Changing Of The Guard (Book 6) by Ron Collins Page A

burned in the fire of this place. Energy hissed, and the curve of their passage flowed.
    “Are you all right, Garrick?” Will asked.
    “Yes, Will. I am fine.”
    Garrick gritted his teeth, though, as his thoughts turned to Darien and the Freeborn.
    This had been coming for a long time. He had known it somehow even before he had promised Braxidane to take control of the Torean House. But he thought about Darien, and imagined his friend’s reaction as he took that control.
    In so many ways, taking command of the Freeborn would be the hardest thing he had ever done.

Book 4: The Koradictine Play

Chapter 1

    The energy required to magic her way back to de’Mayer Island taxed Neuma greatly. She arrived numb from two nights without sleep, and in a mood that would scare off a planewalker’s demon. But at least with Hirl-enat and Fil traveling to the Vapor Peaks, she had time to recover.
    A little, anyway. Enough.
    Badwall needed to be addressed—as did the entire western plain, for that matter—but that could wait until she had secured the island itself. Everyone with half a thought understood that the Koradictine order would survive as long as the island was held firm, and that meant ensuring loyalty of the few wizards who remained.
    She went to her basin to find it full of stagnant water.
    “Hess?” she called, but there was no answer.
    She stormed into the hallway.
    While the Koradictine castle itself was an edifice that towered over de’Mayer point, the stronghold was a labyrinth of halls and rooms carved into the volcanic cliffs themselves. Befitting her age and experience rather than her power, her room was far from the interior, hence the hallways were longer and darker than many others.
    The path was familiar, though.
    Her fatigue served to feed her anger as her stride picked up a steady rhythm. Her footsteps gave a staccato ring against the stone. The door to the kitchen was cracked open, allowing voices to leak out. The apprentices and adepts were eating together, or playing dice, or some other game of randomness that each would attempt to influence with the creative use of magestuff.
    She remembered those times in her own past, but was in no mood for games.
    “Hess?” she said, stepping into the chamber.
    Conversation came to an abrupt stop.
    “Lady Neuma,” Hess said, sliding his backside off the table where he had been holding court with, knowing him, some overblown tale of wonder.
    “We were just on break, Lady Neuma,” Hess said, bowing with submission.
    “You’ve been on break for so long that you’ve forgotten to refresh my water?”
    “We expected you back much later,” he replied.
    “Things change,” she said. “It will go best for you if you anticipate that from now on.”
    “Yes, Lady. I’ll get to the water right away.”
    Hess stepped past.
    Neuma glanced at the remaining apprentices, thinking about Ettril and Hirl-enat. She was so close to the end game. So close.
    “Things are changing around here,” she said to the apprentices. “You had best prepare, too.”

Chapter 2

    Fil stopped scanning the woods to look at Hirl-enat.
    The elder mage was riding on the bench seat beside him, his eyes closed, his head swaying with the motion of the wagon. He was younger than Ettril, but not as powerful. And his ability to see things for what they actually were was limited. He played things cautiously, never daring too much—unlike Neuma, whose ambition was worn like a garish streak of blush across her cheek.
    He pulled his blanket up over his neck. How long would Hirl-enat last?
    Though the weather had held reasonably fair, it had been a long trip—over a week’s passage to the Vapor Peaks alone. It would be good to get this resolved so they could get home.
    The party came to a halt, and Hirl-enat’s eyes slid open.
    Lectodinians, three of them, blocked the passage.
    The lead figure was draped in the telltale blue of the order. A quick spell revealed several more mages scattered across