‘This is a tall order but we can do it. I don’t think we really have a choice,’ she said. She placed a hand on her belly and anxiety clouded her face for a second.

‘There is always a choice,’ muttered Denser.

‘What, similar to the one you offered us with Dawnthief?’ Hirad growled. ‘Your turn now.’

‘I didn’t say I wouldn’t go.’

‘But if you do, you have to be there,’ said Hirad. ‘All there, all the time.’

Sha-Kaan, who had remained quiet throughout the exchange, brought his huge head forward on his long neck and spoke over Hirad’s shoulder.

‘He speaks correctly, thief. Your skill is undoubted but if you are anything less than attuned, you will be a hindrance and a risk to us all. What do you say?’

Denser bridled at Sha-Kaan’s choice of words but Hirad’s frown stayed him. Instead, he managed what passed for the briefest of smiles.

‘I have nothing more pressing,’ he said.

Sha-Kaan looked at Hirad, neck in a ‘u’ to face him, head and muzzle alone almost as tall as the barbarian.

‘Well?’ he asked.

Hirad grinned. ‘Take it as a yes, Great Kaan.’

‘Excellent.’ The head withdrew. ‘Strike your camp. We will not return here.’

‘What about Thraun?’ asked Will.

‘Thraun?’ Sha-Kaan looked for clarification.

‘The shapechanger,’ said Hirad. ‘The wolf.’

‘Ah.’ A pulse of forest images and blood filled Hirad’s mind. ‘I have touched consciousness with him. He is here in the corridor somewhere. He will come. His bond with you, little human Will, is very strong. Like a dragon with his Dragonene.’

The tension on Will’s face broke and he nodded and looked round.

‘Go and find him, Will,’ said Hirad. ‘The rest of us will clear the camp.’

‘Hurry,’ said Sha-Kaan. ‘The Council will act soon.’

Hirad led The Raven from the chamber and back, briefly, into Balaia.

With General Kard again outside the Heart, and with Endorr’s LightGlobe illuminating them, the Julatsan Council minus the sacrificed Deale stood in the Heart and prepared to talk again to Heila, the Shroud Master.

The small chamber, centre of Julatsan magic, was cluttered with Barras’ selection of the College’s most critical texts. They were stacked high in the spaces between the eight smoothed greystone segments and covered swathes of the stone flags that spiralled inward from the door to the Heart, hiding each councillor from those adjacent as they stood flush with the wall.

Kerela frowned at the obstacles spread all over this most hallowed of rooms, and Barras couldn’t help but smile.

‘We always said we should expand the Library,’ said the old elf negotiator.

‘I’ll have the plans drawn up as soon as we’ve seen off the Wesmen,’ said Torvis. A chuckle ran around the Heart, easing the tension.

Kerela held up her hands to restore quiet.

‘Please, my friends,’ she said. ‘We are here to disperse the DemonShroud protecting us from the armies of the Wesmen. Its raising took Deale from us and his soul is still under thrall to Heila and will remain so for we know not how long after the Shroud is gone. He may never be released. For the soul of Deale, I beg of you a moment’s contemplation.’

Barras dropped his head forward on to his chest as did they all. Deale’s had been the supreme sacrifice, his soul now at the mercy, though that was a complete misnomer, of the demons. It was a sacrifice Barras and Kerela felt keenly. Heila’s preferred choice would have been either of them.

‘Thank you,’ said Kerela. ‘And now we will summon Heila, Shroud Master.’

With eight reduced to seven, the Council’s task was that much more difficult. Kerela could spare only three to anchor the column and the sweat quickly covered the brows of Endorr, Torvis and Seldane as they struggled to maintain its integrity. Despite a single dangerous flare as the disc descended, they held firm, eventually settling to allow Barras to open the gateway.

As he edged it open, a surge of ice-blue mana light powered along the cylinder, all but dragging the lid from his mind’s grasp.

‘Something is wrong,’ he said, his voice straining as he concentrated on control.

‘Are you stable?’ asked Kerela.

‘Barely,’ replied Barras.

‘Can I continue the summoning?’ Kerela’s voice was urgent.

‘You have no choice.’ Barras could dimly feel perspiration running down his back. The mana still surged up the cylinder to dissipate against the walls or feed into the Heart construct where it added to the power the Council could draw on.

To Barras, Kerela’s words of summoning were a faraway murmur as he bent all of his age, experience and sheer bloody-mindedness to the task of maintaining the gateway. Somewhere, the demons were drawing on a power that fuelled huge pressure in the mana they were projecting through the small portal and into which, Kerela placed her head to conduct the Summoning.

He couldn’t understand the behaviour. Disappointment that the Council were about to force the dispersal of the Shroud, perhaps. Just being difficult, certainly. But in the deep of his mind, Barras felt something more sinister. Its root hung just beyond his reach, just beyond his comprehension. It was there though, like a marker for a thought he couldn’t quite grasp. They would have to be careful.

Abruptly, the battering at the portal ceased, the column disappeared and Heila was among them once more. He was larger this time, both in height and girth, his azure blue colouring so bright it partially obscured his features. He rotated slowly for a while, arms and legs crossed and back ramrod straight, taking in the scene inside the Heart.

‘I had not thought to be here so soon,’ he said, his voice betraying his irritation.

‘We were always honour-bound to limit our need for the Shroud as far as possible,’ replied Kerela calmly.

‘Ah, we are here to discuss dispersal, not extension.’

‘You are surprised?’ asked Kerela.

‘At the discussion, no. At the timing, yes.’

‘It is not in your gift to choose the time of dispersal.’ Kerela’s tone was tense.

‘But circumstances change, do they not, High Mage?’ Anxiety crackled in the air. Barras frowned. Nothing had actually changed, had it?

‘Meaning?’ Thank the Gods for the steadying influence of Kerela. If she felt nervous, she didn’t show it.

‘The dispersal of the DemonShroud is not currently in our best interests. To do so now would inconvenience us.’ Heila’s expression never changed. His every utterance carried no emotion, no betrayal of his desire. Yet every word carried with it the power of his position. Few stood taller in the hierarchy understood to control the demon dimension - a dimension in no way as chaotic as popular myth depicted.

‘Inconvenient?’ Kerela laced the word with total contempt.

‘Might I remind you, Heila, that the dispersal of the Shroud is not contingent on the convenience or otherwise to you. It is conferred following a decision by the Julatsan Council. Your agreement is sought to ensure that none of your people are caught as the Shroud is capped. It is not something we have to do. It is a courtesy we observe in the hope that you will look mercifully on the souls of those caught in its embrace. The spell of dispersal is not something you can resist.’

Heila smiled, revealing close ranks of needle-sharp teeth. ‘I am aware of the limitations placed upon us by the construct of your mana shape and it is most cunningly crafted. All I ask is for two more days for us to reap full benefit of the power it has temporarily given us. We too have enemies to fight. If you grant me these days, all the souls of those taken will go free.’ There was a sparkle in Heila’s eyes above the brightness of his skin, or rather the chosen colour of the mana encasing him.

Barras heard Seldane gasp and there was hesitation in Kerela’s voice as she spoke.