Only the one man had felt it and though he had spoken pain, he had not been harmed. There were no marks on his body and his mind kept its sharpness - Thraun had established that himself.

But he wasn’t sure the man who led was safe. The power could return at any time. And Thraun had to watch over man-packbrother. He would suffer no threat to him. He was the man, the only man, whom Thraun truly recognised though the others around him were lodged in his memory. And man-packbrother was calm in their company, which was good. While he protected man-packbrother he knew he would protect the others. The woman who had life within her, the two men with mists around their souls and the one man whose soul was uneasy, yearning for another time though his heart resisted it.

Thraun would watch and Thraun would protect. Thraun would hunt and Thraun would kill.

He lifted his muzzle from the water and sniffed the air. The scent of the pack was strong in his head and the call of the forest lured him, its ties around him hardening, pulling him back to its heart where he would be free of man.

Julatsa’s Council room was a cold place. Around the oval table, Kerela, Barras, Seldane, Torvis, Endorr, Cordolan and Vilif listened to General Kard outline the battle to come.

At least he and Barras had been successful in persuading Senedai to hold from his killing of innocents. The Wesmen commander had, though, promised to sacrifice every one of those he still held if he was double-crossed. It was a gamble worth taking - when the fighting started, a full day before the Wesmen believed the Shroud would fall, the odds were stacked very heavily in favour of Senedai concentrating all his effort on the College walls. If that was so, the prisoners had a chance.

The brazier behind Kard’s chair guttered suddenly, throwing his face into shadow. The breeze, no more than a whisper of night air, spent itself and the flame brightened.

‘It is critical that we cause as much damage as possible to those immediately outside the walls before Senedai’s army can be mustered. The sequence will be as follows. An hour before dawn, the DemonShroud will be dispersed. Assuming the guards in the tower don’t sound the alarm immediately, eight mages will attempt Communion with our forces outside the city. We have no idea how successful this will be but we can cover all points of the compass with eight. There are also some more obvious places to hide a camp and we’ll target those specifically at the outset.

‘To a certain extent, we will be driven by the tower guards. Should they see us quickly, the whole process will happen that much faster. If not, we will hold our attack until the alarm is raised. At this time, a dozen mages will FlameOrb the tower and both North and South Gates will be opened. Archers and the balance of mages will be sent to the ramparts while my entire College and city Guard force will get outside.

‘Their job is to cause as much damage as possible to Senedai’s defences and guard posts before the balance of his army arrives. At this time, they will fall back, the gates will close and be strengthened by craftsmen and WardLock and the siege can begin again.

‘Finally, I’ve hand-picked a dozen men to attempt to find and free the prisoners. It’s all in the cause of creating confusion. Any questions? ’ Kard leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. Around the table, nods greeted his summary.

‘We can augment the Communion by having the casting take place in the Heart,’ said Vilif.

‘Non-Council and senior circle members are expressly forbidden to enter the Heart,’ remarked Endorr. Kerela chuckled.

‘And you so young,’ she said. ‘I might have expected such an utterance from Torvis, but not you. I am pleased you seek so fervently to uphold our traditions and laws.’

‘Though this is not the time to do so,’ added Torvis.

‘My feelings exactly. Unless there is further dissent, I approve the use of the Heart for this emergency,’ said Kerela.

Barras nodded his support and looked over at Endorr. The young mage scowled but said nothing. Barras had certain sympathy with him. His work, diligence and genius had brought him to the Council and its privileges. It must be hard to see them so easily eroded, whatever the situation.

‘How will your men know when to fall back?’ asked Seldane.

‘Once the tower is empty of Wesmen, I will post ShadowWinged mages, three should be sufficient, above the city to gauge the build-up. I’m really only looking to bite at the guard force of Wesmen, not the army. I will not burn Julatsa to free us; there is no time and I don’t believe it will be an effective tactic. If we do fall to fighting in the streets, it will benefit us as the smaller force, to fight them in smaller, tighter spaces.

‘Once the flying mages see forces strong enough to potentially overwhelm us outside of the gates, we will fall back. They know what to look for and the signals have been learned.’

‘Why risk your men in such an action at all?’ asked Vilif. ‘Better surely to keep them fresh and on the walls.’

Kard shook his head. ‘I disagree. I don’t expect us to be outside for long and the action will have two effects. Most importantly, if we strike first blood, it gives us confidence. I can assure you that standing on the ramparts watching an army advance is, pardon the expression, soul-destroying. Second, if we can wreak small havoc it might knock their confidence just that little bit. That, plus our opening spell barrage, could just serve to weaken their resolve.’

‘Hardly,’ said Vilif. ‘They outnumber us almost ten to one.’

‘But theirs is a fragile morale. And when the rear of their line is also struck, well, we can only guess at their reaction.’

Barras raised his eyebrows. Yes, he could guess at the reaction of the Wesmen. Slaughter. But there was no way out. Even if they hid behind the Shroud for a hundred days it would still end in failure. Ultimately, their food would dwindle, more souls would be taken to fuel the Shroud and open revolt would ensue inside the grounds.

‘What in hell’s name did we think we were doing raising the Shroud in the first place?’ he said, a feeling of desperation sweeping suddenly across his body like dead leaves over stone. There was a moment’s quiet in the chamber. Kerela placed a hand on his arm as it rested on the table. It was Kard who spoke.

‘Buying ourselves time,’ he said gently. ‘We all knew that from the start, our brave friend Deale included. And stopping the Wesmen from simply overwhelming us in the rout. For all our brave words and assertions, we have all been hoping for the same thing, to see an army breasting the hills to save us, our city and our College. But now, twelve days later, we have to accept that’s not going to happen, at least while the Shroud remains, and it’s no longer acceptable to watch the murder of our people. In a way, it would be easier to see them put to the sword, disembowelled even. At least then they would retain their souls. But in the Shroud . . . Gods in the sky, we can only imagine their torment.’

‘So, should we sully their sacrifice by surrendering meekly now?’ asked Endorr.

Kard’s eyes flashed but Barras stared him out of his anger. The General’s voice remained calm.

‘It is too late to do anything for those lost in the DemonShroud. But it isn’t too late to save those still alive out there. Endorr, my naïve young mage, there is to be no meek surrender. Indeed, I expect you to play your full part in ensuring the Wesmen forever fear Julatsa. And if, in our battle, we all die but just one child from within these walls escapes the clutches of the Wesmen, I will deem it a victory worth the fight.

‘Do I have your permission to begin?’ Kard asked of the entire Council. One by one, its members nodded and said ‘aye’.