Enchantment (10 page)

Was
the
Le
m
ren
l
y
i
n
g?

I
n
stinct
told
h
i
m
s
he
wasn’t.
Skilled
at
picking
out
liars,
cheaters,
thieves,
and
wo
r
se, Kerrigan
trusted
his
instincts.
H
i
s
gifts
allowed
him
to
detect
other
m
a
g
ic,
heal
m
ost
in
j
uries, read
e
m
o
t
ions,
and
shape-shift
into
his
dragon
for
m
.
His
instincts
told
him
the
L
e
m
ren
w
a
s truthful,
and
he
respected
her
p
o
wer.
He
j
u
st
hoped
he
wouldn’t
have
to
find
out
exact
l
y
how p
o
werful
she
was.

Between
the
libra
r
y
additions
and
proble
m
a
tic
parents,
it
had
been
a
long
da
y
.
H
e
needed rest
s
o
he
could
think
straight.
The
m
o
m
e
nt
he
thought
about
sleep,
a
bed,
and
sheets,
the
vision of
the
girl
invaded
his
mind.
H
e
wanted
to
slide
into
his
childhood
bed
with
the
girl,
pull
her body
into
his
a
r
m
s,
and
hold
her
until
her
terrible
fears
disappeared.

D
amn
it!

Why
did
this girl
have
such a
strong
pull
on
hi
m
?
His
thoughts scared hi
m
. He had
to
get out of
there.
Kerrigan
stepped
back,
m
oving toward
the
door.

The
cat
sat
m
o
tion
l
ess,
watching
his
retreat.

“Whether
y
ou
or
I
like
it
or
not,
y
ou
are
a
part
of
her
destin
y
.”
Catz
prowled
the
confines
of the
bed,
her
fluffy
tail
flicking side
to
side.

Kerrigan
paused,
one
hand
on
the
doorknob,
to
stare
at
the
cat.
“
I
don’t
believe
in
destin
y
, and
I
don’t
intend
to
be
a
part
of
hers
or
a
n
y
o
ne
else’s.
I
don’t
like
people,
or
L
e
m
rens,
or
even Enchanters
all
that
m
uch.
The
girl
will
not
be here
long
enough
to
kn
o
w
what
her desti
n
y
is.
She will
be
healed by
to
m
orrow, and
y
ou
two
will be
on
y
o
u
r w
a
y
back to
Upper
World.

“You
s
hould
have
done
a
better
job
protecting
her.
Paddy
and
Todd
will
see
to
y
o
ur
needs, and
if
a
n
y
harm
comes
to
them
while
y
o
u
are
here,
then
y
ou
had
better
be
s
ure
y
o
u
are
as p
o
werful
as
y
o
u
think
y
o
u
are.”
He
exhaled
and
m
et
the
cat’s
stare.
“
I
n
case
y
o
u’
r
e
wondering,
y
o
u will
not
be
able
to
leave
this lodge,
so
don’t
even
try
to
think
y
ou can
e
scape.”

* * * *

Catz
blinked
in
silence
and
watched
him
storm
from
the
roo
m
.
Things
w
ere
definit
el
y starting
to
look
interesting.
Giggling
s
oft
l
y
,
she
flicked
an
ear
at
the
soft
huff
from
Meeka.
“Oh, bo
y
.
Th
e
y
have
no
idea.”
Curled
up
against
Meeka’s
cheek,
she
waited
for
her
to
awaken
to
her new
w
orld.
Enchantment w
a
s,
after
all,
her
greatest
wish.

Cha
p
ter
Four

Thalius
ran
a
hand
through
his
s
parse
gr
e
y
hair.
A
gnarled
hand
wiped
away
the
s
weat pouring
down
his
face.
H
e’d
been
pacing
s
o
long,
he
wondered
if
a
path
had
been
worn
through the
m
ar
b
le
floor.
The
instant
she’d
broken
the
dimension,
he’d
known.
Hundreds
of
pinpricks stung
his
body
at
once.
It
was
the
signal
he’d
been
waiting
for,
a
pain
he
welco
m
ed.
He
w
ondered
whether
the
others
could
feel
it
as
he
did.
Of
course
they
w
ould;
her
y
o
u
th
and
inner strength
seduced
the
m
.

