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.What can you do, that might beuseful to us? I want to see the trick with light."Shkai'ra began a laugh, hid it with a cough and one hand; he flashed her a bemused glance."Tricks, youhaven'tseen tricks until you move to F'talezon," she said."Show him, love."Pull in to the center, look inside me and reach for the manrauq.She took hold of the brightness shesaw in her mind and brought it out with her, watching it bloom golden between her hands, pulling herpalms apart slowly so that the light thinned to a twisting coil writhing between them.She held it for asecond only, to save her strength.The next "trick" would be a lot harder.Thesemanakraseye blinked and shook his head as if to get water out of his eyes, then leaned forward,elbows on knees; the gaze she'd thought intense before was nothing to this.Hah , she thought, catchingher breath by the tail; the mental exertion ofmanrauq was as hard as any physical.I, Megan Whitlock,have impressed the Invincible, Infallible, Imperturbable Fourth Chevenga."Can you cast it? How far? How much can you make? Is it hot? I forgot to feel.Can you do otherthings?" Like Fehinnan crossbow bolts the questions flew.Suddenly, under the studied calm ofcommand, she could imagine him on the edge of a circus ring, a boy with huge brown thrilled eyes."The light I can only throw when it's tied to something, like a knife," she said, forcing torn-clothraggedness out of her voice."Especially if I've touched it.My own knives are sensitive to me and wouldglow.It's not hot.I have to be seeing them to maintain it.And yes, I can do other things." He took it all inlike a briefing on an armed unit's strengths."You said you can do assassin and thief-work: I take it that means you are good at moving unseen in thedark?" By the glint in his eyes, he was already making plans.She chortled inwardly."What other thingscan you do?"Breathe deep, calm.You've done it before."Something a bit more elaborate.I can make people seewhat I imagine.""Anything?""Within reason.""Could you make someone see adimas?" A quick study, Ivann said that & "A large, ugly, hairy,scaly, blood-thirstydimas.From an Arkan's nightmares.As horrible as you can imagine!"You don't know how horrible I can imagine.She centered again.My hands are shaking wrongthought.Think of power flowing, a sea breaking on you as if you were the shore, hear the soundof the wind in your veins& She pulled in, crushing outside thought and stretching as if she could soakup the power-sea through her skin.She put one hand on the ground in front of her, then the other, andsaw in her mind the boar's bristles sprout from her skin as it changed to a greenish, leathery hide; heardthe crack as her back ripped open, muscles tearing free.Her lower jaw creaked as the bone stretchedand grew, extending foot-long fangs as she raised her head to the ceiling, and grew, and grew.She could Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlfeel the steel quills rattle and quiver on her back as her tail coiled around behind her, barbed endtwitching.Her talons scraped the floor, black and silver; her greenish hide wept tears of blood.From herthroat, the silvery laughter of a child, under eyes gone yellow corner to corner& The demon I am is veryfemale.She strained to rise, hold the image, the sound, the thought.It shimmered, tottered like a towerbuilt too high, and collapsed as she did, face in her hands, shaking.How long did I hold it? A breath?Maybe two? I have to learn to sustain it longer.Megan blinked back tears of pain.But the Invincible, the Imperturbable, was leaning back on his arms, his eyes showing white all around."That was& that was& " He took a deep breath, shook his head hard, curls dancing."Fabulous!"Shkai'ra gave a laugh, half shudder."She tried it out onme once.I woke up, stretched, turned over tokiss her good morning and& that& thing was on the pillow beside me.I swear, I didn't touch theground until I was ten meters out of the tent, running bare-ass into a rainstorm with the horses running infront of me and I wascatching up.""How long could you make it last," Chevenga said, eyes glearning, "in ideal conditions?""About two very slow breaths, perhaps a count of twenty, especially if the image is less complex,"Megan swallowed a couple of times and controlled her shaking hands, feeling pale.Don't throw up.Hervision was greying.Don't pass out."Not that a moment of that couldn't do wonders, in the dark, with people already nervous& Megan, areyou all right?"Megan used the Yeoli gesture so she wouldn't have to nod, felt Shkai'ra's arm around her shoulders."Yes.Just don't ask me to run any broken-field races.It costs, that's all.Like anything worth doing." Theheadache was there, but she expected that."Yes." His smile flashed, approving."Maybe you should lie down for a bit, just rest.You needn'tdemonstrate more." She stayed sitting."Thosenails of yours& how did you come by them?"How does he know it isn't just silver paint? It hadn't been mentioned in the truth-drugging.Then sheremembered: hismanrauq , the sense for weapons."They're steel: I had them transmuted, by a fellowZak.So I'd never be unarmed, you see.Not without price: I have to drink a fish-guttedbig cup of fish-oilevery day to keep me healthy.""Tell me: how much are you two asking?"Ah.The magic words.Megan opened her mouth to charge him all the market would bear, and heardherself say, "I really don't care.The standard will do."Fik the money, it's not important.The merchantin her screeched."As long as I get a chance to find my son." Shkai'ra stared at her in mock surprise,winked as Megan gave her a corner-of-the-eye glare."It's for him you are in it," Chevenga said
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