Realm Of Blood And Fire (Book 3) by Dionne Lister

it and shut her eyes. “Gods, I’m so tired.”
    Toran sat next to her and rubbed her back. “Not long now, Bronwyn. You heard Drakon. We’ll be flying to Vellonia soon.”
    “I know, but what are we meant to do for Sinjenasta once we get there?”
    Avruellen looked at her niece. “I’m not sure, but maybe you have some ideas—he’s your creatura, after all. You’re so close to becoming a member of The Circle. Part of that is figuring things out that no one else can. I want you to think, Bronwyn. Think hard.”
    “First I’ll have a nap, and then I’ll think.”
    Toran and Avruellen shared a worried look. Then Avruellen turned to Arcon. The bond isn’t supposed to be that strong. I’ve never seen anything like it. She’s becoming almost as sick as he is. Why?
    Arcon shrugged. It must have something to do with the gormon poison. Hmm, I have an idea. Hang on a minute. Arcon closed his eyes and let his mind drift to the Second Realm. Despite the worry about what was happening in the First Realm, Arcon felt relaxed as soon as the darkness embraced him. It didn’t take long for him to find Bronwyn’s symbol, as it mirrored her position in the First Realm—right next to Arcon.
    I’ve never seen anything like it, Av. You’d better come and have a look.
    “Toran, can you please watch over Bronwyn. I’m just going somewhere for a moment.”
    “Ok ay.”
    Arcon felt Avruellen’s presence next to him in the Second Realm. Oh, my. What in the Third Realm is this? I’ve never seen anything like it either. I’m afraid it’s not good news.
    No. No, it’s not. Arcon floated around Bronwyn’s symbol, which was attached by a nearly-invisible thread to Sinjenasta’s symbol. Both symbols were supposed to be bright, but Bronwyn’s shone half as much as it should, and Sinjenasta’s was even dimmer.
    Arcon looked even closer and noticed black spots on Sinjenasta’s symbol, like spores of mold on a white wall. He tracked the marks along the thread that joined the symbols and noticed a few had attached themselves to Bronwyn as well. And then he saw something else. Oh my gods! I think I know what it is.
    What?
    I only noticed when I looked at the black dots with your symbol shining behind. There are tiny, tiny threads coming off each spot, and I bet they lead to the gormons. They’re leeches, feeding off their life force . There’s only one way to fix this, and it will be my absolute pleasure. I wish I could see the gormons’ faces.
    Arcon, no! They could come and attack us here.
    He ignored his sister and followed the thin black lines that stretched from a few of the spots. Careful to keep bright symbols behind the threads, he finally found their source: a gormon symbol. The black gormon symbol was practically invisible in the dark Second Realm, but with the light of other symbols behind it, the realmist found what he was looking for. Now, how to kill the parasite before the gormons realized what was happening. If he didn’t do this right, he would be fighting for his own life. Deciding on the best course of action, Arcon drew power. He cut the thread first, not knowing what the gormon in the First Realm would feel.
    Sure his body must be sweating, he drew in power until he was on the verge of what was safe. Destroying symbols was one of the most difficult things to do—the gods forbade it, but Arcon was willing to take that chance. Piercing through the dark symbol with a shaft of fire, Arcon prayed it would work. He watched the symbol expand, the center of the flames forcing the energy outward until, Arcon hoped, it would explode. But it was taking longer than he thought it would. Back in the First Realm, his mouth grimaced, and his hands clenched his knees. As Toran watched, the old realmist started to convulse.
     
    ***
     
    The maturing gormons lounged in the hotel dining hall, rain falling outside. A sliced Talian, his gory pieces arranged artistically on each gormon’s plate, made Eksilon’s stomach