Night's Haunting Read Online Free PDF Page A

that nest represented the safe or, at least, the magics bound within it.
    Mentally grabbing a thread, he pulled it closer to the safe, and saw wisps of coloured gas, the raw essence of magic, begin to siphon off from the safe. After a few seconds, it was done. No more gases were drawn from the safe, and its nest of energy seemed diminished somehow.
    For a fraction of a second he relaxed his control of that single thread and energy immediately began to flow back to the safe. Grasping the thread with his mind again, he halted the flow.
    Briefly he wondered what to do next, then an idea occurred. Brow creasing with concentration, he tried to reach out to another thread that slipped and bent its way around the safe. He started breathing hard, and felt himself tiring; he had never before tried to utilise two threads at once.
    Slowly, wearily, he brought the second thread over to the safe, and felt his confidence grow a little as, once again, gaseous energy began to transfer from the safe to the thread. After a few seconds more, the ball of energy representing the safe was a little smaller still.
    Now he knew what to do, but he was dubious about his ability to control multiple threads at a time. Fervently, he hoped the next thread would prove sufficient to disarm whatever protective magic had been placed upon the safe.
    As threads were removed from the main flow of magic, the remainder seemed more chaotic in their path around the safe, as if they were becoming less stable, and it occurred to Lucius that he had no real idea of what he was doing. Was he creating a hole in magic itself as he bound more threads to his control? Or was the more violent twisting and curving of the threads a natural result of his low level of training and understanding? He now began to wish he had paid far more attention to Adrianna and Master Forbeck.
    The third thread bucked and twisted, and he had the bizarre image of a kicking and screaming child. Screwing his eyes tight with concentration, he forced the thread, inch by inch, toward the safe. It bucked and rolled under his touch, but he managed to move it close enough for the transfer of energy to resume. As the magical essences started to shift away from the safe, he breathed in relief as the energies around the safe shrank by a much greater margin.
    That was enough for the rampaging thread to wriggle out of his control. Like a writhing snake, it coiled back upon itself and, for the briefest instant, touched the safe. The safe exploded, blowing Lucius onto his back.
    He felt Grayling grab his shoulders and start to haul him up, but his vision was blocked by a thick mist that rolled with unnatural speed from the lighting globes, down the walls, to fill the room. When his hearing returned, he was aware that de Lille's room was ringing to the sound of a large, thunderous bell.
    Still shaky on his feet, Lucius shook his head to clear the daze left by the blast, and saw Grayling reach down to the safe, twist it open, and grasp something inside. Grinning, she held a golden chain in front of him, a stone-encrusted, moon-shaped device suspended from its length - the torc.
    Nodding his thanks, Lucius gestured that they should leave. The doorway was barely visible through the roiling fog, but as he took a step towards it, he saw Grayling's eyes widen in alarm. He dropped to the floor and rolled, as a sword blade hissed through the air behind him. Hearing it thud into the floor, Lucius sprang to his feet, his own weapon in hand.
    The fog began to sting his eyes and Lucius blinked to clear his vision. De Lille stood before him. Two quick thrusts from the portly merchant drove Lucius back, and then spun him around as he desperately parried.
    He swung for de Lille's head, but his blade was met by the merchant's own before it could strike. Another thrust pierced Lucius' guard and buried itself in the side of his hardened leather tunic. The blow was a glancing one, but he felt a rib give way and wetness start to