice boomed across the room, and the crowd fell silent.. Everyone turned and the crowd parted as the wizard made his way to stand near Lynna. Stott wiped his nose with his shirt as he scrambled back up to his feet. Looking at the blood smeared across his sleeve, he suddenly felt foolish.

"What is wrong with the child, Emilee?" Agmar knelt down next to the mother and child, speaking gently. The baby was still screaming. Stott took a step to move closer to Lynna, but came up against an invisible barrier. He tested it with his hand and it shimmered slightly, revealing that it encircled him entirely. He could see Josh testing a similar barrier as well.

"He won't stop crying. And he's got something strange in his eyes. He was fine earlier, but..." her eyes were wide and terrified as she looked at Agmar. "He napped," she finally said. She clutched the baby tighter to her body, as a murmur spread across the crowd.

"Lynna, it's alright, I'm calm. You can let me out," Stott said as Agmar peered down at the baby.

"What's going on?" Margaret asked, stepping out of the crowd.

"The baby fell asleep," Agmar explained, "as babies will. Like the rest of us, once asleep, he was vulnerable to the evil."

"No! It can't be!" Emmilee insisted.

"Do not worry, it is not permanent, and will probably end shortly. I do not think the evil can directly harm the infant. When it decides that the infant is not strong enough to cause any real damage I think it will release its grip on the child. As for the child, he will not remember anything of it."

Emmilee looked reassured. Josh kept pushing against the force bubble around him with one hand while he held his other hand over the blackening welt at his eye. Stott held his nose, trying to stop the bleeding. He would've pounded me... that was stupid.

"It's ending already," Lynna said, reaching down and touching the baby's forehead. The baby stopped screaming, and Emmilee hugged her new son close.

"Lynna?" Stott asked nasilly.

She turned towards him with a look that he suspected was intended to be stern. Her expression melted to one of sympathy.

"Oh, Stott..." She came over to him, and he suspected that she let the bubble around him go as she did. "I know you were trying to protect me, Stott."

She reached out and touched his hand over his nose. He felt warmth wash through his face. When she was done he pulled his hand from his nose, which was no longer bleeding or hurt.

"I have to take care of Josh too," she told him, turning towards Josh who was now hovering protectively over Emilee while Margaret pulled the blankets away to inspect the baby. Lynna walked over and put her hand up towards Josh's eye, and he suddenly slapped her wrist away from him.

"Don't touch me." His voice was cold and hard. The look in his eyes was filled with hatred.

"But I just --"

"Lynna," Agmar's voice somehow managed to be both stern and gentle at the same time. "Let the man be."

Lynna stepped back and they stood there, watching, while Margaret proclaimed the infant to be healthy and unharmed. Emilee wrapped him back up and smiled with apparent relief.

"His name is Jeremy," she said, looking brightly up at Lynna.

"That's enough. We're leaving." Josh said.

"What?" Emilee looked astonished as he helped her to stand with the baby in her arms.

"What?" Lynna echoed.

"We're going to Bentz's warehouse, Em. We're not going to stay here with these wizards," he spat and said it as if he were swearing, "continuing to put us and our child in danger. I've had enough."

"But Josh --" Emilee protested, her face going pale.

"Choose, Em. You can stay here and put your trust in the black magicks they're using, or you can be safe with the man you married. Either way, my son is coming with me." He pulled the blanketed child out of her arms, as she stood there with her mouth hanging open in shock.

"Thank you for your help Margaret," he said abruptly before turning and striding quickly out of the room and presumably from the inn.

"Gods help us..." Emilee stood there for a moment, looking faint, before turning towards Lynna and Agmar. "I'm so sorry. But he is my husband. And I can't leave my child..."

"Oh, Emmy," Lynna said, giving her a hug. "Go. I understand."

"He thinks you two are the cause of all this," she said quickly to Lynna and Agmar. "He's not the only one to think that. I know it's not true though. I know we'll be with Jacob Bentz's group now, but..." she turned to look at Agmar, her eyes pleading. "Please don't leave us to die. My son's life has only just begun." She turned away and ran out of the room sobbing.

