Finnian , Lloyd and Oskan as well as Carm and Haines escorted us to the one human house outside of the spaceport where the car and its driver waited . One glance at the car was enough to tell that Patricia 's trunk didn 't have a chance of fitting inside anywhere ; it would have to ride on the roof . The sight of the deserted house reminded me of the missing Mr . Preston . I used my magic once again to glance around for the man one more time , but apparently he had managed to make it outside of my sweep , or even perhaps off - world . I lifted the trunk onto the roof of the car then I turned to say my farewells . Both Finnian and Lloyd shook my hand until I was sure I had at least one broken finger . Hugs from Oskan and Carm left me gasping and bruised , then I turned to Haines , hanging back behind them all . " Aren 't you coming with us ? " I asked . " No ; I have to stay here . I figured I 'd stay here at the house . " His words made me remember the emperor 's ruling about him . He had been exiled here for the rest of his life . From experience , I knew he would have friends aplenty , but it would still be a lonely existence . " I 'll send for you . I 'd like to have you standing beside me . " He rested a hand on my shoulder . " No , it 's not going to happen and asking will only injure your relationship with the emperor . Send me messages once in a while ; I 'd like to be kept up to date . " " I will , " I said and watched him turn toward the house . To make the parting easier for my friends , I too turned my back in order to hand Patricia into the car and secure the trunk to the top . With a final wave at my friends , I slid in beside my bride and tapped the driver on the shoulder . " It 's time to go . " " Aren 't you going to tie that trunk down ? It 'll fall off the first bump we hit . " " It 's not going anywhere ; just drive . " I had glued it to the roof of the car . No one was going to move it until I separated them again . The next two days were a blur . There was music and dancing in wild abandon , and a constant parade of food in profusion . Jugs of liquor floated around so thickly you seldom saw anyone without one , and though I have always had a poor opinion of the drink in its many forms , this was different . Needless to say , it contributed greatly to those days being so blurry . I 'm sure that if it weren 't for the white clad shadow I had acquired , I would have led Patricia off to somewhere secluded and had my way with her in a most ungentlemanly way . Instead we danced until we couldn 't feel our feet anymore , then we ate until we couldn 't swallow another bite and drank from the jugs whenever they floated by . My involvement with the festival came to an end when Oskan ( he was very drunk ) dared me to do one of my dances using all of the magics - earth , air , fire and water - together , and I was drunk enough to do it . " Don 't set anything on fire , " said Patricia with a giggle . " That 's a good idea . " I took a pull at the jug Oskan passed me and then I handed it to her . " I wouldn 't want to set anything on fire . " I drew my sword and moved to the center of the square while everyone else moved out of my way . I turned slowly on one foot , drawing on the elements I needed . With a lazy sweep of my sword , I brought them into being around me . Balls of flame danced with balls of water , and balls of earth soon joined them . With Air Magic , I created a whirlwind to spin sections of it in complicated whirls . The end result was a simplified version of a galaxy with its many solar systems . The comparison wasn 't what I had intended , but the sight of it reminded me of one of the things Durmas had said on his deathbed . I could have shown him something like this . I could have helped him to understand what was beyond this world so much better . My thoughts of Durmas caused me to form the elements into a likeness of him to look down over us all with his patient and caring smile , then I knelt to the ground and let the wind blow him aPosted by Unknown to me , my wedding was planned to take place during the harvest festival , which was six weeks after Durmas ' death . I spent the time mostly in a funk . I couldn 't concentrate ; I 'd find myself staring off into space with my mind totally blank . Oskan did his best to help me with my teleporting . I could do it now with some confidence , but if I thought about it for more than two or three seconds , my stomach would do its best to show me my last meal . Larak slept on . When I expressed my concern about Larak 's continued sleep and his lack of nourishment , Oskan explained , " That 's why he sleeps beneath the orb . His magic will sustain him until he reaches a balance , then he will wake . " Oskan took Haines and me to the village for the festival leaving Larak behind . I was still struggling with the change . I used to have four teachers , four great men who sought to pour their knowledge into me , and now , suddenly , two of them were dead and another lie sleeping for who knows how long . I was thinking those thoughts , and others like them , when Lloyd Hanley singled me out shortly after we arrived at the village . " You 've proven yourself to be a good protector even though you haven 't made a place for her , " he said critically , and gave me a look up and down that said he still had his doubts . " I guess you 're worthy . " He took my arm and led me through the crowd to where his wife was standing with Patricia firmly under her control . She looked me over with a scathing expression . " I think he 's suitable enough , " said Lloyd . Lorena scowled . " I don 't know . He 's made no home for her . He has no solid occupation . Are you sure her children will not starve or be without shelter ? " " You must consider that he is a Master . I don 't think such concerns will ever be a problem , not while he lives anyway , " replied Lloyd . She harrumphed critically and then turned to Oskan . " Do you stand for Master Durmas ? " " I do , " he replied simply . " Then it falls to you to decide if you think our ward is preparedPosted by Durmas was lying in a comfortable bed in a room that was not unlike my own . There were a few basic comforts , but mostly the room was fairly plain . He raised a feeble hand at my appearance and I stepped forward to take it . My first instinct was to search for the problem and then fix it , but he stopped me . " You can 't fix it , boy . I was old when your father was born if I understand your life span well enough . It 's my time and I 'm glad that I had one such as you to teach . Feeling your magic , your big magic , almost makes me understand some of the things I 've heard about out in the … the word is ' universe ' , isn 't it ? I 've heard that suns are born , live and die - just like people do . Feeling you do your magic makes me think that I 'm watching a sun being born . I can almost understand how your people can do the things they do with those