The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

If she escapes before we sort this all out, she will alert the coven and bring them here from the far corners of Kardia Hodos.” He kissed Maija’s cheek—her mouth was too dangerous with its open invitation to linger with her. Then he extricated himself from her arms.
    Maija crawled over to the nearest Rovers who rolled on the ground punching each other. She lightly removed a coin from the discarded cap of one of the men.
    “Is it one of the ghostly coins?” he asked as she handed it to him.
    “Aye. See how old it is?”
    He nodded as he picked out the outline of a long dead monarch. The date on the inscription connected it to the province of Faciar before the unification of Coronnan and the foundation of the Commune of Magicians.
    “Only the ghost’s hoard is that old.”
    Rejiia had both hands upon the tin weasel. Zolltarn worked to keep her from wrenching it away from his grasp. Sweat dripped from both of their brows. The statue retained all of Krej’s mass as a full-grown man. Neither of them could lift the thing easily. Both of their magical talents seemed depressed by the ghostly reality of the gold.
    Lanciar crawled out of his cover, careful to avoid the swooping ghost. He walked right up to Rejiia and Zolltarn. Neither took any notice of him. The weasel was more tin than gilt these days and the front legs and all of the tail seemed to have lost most of the metal, taking on a decidedly furry texture. The backlashed spell was wearing off.
    Would Krej survive? Would he emerge as a man? Or did the spell have to be reversed instead of wearing out in order for him to become other than a weasel?
    Lanciar didn’t care. He was about to irrevocably sever all of his connections to the coven. Perhaps break it apart once and for all.
    “This is for deserting our son, Rejiia, and for not giving me the right to raise him as I choose.” He dropped the antique coin down the front of her bodice. It lodged neatly between her ample breasts.
    Rejiia screeched in her most annoying voice. She clutched her temples and reeled. Zolltarn tumbled backward in full possession of the heavy statue. He landed flat on his back with Krej sitting on his chest.
    Then Rejiia’s already ghostly form dissipated more. Lanciar could barely make out an outline of her or her aura. Both had been clearly visible while she merely clutched Krej on the other side of Zolltarn’s ghostly grasp.
    “Neatly done, my boy. You’ll make an admirable Rover!” Zolltarn proclaimed around heavy gasps for air. He remained a silvery outline. The Bloodmage ghost and his wicked knife were more substantial.
    “Zolltarn’s had the wind knocked out of him,” Lanciar said. “Marcus, Robb, somebody help him up.”
    Lanciar had difficulty seeing the men he called to for help. But Jack and Katrina remained clearly visible, along with Vareena and Queen Miranda and her party. He must have slipped back into reality when he let loose the coin into Rejiia’s bodice. Rejiia’s violent transition had kept him from noticing the sense-shattering shift.
    One by one the nobles became opaque ghosts. Strange that the mundanes were more visible than those with magic. Rejiia and Zolltarn were the hardest of all to see.
    Then Maija popped back into full view. She smiled at him. The sun seemed to burst through the clouds and brighten his day. She had definitely inherited that smile from her father.
    “Let’s hope you have a few more scruples than your father,” he muttered as he moved to join her.
    “Changing sides again, Lanciar?” Jack confronted him, keeping him from Majia. He leveled his staff, aiming the tip directly at him.
    “Trust me, Jack. Please, trust me just this once. I know which side offers me the best hope of regaining my son and raising him in a loving family, learning to use magic responsibly.”
    “I don’t believe you any more than I did back in King Simeon’s mines. You were a spy for him and the coven then. I know you still spy for them.”
    “Traitor!” Rejiia aimed her wand directly at Lanciar.
    Lanciar saw two brief blasts of fire, one purple and silver, the other red and black, then there was nothing.

    “Enough,” Marcus said. “I’ve had enough.” He took a deep breath and fingered the three gold coins in his pocket.
    Robb, Jack, Vareena, and Margit looked at him strangely. He smiled at them. Only half his mouth turned up.
    “I’m sorry, Robb, you really deserved to figure this out first, but I can’t take any more of this.