Chapter Four
Firesong raced down the Trainee's hallway, skidding around corners as he tried not to listen to the persistent voice in his head telling him to get his butt down here or she would do something drastic.
He finally reached the small room of the girl he had been told about and came to a sudden halt, panting as he tried to assess the situation. There was nothing to assess. Only the powerful Empath, the Queen's Own, and Elspeth were standing outside the door. Elspeth was trying to get the girl under some sort of shielding so she wouldn't tear the Palace down and Talia was trying to cut down on the fear and despair welling up inside the poor child. They were trying but he could tell they weren't succeeding well because there was sweat streaming down their faces and he could feel the power and pain clearly. And he wasn't an Empath. He couldn't imagine what the unshielded Trainees were feeling.
Once he had his breath he gasped out, "What is going on? Why do you need me so much?"
Elspeth turned to him and replied in an angry and exasperated voice, "Look at who is sitting on that bed." Firesong began to lean towards the door to peer in but Talia stopped him.
"Use your Mage Sight." She said wearily. He looked sharply at her then slowly let his mage senses into the girl weeping uncontrollably on her bed. What he saw reeled him back several paces.