big … ships … and … " He grimaced and took another breath . " What you did for Larak was truly a miracle . And Carm , is he well ? " " Yes , I was able to remake all his bones . He 's still sleeping it off . " " He was able to rekindle Larak 's magic even after so long , " said Oskan . " I felt it . His hunger would have quenched both of us I think , if we had been able to reach him at all , yet you let it tap your resources with ease and then you tuck all that power away in that small body of yours . " He shuddered again and then smiled . " I 've held on long enough . I wanted to tell you that your journey is not over yet ; you will come back here some day , and when you do , it is my hope that you will take my place here and teach what you know to those who come here . " I didn 't want to waste his time with my protests . I would never be the man he was . I could never teach another how to wield this power , and I had no plans of returning here once I left . All I could do was watch him close his eyes . He had such a peaceful look on his face . He was content with his life … and then he was gone . He just stopped breathing , and the force of his life went out , leaving behind tPosted by It only took me a moment to make out the figure lying on the altar beneath the orb , and only a second longer to see the figure sitting on a stool with his head resting on the slab . I gently shook his shoulder . " Haines , wake up . " He jumped and looked up at me with bleary eyes that couldn 't penetrate the darkness . His hand found mine and he sighed . " Liam , it 's you . I 'm so glad you 've finally come . Master Oskan brought us here , laid Larak here , told me to watch over him and then left . That was ages ago . I 've looked for him , but I can 't find him ; I don 't know where his quarters are . I swear I 've looked everywhere . I 'm worried about him . I 'm worried about both of them . " I made and lit a small lamp for him and then bent over Larak to examine him . His breathing seemed to be regular , but his skin was clammy . " He 's been like this ever since he 's been here ? " Oskan touched my shoulder . When I looked up at him , he cocked his chin at the globe . I looked at it . It looked the same to me . Then it occurred to me , it was dark . " What does it mean ? " " Burnout . " I 'd never heard of burnout . " What does that mean ? " " It means he has no more magic , " he said in a voice that echoed his regret . " Is there nothing that can be done ? " " I 'm thinking that Master Durmas tried , and it 's likely that he failed . I 'll go find him and see . Take care of Haines . " Haines had been here for two days unattended and this place was the home of men of magic ; no supplies were stored here , none were necessary . Thinking of him reminded me of when we first returned . He had brought me here to heal after the bomb had come close to killing me . The train of thought reminded me of something my teachers had done . They had cycled magic through my body in hopes of waking the magic that lay cowering within me . It had worked for me . Was this the same thing ? Could I do the same thing for Larak ? It couldn 't hurt to try . I made Haines a sandwich that would have made my mother proud and explained my intentions whPosted by Back at the farmhouse , before entering the door , Oskan touched my shoulder . " Mind your hosts , " he said softly . I had mostly stopped dripping , but I was still soaked . I swept the remainder of the water away , using it to water a few of the flowers planted by the front door , remembering that Carm 's mother had planted those flowers . Inside , Carm still slept peacefully ; he looked so much better now . I wasn 't finished with him yet , but it looked like he had benefited from my efforts and the time . Encouraging us to leave him in peace for a little while longer , the farmer ushered us into the kitchen where his wife was laying out a feast for us . My stomach came alive at the sight and informed me , in no uncertain terms , that I was way behind in that regard . I dug in . Oskan did too . Both of us had had a hard time , and from the looks of it , Oskan hadn 't had a proper meal for days . During the meal , I learned the names of my hosts . The farmer 's name was Finnian and his wife 's name was Moira . I was midway through my third plate and I could have sworn that we were talking about rain when I fell asleep at the table . I don 't remember anything about it ; I don 't even remember being put to bed . I woke to find myself in a familiar yet strange room . After I climbed up out of the fog of sleep , I realized that the room used to be Carm 's room , but of course , the new owners had made several changes . I dressed and headed back downstairs . I passed a young woman I hadn 't seen before , going up with a tray laden with food . She smiled shyly at me and ducked on past . I headed on into the living room where I had left Carm , intending to finish with him before allowing myself to rest , but apparently , things had taken a different course . Carm 's absence from the middle of the living room floor was conspicuous , but before I could so much as turn around to seek an answer , Finnian came in . " Your friend is resting comfortably upstairs in the spare room . Master Oskan is with him . He told us you were showing signs of waking so my wPosted by I wedged my eyes open and saw Larak lying on the grass in a heap . Durmas and Oskan were pulling him into a prone position . " Is he alive ? " Those were the hardest words I think I have ever uttered . My stomach wasn 't the only thing hurting . I 'm not even sure I hurt this much after I took the full blast of that bomb . A voice spoke urgently in my ear , but the effort it took to figure out who was talking confused the meaning of the words . " Shake it off . Shake it off ; don 't let yourself linger like this . Talk to him . Pull him out of this . " Then I heard Patricia 's voice , her patient voice , the voice that had pulled me through so many dark days . I took a deep breath , and then I took another . I struggled to pull myself upright . My whole body shuddered and swayed , but her strong arms were around me . I looked into her cherished face . She was saying something ; what was she saying ? " Look at me , Liam . Take deep breaths . " Numbly I did as she said . I felt so thirsty . I brought my hand up into my range of view and filled it with a ball of water . " Yes , " she whispered and I felt her draw away . I felt so alone without her arms around me , but I needed to dance . I needed a water dance so badly just now ; at least a small one . I could handle a small one . My dance scarcely equaled the word . It was little more than me turning slowly in the middle of a magical fountain that I soaked up hungrily . I 'm sure everyone around me got drenched , but I just couldn 't spare the energy to do anything but turn . Other things were happening too , but I didn 't really care , it