Free Beyond the Prophecy by Meredith Mansfield Page A

rock struck the water with a tremendous splash, but almost immediately
began to slow down and slide sideways in the current. It struck the largest
boulder off target and with a tap that would have done little to enlarge the
fissure anyway.
    Thekila sighed. “That’s it, then.”
    Vatar shook his head. “If it just wasn’t for all that water.
. .” He glared at the bay for a moment. “What if I used my shield to move the
water out of the way?”
    Thekila looked up at him. “Do you think you can do that? I
can’t move it with my Power. Water is too fluid.”
    He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried. The
problem is . . . the shield draws its Power from you. And if you’re also trying
to lift a heavy rock . . .”
    Thekila nodded. “All right, Theklan. You’re going to get
your wish. You can drop the rocks. I’m going to use a smaller rock to mark the
exact spot I want you to hit. Do you think you can do that?”
    Theklan grinned. “Sure I can.”
    “All right then. One more try,” Thekila said.
    Vatar looked out to the west where the sky was ablaze in
pinks and yellows. “That’s all we’ll have time for tonight or else it’ll be too
hard to find the trail to take us back, so make it a good one.”
    Vatar closed his eyes and concentrated on his magical
shield. Shields. He’d need to make a kind of open-ended box to keep the water
from flowing right back. He’d never tried anything like that before. It wasn’t
as easy as it sounded—and it hadn’t sounded easy when he suggested it.
Eventually he had a very small part of the boulder exposed.
    Theklan stepped forward, brows knit in concentration. The large
rock Thekila had used rose slowly and very unsteadily to a height just below
the level of the bluffs. Thekila used her Power to pick up a handful of white
sand from the beach opposite and use it to point to the exact spot the rock
should strike. Theklan bit his lip, adjusted the rock slightly, and let it
fall. It didn’t strike quite true. If there’d been a target painted on the
boulder, the rock would have hit the second circle. Respectable enough for a
first try, though Theklan grimaced and kicked at the rocky ground.
    A loud crack echoed up from below and a piece of the boulder
fell away. It had worked!
    Vatar and Thekila sagged to the ground at the same moment.
It had worked, but it took a lot of Talent. This was not going to be easy.
    Vatar sighed and pushed himself up, offering a hand to pull
Thekila up, too. “We’d better get back before it gets too dark. We’ll need our
rest if we’re going to do much of that.”
    Thekila nodded. “It’s a shame Quetza’s not here. She’s
almost as good at distant manipulation as I am.” She looked toward the
southeast. “You know, we could call her. She could probably fly that distance
in two days. Maybe less.”
    Vatar thought of the frightened crowd in front of the
Temple. “No. The last thing the Caereans need now is a dragon—even a small,
friendly dragon—flying overhead. We’ll manage. It just may take us a few days.”

Chapter
9: Notoriety
     
    Early the next morning, Vatar saddled the horses again. He
tied water skins behind the saddles and Theklan added a bag of apples.
    When they were ready to mount, Thekila handed Jadar off to
Elaria. “We’ll be back at midday so I can feed him. We’ll need to take a rest
about then anyway, I think.” She stroked her son’s head. Then she accepted a
leg up from Vatar.
    They rode through the city again. This time everyone they
saw seemed to be busy with the cleanup and repairs. They made their way back to
the point of the peninsula and continued their work attempting to break up the
largest of the boulders to more manageable pieces. Because his shield was
powered by his bond with Thekila, Vatar kept a close watch on her and insisted
they rest after every successful break.
    Theklan, sweating despite the cool, salt-tinged breeze from
the ocean, needed the rest, too. “Dropping