my invulnerability to the curse is gone. I've used it all up.'
'And the man who was born in this body? What happened to him when you took it?'
'He died,' Nassar said.
She'd hoped he wouldn't say that.
A woman entered the chamber through the door in the opposite wall. A pale blond like Nassar. She smiled at them. Nassar didn't quite smile back, but the melancholy of his face eased slightly.
'This is Elizavetta. My sister.'
'Call me Liza,' she said. 'Everyone does'
'Grace,' Grace said simply. 'You're the one who drugged the cream.'
Liza nodded. 'Yes. Alasdair warned me I may have earned your undying hate for it. I sincerely hope we can put it past us. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings in any way.'
'Given that I'm a servant, my feelings are hardly relevant, but I appreciate it,' Grace said.
Liza blinked. An uncomfortable silence ensued. Nassar cleared his throat. 'Liz?'
'Yes, right.' Liza stepped inside the design.
'Every revenant has a fatal weakness,' Nassar said, his gaze fixed on his sister. 'This is mine.'
Liza arched her back, spreading her arms. Her hands clawed the air. She spun in a place, twisting. Magic pulsed from her and filled the lines etched on the floor with pale yellow light. Liza brought her hands together, cried out, and forced them apart with a pained grimace. A clump of mottled darkness appeared between her fingers. She stepped back.
The clump spun, growing, and ruptured, vomiting a creature into the circle. The beast was three feet long and slender, shaped like a slug or a leech except for the fringe of carmine feathery hairs along its sides. A patina of grey and sickly yellow swirled over its dark hide, like an oil rainbow on the surface of a dark puddle.
The creature shivered. The red fringe trembled and it took to the air, sliding soundlessly a foot off the ground. A cold foul magic emanated from it. It touched Grace. She jerked back and bumped into Nassar.
'What is that?'
He put his hand on her shoulder, steadying her. 'A marrow worm. They live in dark places, where there is stagnant water and decay. They feed on small animals, fish, and old magic.'
The worm hovered behind the glowing outline of the circle. Its head was blunt and as it rose up, testing the boundaries of its invisible cage, Grace saw a slit of a mouth lined with sharp serrated teeth on its underside.
Liza approached the worm. The creature shied away, sliding as close to the glowing lines as it could.
'Think of them as germs. Most people have a natural resistance to them, an immunity. I don't. To me, they're fatal. We did our best to keep this fact to ourselves, but I have no doubt Roars know it. They would be fools not to. Unfortunately, marrow worms are easy to summon.'
He'd stepped behind her and she was painfully sensitive to the presence of his large body only an inch from her back. His magic touched her. Her every nerve shivered, hyper-aware of his movements. She sensed him lean to her and almost jumped when his quiet voice spoke into her ear. 'Do you remember when you sent that dog running? I want you to do that again.'
Grace swallowed. 'I don't remember what I did. It just happened.'
His big hand pushed against her back gently, making her take a step toward the circle. 'Try.'
Grace took a deep breath and stepped over the glowing lines inside the circle. The worm jerked away from her like a wet ribbon. Grace glanced at Nassar.
'That's just normal resistance to humans. Keep trying.'
Grace stared at the worm twisting.
The worm remained where it was.
Grace glanced at Liza. 'Any idea what I'm supposed to be doing?'
Nassar's sister shook her blonde head. 'None. Dreochs are aggressors. We have few defensive abilities and they're radically different from yours. Mostly our defenses consist of Nassar hacking at things with something large and sharp.'
'The magic you're trying to do is called the Barrier,' Nassar said. 'It's one of the natural Mailliard's magics. Very talented members of your family used it both as defense and as a weapon. Your mother stated that it can't be taught. You simply do it or you don't.'
Grace focused on the worm and tried to pretend it was a large, mean-looking German shepherd.
An hour later she sat exhausted on the floor. The worm floated at the edge of the design.
'It's useless.' Liza unscrewed a cap from a fresh bottle of water. She had gotten a cooler with drinks, migrated to the wall, and now sat on the floor. 'Why Janet didn't practice with Grace is beyond me, but she didn't. We'll have to change the plan. Instead of you and Grace, I'll go with Alasdair.'
'No.' Steel laced Nassar's voice. He leaned against the wall.
'You're being unreasonable.'
Nassar's face was dark like a storm. 'Both of you will die. I have resistances and power to counter Roar's attacks. You don't.'
'You can't counter this one.'
He didn't answer.
'Why don't you just turn into a bird and fly through the zone?' Grace asked.
'Flight is forbidden in the game,' Nassar answered.
Liza sighed. 'Grace, would you like some water?'
'Yes.'
Liza tossed her a new bottle.
'Thank you.' Grace caught it. 'Why are you fighting Roars anyway? What's this dispute about?'
'It's about children,' Nassar said. 'And killing me.'
'Our aunt married a member of clan Roar,' Liza said. 'Arthur Roar. He turned out to be a wart on the ass of the human kind. Abusive, violent, cruel. She left after eight years and took their three kids with her.'
'Should've left sooner,' Nassar said. His green eyes promised violence, the light irises so cold that Grace took a small step back.
'She had her reasons for staying,' Liza said. 'There was a large dowry involved and she didn't want us to have to pay restitution and interest. But in the end it was just too much. After Arthur broke his son's legs, she grabbed the kids and came home. Now, nine years later, Arthur suddenly wants his children back.'
Liza took a drink from her bottle. 'He's never shown any interest in them. No calls, no letters, not even a card. He's done nothing to support them. But Aunt Bella signed the wedding agreement that specified equal amount of time with the children for each parent in the event of separation. Arthur claims that since the kids were with her exclusively for nine years, now he has exclusive rights to them.'
'He doesn't give a damn about the kids. It's an excuse for the Roars to test the waters,' Nassar said. 'They have a couple of strong people and they're thinking of moving in on our interests. Before they do it, they want to weaken us. They knew that if they challenged the clan, I would enter the game, and they believe they have a reasonable chance of killing me. They'll knock out Dreoch's biggest power user and earn respect from other clans for killing a revenant and they will do it all before the war ever starts.'
He pushed from the wall. 'It's almost time for lunch. Let's take a break.'
The lunch was laid out on a long table in a vast dining hall. Nassar held out a chair for Grace and she sat down. He took a place to her right, while Liza sat down at her left, next to Alasdair. Other people came into the room – two men and three women. They took their seats, nodded and smiled, started conversations in calm voices. Alastair said something and a woman laughed. They were so at ease and the warmth of their interaction began to thaw Grace's resolve.
The four chairs directly opposite her remained empty. She wondered who would sit there and a couple of minutes later she had her answer. Three children entered the room, followed by a pale woman. Of course. Nassar arranged it so she would spend the meal looking at the faces of the children whose fate would be decided in the game.
They took the seats: the woman with careworn eyes, a young boy with wild mass of dark hair, and two girls, one slender and blonde and the other only about ten or so, a kid with short dark hair and big blue eyes. The
