Chapter 17

Nick chased Lirael down the hall to their room. He grabbed her by the shoulders just before she wouldhave flopped down on the feather mattress.

"What's wrong with you?"

"It's Katrel." She jerked out of his grip and fell face down on the bed.

He moved to sit beside her, running a hand along her spine. "What's Katrel?"

"This whole mess." A sob rocked her prone form. "He killed Touchstone, he probably was the one to trap Sabriel, and I could have sworn it was him I saw at the Holehallow."

Nick slumped onto the bed beside her, shocked, but still deep in though. "Wait. Why would he be at Holehallow?"

"I don't know!" Her voice was so muffled by the pillows that he had to strain to hear the rest of what she said. "But some spell proclaimed him as 'the corrupt of the Charter.'"

"Are you certain it was Katrel?"

"No, but Mogget is."

He sighed. The situation was important, but comforting, Lirael had to come first, at least for now. "Shhh," he whispered to her ear. "What does that fool cat know?"

At that moment, Mogget strolled into the room. As always, he'd shown up right when he was least wanted or expected. "Actually, this 'fool cat' knows quite a bit."

Lirael turned over long enough to growl at him, "If you don't know anything immediately useful, you'd best leave."

"Oh, but I do."

"Impossible," Nick retorted at the cocky feline. "You told us you already told us everything you knew."

"I did," he taunted." Everything about the Bright Shiners. But I told you absolutely nothing of necromancers."

"And this is going to be useful information?"

"Of course."

"Fine. Get on with it."

"As I told you, each Shiner was given a bit of silver into which they spelled their powers. What I didn't tell you was what would happen if a human were to possess some of that metal."

"We already know that," Nick seethed. "Abhorsens use the bells all the time."

"It seems you are the fool here, Sayre. Don't you think the bells would be more powerful if they were the true silver we had been given? And if we had put it all into a bell, then how could new sets be created? No, the bells are but a miniscule fragment of our power. The rest has long since been tucked safely away. But we will talk about that later.

Now when a human obtains the silver, true silver, that is, even a tiny speck can work wonders. You once had such a thing in you. That is why you have always been better at Charter Magic than Lirael. That splinter of Orannis's power was in your heart for so long, some of its power was absorbed into you. And until the last drop of your blood evaporates, you will have that power. Even after there is but a speck of metal on the ground where you died, nothing will grow on that land. Take care not to be murdered in a farmer's field.

At any rate, every part of you contains him now. And when you created Katrel, that was passed on to him."

"So any child I should have would be like this?"

"No. The power only passes to the first. Orannis would not have many people using his power, even if it was so little of it. The problem is that Katrel's power is far greater than yours."

"Why?"

"Because your blood was baptized in the Charter, and the power that runs in your veins is Free Magic. The two will always be warring against each other, never allowing you to use more than half your true power. Katrel, though, was born into both the Charter and Free Magic, so he can use it to its full potential. Since he's been exposed to Free Magic, its also possible that he will, or has, discovered the other side effect."

"Which is?" There wasn't a chance Nick would let anything important pass him by this time.

"Which is that he may establish a link with Orannis."

"What do you mean by 'link'?"

"The two would be able to communicate. In Ancelstierre, you'd call it telepathy."

"Great. Not only does my son possess tremendous power, he could be talking to the...thing...that gave it to him! Not to mention that this thing, and power, are remarkable evil, and might just kill us all! Is there any good news in this?"

"Well, there is one thing." The cat twisted around his ankles, repeatedly making figure-eights. The fur tickled.

"Are you going to tell me, or stand there grinning like a Cheshire cat?"

"I have no idea what such a thing is, but I doubt I really look like one. Knowing the things you have in Ancelstierre, it's probably big, ugly, and stupid. Rather like you."

Nick swooped down a hand to grab his two front paws. The cat was soon dangling fro Nick's hand, well over five feet in the air. Even being a cat, Mogget couldn't quite land like one. He changed into a dwarf, and found his feet to still be several inches in the air. Next was an eagle, but he couldn't fly away while Nick held him. Finally, he shifted into a harmless garter snake. Nick gasped and dropped him. It hurt quite a bit, but at least he was down.

"I think I'll be going jusssst now," he hissed, and slithered under the door and back into Nick's closet. He knew of a small rat hole in there, and once through it, he'd be free!

†††

'Orannis.' He felt the sudden presence of another mind within his own, and knew from his heightened senses that the one he had called was listening. 'I couldn't get the bell.'

'What? The voice thundered in his head, spawning a massive headache. Why not?'

'My mother was there. She's already gotten it.'

'You could have killed her.'

'Yrael was there. Along with more than a handful of ancient spells.' If Katrel was able to see who he was communicating with, Orannis would have received a withering look. He had told the boy there would be few spells, and those that were there would have been created by those impure in the blood.

'You'll just have to get it the harder way then. Search the entire Ratterlin north of the Long Cliffs for what remains of Yrael's silver.'

'As you say.'