felt too good to care just now . When I finished , all too soon , believe me . I opened my eyes and found Patricia . She was standing a few feet away with Lloyd Hanley and Oskan ; all of them were dripping but they were smiling too . Larak and Durmas were nowhere in sight . I brushed water from my face and hair , allowing the rest of me to drip . " Where 's Larak and Durmas ? Is Larak alive ? " Oskan smiled and hit me on the shoulder almost sending me from my not - toPosted by Haines stood there . He had been telling Durmas something , and from the look on their faces , it was something very serious . They both looked at me when I rose from beside the sleeping Carm . When they said nothing , I asked , " What 's wrong ? Where 's Patricia ? She 's all right , isn 't she ? You were supposed to get her out of town immediately ; not wait for the last minute . If something has happened to her … " " Calm down , Liam , " said Haines . " She 's fine . She 's with Larak . We found him shortly after we left the house the first time so we went back to tell Durmas , but what 's - his - name showed up , so we had to leave again ; we didn 't get the chance to tell anyone . After the battle , I came back to find you , but you weren 't there any more . I had a heck of a time finding you . " My mind was still operating a little slow . " You found Larak ? Where is he ? Is he all right ? " " No Liam , he 's far from all right . He 's been imbedded into a tree not far from the edge of town . He 's barely alive . It 's the most frightening thing I 've ever seen , " said Haines . My mind reeled . Who could have magic powerful enough to override the most basic instinct of physical isolationism ? The few times the subject came up , Larak had always said I was stronger than he was , but I 'm not sure I was strong enough to do such a thing to another magical creature . Then again , it would take something like this to give me the idea . I shuddered and goose bumps ran up my spine and made the hair on my neck stand up . " Where is he ? Show me ? " " Liam , you 're exhausted ; there 's nothing you can do , " said Haines . I waved a hand at Carm . " I know more about anatomy than any other person on this planet . Don 't tell me there 's nothing I can do . I have to try . " " What about him ? " asked Durmas , speaking softly of Carm . Indicating without saying it that I might have to choose . I looked at him . He looked much more tired than I felt , then I looked at the sleeping form of Carm . He looked infinitely better than when I first fouPosted by The sight of my shaking hands brought memories of Carm and his swollen limbs to my numb mind . I had promised to fix things as soon as this was all over . I cleaned and sheathed my blades and then pushed myself to my feet to stagger in that direction . I intended to keep that promise . Oskan caught my arm . " Liam , slow down . You should rest . It 's over . " I pulled away from him and kept going . I had yet to spend as much magic as when I had fought the fire , but it was far more than I had done for a while . I couldn 't allow myself to let Carm down when he needed me . I had been too late for Tsan and I had yet to see Larak , but I knew where Carm was and that 's were I was headed . With Oskan and Durmas flanking me , I wove my way to the farmhouse where I had ( hopefully ) sent Carm . It seemed to be farther away than I remembered , but I made it there eventually . The people at the house had made Carm as comfortable as they could without moving him more than they had to . They had pulled the rug he had appeared on closer to the fireplace and built up the fire on the hearth . They also cushioned him with many pillows and blankets . " He just appeared here , " said a middle - aged woman from behind her husband 's shoulder . " I didn 't know what else to do for him . " I dropped to my knees beside him . " You did good . " I touched Carm 's forehead . He was still fevered . He sighed and shifted slightly , but didn 't wake . I closed my eyes and sought the memories of my lessons with the doctor over Colin . The situation and the person were very different but the information would still be useful . " Do you have a baston here ? " I asked . " Yes I do , out in the barn , but why , " said the man . " Kill it , bleed it and hang it . Do it now , " I said . " And have another ready . One should be enough but just in case … " " I don 't understand . " the man began to protest , but Durmas gave him a nod and he went to do as he was asked . By the time he came back into the house and handed his wife the bloody knife , I had regained some of mPosted by I heard a commotion , punctuated by some indistinct cries , coming from the direction of the town square . Perhaps Durmas had arrived , hopefully with the others in tow . I headed in that direction . I hadn 't gone more than three or four paces before I heard an explosion . I broke into a run , and seconds later I heard another explosion . By the time I reached the village well , I could pick out the source of the commotion by the light of the moons . Marell had run up against Durmas and Oskan . From my point of view , it looked to be progressing much the same as at the inn . Two houses had been leveled and a third was coming apart . It looked as though Marell was having trouble with this house and I couldn 't imagine why until I caught sight of Haines ushering people out the back . My heart turned cold when I caught a glimpse of black hair on the other side of Haines ' shoulder as he disappeared beyond other houses further away . At the same time , I recognized the house in contention . How dare he attack her ? With a roar , I put on new speed and crashed into the fray . I say ' crashed ' because as I ran I gathered up a good deal of the debris scattered around me and imbedded it in a large ball of ice that I then hurdled at Marell 's back . The fact that Durmas and Oskan scattered to the side alerted Marell to the danger from behind , but he wasn 't quite quick enough to escape all my wrath . My wood - spiked ball of ice laid several cuts across his chest and knocked him sprawling to the ground where Durmas attempted to bury him , but he was up too quick for that . Oskan launched several projectiles , not all of them arrows , at him , but missed as he teleported to the side several feet and hurdled huge clods of dirt back at him , forcing him to do much the same thing , then Marell turned on me . By now , I had stopped running and was striding boldly forward . Memories of Carm and Tsan unboned , combined with the knowledge that he had gotten very close to someone I loved very much , unwittingly or not , was enough to cut the last restraints I Posted by I backed into the corner and held myself there on a platform of air . I changed my homespun clothes for my customary leathers making sure they were black ( I wouldn 't forget my blue basilisk across my shoulder ) so I could take some measure of shelter