Ward

A blast of light washed over her, a blue wall of force,
dissolving spirits in a ring. She stumbled to a stop, rock
clutched in her fingers, to find Davriel crouching at the
center. He stood up, blue smoke coloring his eyes. As
another spirit came in—its head at a crooked angle, its
gaping mouth as long as its forearm—Davriel raised his
hand and released a blast of blue light.
“How?” Tacenda said. “I saw them taking your soul!”
“The ward I took from your mind acted as a shield
for my soul, once I activated it,” he said. Though his
voice was calm, his face had gone pale and he was
shaking. “That done, it was a simple matter to use the
dismissal spell I’d taken from those hunters.” He wiped
his brow with a trembling hand. “You were worried
for me? Foolish child. I was, of course, never in any
danger . . .”

Chapter 16