Free Broken World Book Two - StarSword by T C Southwell Page A

stared at the wall for several minutes, perhaps
contemplating what he had to do.
     
    Chanter
considered the earth blood that webbed the ground between him and
the wall. Its pull was a powerful, icy drain that sapped his
strength, even from here. To wield Dolana so close to it was
dangerous, a potential trap into which he must not fall. This was
why he had wanted Kieran with him, so the warrior could carry him
away should he grow too weak. Now he had only Talsy, and he doubted
that the girl was strong enough to do it. He considered sending her
to fetch Shern, then discarded the idea. If he was careful, he
should remain free. He did not need to press his palms to the
ground; already too much Dolana filled him, but not dangerously so.
Warning the girl to hold her breath, he braced himself and invoked
the Earthpower.
    The giant river
of frigid silver power leapt into his grasp, sending a million icy
tendrils through him. He invoked Crayash to counter it, aware of
Talsy's gasp of surprise as the screaming inferno followed the
frozen stillness. Controlling two Powers was usually easy, but
difficult now due to Dolana's overwhelming strength. Putting the
burning thread of Crayash into the back of his mind, he
concentrated on the mighty, writhing river of Dolana and commanded
it. The earth shivered under the lash of the enormous power he
wielded. To aid his concentration, he raised an arm and pointed at
the distant wall.
    Dolana surged,
swelled by the earth blood. The black web on the earth before him
sapped his strength, and he fanned Crayash to counter the frozen
fingers that probed him. The command travelled through the soil in
a ripple of Dolana that carried his will to the distant wall. The
moat swelled the river of Earthpower so much that he struggled to
control it, and the terrible cold threatened to numb his mind and
rob him of his will. Again he fanned Crayash, using its warmth to
burn away the numbness.
    In the
distance, the wall parted like curtains drawn aside. It yawned
emptily, then a figure emerged, followed by another, then a third.
The third figure wore only a loincloth, as did the rest who
followed him. The first person, one of the chosen who had been sent
back, set off across the black web, ignoring its lines to take a
direct route. The second chosen did the same, but the newly freed
slaves ran along the paths. A dark figure detached itself from the
shadows at the base of the wall and darted into the portal,
vanishing through it.
    Beside him,
Talsy muttered, "Kieran, you idiot."
    The slaves
continued to emerge, a long line of them running after the two
chosen who led the way. Many were women wearing short white shifts,
and a number of children ran beside them. The leaders were halfway
across the web now, the line of slaves strung out behind them to
the door where others still emerged. More than twenty were out of
the city, their pale skins and white clothes gleaming in the
starlight. A shout rang out as a lookout on the wall sounded the
alarm. The slaves increased their pace, boiling out of the portal
en mass. The leaders reached the edge of the earth blood web and
paused, turning back to their charges.
    Several
crossbowmen gathered on the battlements, and a slave fell with a
cry as a deadly whisper of bolts scythed the air. Chanter took a
firmer hold of the Crayash within him. The Dolana was now a frozen
river, calm while it did nothing but hold the portal open. As the
soldiers unleashed a second hail of quarrels, he flung the fire
with a flick of his mind, and the bolts burst into flames in
mid-air. Other slaves picked up the wounded man and half dragged,
half carried him along the path, while the rest sprinted for the
edge. The last of the slaves had emerged now, and the doorway
stayed empty for several minutes. He released the Earthpower and
let the door close.
    Again, he
wielded Crayash as another volley of quarrels hissed from the wall,
destroying them in flashes of fire. Most of the slaves had reached
the