in the dark . Since I didn 't fall , portions of the inn began to explode around me . As the destruction grew , a few other people were revealed to me . Without knowing who these people were , I couldn 't afford to send them to the only safe place I knew , so I sent them to the town square . With Marell concentrating his attention on me , victims stood a good chance of getting away and potential combatants would be delayed if only for a few minutes . As soon as I saw Marell , I took the splinters of wood he was creating all around me and sent them at him in a deadly cloud , but he wasn 't so easily defeated . He blew them away with ease , and now that I had given away my location , he sucked the air out from under me . My fall wasn 't completely graceless . I managed to land like I 've heard a cat can do , on all fours . At the same time , I pulled the earth out from under Marell 's feet . I had to flatten myself to the ground completely in order to avoid something big that was hurdled at me , then he was gone . I looked around . The inn had been leveled better than any wrecking ball could ever do , and in the sudden vacuum of sound , I heard far away cries of fear . I hoped they were running away . I picked myself up off the ground and sought out the big tree that grew in the front yard , or what was left of it . I leaned against its solid trunk and closed my eyes looking for the lights that would tell me where people were . A quick glance showed me that a lot of people had found a way to leave . That left about a dozen people still in the near vicinity . Three of them were only a few yards away . A ragged scream from there propelled me in that direction first . I was mad now . All I had done was defend myself and respond to their attacks . I hadn 't even drawn my sword yet . I did that now , thenPosted by I ran forward through the blood - splattered hallway and into the room they had been guarding . Inside , I found Carm lying on a bed . This room had once been a rather nice room , but it had seen some abuse since the last time anyone had done any cleaning . It was obvious that Carm had been lying here exclusively since he had been captured . He reached a swollen and bruised , almost unrecognizable hand out to me . " Liam , Liam , I knew it was you . " The hand sank back to the bed . " Liam , they did something to me . I can 't walk . I can 't even sit up enough to figure out what they did . " I knew what they did . I could tell by the shapeless ballooning in his limbs ( I touched his knee just to be sure ) ; " They removed your bones , Carm . How bad is it ? " " I don 't know . Everything hurts too much . I can 't tell any more . " " Where 's Tsan ? " " He was here until just a few minutes ago . When you called out , that man came in and sent him somewhere else . I have no idea where . " I hoped he had been sent somewhere else . I touched Carm 's forehead . He was running a high fever . " I 'm going to try and help you , but I don 't have the time to fix things . More than likely it 'll put you to sleep . I hope it does . Then I 'm going to send you to your old home . It 's the safest place I can think of . I 'll fix everything later when this is all over . " He closed his eyes with a ragged sigh . I voiced my worries . " I 've never done this before . I don 't know if I can , " " You just do whatever you can . Anything you do will be better than this . " I suppose he was right . It didn 't matter whether he survived the move ; even death would be an improvement to this agony . And if I couldn 't fix him , he 'd die anyway eventually . I gritted my teeth and used what I had learned back on Earth . I didn 't have time to recreate his missing bone structure , but I could clear up some of his problems . I cleared up most of the bruising and reduced a lot of the swelling . Soon he was sleeping just as I had hoped , but my time was up . I hePosted by I headed for the stairs to the next floor at a run . I was mid - leap , reaching for the second step up , when the stairs morphed into some bizarre imitation of what might have been a giant tiger 's head on another planet . I froze it back into inanimate wood before I crashed into it , but it was now unusable as an access to the upper floor and I didn 't have time to create another staircase . I whirled in time to find the floor coming alive behind me like an over - long tongue , so I took control of my end of it and used it to smack Marell back into the room I had just left , and then jammed the splintered wood into the door . It would only stop him for a moment , but perhaps it would be long enough for me to regroup and think . Thanks to the wooden teeth behind me , I now had a long gash down my arm . I hastily pulled my flesh together so I would stop dripping blood everywhere . I looked up ; I had never been inside the inn . I could only assume that the floor above was just like the one here . I hated this . I teleported myself to the floor above , hoping I wouldn 't end up as part of some piece of furniture . The move doubled me over . I really must learn how to do this with my stomach 's cooperation , but I wasn 't to be allowed much of a chance to recuperate . Obviously surprised , two people were standing about half way down the hall in front of one of the doors . The woman was tall for a woman , even here , and it looked like she was having some sort of argument with the man who was with her ; however , their argument was quickly forgotten as they squared off to face me . " Who are you ? What are you doing here ? " asked the man who looked like a teenager next to the woman , though he was still a lot bigger than me . I knew I couldn 't afford to take my eyes off these two , so I did what was hopefully the next best thing . " TSAN ! WHERE ARE YOU ? " There must have been some sort of commotion inside the room by where they were standing , because the man darted inside and I distinctly heard a muffled cry . I wasn 't allowed any further chPosted by The door between those voices and me exploded away from me with satisfying force , but the sight of the man who had replaced my parents after we had so hastily left here forestalled further action . It was amazing what the last ten years had done to him . When I first saw him , he looked to be somewhere between the age of thirty and forty . Now , he looked like he was somewhere closer to sixty . Mr . McTavish , " he said as he waved his half - gone cigar vaguely in my direction . You would have thought I had just been shown into his parlor by his butler ; the effect wasn 't all he was going for since he looked like a child sitting in the over - large chair . The shards of the door I had just blown up were nowhere to be seen . I wasn 't sure if he was greeting me or introducing me to the mountain of a man sitting behind the desk . " Mr . Preston , " I returned . " I 'm surprised to see you here . " He just smiled and made a little shrug . " So , you 're the twerp