"I..." Agmar's voice was barely audible as he watched her departure. "I'll do all I can." Stott saw him sigh heavily, an obvious sadness weighing on him. Lynna turned back towards Stott and he could see tears streaming down her cheeks as well. He stepped in and pulled her into his arms, suddenly not caring if the whole room was watching them or not.

"Emmilee..." Margaret said futilely as the girl hurried off after her husband.

"How much danger is the child in now, Agmar?" she said next.

The crowd around them pressed in, wanting to know what was going on. Agmar addressed them, and Stott wondered if it was also partly to avoid Margaret's question.

"The evil wants to create mistrust, and anger, and conflict, exactly like what just happened. The way we will beat it is by remaining calm...and remaining ourselves. I do not think that any of you is violent by nature, but every one of us has that potential within us. That potential is what feeds the evil, what drives it."

By now the crowd had fallen quiet. It almost seemed too easy to Stott, and he wondered if maybe the wizard was cheating and using some magical means to pacify the crowd. Just moments ago the crowd had been practically cheering on the fight, and now they were listening quietly. Too easy indeed...

"I know that several of you are less than comfortable with the presence of a wizard here," Agmar continued. "Yet I suspect that few of you have met one before--knowingly, at least."

Agmar took Lynna's hand and led her towards the middle of the room. Stott followed, not wanting to be left behind. In the middle of the room Agmar stopped. "Stott, would you please be so kind as to bring me a chair?"

Stott nodded and moved through the crowd as quickly as he could without bumping into anyone. Most people let him through easily.

"So it occurs to me that perhaps many of you have questions about magic, about what it can and cannot do. Perhaps some of you believe you are supposed to be afraid of magic and those who can use it. So I would like to offer you the chance to have your questions answered. I would like to allow you the chance to see that I am not so different from you, and that--for those of you who have lived so long in this town--that Lynna here is not a different person than the girl you knew just a few days ago."

Stott brought the one of the dining room chairs back as quickly as he could, and Agmar gestured towards a spot on the floor just in front of the makeshift stage. Lynna sat down on the edge of the stage, just behind it, looking distinctly unhappy. Stott took a spot next to her and put his arm around her. She leaned in, but she could feel that she was tense. He squeezed her arm gently with his hand, hoping his presence might help.

Agmar settled into the chair, and surveyed the crowd. Many stood there, looking surprised. Some sat down on the floor, as if settling in for the story. Some looked at their shoes, scuffing them nervously on the floor. A few others had more suspicious looks, as if they expected everything he told them to be a lie. Somewhere nearby, a baby started crying, breaking the stillness that had settled over the room. Someone else cleared their throat. Margaret settled down on the other side of Agmar, also facing the crowd and sitting on the makeshift stage.

"Perhaps you should explain where the magic comes from first," Margaret suggested.

"Alright," Agmar replied, giving Margaret a nod. "I know that some of you may believe that I am calling upon dark spirits or the power of demons. This is entirely untrue. The energy I use is all around you right now. It is part of the earth and the air and all of us. We believe it is the essence of the world itself, and there are areas of the world where there are openings, lines of energy coming directly to the surface from within the earth, where the essence is stronger. People hold this essence as well, and it is through this that we know the energy replenishes itself again if it is used."

"Wizards, such as myself, primarily use the energy from within," Agmar touched his hand to his chest. "When more energy is required for a task, we look first to the earth and what energy is eminating off of it, into the air around us. If we are near one of the lines of energy, we can accomplish greatly powerful things with magic alone. In such places, magic items can be forged that hold the energy for a specific use at a another time or place."

"If we are not near such a place, as I am not right now, we must do what we can with what we have. Sometimes we can borrow the essence of the others around us if we need to, but it is rare that we do such a thing. I would not do it here, for example, as the essence within each of you is part of what helps you hold the evil at bay. There are laws of nature to be respected, even in times of dire need."

