Mirror reflects sword

The primata raised a hand, and the air seemed to coalesce into a flaming sword in that hand.

That was enough for the horses. Wide-eyed and foam mouthed, they ripped their ropes from the earth and were gone into the darkness, running all directions. The only one unfazed was the white gelding, Delphine’s mount.

Primata Delphine pointed the flaming blade at Jodah, and white-hot fire leapt from the tip, arching toward him. Jodah reached into his mind and found nothing—no memory, no ready spell, only a regret that he would never see his family’s manor again. Instinctively he threw up his hands to ward off the blow, the mirror and the blade striking each other as he did so.

The flame from priestess’s sword struck the crossed mirror and sword, hesitated for a second, and then doubled back, leaving Jodah unharmed. The holy fire struck the primata in the chest, and her robes now glowed of a new radiance, of the crimson flame of burning cloth. The primata screamed, and her flaming blade disappeared, and she dropped to the ground, rolling to extinguish the blaze, the slope carrying her down the hill.

Jodah lowered his arms, then looked at the blade and the mirror. The mirror was magical after all and had the power to turn the church’s work against it. He gripped his sword and began to chase down the hillside after the smoldering form of the priestess.

***

The Gathering Dark, Chapter 5