Free City of Light (The Traveler's Gate Trilogy) by Will Wight Page A

wasn't shouting a warning, and the Eldest didn't think he was any danger, so he supposed he could let his guard down a bit. Besides, he could hardly carry the sword without the steel. He was about to drop the thing in the dirt, which would have been more than a little embarrassing.
    He did hold on to a wisp of Nye essence, and he kept his trembling fingers brushing the mask in his pocket. Just in case.
    The gold-lined Dragon's Fang, Mithra, outmatched the other man's swords by three feet of reach, and Kai attacked in broad sweeps, drawing shimmering sheets of silver and gold in the air. Valin—if it was Valin; Simon still couldn't bring himself to believe it—ducked underneath the blade, almost impossibly limber. He drove the blade in his right hand up into Kai's stomach.
    But it seemed that Kai had anticipated the move, dropping Mithra at the end of his slash and punching down with a dagger he had drawn from his waistband. At the same time, he twisted to his right, avoiding Valin's slash.
    Mithra spun as it flew through the air, hurled away by Kai’s attack. It rang like a bell when it crashed into one of the columns, falling with a thud to the grassy earth.
    Kai and Valin remained frozen. Simon's mentor was bleeding from a long slash down one side, where Valin had scraped him with the edge of his sword. Not that Valin had escaped unscathed: a sheet of blood ran down the side of his cheek, from the line that Kai had drawn across his cheekbone with his dagger.
    Acid-green light flickered overhead.
    Valin levered himself to his feet, and he gave Kai a grin that stood out from his chain-masked face. “Not bad, Kai. That's where we'll have to stop, unless you want a trip to the pool, but not bad at all. You're getting faster.” Casually, the Incarnation leaned the blades of both his swords back against his shoulders, which made Simon almost painfully uncomfortable. He would never have put a blade so close to his neck unless he meant to shave.
    The Wanderer's eyes flicked to Simon, and his grin broadened. “Hey! We've got an audience today! Your name was Simon, right?”
    I never thought I would see him again, Caela sent. She sounded awed. What has the Eldest done?
    Simon remained silent. The last he had seen Valin, Simon had been driving a blade into his heart.
    He had never expected a reunion.
    Valin's grin faded to an understanding smile. “Don't worry, I get it. I didn't think I would see myself back here either.” He looked around fondly, and Simon realized what was different about him: his eyes. They had been his most noticeable feature: all black around the edges, where the whites should be, and mirror-bright silver in his irises. Now, his eyes were a completely human shade of gray.
    It was almost more alarming seeing him that way. What had happened?
    Kai finally seemed to notice Simon. He, too, gave a soft smile. “Simon,” he said fondly. “Which of my little ones have you brought me today?”
    Of course.
    Wordlessly, Simon held out Caela, who stammered a protest before Kai scooped her up and began drawing a tiny brush through her curly blond hair.
    “I killed you,” Simon said at last. “Didn't I?”
    Valin chuckled, tapping the point of one of his short swords against his bare chest. “Seems like it.”
    “Then what happened? Incarnations don't come back when they're killed. They leave the way free for someone else to Incarnate.” That was what Leah had told him, at any rate, and it certainly seemed true. But what if Valinhall was different?
    The Wanderer pointed straight at the Eldest Nye with one of his swords. “Ask him.”
    The Eldest bowed to Valin over his crossed arms. “It was a simple matter, though it took some time to ensure his…stability. As an Incarnation, he was still bound to Valinhall. I simply returned his body back here, and restored him to his proper place as a part of the natural order in this world. He is not what he was, merely an extension of the Territory.
    Valin raised one