"Those who practice what you would call the darker magicks, however, do not respect those laws. They will siphon whatever energy they can to do their bidding. There are some who would suck the earth dry of it if they could. It is they who have left such a bad reputation for those like myself to battle against."

"Each individual wizard has a different level of sensitivity to the energy within and immediately around themself. Some can feel it and make more use of than others. There are some who can only see how to use it in certain ways. I have known very powerful wizards who could only use magic for healing because they could not manage to manipulate it in any other way."

"The area of the world I come from does not have restrictions on people who have the ability to manipulate the energy, to use magic. There, they consider it a gift, and children are watched for signs of such ability so that they may be trained from a young age. I am considered to have a formidable ability, although I am not the most powerful wizard alive, I assure you. I began my training the day after my sixth birthday."

"What would happen if you pulled this... energy, essence, whatever... from one of us?" a voice from the crowd asked.

"You would feel it if I did. There would be a sudden feeling of tiredness, faintness, and if I drew on it heavily you would feel dizzy and possibly fall unconscious," he answered.

The crowd rustled restlessly at that answer, and Agmar put up a hand, stalling any comments.

"There is very little likelihood that I will need to do such a thing. I have, however, had extensive training on how to do it and if I were to have no other choice I can assure you that no harm would come to you if I did."

"What's to say that Lynna couldn't hurt someone?" someone asked.

"She knows only how to draw off herself and the energy directly around her so far. I have not taught her how to draw off of others yet. The evil has brought an additional energy with it as well. The air around us resonates with power right now, and we are able to draw upon that first."

"Isn't that power evil?"

"The power itself is neither good nor evil. It is all in how it is used," Agmar answered.

"Won't the evil thing try and take our energy? Suck us dry?"

"The evil that attacks us was once bound by a group of powerful wizards, from my understanding of the texts I studied before coming here. But their spell could only hold it so well, and every 250 years the evil has this one chance to affect the world. It can only move in a straight line, circling the world until it returns to the place it is physically bound at. Each time, however, its strength seems to be increasing. I am hoping to follow it to its prison where perhaps other wizards and myself can strengthen the spell that holds it so that it cannot escape."

"It is not here, physically, though. Which means its ability to directly attack us is limited. I have no reason to believe it can draw energy off of anyone. It can try to control your emotions, it can try to use you if you let it or are unable to prevent it by falling asleep. Tomorrow, when it reaches its peak, it will make the objects around us dangerous as well, and I believe the weather will be increasingly rough."

"Some people are saying you brought this thing down on us. That it would've passed right by or not come here at all if you hadn't come." Stott couldn't see who said it, the voice came from pretty far back in the room.

"Some of you have heard the last entries in the log book from the ship Stott and his father and brother found. Some of you have heard what Stott went through when they found it. That ship was merely in the path. I assure you there was no wizard there to draw the evil there. But it happened regardless. They were merely in the path. This town is also on the path. As are others.

"If there had been no magic in this town everything that has already happened would still have happened, and more. The eggs would still have hatched the way they did. Animals would still have attacked, whether newborn foals or dogs on the streets. The baby born twisted into a demon at Lloyd's inn would have been one of a dozen or so.

"Mary would have died. The woman at the barn next to Mary at least would still have died. How many of you would still be hurt if Lynna had not healed you? How many has she healed? Twenty? Thirty?"

Stott looked around at the crowd. Lynna was looking around as well, and some of the people she looked at smiled at her, and some looked away. Most of those who looked away looked embarrassed rather than afraid or resentful.

"Being on the coast where you are you have probably seen your share of storms. Every fall there is probably a group of them that hits, right? Those storms follow consistent paths. Each year the come from the same direction, do they not? The evil was no more drawn here than those storms are. They all just follow a path."

