Haven 3 Shadow Magic (Haven Series 3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

objected Brand, pacing now. “How will they communicate the message? Why would the Riverton council believe a creature such as a wisp in any regard?”
    Tomkin shrugged. “This is none of my affair. My part of the bargain is already complete. Word has gone out.”
    Brand felt his anger rising, but Myrrdin tried to calm him. “It is no matter, Brand. There could be no faster way to get to your relations. A wisp could fly there in a single night. It might not work, but then again, it may.”
    Shaking his head, not trusting Tomkin an inch, Brand walked away to talk to Telyn. She still sat upon the wall top, fashioning something up there in the darkness.
    “It looks like Tomkin has had the last laugh on us again,” he called up to her. “What are you working on, Telyn?”
    She made no reply for a moment, and then she lifted something white up in her hand. He frowned up at her, but before he could ask about it, she tossed it down to him. He fumbled with it for a moment, and then lifted it up into the light cast by the distant fire to examine the object. It was a candle, a rolled taper of white wax. It had an odd smell to it…then he knew.
    “More witchery?” he hissed up at her. “Is this what you’ve been up to all this time?”
    Her soft laughter came down from the darkness. “Oh Brand, you really must drop some of your prejudices. After all, you do bear a living axe on your back!”
    Brand frowned at the thing and held it pinched between his thumb and forefinger as one might a dead rat. “What’s it for?”
    “It’s a beacon,” said Telyn. “The same as before. It’s to guide the army of the Haven to us.”
    Brand snorted. “The army of the Haven? It doesn’t exist.”
    “Well, I know of one of its best soldiers.”
    Brand smiled and tossed the candle back up to her. She caught it deftly. It felt good to be free of the thing. “But the last one called more than we bargained for. Might that not be the case here, too?”
    “Possibly,” admitted Telyn. “But Myrrdin and I have been working together on it. He’s been teaching me things about the craft that should greatly improve the results.”
    Brand nodded, not liking the sound of it. He sighed. “I should go back to the others.”
    “Yes,” she said. There was an awkward silence, and Brand felt the fool. He wanted to tell her all sorts of silly, emotional things, but he didn’t.
    “Take care,” he said, turning to leave.
    “Brand?”
    “What?”
    “I think of your kiss all the time.”
    “And I think of yours,” he said, smiling in the dark. Then he left her and rejoined the others who argued over the best way to mount a defense of the ruins.

Chapter Six
    Oberon’s Daughter

    “Let us assume that help is coming,” said Corbin. “That means that we are under siege. The charm may or may not hold until our reinforcements arrive, so it makes sense to continue preparing for an assault.”
    “Exactly,” said Myrrdin. “There are a few things I can do to aid us, but I need help.”
    “Name your needs, wizard,” said Gudrin.
    “I require many fresh shoots of hardy plants,” said Myrrdin. “Sapling trees, young ferns and vines would do the best. I need all that we can gather.”
    “You plan to wield Vaul,” said Brand. “We will gather all that we can, but it is dark and this land isn’t terribly lush.”
    “Yes, you must carry torches and go in pairs,” said Myrrdin. “Please don’t stray far from our defensive position, such as it is, and come back at the first sign of trouble.”
    “I’ll go with you, Brand,” said Corbin. Brand nodded and smiled, it would be good to work alongside his favorite cousin once again.
    “Hold, Brand,” said Myrrdin, lightly touching his arm. “I have another task for you. One of greater import.”
    “What is it?” asked Brand.
    Myrrdin waited for a moment as the others broke up and headed out into the darkness. Gudrin and Modi formed one team, while Corbin and Telyn formed the second. Tomkin