The Gates of Memory, стр. 85

Jace nodded. “Then tomorrow we find out.”

Tomorrow came too soon, and Alena didn’t sleep well. Their situation put her in a reflective mood. Part of her had always understood why the Etari feared soulwalkers as they did. What Jace proposed was a rational request in warfare. But to strip the will of a person in such a way, it did seem like a power that shouldn’t exist.

They rose before the sun, scouting the patterns of those who patrolled the village. By the time evening fell again, Jace had chosen the perfect place to strike.

That location was a small widening of a path that passed underneath several sturdy trees. Patrols passed regularly underneath, and while they had a clear view of the village from the path, that section of trail was hidden from other parts of the path. They could attack without being discovered. Jace buried himself in some bushes near the trail while Toren and Alena hid in one of the trees above. Toren would attack first, hopefully disorienting the party and killing one or two before they realized they were under attack.

Jace would finish what Toren began.

Alena worried about her brother. Tonight he would be called upon to kill, which he hadn’t done since that first ambush when they first entered Falar. He refused to speak on the subject when Alena brought it up in private. He insisted he was fine, and Alena had little choice but to trust her brother.

They timed their ambush well. They hadn’t been settled in their position long when a group of six Falari warriors came down the path. They appeared alert, but like all the invaders, focused on the village below. They walked right underneath Alena without once looking up.

As planned, Toren launched the initial attack. He set two stones spinning the moment he saw the Falari in the distance. The Etari warrior could spin and launch two stones confidently and sometimes managed a third, a feat almost as impressive as any Alena had ever seen. Tonight she assisted him by spinning two more stones, ready for him to launch. Just spinning the stones took all her focus.

Toren’s first stone struck the last member of the Falari party right between the eyes, instantly killing the unsuspecting warrior.

The man directly in front of the first victim didn’t even have time to turn around before another stone caught him in the forehead.

Alena watched, amazed by Toren’s precision. He made it look easy, though it was anything but.

As soon as Alena felt Toren take the stones from her, Alena dropped into a soulwalk. Time shifted, now moving at the speed of thought. Alena found the four remaining warriors with ease. She studied them. She felt their confidence, colored by their slowly growing surprise.

Alena saw Jace through the thoughts of the Falari leader as her brother stepped out in front of them. But something was wrong.

The leader was surprised to see Jace. But after that heartbeat of shock wore off, she saw Jace’s stance through the eyes of a practiced swordsman, a man who had seen countless battles. The Falari leader saw the hesitation in Jace’s stance, the slight widening of the eyes that gave away Jace’s sudden fear.

Alena felt the warrior’s confidence return, stronger than before.

She cursed, but there was nothing she could do now. The warrior and her brother were only moments away from clashing, and Jace didn’t even have his sword up yet.

Then she remembered she was far from helpless.

She was a soulwalker.

And she would not lose her brother.

Alena searched the Falari leader and found his fear, the same fear they all carried. Only those with the true death wish felt nothing in the face of drawn steel. She knew she could take that fear, now suppressed by the Falari’s battle instincts, and grow it into a crippling terror.

But even the thought of doing that reminded her of what she had done to Jace outside of Landow. She had stripped him of his will.

And she froze.

Toren’s stones found both their targets, but it would take him a precious heartbeat or two to get the next stone spinning fast enough to launch. The lead warrior in the patrol stepped forward, drawing his bow in one smooth motion. The warrior walking just behind the leader, the only other one still standing, turned his attention to the trees above where he spotted Alena. Her attention fractured through the numerous connections in their small space. She saw the second warrior looking at her just as she saw the leader looking at Jace.

Her heart went out to Jace, driven by instinct. She desired to be with him at the end. She shared in her brother’s paralyzing fear.

Move! she shouted.

Connected to him like she was, it snapped the fear that froze his limbs. Jace sidestepped just as the archer released, the arrow flying safely to Jace’s side.

His trance broken, Jace’s training took over. He moved with liquid smoothness, stepping in and cutting down the lead archer with one move as the archer hurried to bring another bolt to bear.

In the confusion and excitement of the events surrounding Jace, Alena lost track of her own dilemma.

Fortunately, Toren did not. He launched himself from his branch to hers, tackling her as the second archer released his arrow. Alena’s world tumbled end over end as they struck tree branches and crashed into the bushes below. She couldn’t breathe, the weight of Toren limp on top of her. She felt something warm and wet trickle down her cheek and then Jace was there, a concerned expression on his face.

Together, they helped Toren to his feet and made their way away from the site of the ambush.

They recovered that night back in their cave, each of them nursing new wounds. Alena worried that she had cracked some ribs, but she was otherwise unharmed. Toren had taken the arrow meant for her, but the arrowhead had punched clean through his upper left shoulder and was relatively easily