Agmar shrugged at the end, and Stott looked around at the faces. Mostly he saw people nodding with understanding. There were still some faces that looked like they didn't want to understand or didn't want to accept. He supposed that some of them would simply refuse to accept it. Some of them were probably too stuck in their ways.

"So how did you know this was coming?" someone asked.

About a year ago I received word from an old friend regarding a finding of texts and other items that had been dug up at what may have been a temple for a reclusive group of magic users who lived about 500 years ago. The most we had known previously of these wizards was that their entire order was summarily wiped from existance around that time. A lot of what was found required translation, something that I dabble with from time to time when I want a break from travel. I was intrigued and joined him and some others in sorting through what was found."

"Amongst the ruins were the belongings of another wizard who died there about 230 years ago, while searching for the very ruins we were unearthing. Within his writings he compiled the accounts he had collected of the survivors who had been in the path of this thing the last time it circled the globe. He had also found texts from 500 years ago, which he had been working on translating. They spoke of the order of wizards and of how a terrible evil had been brought forth by a powerful but dark wizard who was immediately killed by the very evil he had summoned to do his bidding. The order supposedly came out of recluse, traveling across the world in the quest to destroy it or send it back from whence it came, but they were unsuccessful in their attempts. The evil did turn its attention for the time, however, and began destroying their order, one wizard at a time."

"The texts I translated spoke of wizards who bravely gave their lives to distract the evil, and draw its attention, while the others of the order searched for a way to stop it. In the end, the best they could do was bind it. The last twelve members left of their order supposedly went to seal the bind with their own blood, and were never heard from again. The wizard who had been collecting the documents surmised that they had succeeded in binding it, but he reconstructed some of the spell they supposedly used and determined that every 250 years the evil would have a chance to circumvent the world at a weakened point in the binding. He had made detailed maps of the path it took the last time."

Agmar paused to wait for the next question, and Stott looked around the room. He saw the next speaker, an older woman who lived a few houses down from his own.

"Where are the other wizards who were translating with you? Why aren't they here to help us too?"

"Yours is not the only town in the direct path of this thing," he answered her. "Two of them remain to search through the ruins for more information that might help us. Four have gone ahead to warn others of the danger - there is one large city in the path where thousands could be caught in this - and one other has returned home for help. If we can find out where the thing is bound, maybe we can strengthen the spell somehow and stop this from happening again in another 250 years."

"Where's home?"

Stott nearly jumped at the question, since it was Lynna who asked it. For some reason he hadn't expected her to ask any questions. Agmar turned and gave her a strange look before answering as if he, too, hadn't expected her to be asking questions.

"I travel a lot, so I do not have a home in the same sense that some might consider it. However, the city of Pirshenia is where I consider my home to be. It is across the sea, in the very heart of Rayehden. On the eastern edge of that city is a place that is known to many as the Hall of Glimmer. In that place is both a school and a library for all things magical. That is where I consider my home. There is always a room for me whenever I am there anyway." He gave her a smile before turning back to look for the next question.

"So how can you tell who can learn magic and who can't?" a younger sounding voice asked.

"For the most part the gift is inherited, although it is not always so straightforward. Some are born with stronger potential, and will learn it by themselves. The strongest I've ever met was moving toys to herself before she was even crawling, although that is exceptionally rare. I was using some of it on my own by about age four.

"More common are those with about the potential Lynna has, or perhaps a bit more. In those cases they typically will start using it themselves by accident by age twelve or so. For them, the sooner they are taught the more ability they will likely end up having.

"And there are some who have smaller amounts of potential. Most of them will never be able to use it without training. Perhaps as many as one in one hundred people has that level of potential. Greater potentials are, of course, less common than that.

"Lynna is, I believe, the only one here with her level of potential. Statistically, there could be one or two here who could have learned it, but haven't. The potential is one that fades over time, so there could be adults here who were born with the potential but lost it because they were not found and trained."

Stott found himself wondering what he could see many others thinking. Could I have been born with it? Could I have been a wizard if I had been trained early? One or two looked disturbed by the notion. A few looked disappointed. There were also some that looked around themselves almost fearfully.