who came here and stole our magic , " said the man behind the desk . His voice rumbled like a volcano , deep in his chest . I don 't think I have ever heard a voice that deep . " John told me about you . Looks like you were forced to return . " I didn 't think it was something that could be stolen . " He laughed , sounding like a thunderstorm . " Apparently it is . It just took a while for outsiders to discover it , thanks to you , which brings us to the issue John and I were just discussing . " " Yes , " said Mr . Preston . " The opportunities available for someone of Mr . Marell 's abilities are enormous , but the quarantine the emperor has imposed has caused us some … problems . " The thought of this man making it off world and doing the things I knew he could do , chilled me to the bone . " The quarantine was for the good of everyone . " " But it 's not good for me , " said Marell . " John thought we might be able to get the emperor 's attention and change his mind . " I looked at the man with the cat eyes and noticed he was sweating slightly . It wasn 't that hot ; he wPosted by I hadn 't made it half way across the room before a tall man dressed all in black appeared in front of me at the bottom of the steps . " Who are you ? " he asked with his hands on his hips . The first thing I noticed about him , aside from his choice of color , was his eyes . I don 't know what it was about them , but they reminded me of cat 's eyes . " I 'm Liam , " I said frankly . It 's not as if I could hope to pass for a local . " I 'm here to look for my friends . " I wanted to say I was here to look for my girlfriend , but I didn 't want to tip him off to the fact that I had one . He smiled . " There are a lot of ' friends ' here , which ones do you think to try for ? " He seemed amiable , but I knew better than to trust him . " Oh , I don 't know ; I thought I 'd start at the top . I might find one I like along the way . " " You 're a cocky little shit , aren 't you ? Speaking of little shits , why are you so little ? Was there something wrong with your mother ? " I think that question was pure curiosity rather than malice , so I decided to answer it just as honestly . " No , my parents and I come from Earth . " The word was out of my mouth before I thought about it . I had said the same thing so many times that it was rote , and I wasn 't used to the idea that my parents had both been born on Cambay . He laughed uproariously . " Earth . What an unusual name for a home , but then perhaps that 's why you are so small and pale . Why don 't you go home ? Perhaps you 'll find something to mate with among the worms . " I felt myself flung backward and knew that the floor of the inn and the ground underneath it was melting away as fast as I was falling . Equally as fast , I saw the light of day in front of me vanish as he closed the hole after me . I kept the ground from crushing me , but he apparently didn 't suspect . After I picked myself up from where I had sprawled at the bottom of his grave , I created steps in the earth around me and began to climb out moving the dirt from my path as I went . When I reemerged into thePosted by As I strode through the town square , I noticed the conspicuous absence of traffic . Women chatting and laughing as they went about their errands , children running , playing and shrieking , darting among the crowd and carelessly knocking over someone 's basket or shelf , and old men sitting in the shade of the well cover , discussing the weather or the crops ; all of it was absent from the square as I passed through . The well looked oddly alone . Also conspicuous was the minor damage to most of the buildings I passed as I walked through the deserted town square . The most obvious were the boarded up windows or broken down yard fences . Assorted pieces of litter wafted across the square on gusts of lonely breezes , making the place look all too much like a ghost town . A chill ran up my spine as the inn came into view . It looked just as deserted and abused as the rest of the town , but my friends were somewhere inside . Was I ready for this ? I had never pitted my magic against another 's magic . By the time I opened the door , I think I was jived up to face almost anything ; what I wasn 't prepared for was ' nothing ' . There was no one in the front hall , not even behind the desk or in the kitchen . With my skin positively crawling , I started for the stairs . Inside the kitchen , I found a young teenage boy sitting at the familiar table . A man who could only be his father was standing by the sink . Both of them looked upset , and though they looked surprised , they both seemed relieved to see Durmas at least . " Master Durmas , Master Liam , welcome to our humble home , " said the man , as he quickly stepped in and pulled chairs out for us to sit in , shooing his son out of his chair to stand by the sink and listen . The address is used so seldom that it still took me by surprise , but I had other things on my mind . " Tell me what 's going on in the town , " I said , without preamble . The man set tall glasses of water , fresh from the well , in front of us and then sat down to explain the situation the best he could . " A man who calls himself Master Marell came to town almost a week ago and started pressuring the people to pay him tribute . If they didn 't pay , their shops were robbed or their homes were vandalized . There was a big mix - up a couple days ago and two of your men were taken to the inn where Marell and his men are staying . I don 't know what condition they 're in , but I assume that they are still alive ; otherwise , their bodies would have been left as an example to the rest of us . Perhaps they want something else from them . " I looked at Durmas ; his expression was grim , but I had at least most of the information I was looking for . I paced toward the front of the house . The fact that there was no woman visible here was conspicuous . There was no view of the village from the front of the house . I knew that , but I couldn 't resist the urge to look . When I got back to the kitchen , I asked , " Where is your wife ? " " My wife stays in the cellar where she is safely out of sight . My daughter has not been home for five days now . She was at the market the day Marell arrived and has not returned . " Just as I thought . That was enough for me . Using the example standing before me , I changed my leathers for homespun shirt and trousers and scuffed boots . I retained my sword , Posted by Leaving was the hardest thing I had to do , and yet I couldn 't wait to get away . Being that close to her , and yet being restricted to pleasant and polite conversation at best , was driving me up a wall . I was a lot more stable , both mentally and physically , since shortly before Patricia had left , but that didn 't mean I was very good company on the way back to the cave . To emphasize this , I refused to run with Carm , which didn 