Serpent of Fire by D. K. Holmberg Page A

“It will not work. Not without attempting to use earth.”
    “You fear what will happen if you do?” Ferran asked.
    “I have bonded three elementals, Ferran.” He said nothing of Amia, but that was the bond he worried most about. “I can’t risk them without knowing what will happen.”
    “What will you do?”
    “I need to find where the Par-shon shaper has gone. If we can find them…” But even that wasn’t guaranteed to work. It was possible that placing the traps allowed the Par-shon shaper to force the bond from anywhere.
    Another thought crossed his mind: Were there other traps set around the kingdoms that he hadn’t discovered?
    The idea terrified him. The only reason they had been warned of this trap was because golud had signaled danger. What of the elementals unable to reach him? What of elementals without a bond, or who didn’t know to worry?
    Tan somehow had to protect them as well.
    But first, he had to stop this bonding. He had to defeat the runes.
    “Let me try,” Ferran said.
    Tan shook his head. “You are bonded as well. It’s too dangerous.”
    “Rather me than our warrior and Athan.” Ferran smiled at him tightly. “I think we have seen that you have more value to the kingdoms than I, but I can provide this service.” He leaned toward the rod and placed his hands on it. “Besides, I have no intention of allowing Par-shon to steal my connection. I have spent my life wondering what it would be like to speak to the elementals. Now that I know… I will do all that I can to stop them.”
    Tan created a soft ball of light to illuminate the rod as he studied it. The runes caught the light, reflecting off it. Tan found one for earth and one that he had seen within the room of separation. He didn’t know what it meant, but if they were similar, or if they could even be used in a similar way, then he needed to try to focus on them.
    “Try this one,” he said, pointing to earth. “And this. Shape earth into both. I will help.”
    Ferran glanced at him and then nodded. His shaping built and as he began to shape earth into the rod, Tan added spirit. Always before, the combination of spirit mixed with the element had worked. This time, he allowed Ferran to control the earth shaping and he controlled spirit. Mingling as they did, Tan sensed Ferran’s shaping strength and the overwhelming desire within him to free golud.
    The rod began glowing. Then Ferran screamed.
    Tan shifted his shaping, sending spirit through Ferran, recognizing immediately how the runes worked to take the bond from him. Tan had sensed something similar before, though that had been with Zephra and only after she’d lost the bond. This was early, but already he sensed the bond tearing free of Ferran. If he didn’t stop it, Ferran would lose his connection to golud.
    Wrapping the shaping tightly around Ferran, he created a protection around his mind, anchoring the bond to golud with a shaping of spirit. It was how Tan had preserved his connection to Asboel and Honl, but it changed the bond, bringing them closer together. In some ways, he couldn’t help but realize that this forced a different connection between the elemental and Ferran, but there seemed no other way to preserve the bond.
    “Push against it,” Tan commanded.
    Ferran grunted and pressed out with his shaping of earth. Tan kept spirit mingled within it and added layers of fire and water, needing only the barest hint of wind. Then he pulled through his warrior sword.
    Light flared from it.
    Working with Ferran, they pressed the shaping through the rod. The runes pulled the light from the sword, becoming a deep, inky black. Ferran grunted in pain and nearly staggered. His eyes were drawn tight and sweat beaded across his brow, but he continued to shape.
    Then there came an echoing crack .
    The runes on the rod failed. Ferran fell backward and sprawled on the ground. Tan released his shaping, feeling weak and shaking from the effort, pulling on the elementals