"So how strong is Lynna then? What can she do?" someone inevitably asked.

Stott felt Lynna tensing up more next to him, and he gave her arm another squeeze. He noticed that several members of the crowd were watching her as intently as most were watching Agmar.

"Well that is a bit deceptive right now, as she is using borrowed power," Agmar replied. "However, from what I have seen seen so far, she has a natural empathy towards others and most of her magic ability draws through that, giving her additional strength when she uses magic to help people, as with healing. Other magicks, like creating a light source, something she has recently been working on, are a little trickier for her." He demonstrated, creating a small glowing ball of light that hovered a few inches over his hand. He then blew gently across his hand and the ball seemed to drift off into the air towards the ceiling before winking out of existence.

"As I explained to Lynna just yesterday actually, the methods of using magic differ somewhat between men and women as well. Most women have more empathic tendencies to begin with, I think it comes with the ability to bear children. Men, on the other hand, tend to take a more direct approach. Instead of calling the magic to do their bidding, men command it. That sometimes means that a woman can get a more subtle or precise task accomplished, but men can acquire more raw force if needed."

"Overall, I would say that Lynna is about average in power, having an area where she is stronger but not being excluded from the potential to do other tasks as well. With training, she could be a reasonably strong healer one day, but she will likely always struggle in certain other areas of magic."

"How powerful are you in comparison?" another person asked.

Agmar paused a moment before answering, and Stott had a feeling he was searching for the right thing to say to put people at ease.

"In the world there are twenty wizards who are known to be the most powerful and skilled and consider what we do to be more of a calling than anything else. Both men and women are among those twenty. I have the honor of being one of those twenty. I am not the most powerful of them, but neither am I the least."

"What's the most powerful thing you could do?" one boy's voice asked.

"I do not honestly know. I have been told that I have the potential to do some very powerful things if I wanted to, but I have never desired to find out just how far my limits are. Such power should be consciously controlled and respected, and only drawn upon if the need is great. Also, just as lightning destoys a tree if it strikes, too much power drawn through one person in a single moment could hurt or even kill them."

"Well, what's the most powerful thing you've ever done then?" the same boy asked instead. Stott saw that it was one of the boys who Bruckertt took care of, and was suprised to see the boy here since the harbormaster had gone with Bentz.

A look passed over Agmar's face. He couldn't be sure, but Stott thought he recognized a sadness.

"Perhaps that story would be best left for another time," he answered softly.

"What happens if you fall asleep and the evil uses you like you've been saying? Will that mean it can use your magic on us?" The man asked it in an challenging tone, as if he was sure he already knew the answer.

"The short answer is no, magic is controlled by the mind. When the evil controls people asleep it is more as a puppet. The mind is not participating, so the evil cannot make the body do anything that the evil does not know how to do. It could not make a sleeping person play music, for example, and it does not have access to knowledge and memories.

"What the evil can do, however, is influence our moods to manipulate us. The fight between Stott and Josh was a good example. Both of them were acting out of character. In that case the evil was not controlling, but rather encouraging. Neither of them would necessarily have behaved like that normally." Stott shrank back, trying to avoid the extra eyes upon him. Lynna put her hand on his and he was torn between still wanting to hide from them and wanting to look brave for her.

"Yet the greatest danger lies with those who willingly let the evil have them. That can happen when one simply gives up on a situation, or it can happen if someone wants it to happen--someone willingly succumbing through jealousy or anger. That is what happened with Lloyd Marks. That is what happened when Stott broke down on his father's boat. For a time he lost his mind--quite literally, in fact. The evil used Stott to kill his own brother, it was not something he did."

Now Stott did not know whether to hide or bolt. Some people looked at him accusingly, some with pity, some with fear, and some perhaps apologetically. He desperately wished he was not so prominently next to Agmar. But there was nowhere to go.

