Free Michelle West - Sun Sword 06 - The Sun Sword by Michelle West Page A

embarrassed; that was nothing compared to this involuntary intrusion.
    "They will… stop… soon."
    "Terafin—"
    "No. Send for Sigurne."
    "Sigurne is within the manse."
    "I know. Summon her to my chambers. Now."
    "I'll go," Finch said.
    "No," The Terafin replied, terse, the word laced with suppressed pain. "Send
Torvan."
    Torvan was gone before anyone could argue.
    When he returned, the room was silent.
    Levec withdrew his hands first, and brought them to his chest; sweat smeared
the broad, cotton cloth before it was absorbed. He was shaking. Finch tried not
to notice.
    Adam did not withdraw.
    Not until The Terafin reached up and gently removed his hands. His eyes
snapped open as he lost contact with her face.
    Finch could see the marks his hands had left there.
    "I am in your debt, Adam of Arkosa," she said, speaking Torra as flawlessly
as Morretz had.
    He shook his head, wordless.
    "Adam."
    No one ignored Levec. Not even when they were trying very hard. But that was
because he refused to
be
ignored. He called Adam's name again, and when
Adam failed to turn to him, failed to acknowledge the command inherent in the
two syllables, he slid off the bed, walked over to Adam, and bodily removed him.
    Adam's body struggled. His limbs flailed awkwardly, as if in seizure. But
Levec held him, and held him tight.
    "It would seem," he said, his voice cracked and dry, "that I was wrong."
    Finch offered him confusion and silence.
    He smiled grimly. "It would appear that I owe Member Mellifas three
apologies. Terafin," he added, bowing as formally as a man could, who held a
kicking, struggling child in his arms.
    "Master Levec. How long do I have?" The Terafin was cool. Regal.
    "I do not know."
    If the answer surprised her, she failed to show it.
    * * *
    Sigurne came. Torvan led her, and to either side, she had four House Guards.
No, Finch thought, examining them more closely. Four of the Chosen. She was as
grim as the Captain of the guards.
    As unflappable as The Terafin herself. "Terafin," she said, as she executed a
formal bow.
    "A web," The Terafin said softly. "And a mystery."
    Sigurne frowned. "Terafin?"
    "Forgive me. I speak but a portion of my thoughts, and they will do you
little good." Her chin tilted, and in the morning light, Finch could see that
her eyes had lost their terrifying glow; they were brown, the irises so slender
they might have been all pupil. "There is magic at work here."
    "Ah."
    "But it is not a magic that is familiar to me."
    "Terafin."
    "And were it not for your aid, it would not have been familiar to Adam."
    Adam had almost ceased to struggle, but Levec wasn't fooled; he held fast.
    "You were not dying."
    "I am not a healer," The Terafin replied. "And I cannot say that with
certainty."
    "She was." Levec grunted as Adam's elbow struck his chest. "Adam saw it."
    "What did he see?" The question was so soft, so neutral, it seemed to be
barely a question—until one looked at the face of the woman who ruled the magi.
    "A trap, Member Mellifas. A… web." Levec closed his eyes as Adam slumped
against him. Finch noticed, for the first time, that although he restrained
Adam, no part of their skin was in contact.
    "She has the plague," he continued. "But someone wasn't certain that the
plague would be enough to kill her."
    "Oh?"
    "Something… magical… was wrapped around her heart. It was… almost alive."
    Sigurne frowned. "Alive?"
    And the master of the most famous Healing House in the Empire closed his
eyes. "Alive," he said quietly.
    She frowned.
    Finch was already in motion. Teller came with her because she used all of her
weight in her attempt to break free of his hand.
    She flew around Master Levec, and before he could stop her— before he could
fully open his eyes—she caught Adam's hands in hers.
    He clung, as she expected. But where Levec's hands had been sweaty, his were
like Northern ice.
    "ATerafin," Ellerson offered, in warning.
    She held fast. "He had to kill it," she told