H
i
s
lips
tightened.
The
others
w
ould
vote
to
rid
the
m
s
e
lves
of
her,
he
was
certain. Ultimate
l
y
,
their
reactions
to
the
uninvited
presence
would
be
very
different
than
his.
N
o
m
at
t
er, he’d
have
to
convince
them
the
f
e
m
ale
needed
to
stay
in
Enchantment.
S
he
needed
to
be
here, needed
to
be
close.

The
swirling
e
m
otion
and
ener
g
y
coursed
through
his
bo
d
y
like
fire.
“I've
founded
this,
w
orked
to
protect
it.
N
o
w
it
is
my
t
i
m
e.
My
turn.
I'll
not
be
declared
too
old
for
excit
e
m
e
nt.
The decades
haven’t
aged
m
e
that
m
uch.”
Gripping
his
c
r
y
s
t
a
l
cane,
he
headed
toward
the
bar. Excited
about
the
girl’s
arrival,
he
poured
a
goblet
of
S
wish
with
a
s
ha
k
y
hand.
Celebration deserved
an
expensive
drink.

From
the
bar,
he
glared
at
the
centu
r
y
-
old
portrait
of
h
i
m
self.
It
hung
on
the
wall
above
his desk,
a
re
m
in
d
er
of
his
once
y
o
uthf
u
l
appearance.

The
d
a
mn
thing
should
be
destroyed.

Thalius
didn’t
need
a
reminder
of
what
pride
and
selfishness
had
cost
hi
m
.
The
prestigious p
o
sition
of
Counselor
c
a
m
e
with
a
high
price.
The
exalted
title
w
a
s
a
detr
i
m
e
n
t
to
his
m
ost treasured
p
o
sse
s
sion—his
y
o
u
t
hfulness.
His
hands,
once
strong,
were
now
defor
m
ed,
his knuckles
swollen
larger
than
any
other
joint
in
his
bo
d
y
.
Skin
hung
slack
and
discolored.
H
i
s rese
m
bla
n
ce
to
a
troll
disgusted
him
m
ore
eve
r
y
da
y
.
Enchanters
still
bowed
to
hi
m
,
not
out
of respect
or
d
e
sire,
but
out
of
habit.

Thalius
s
queezed
the top
of
the
cane in
anger.
On
l
y
those
w
ho
used
m
a
g
ic for
selfish reasons aged—a
penance
he’d
long
since
co
m
e
to
regret.
A
slice
of
his
y
o
u
thful
n
ess
had
disappeared with
each
egocentric
s
pell.

In
their
o
wn
w
a
y
,
the
councilors
had
invited
their
demise,
he
m
ost
of
all—a
fact
kn
o
wn
b
y the
Enforcer.
“
D
a
m
n hi
m
.
He’s
the
one
problem
I’ve
never
rid
m
y
s
e
l
f
of.”

Thalius
rubbed
his
head
in
frustration.
Who
wouldn’t
be
content
with
a
grand
m
ansion, servants
to
com
m
a
nd,
and
p
o
werful
m
ag
i
c?
Driven
by
an
uncontrollable
need
for
power,
he
had an
insatiable
desire
to
rule
the
w
orld.
He’d
waited
endless
y
e
ars
for
her
arrival,
and
now
his brilliant
plan
would
begin
to
unfold.
The
t
i
m
e
had
co
m
e.

She
would
s
upp
l
y
him
with
the
ult
i
m
a
te
power,
making
him
invincible
against
all
other for
m
s
of
m
agic.
Nobody
knew
w
ho
her
father
was,
but
he
did.
She
w
ould
be
powerful.
Final
l
y
, after
decades
of
dre
a
m
ing,
he
w
ould
have
that
power.
Nobody
could
stop
hi
m
.
None
of
the councilors
w
a
s
equipped
with
the
insight
or
intellige
n
ce
to
see
s
upr
e
m
e
power
right
under
their n
o
ses.

The
thorn
in
his
side
would
be
K
errigan.
The
pest
should
have
been
killed
as
a
ba
b
y
. Thalius
sipped
at
his
fiery
drink
and
let
its
heat
kindle
his
o
wn
fu
r
y
,
while
recalling
the
d
a
y