Nicci would hear none of it. “Too dangerous. I cannot defend myself and finish my mission if I’m worried about you.”
“But you don’t need to worry. I want to go. I want to help—just like last time.”
Nicci crossed her arms. “No, and you will not slip out to follow me. I may have Nathan tie your arms and legs and lock you in a room until I’m gone.”
“You wouldn’t,” the girl said.
“Correct, I wouldn’t—but only if you promise me you’ll stay behind. That is what I need you to do, because it is the only way I can complete my mission. This is deadly serious.”
The girl fumed. “But—”
Nicci raised a hand, leaving no room for doubt. “Or would you rather I blanketed you with a sleep spell, so you do not awake for days?”
“No,” the girl mumbled. “I promise I’ll stay here.” Her voice was low and glum.
“And do you break your promises?”
Thistle seemed insulted. “Never.”
Nicci looked long and hard at her, and she believed the girl. “Then I will trust you.”
“That child must stay safe, of course,” Nathan agreed, “but in a great battle like this, you need someone to fight beside you. The Lifedrinker is an evil wizard, perhaps one of the most powerful you have ever encountered.”
“I have killed wizards before,” she said.
“Indeed you have, but not a wizard like this. We cannot guess how the Lifedrinker will try to block you. I should come with you, for whatever assistance I can provide.”
Nicci raised her eyebrows. “How could you help? Your gift is gone.”
He touched the hilt of his ornate sword. “I am an adventurer as well. Magic still resides within me, whether or not I can use it. Maybe if I encounter the Lifedrinker, it will help me to release my powers again.”
A chill went through Nicci. “That is what I fear, Nathan Rahl. I know how formidable a wizard you can be, but we cannot risk it.”
The old man huffed. “I insist—”
She shook her head. “Think about it. When you tried to heal that victim in Renda Bay, what did your magic do? The wild backlash tore him apart. And when you fought the Adjudicator, the magic backfired again, but fortunately for us, it folded that man’s own evil magic back upon himself. But the Lifedrinker is already out of control. If he encounters your wild, chaotic power and it twists further, just imagine the possible consequences.” She watched his eyes widen as the realization struck him. She continued, “When I unleash the Eldertree acorn, with so much magic surging through the air, blasting into the Earth—what happens if there is a backlash from your powers? The repercussions could tear you apart … or tear the world apart. We dare not risk it.”
Nathan gave a reluctant nod and said in a small voice, “I fear you may be right, Sorceress. If I somehow twisted the Lifedrinker’s magic and turned it against us but a thousand times worse, there would be no way I could place it back under control. Dear spirits, the damage I could cause…”
Nicci squared her shoulders, straightened her back. “I must depend on my own magic, and I can travel quickly.” She touched the folds of cloth that wrapped the throbbing golden acorn in her pocket. “Your sword would be welcome, Nathan, but I already have my weapon.”
Setting his jaw, Bannon stepped forward. “Then I am the one to go along. If you need a sword, you can have mine.” He gave her a cocky grin, mostly for the benefit of Audrey, Laurel, and Sage, who also stood listening. “And you already admitted that you never worry about me at all, Sorceress.”
Nicci gave him a skeptical frown. “You should not make such a brash offer simply to impress your lovers.”
He turned as red as beet soup. “But, I can help! Sweet Sea Mother, you saw how I fought the dust people and the sand panthers. If we are attacked as we approach the Lifedrinker’s lair, what if I can buy you the seconds you need to complete your mission? That might mean the difference between success and failure.”
Nicci pressed her lips together, assessing the young man. In their battles against seemingly insurmountable enemies, he had indeed killed more than his share of opponents. “I admit, you can sometimes be useful. But know that if you go with me to fight the Lifedrinker, you could face certain death. I will not be able to save you.”
“I accept those terms, Sorceress.” He swallowed hard, struggling to hide his fear, since he clearly understood the risk in what he was suggesting. “I’m ready to face the danger.”
Victoria’s acolytes watched him with admiration, which only seemed to increase Bannon’s eager determination. Nicci doubted she could change his mind, and she admitted she might need him. “Very well. If nothing else, you may be able to distract a monster at a key moment so that I can keep going.”
Audrey, Sage, and Laurel hurried to give Bannon their farewells, and Thistle threw herself against Nicci in a furious hug. “Come back to me. I want to see the world the way it was supposed to be, but I want to see it with you.”
Nicci felt awkward, not knowing how to respond to the girl’s enthusiastic embrace. “I will restore the world if I can, and then I will come back to you.” The next words came out of her mouth before she could think better of it. “I promise.”
Thistle looked up at her with her large eyes. “And do you break your promises?”
Nicci gritted her teeth and answered, “Never.”
CHAPTER 51
After climbing down the outer wall of the plateau on their way to the Scar, Nicci and Bannon made good time even across the rugged, dead terrain. During their earlier scouting expedition, they had cautiously picked their way, exploring, but now that she possessed the right weapon, Nicci had a clear, firm goal. With the Eldertree acorn, she was on her way to kill the misguided wizard who had caused such appalling damage, had sacrificed countless lives, all because he feared his own death.
Nicci considered the Lifedrinker a monster, an enemy to be defeated at any cost; she did not think of him as a sick and frightened man, a naive scholar playing with dangerous magic. He was not Roland in her mind. He was a toxin spreading in every direction. He was a scourge who could destroy the world.
And this was the reason Red had sent her on this journey, accompanying Nathan to find Kol Adair. Save the world. She would do her part.
Bannon kept up with her without complaint as they crossed the worsening landscape, and Nicci was impressed with the young man’s dogged determination. After emerging from the dying foothills, they made their way on an arrow-straight path across the cracked and rocky Scar. Wind whipped the powdery dust of dry lakes into a salty chemical haze in the air.
Nicci focused ahead. She did not run; she simply did not rest. The barren landscape sparked anger and impatience in her. She picked up the pace, covering miles at a steady clip. Bannon kept looking from side to side, wrinkling his nose in the bitter air. They passed under the shadow of a goblin-shaped pinnacle. Spiky branches of a dead piñon pine protruded from a crack in the rock formation.
Without stopping, Bannon took a cautious sip from his waterskin. A worried frown crossed his face. “Sorceress, is it wise to travel out in the open? Maybe we should try to hide our path so the Lifedrinker doesn’t know we are coming for him?”
She shook her head. “He knows where we are. I’m certain he can sense my magic. Skulking in the shadows would only slow us down.”
When Bannon offered the waterskin to Nicci, she realized her throat was parched. She drank. The water felt warm, flat, and slippery on her tongue. She handed the waterskin back, and Bannon fastened it at his side, then touched his sword and turned slowly. “I sense that something is watching us.”