The Dragon Nimbus Novels: Volume III: Volume III

forward to negotiating with her for the free passage of Rovers through her country.
    The pounding on the gate increased, followed by a shriek of shattering wood.

Chapter 43
     
    M arcus pulled the book out of his tunic and stared at the plain leather cover for a moment. He bit his lip while he prayed for the strength to complete the next task.
    He called to mind the passages Powwell had written about his father, Ackerly.
    A memory of the night he had read Ackerly’s emotions in the stone wall of the master’s suite flashed through him. Emotions he had dismissed because he did not understand them became clear. Ackerly was proud of his son.
    His son, Powwell, had not been proud of the man who sired him but had never acted the father.
    “Maybe, if we do this right, we won’t have to take a dangerous trip through time,” he said. “Maybe . . .”
    “Your guess is as good as mine,” Jack replied after communing with his flywacket for a moment.
    “We can’t allow the greed the gold inspires to go beyond these walls. I believe it possible that once the stones are torn down the gloaming, and the spell, will spread as far as the stones are scattered.” Robb had returned to his normal lecture mode.
    Marcus felt better with this one return to normal. “Then let’s do it. All of you, Zolltarn and Lanciar, Margit, Robb, anyone with a bit of magical talent, come with me.”
    “My Lord Andrall, will you direct the defenses according to our plan?” Lanciar called to the lord.
    Andrall saluted him and began tossing orders right and left.
    Satisfied, Marcus took two firm steps toward the library.
    Vareena blocked his path resolutely.
    “Vareena, this could be dangerous. You’d be more help trying to soothe the villagers,” Robb said gently.
    “All the ghosts within this monastery are my responsibility. All of them,” she insisted. “That includes Ackerly. I will be there to guide him into his next existence. I must.”
    Marcus shrugged his shoulders and smiled. “When this is all over, may I escort you to your lands in Nunio, and perhaps call upon you upon occasion?” Stargods! He loved her strength and determination.
    Vareena bit her lip, then jerked her head up and down once in assent.
    Marcus suddenly felt much more confident of the outcome of this day’s work. “Come along, then, all of you. Just be prepared to duck on command and avoid that ritual knife of his. He may be a ghost, but his weapon isn’t.”
    In single-file, they moved into the shadowed coolness of the library. Diffused sunlight streamed through the high windows around the gallery, highlighting the centuries of accumulated dust. Instantly, the dust motes beneath the gallery began to swirl and concentrate. Ackerly formed more quickly than usual. Marcus saw the knife first, just before the ghost sped toward him, aiming the blade for his eyes.
    “Scatter,” Marcus called as he dived beneath Ackerly. A preternatural chill ran down his spine. Childhood fears of monsters beneath the bed made his teeth chatter.
    He clamped his jaw shut as he read one of the final passages in the journal he carried. Still lying prone, he turned the book so that it caught some of the light from the gallery windows.
    “Listen to what happened to your son, Ackerly,” he said with what little control he had left. “Listen to how you tainted everything you touched, especially the lives of your only two children—bastard children at that. ‘I shall not accept a new existence when this one passes. Life hurts too much. Love hurts more. When my sister Kalen died in the pit beneath Hanassa, a large hole ripped open in my gut and it has never healed. Her death was as filled with torment as her life. Her ghost has haunted me since. When I die, her spirit will be free, not before. I have never wanted to inflict that kind of curse upon anyone. My years of seeking the best forms of healing—even though they dipped into rogue magic—have not been enough to remove the curse laid upon us by our father. I have not truly loved anyone since Kalen died. I have not fathered any children. Ackerly’s line and his curses die with me. There will be no reincarnation for any of us.’ ”
    Marcus sensed stillness throughout the library.
    “By the Fire of my body, the Water of my blood, the Air that I breathe, and the Kardia of my bones, I call forth the restless one who dwells only in sadness and refuses to live!” Zolltarn shouted to each of the four corners of the room, the four