't hurt Haines ' feelings much , but when rocks started exploding out of our path , even he caught on . By the time we straggled into the cave , I had worked my frustrations out on several thousand rocks . Oskan saw us coming in and said , " I thought this visit to town was supposed to revitalize you , and here you come in wiped out and tired . I hope you 're rested up by tomorrow because it 's going to be a long day . " " I 'll be ready , " I said and disappeared into my room . I wasn 't angry with Carm or Haines , so I left them a steaming pot of stew etc . , but at the same time , I didn 't want any company , so I didn 't join them . The next day was indeed grueling . Master Durmas started my lessons on teleporting . I 've wanted to know how to do that ever since I first figured out they were doing it , but I quickly learned that it wasn 't nearly as easy as they made it look . My first try was only a few feet and Durmas was there to make sure nothing went wrong , but let me tell you , I felt like I was ripping myself apart . I ended up on my knees on the floor trying to figure out which direction was up and hoping my stomach would figure it out soon . Durmas waited patiently for me to recover and then we tried again . I felt like I was learning to make my first cup of water . After my third trip across the room , I was certain I was well on the way to becoming something similar to pudding . That night I was plagued with nightmares , but they were so vague and disjointed that I don 't remember much about them . I was sure that they must be related to what I had been working on that day , so I didn 't gPosted by Much to my delight , Patricia was there , along with the rest of the town 's people , to greet us and praise our success . I didn 't hear much of what was said and did no explaining . I left all that to Carm and Haines . All I wanted to do was hold Patricia forever . This wasn 't to be , however . One of the many giants stepped between us and guided Patricia toward a woman who accompanied him . " There 'll be none of that now . There 's a time and a place for that kind of nonsense and it ain 't here or now , so you keep your hands to yourself . " He pulled me aside while the woman led Patricia away . She looked over her shoulder with an apologetic smile and waved . I waved back . " Can 't I even talk to her ? " " … must make sure that you can put a roof over her head . Of course , you could probably just make her whatever she wants , but that 's not the point . You must be sure you have work that brings in enough money in order to provide for her and the children she 'll give you . They must have a secure life and that is your responsibility . " " What are you talking about ? Of course , I would provide for her if I marry her , and now that you bring it up , I think I will marry her , but I haven 't asked her yet . I hadn 't even thought about it until now . " " That may be so , but those around you have seen that you two are meant to be joined , so it is being arranged . It is the way things are done here . Master Durmas , with the consent of your father and mother , is sponsoring you in this union . Lorena , my wife , and I are sponsoring Miss Patricia since she had informed us that she has no other family . " Eventually I learned that this man and his wife were Lloyd and Lorena Hanley . They ran about twenty milk cows and sold the milk , cream and butter at market every day . Mom used to buy some once in a while . They weren 't really cows ; they looked more like moose without antlers but they produced a fair amount of milk . To me it tasted kind of green , but it was all right . I had heard about some of the old - fashioned customs , but I never thought I 'd find myself experiencing any of them . Patricia and I sat on opposite sides of the table during meals . In the living room , we were never allowed to sit next to each other , nor were we allowed to be anywhere alone . At night , she slept in a room that joined theirs . There was no such thing as privacy . I so wanted to touch her , to hold her , but I couldn 't even hold her hand . Three days of this and I couldn 't take it any more . Haines , who was staying at the house with us , couldn 't stop grinning at my discomfiture . He never knew how close he came to having his toes braided . The next morning , I got a better look at the damage this farmer had sustained . At least three quarters of his crops had been wiped out . I thought about recreating the fields . It could be done , but the job would probably compare with bringing water from the other side of the planet . It started to rain and Carm cast a wary eye up to the clouds . " What 's wrong ? " I asked , " Rain would be a good thing , wouldn 't it ? " I let Haines brag for me . The praise felt good . By the time I reached the top of a small hill , my boots were covered with black mud ; I 'd poured a lot of water on this fire . I stopped and looked back to where the others were gathered . Carm touched the ground at his feet and then gazed off across what remained of the field nearest them . I could see him put his head together with the farmer and nod and then he raised his hand and waved at me . I began to dance . This was a far - reaching one . I reached out for all the rain in the sky ; I searched for miles around me , and I whirled it around at the direction of my sword tip . Soon all the raindrops were orbiting me each in their own path until they splashed into each other creating new balls of water . Then I drew in the water - laden clouds and immersed myself in the fog . With the water drops spinning through the wet fog , the cloud soon surrendered to the water , then I channeled it down between my feet and into the water table below me . For the next several hours , I was the center of another kind of hurricane . One , I 'm pleased to say , was completely at my command . When it was all gone , I lowered my sword . The task had left me tired and yet energized at the same time . The giddy feeling I had always felt after handling water with my magic left me feeling like I could fly . I knew I 'd come down eventually , but I fully enjoyed it now . We reached the young man 's home first . His family was drawing water from the well and trying to get everything wet enough so at least some of it might survive the fire . From here , we could see the flames as they sparkled at the bottom of the cloud of smoke drifting over our heads , dropping hot ash on everything and everyone . " You … " I turned to him and saw the bucket brigade of giants behind him . I was going to send him back to help the others , but there was no way he would be able to keep up with them . " You , watch and keep me out of trouble . I 'm going to put this fire out . " I wasn 't listening any more . I closed my eyes and called on the magic . I had done something this big only once before and I had done it without much thought . Working a disabled space ship was not the