Pillars Of Grace - The God Pillars Trilogy - Book 1

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Miraveh knew she had no other option. The forces the Hunters O' The Dark had raised against them were too great, and they hadn't even brought in as many as they could have. Hundreds of warriors and magic wielders against a pitiful force of less than two dozen emaciated, tired Witches, elves and goblins who had, in all likelihood, never fought a battle in their lives. Miraveh could take up the unicorn horn and fight, but people would still die.

As she reached her packs, she began to unbuckle her sword belt, only for Sialira to race up and place a hand on her arm. She didn't ask the question, though Miraveh could see it in her eyes. One death to save many. The ends of her belt fell away from her waist and she held the sword, given to her by Alran, up. She liked to think he would approve of her decision. An honourable sacrifice. Without saying a word, she wrapped the belt around the sword in its sheath and handed it to Sialira.

"You can't be considering this!" With a flick of her hand, Sialira tossed the sword on top of Miraveh's packs. "You really do want to die, don't you? Well, I won't have it. I won't!"

"Look around." Miraveh jerked her chin to guide Sialira's gaze around the courtyard of the keep. The people had begun to gather, coming in their threes from where they had been assigned. Murmuring. "These people can't win. It will be a pointless slaughter and if I can stop that by giving my life, then it's my duty to do so."

"Perhaps it's not a matter of winning?" Turotara had joined them, crouching down to retrieve Miraveh's sword. She had examined it before and Miraveh could still see the appreciation the guard had for the blade. "Perhaps it's a matter of not giving in? Perhaps its a matter of drawing a line in this dirt and refusing to let those bastards get away with this? Perhaps it's their choice?"

It wasn't their choice. It couldn't be. None of these people had had a choice from the day they were born. Until recently, the humans here would have lived a life without magic spoiling everything. They may have known of their magical potential, but it would never have come to this, where they feared for their lives because they could touch magic. Miraveh, and Kay and Yusuvur, had brought magic back. They had started this.

The elves and goblins were a different matter, but still did not deserve this. They had lain in slumber for hundreds of years while magic had remained lost to the world. Awoken as magic had returned, they had even less choice than the Witches. They were magic. Born from it. Magic infused them and sustained them. Persecuted for the mere act of being born elven or goblin. With a single sacrifice, these people, all of them, stood a chance of living a long, fulfilling life, far from Hunters O' The Dark.

"Then perhaps it's also a matter of making a point?" Miraveh wanted to take the sword from Turotara's hand, but the woman deserved that blade more than her. "Let my sacrifice mean something. Let it show the Hunters O' The Dark for who they are. Let it be a beacon for others to resist this foul hunt."

"How can that happen when everyone within these walls will be slaughtered the moment you fall?" Now Brothimir had joined them, pushing through the crowd that had gathered as news of the Hunters' demands had flowed around the stronghold. "You cannot trust them. Believe me, I know. They will kill you, their greatest challenge, and then they will take the others. They are not honourable people, Miraveh!"

"You can make a portal while they are distracted by me." Miraveh's eyes twitched toward her packs, where the unicorn horn lay hidden. "You could use a relic and ..."

"I can't." With a sigh, Brothimir dropped his eyes and held up his hand. String wrapped around his fingers fell and a relic dangled below his fist. "I stole it. After you released the unicorn, I thought I'd never touch a relic again, not one of my own. So I stole it, but ... I think something within me broke when I created the portal here. I cannot use a relic. The magic does not flow for me anymore."