Which, she realized for the first time, was precisely what he wanted. He was far beyond reason. Like her parents and her uncle, she was going to die.
So she had to find a way to bring him under control physically, to stop the attacks and make him listen to her. Looking into his eyes as he prepared to come at her one more time, she found no hint of the brother she had known as a child, no indication of affection or trust. He was a soulless monster consumed by rage and hate and driven by a mindless need for revenge.
She felt herself lose hope.
Tavo’s voice rose to a crescendo and hammered into her. It struck her with such force that it effortlessly broke apart her defenses, throwing her a dozen feet into the air, holding her in place three feet off the ground, and then slamming her down. The air went out of her, her vision wavered in a wash of pain and sadness, and everything went black.
* * *
—
From where she crouched at the corner of the porch, Clizia Porse watched Tavo Kaynin walk forward to stare down at his fallen sister. She was probably already dead—and if she weren’t, she soon would be. Tavo wasn’t looking at his sister with anything that even approached compassion. He was clearly trying to determine whether she really was dead or if more was needed to make her so.
So Clizia acted, knowing that if she let him end Tarsha’s life, it would ruin everything she needed to accomplish with Drisker Arc. And she wasn’t about to let that happen just to satisfy some half-mad sibling’s insane compulsion.
At the same time, she was wondering if perhaps there might be a use for him. After all, he did possess the most powerful magic she had seen in many a moon. If it wasn’t the wishsong itself, it was a close approximation. And if it was the wishsong, that meant both brother and sister were descendants of the Ohmsford bloodline—perhaps the only ones left in all the Four Lands. Which would explain Drisker Arc’s decision to accept Tarsha as his student.
But whatever she was going to do about Tavo Kaynin, she had to do it fast and she had to handle it in the right way. No ordinary approach would work with someone this irrational.
She rose, watching for any threatening movements from him, but he just stood staring down at his sister, seemingly oblivious.
“Tavo!” she called.
“Go away!”
“Step away from Tarsha. Let your sister be.”
“I’ll let her be when she’s dead! And she’s not quite dead yet.”
Clizia exhaled. Good news, if so. “Why don’t you hear me out first? I have a use for Tarsha. An important use, which might be good for you, as well. So perhaps you would consider waiting a bit longer to kill her? I know she deserves to die, but why not let her live awhile in expectation of what might happen? If you kill her while she is unconscious, it will mean nothing. She won’t have a chance to regret the way she hurt you. Tavo! Look at me.”
Tavo looked, his gaze blank, his face expressionless once more. The anger was gone, and he no longer seemed to be interested in talking to whatever ghosts accompanied him. Whoever Fluken was, he seemed to have faded from his consciousness for the moment.
“You and I are not so different.” She spoke quietly, her voice modulated to be persuasive and calming. She knew how to do this, and during the long years of her life it had served her well. “We have both suffered grave hurt at the hands of others, our lives tortured and twisted by those who wanted us gone. We have both endured injustice and misunderstanding through no fault of our own. You have great magic. So do I. You have suffered because of how you have struggled with it. So have I. We are so much more alike than we are different. Give me a chance to tell you more.”
She was pleading with him as an equal, a fellow sufferer at the hands of an amorphous, faceless array of enemies. Ingratiating herself by identifying with him and letting him identify with her.
Tavo stared at her a minute and then nodded.
“Your sister said she would try to help you master your magic, to find a way to bring it under control. I will do much more than that. I will teach you how to use it, so that it will serve your purposes. I will give you a way to vent your hatred and gain revenge over those who would make your life miserable. I will give you access to a power you have not even begun to dream of! You have power in your voice, granted—but you don’t yet understand all the ways that power can be used. Even more to the point, you don’t have all the tools you need to accomplish the great things you were born to do.”
His brow knit and his face darkened. “Why would you do this?”
“Why not, if you can help me in return? If it allows us to help each other? Do we not need to band together, we who are the victims of uncaring parents and neighbors and friends? We do not deserve to be victims; we should be victors!”
He was nodding with her now, agreeing with her assessment, even though she was doubtful he really understood what she was saying. She resisted the urge to step closer to him, standing hunched over in her dark robes to make herself appear less threatening, more innocuous.
“Here is what I promise you,” she continued, now that she had his undivided attention. “Stand with me, Tavo, and I will give you power that will allow you to punish all those who might hurt you! I will give you a chance to discover how you might change the very world you live in! No one will ever lock you away again. No one will ever threaten you again. Others will stand back from you in awe, and they will fear you. They will treat you with respect! This is what I will give you if you will let me make use of your sister for a short time.”
She had no intention of doing any of this, but her plans were not fully formed as yet, so mostly she was buying time for herself and Tarsha. This brother of hers was clearly insane and incredibly dangerous. That she could bend him to her will, persuade him to her cause, was a risk she must take for now. She must lead him to believe she would do all the things she had promised. But in the end, he was expendable and must be eliminated if for no other reason than to assure her personal safety.
“You could be lying,” he said, as if reading her mind.
“There would be no point in lying.” She came forward a few steps now, hands held out as if in supplication. “You are too powerful to be lied to, and I would be a fool to trifle with such power. Your magic is familiar to me, and there is no limit to what it can do. If I help you to master it, you must agree to help me. This is the way things should be, Tavo. Now step back from your sister and let me see to her.”
He did so, arms hanging limply at his sides, head lowered as his eyes fixed on her. There was still something there between them, Clizia judged—still a hint of caring that transcended the madness that otherwise ruled his existence. “Fluken” would attempt to change this, and she must be careful to see that this other self, this imaginary friend, did not interfere with her plans.