same thing as this , but I knew that I could do it ; I just didn 't know if I had recovered enough . I had my doubts . I didn 't have time for doubts . The land was dry for miles around . If I drew on the water table below my feet , I could drain the well behind me . If I failed here , the people behind me would have nothing to fight with . They would lose everything and very likely even their lives . I reached far away and pulled the water from a mountain lake . I brought it here in a long stream that I used like a fire hose with many heads . With my hydra of water , I began to attack the flames and the ground in front of it with giant waterspout fingers . When the water from that source ran out , I found another and began anew . I let Haines guide my feet as he pulled me back from the approaching flames . Someone must have handed him a wet cloth because he tied it over my face to keep out at least most of the smoke . The next thing I knew , large hands were resting on my shoulders and a serge of new power rushed through me . Without question , I made liberal use of the power to begin making a brake . Ground out in front of the fire and around its flank began to explode and I used the airborne dirt and mud to help smother the flames . I began to advance along the fire line just to make sure none of the flames had managed to get past my barrage of water and dirt . Hours later , there was no more open flame . I used the last of my energy to feel through the burned out acreage and douse any hot spots I could find . I remember turning to look for more embers , but hands restrained me . I turned to see that they belonged to Carm . He and the others around him were blackened with soot to the point of being unrecognizable , but his voice and his words told me who he was . The odor of smoke woke me , but my befuddled brain couldn 't figure out why I would be smelling smoke and still be lying in bed . There was no commotion , no alarm around me , I was comfortable , and yet smoke seemed to be everywhere . I came to the conclusion that I ought to do something , so I shoved the blankets aside and rolled to sit up . A woman came in with a large platter of meats and cheeses . She was smiling and saying something . I tried to tune into her words while concentrating on what was in her hands . I was so hungry . " That was an awesome thing you did , kid , taking on a fire that size by yourself . I never felt such a rush as that . Well , I did once , but it was only a tickle compared to today . Are you doing all right ? " He just laughed . " You 're already stronger than any of us . You just need to learn a few more things . You 'll probably have everything we can teach you safely tucked under your belt by the time the spring thaws come around again . " I dressed in my best , which meant that I made myself a new set of leathers . I cut my hair and trimmed my beard . I even polished my sword . Then the three of us set off for town . Our journey was only a little more dignified than the last time me and my three best friends had made this same trip so very long ago . Haines was hard pressed to keep up ; even I was having more trouble than I anticipated . Carm 's legs had grown far longer than mine since I was last here . When we reached the gathering , a much - disheveled young man saw us and ran up to me . Much to my surprise , he bowed to me and addressed me quite formally . " Master , it is fortunate that you have come . My father 's fields have been struck by lightning and they are burning . Please , Master , will you come and help ? " The storm clouds and lightning , and I don 't remember the last time it had rained . With everything so dry , a fire could wipe out miles of farmland and killed people and livestock . " Where ? How far ? " I asked . All thoughts of love were wiped from my mind . I was running . I had no plan . I had never seen a wild fire before , though I had heard of them . I had learned to control fire to a certain extent , but could I do anything with a fire this big ? I had no idea . Thoughts of this sort raced through my mind as I raced across the land toward the wall of smoke . Two days later , Brom and Lagge reluctantly returned to their families . Carm remained , and he , Haines , and I took up my lessons again . I found out that , though I retained the knowledge , I needed to recover the strength and confidence . I had been ' knocked down ' to the point of death , and as with all major injuries , there is a time of convalescence and therapy before recovery can be complete . My convalescence was winding to a close ; this was my therapy . I was starting almost from the beginning though I was much better with a sword and a staff . " Master Durmas determined that you would pay more attention to your lessons if she wasn 't here . He will determine when the two of you can be rejoined , and Liam , before you think to change this , you should know that the Master has something special planned for the two of you . You would be very disappointed if you screwed it up . " That 's what I did . I redoubled my efforts with my lessons and wrote Patricia every night . I found myself pouring my soul out onto the paper . I wanted her to understand everything about me and I wanted to understand things about her as well , so I sprinkled many questions into my letters . Her answers were waiting for me every evening . It wasn 't as good as feeling the warmth of her body , but I was determined to make it do . Carm and Haines didn 't hit it off very well at all . Carm felt that Haines was too high and mighty , and Haines thought Carm was the worst example of a back - country hick . My teachers saw this dissension as well and designed their lessons accordingly , much to my dismay . The tasks were brutal and required meticulous cooperation from all of us to accomplish . We suffered many failures because of small disagreements between Carm and Haines . " We failed because you both are more interested in out doing or defeating each other . Haines , my god , you were the captain of the emperor 's guard and my senior by at least fifteen years , you should know better . This will stop or I will send you home , Carm ; and Haines , I will send you to live with Mr . Preston . I 'm giving you one more chance to sort this out between you . If you stumble over each other again , I wash my hands of you both . " I don 't know how long I slept . I vaguely remember someone pulling me out of the chair and propelling me to a bed . I might even have eaten something , but I don 't really recall . When I woke , I was alone in the bed . It took me a moment to figure out why I had come awake so fast . I didn 't answer his question ; I just went and gave them a big hug . At least it was as big a hug as I could , considering I could scarcely get my arms around them . It was good to see them again . I had missed them . They had grown so big . Durmas appeared then . " Good , the team is back together