Rhudain started to laugh. He cackled like a madman and Thorion felt something move inside him. He faltered and dropped a few heights before regaining control. What was happening? Was Rhudain trying to melt him from within? Impossible—Thorion was too far away and moving too quickly for the mage to attempt a spell so difficult. It was something else. It wasn’t a physical pain . . .
It was a pain in his soul.
A flash of agony stabbed him and he curled in midair, dropping again before he managed to unfurl his wings and glide over the buildings.
Keriya’s distressed thoughts reached him.
He couldn’t answer. The pain was in his mind, working its fingers into his brain, making him angle toward the open area, forcing him to return to Rhudain. Someone else had joined the mage, a man whose flesh