"Now, before anyone asks it--and I am certain someone would--I believe that once that has happened to a person, that if they survive it and come back, that they are more resistant to it happening again. I think that it would take something rather extreme for that to happen to Stott again."

"There is a downside to that for Stott, however," Agmar continued. "The evil is learning as it nears. I had not expected it to be so aware of those it was hurting, but it now knows Stott. After myself and Lynna, it sees Stott as a threat to its goals, and may strive harder to get rid of that threat."

For a moment, Stott was frozen as the entire room did look at him. He felt Lynna give his hand a squeeze as the words that Agmar had just said slowly arranged and made sense in his mind. It considers me a threat? So it wants to kill me like it wants to kill Lynna? It was all he could do to keep his face calm.

"Of course that is why Stott is not grouped with the rest of the people here. Stott, Lynna, myself, the mayor, Margaret, and Elsa are essentially grouped for this. I believe that the evil sees us as some of the greatest threats to its goals. It wants to create fear and chaos, anger and rage. It wants death and injury. I think I can safely say that the six of us are all determined to see that it does not get its way."

"Wouldn't it be better to split the six of you up? Then there could be healers at the other locations as well..." one person suggested.

"Actually, the evil would rather we were split up. I have noticed that most of its attacks have been when we were separated. There will be times when we cannot avoid it, but we are strongest to fight against it when we are together. So are all of you. And having a central location for the injured to be brought to and cared for at makes everything a lot more organized as well."

Stott had the feeling that a few of the people who had chosed the Surf and Sleep as the best place to stay for the duration were now seeing possible flaws in that theory. He felt as if someone had just painted a target on his chest and pointed the evil towards it. He would normally have avoided the worst of the danger himself. Not anymore though, he thought suddenly. After all, I've been with Lynna all day and the evil wants her dead more than me. I guess when you feel that way about somebody, it changes everything. He let his thoughts mull over the course of the day, and how much danger Lynna had been in so far. It's only getting worse too. He sighed, and returned his thoughts to the present, and Agmar answering more questions.

"No, that is not something I can do," he responded to a question Stott had missed hearing. "Although I have studied some of the processes and do know how it is done. Mostly it is something I would never choose to do. The beings that live within planes other than our own are not meant to be brought to this one. As is evidenced by the very evil we are up against right now. This thing is bound, not even at half strength. The best way to describe it that I can find is that this evil is half asleep and yet look at the danger it brings with it anyway. If it were to break free of its binds I believe it would decimate this continent in a matter of months. The other wizards I was with and myself want to make sure that possibility never occurs. To that end, I will --"

Agmar was interrupted by the sound of a door slamming open and a loud commotion in the foyer. Someone was screaming for Margaret and several people pushed their way into the room and through the crowd as Margaret, Lynna, Agmar and Elsa all stood to see what was happening. Stott was only a moment behind in getting to his feet, and his mouth dropped open as he watched Erica Smithe fall to her knees before them, her six-year-old daughter in her arms covered in blood. It appeared as if the girl had been slashed across the face and arms, as well as stabbed in the chest. Stott was pretty sure they had been staying at the schoolhouse, and wondered where Erica's older son and husband were. The woman with Erica was her next door neighbor, Lisa Peterson.

"Help me! Please!" the woman sobbed.

Lynna went to kneel down in front of the child, her hands outstretched, but Agmar put his hand out and stopped her. He knelt down and placed his own hand on the child's chest and Stott could see it glowing slightly. Erica watched him, her eyes full of fear and hope at the same time.

After what seemed like a long moment, Agmar took his hand away and looked up at Erica, shaking his head sadly at her.

"I am sorry, but she has already gone," he told her quietly.

"NOOOO!" she screamed, lunging at him. He grabbed her by the upper arms and held her back some as she pounded her fists anywhere she could reach.

"You bring her back! You have to bring her back! She's my daughter! He didn't mean to do it!" She repeated the words over and over again before collapsing into sobs. Agmar let go of her arms once she'd stopped tryin