again . " He too greeted the three newcomers , but in a more formal manner . " Are you all ready to take up where we left off ? " Brom was the first to speak up . " My wife is expecting our third child . I 'm afraid I cannot stay long , But I couldn 't think of staying away when I heard the news . " " Your wife has you tied too close to her apron strings . Mine insisted I come . I think she wanted me out of the way for a while . She says I don 't get out enough , " said Lagge . Lagge turned to me . " After you left , the guards gave our families a lot of trouble , so Master Durmas moved us out of the village to another town over the mountains . He also arranged the sale of our families ' properties . My father used the money to buy into a store . Eventually he bought out the original owners completely . Now my wife and I run it . Brom married the blacksmith 's daughter and has been working in the smithy ever since . Carm here is still unattached because no woman will have him . He works the vegetable farm his parents started . " " Your mother would send us news of you from time to time , " said Carm . " I 'm impressed that you were working so close to your emperor . You must be the best . " " Yes you do , " said Durmas as he invited everyone to sit at the table that was conveniently large enough for all of us . As soon as everyone was seated , ( Patricia was nowhere to be seen ) Durmas touched my hand . " Are you up to a meal ? " " Oh , of course . " My friends had traveled a long way , it was only right that I should greet them with a full table . I reached for the elements I needed to fulfill my desire ; I found my hands shaking . I could feel Durmas watching me closely , but he made no comment about the tremble he surely saw . When I was finished , I was glad to be sitting . The meal was one I had learned while living in the ' empty ' palace that had belonged to the emperor 's mother . I wanted to treat my friends to some of the outside , even if it was only unusual food . The meal was a success . Everyone said they liked it and I actually felt like they meant it and weren 't just being polite . I thought it tasted good too , but it didn 't seem to satisfy me like I was used to food doing if I got enough . They withdrew to the limits of the room and waited for me to calm down . I did calm down , eventually . I was very full , and since further hunting was out of the question , I wanted to sleep , but I couldn 't sleep while I was being watched , so I just sat there and watched them in return . Then , as if someone had turned a light on in a dark room down the hall , it occurred to me that I knew these men . I knew their names , and with the names came memories . " M . . . Master Durmas ? " " Good . We can begin now . Come to the center of the room and sit down . Make yourself as comfortable as possible ; this might take a while . Durmas knelt down in front of me and looked me directly in the eyes . " You 're not ; hold onto that thought . You 're not going crazy . Now , what we 're going to do is manipulate the energies that flow through your body . To you , this might seem like you are hallucinating . Are you ready ? " " Most anything and very likely a sampling of about everything , just try and deal with what comes as if it were real . You will essentially be relearning how to use your magic - relearning your union , your trust . Once this starts , don 't dwell on the fact that this is a hallucination . Immerse yourself in what is occurring . There will come a time when your thoughts will bring you back here . That 's when this will stop . That is when you will be fully whole again . " My four teachers sat down in a circle around me . Durmas and Tsan were in front of me and Larak and Oskan were behind me . I felt my skin crawl between my shoulders at the fact that someone was behind me , but I refused to give in to the feeling . Sitting knee to knee , they joined hands with each other and engulfed my hands in theirs at the sides of their circle . I went looking for my mother and found her cowering behind a mound of gold . The baron was throwing handfuls of it at her and telling her to make her son make more so he could throw that at her too . I turned the entire palace into gold , him included . I took the meat hanging in the freezer and turned it into a friend . I got it all wrong and he had no hands , no eyes . His face looked like it went through a meat grinder before it was smeared on the front of his head . Master Durmas took me through a thorough anatomy lesson and I made everything the way it was supposed to be . I see Colin standing in the emperor 's livery ; he 's so happy . The emperor 's son throws a bomb at his father and the glass shatters . I . . . I . . . no . . . My magic surges and I put the glass back together . The emperor puts a hand on my shoulder and says , ' well done ' . I walk into my apartment . Someone . . . I . . . shredded it . I put it all back together the way I remembered it . Why was that so hard ? A girl with silky black hair and a silky gown was in my arms . " Patricia , I need you , " I called out . " I need you so much , " I whispered . " Please don 't leave me . " I felt myself stand . I felt my hands come away from others . My magic bucked and I opened my eyes in surprise . I had never felt that before , but that didn 't matter anymore . Patricia was in front of me . Or rather , I was standing in front of her . She was curled up in a big chair reading a book . I sank down to my knees in front of her . " Please don 't leave me . I need you so much . " She was on the floor in front of me . Her hand was on my cheek . I felt the roughness of it under her hand . " I 'm not going anywhere , Liam , " she said . Her voice was gentle fingers through my raw nerves . I wilted and she caught me . Somehow , we ended up curled up in the big chair together . I roused enough to hear " Good . I was hoping he had made it here . " Durmas chuckled softly . " Love is the best healing magic there is . " Then I felt a huge hand on my head . " Sleep , Liam . " Just before I drifted off again , I heard Patricia whisper from where her head rested on my shoulder . " I do love you , Liam . I have for a long time . " I grew up a rancher 's daughter hoping to inherit the ranch and run a riding school for city kids . However , my brother bought the ranch from our parents in order to avoid an inheritance tax and I ended up joining the army , marrying my fisherman husband and moving to the wilderness of Alaska where I raised two wonderful boys . One of them gave me an old laptop computer and now I 'm a published author . Go figure . My Obsession is all things writing . I 've written two dozen books ranging in length from 6 pages to over 1100 pages . I 'll post a different sample each week as the mood pulls me . Kinda depends on which character wants to show off at the time . But keep an eye pealed - once in a while there 's something else entirely .