Prelude to Fire: Parts 1 and 2 by D. K. Holmberg

gone.”
    Theondar considered Lacertin for a moment, his hand still resting on the draasin statue, almost as if he were petting a hound. “Ilton believes you to be the greatest warrior the kingdoms have produced in nearly a hundred years.”
    “I don’t make that claim.”
    “No? You have done nothing to suggest otherwise.”
    Lacertin sighed. “You have plenty of time to prove your worth. You’re young and have years ahead of you as you serve Althem.”
    “What will you do when he dies? Will you leave the kingdoms, maybe return to Nara? After everything that you’ve seen, and everything that you’ve been a part of, do you really think that you can resume that life?”
    Lacertin had struggled with that question since learning of Ilton’s illness. Could he resume such a life? All that he’d known the last ten years was serving Ilton, going where the king demanded, and fighting on behalf of the kingdoms.
    Even under Althem, that wouldn’t change. There was no reason for it to change. He was a Cloud Warrior, and he would do what his king asked of him, even if it meant serving as Theondar demanded.
    “As I said, I will continue to serve as I have always served.”
    Theondar raised his hand from the statue and smiled widely. “Althem will be pleased to hear that you will.”
    Lacertin turned away from Theondar and continued down the hall. He didn’t need to turn to know that Theondar watched him, or that a shaping built behind him. When he reached the room that had once been his, he hesitated only a moment before stepping inside and closing the door, shutting Theondar out.

Chapter 11
    T he room of healing in the university had a distinctly bitter aroma to it. Lacertin took shallow breaths to keep it from filling his nose and twisted in the hard chair, staring at the shapers lantern, resisting the urge to shape it on and then off while he waited for Wallyn to finish.
    Lacertin couldn’t see exactly what he did, but he picked up the thread of the water shaping and noted the way that the master shaper sent waves of healing washing through Veran. It wasn’t so much the skill, though the design of the shaping was enough to tell him that Wallyn was a skilled water shaper, so much as it was the repetition, and the way that the shaping built. Using a shaping as he did took stamina with water, much more than Lacertin could manage.
    He sat, rubbing his hands together. He’d remained in his room long enough to wait for Theondar to leave, hating that he hid. He should have taken the opportunity to share with Theondar what he’d learned about the weakness of the barrier… but he had not, letting old rivalries place the kingdoms in even more danger.
    Worse, he knew Theondar served the kingdoms as well as he did. The man might do it differently, but there was no question that he served, risking himself the same as any other warrior did. Could he blame Theondar for gaining Althem’s favor? No more than others should blame him for gaining Ilton’s.
    The water shaping eased and Wallyn straightened his back. He was tall and broad-shouldered, not muscular like Veran, but solid, as if built for a wider man. He had hair that hung to his shoulders, but it had begun to thin. Like most of the healers within the university, he wore a long robe tied at the waist with a length of rope.
    He turned to Lacertin. “You were lucky to reach the university,” Wallyn said.
    Lacertin shook himself at the sudden comment. “I tried what I could.”
    Wallyn nodded. “You never were one to shape much with water, were you, Lacertin?”
    He stood, making his way toward Veran. The man’s skin was pale and the thick gash that he’d seen across his chest had faded, leaving a purple line. Sweat beaded on his brow, and his breathing was steady and regular. Most of all, he lived.
    “I thought the barrier held,” Wallyn said.
    “The barrier did,” Lacertin answered.
    Wallyn sniffed. “Then why is one of our warriors lying near death?”
    Lacertin