combat, to speak of, at all, but I am not certain that direct combat, with magic or not, is the proper way to deal with him.' Darkwind must have looked a little surprised at Firesong's confession that there was something he did not know, for he caught the Adept's sardonic glance in his direction.
'So this is my suggestion. That we have two councils. I shall have Elspeth and Darkwind, the gryphons' representative-' he bowed ironically to Rris, who only bowed gravely back at him. '-and the Companion Gwena. If Iceshadow and Wintermoon would care to lead the other, I think that Nyara may know some ways of countering her father.
She will certainly know more of his ways and his stronghold than any of the rest of us. And surely the sword Need knows combat by magic and blade far, far better than I.'
'Thank you, youngster,' came Need's dry response, broadcast clearly to all. 'I do have a little experience there.' Firesong's eyebrows flew up into his hair again, but he did not comment.
Wisely, Darkwind thought. One did not pick quarrels with edged wit or edged weapons. 'When we have all reached some sort of conclusion, we will meet again as one, this time with the full k'sheyna Council.
Will that suit you all?'
'It suits me very well,' Iceshadow said cautiously. Wintermoon and Skif nodded. 'Well, then, let us withdraw to my ekele, and leave this place to the others.' Firesong made some show of finding a place to sit while the others followed Iceshadow down one of the paths. Only when they were completely out of earshot, did the young Adept sigh, and look from Darkwind to Elspeth and back.
'Here is what I intend,' he said, quietly. 'Attend, sir kyree; you must carry this back to the gryphons as soon as I have done, for this is dangerous working that I propose, and I want-no, I need-them to participate.' Rris nodded, and pricked his ears forward eagerly.
Firesong took a deep breath.
'I intend to shatter the Heartstone.
At Darkwind's instinctive move of protest, he shook his head. 'No, not as Falconsbane sought to-and not releasing the energy wildly. Faceting a precious stone is not the same as striking it with a mallet. No, I intend to do this under complete control. First, I wish to prepare the Stone as if it were to become a Gate. Call it a proto-Gate. I shall work only with the energy tied to the Stone, but never the Stone itself. That will anchor all of the energy but not in a physical anchor.' Darkwind nodded slowly. This made sense, but it was not something he would ever have considered. Everyone knew that creating a Gate anchored energy, but no one would have ever considered making a Stone into a Gate. It would entail circling the powers about the Stone from without; he did not even want to consider what would happen to someone who actually used such a Gate.
'K'Sheyna has prepared a new Stone in the new Vale-yes?' At Darkwind's nod, he continued. 'Once this stone is shattered, the protogate will be drawn to the point of greatest attraction and to the point that is nearest in type to the old Stone. It will seek, we shall push it gently in the proper direction. That should be the new Stone, for both were created by the same mages. It will carry the remaining ley-lines with it. We can guide its movement from here.'
'That's not going to happen quickly,' Darkwind put in.
'No. It will take several Adepts in relays to move it, and they will be working for several days to do so. But this should work.' Firesong looked to Rris. 'The shielding will be undertaken in pairs; like the shielding when a Heartstone is moved, but with double the mages. The pairs will be male-female, to enforce the balancing. I wish the gryphons to be in the West, if they would. Can you tell them that, as well as all else you have heard tonight? Can you remember?
'Surely,' the kyree replied, with a lift of his head that signified slightly offended pride. 'I know every kyree history-song, every tale the Tayledras have shared with my clan, and all of the four-hundred and twenty-three tales of my famous cousin Warrl. Carrying what I have heard to Treyvan and Hydona is no great task at all.'
Darkwind felt his lips twitching.
'With your permission, I shall go to them,' Rris finished. At Firesong's nod, he was off. leaping across the circle and into the underbrush, presumably on his way back to the ruins.
Gwena chose that moment to absent herself, leaving only Firesong, Darkwind, and Elspeth. Darkwind was about to take himself off as well, when Firesong put out a restraining hand.
'There is trouble between us, Darkwind,' he said levelly. 'That trouble has not been purged. There is trouble between you and the Wingsister, for you have not truly dealt with it. And there is trouble between Elspeth and myself, for there are some assumptions that she has made that I have not corrected.' Darkwind's stomach knotted with sudden tension. He would have liked to make an escape, but he did not dare.
'These must be dealt with, all, before we enter the circle together,' Firesong said but instead of turning first to Darkwind, he faced Elspeth.
'You have not been honest with Darkwind,' he said levelly.
'I-' She started to protest, but the protests died on her lips under his stern gaze.
'You have not told him your true feelings concerning me,' the Adept continued. 'He has sensed it, but you have avoided dealing with your own feelings, and with him. You have not told him the truth.'
'I-suppose not. I am very attracted to Darkwind. Very. But-you-' She shrugged helplessly. 'I can't help it, and it isn't just because you're so infernally beautiful. Firesong-' She blushed furiously, and hung her head. 'I've never wanted anyone-physically-quite so much.' Darkwind felt his jealousy rising to eat him alive. Had she been fantasizing that her lover was Firesong every time that the two of them had... ?
'Well.' Firesong nodded coolly, not in the least perturbed-or impressed.' You are not the first female to attempt to fling herself at me.
Let me tell you that you are a good student, Elspeth, and worthy of the praise that I have given you. But you must know this; I am not as you think.' She shook her head, obviously not understanding. For that matter, Darkwind couldn't imagine what Firesong was getting at.
'I am,' he said delicately, 'the true descendant of your Herald Vanyel, on both sides of my family. It is from his blood that I have my power.' Then, before Elspeth could register that surprise, he continued.
'I inherited more than his power.' She shook her head; clearly she did not understand what he was trying to
