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.""Father," Kail said, taking a step forward."Don't you recognize me? I am your family-Kail, your son.""Kali," Dhairr repeated, testing the name on his tongue.Slow comprehension broke over his wasted face."So you've returned.Kail the tiaitor-have you come back to finish what you started?""No, Father," Kail said."I've come back to free you." "Lies!"Dhairr lunged, aiming at Kail's midsection.For all the changes, his father was still fast, and Kail was so stunned by the outburst he almost allowed himself to be impaled upon Dhairr's notched blade.He backed away and tripped, landing awkwardly on his side on the walkway.Dhairr smiled cruelly."Don't be careless, Kail.You think I won't do to you what I did to Haig? That I'll show mercy because you're my son? You have no idea who I am, boy.""You don't know what you're saying-" Kali dodged anothet swing.His fathet was still caught in the grip of Balram's spell; he still believed Kali had betrayed him.Kail arched his back, snapping his legs downward in a sharp thrust to get his feet undet him.The quick, acrobatic move made Dhairr back off a step, long enough for Kali to bring his sword up at a defensive slant."You would fight me with a Morel emerald?" Dhairr slappedKail's sword, revealing the matching gems borne by both blades-one steeped in magic, the othet caked with dirt."You were never worthy of bearing that sword." Dhairr sprang again, slashing in and up, ttying to get under Kail's guard."Father, tell me where Balram is.He's the ttaitor." Kail caught the notched blade and twisted to pry the weapon from Dhairr's fingers.Obediently, Dhaitt abandoned the swotd and threw his fist instead, landing a blow hard above Kail's ear.Dazed, Kail shuffled back.His father flipped his sword back into his hands with the toe of his boot."You're going to lose if you don't fight in earnest.Think carefully, Kali.You either mean it or you die."Kail shook his head to clear it."I'm here to kill Balram, not you," he insisted."Balram is gone," Dhairr said."He left me to face my assassins alone, but I'm more than able to weed the filth from my garden.""Father, please." Kali blocked high and crosswise as Dhairr chopped downward mercilessly with both hands.The impact resonated along Kail's blade to the hilt.Kail was reminded anew of how strong the man could be.Sick as he was, his fathet was tight: Kail couldn't afford to fight the battle halfheartedly."You can resist Balram's control," Kail said.He took a step back and to the side, circling Dhairr, waiting for him to take another lunge.He did not.He seemed to be listening."Balram may be gone, but his evil is still eating away at your soul.Can't you see?" It was a rhetorical question, for Kali immediately took the offensive, bringing his blade in high.When Dhairr blocked, Kail grabbed his father by the back of the neck and dragged him in close, tangling their blades in a harmless lock."I've come back to save you." Kail held his father's stubborn, glassy-eyed gaze with one of determination.Let him see.Let him know I'm telling the truth.Kali prayed he could get through.He shoved his father back, metal raking metal as their swords came apart.Kali followed up with another slash in a broad arc.Dhairr blocked it easily but lost a step, giving Kail ground."You're going to be all right." Kail kept swinging and talking, never allowing Dhairr the chance to respond to or deny his words.Slowly, his father's anger gave way to uncertainty.Kail used the advantage, driving his fathet where Kali wanted him to go.When the backs of his knees struck the fountain's edge, Dhairr fell, his eyes widening in surprise and fear.Kali ran forward, letting his sword drop to the walkway.He caught his father in his arms before Dhairr's head sttuck the stone basin.Kail kicked the dull blade out of reach.Dhairr snuggled, but his son stubbornly held on, pinning his arms until the older man stopped fighting.When it was cleat he was no physical match for Kail, Dhairr began hurling curses: foul, hateful monologues-that Kali was not his son, that his mother was a godless, murdering whore, that he had no son… he had no son."Kali… Kali," he murmured finally, his voice hoarse.He focused on Kail's face, but there was no recognition.His head snapped from side to side."Where is my son?" he whispered."Where is he?"Kail sat helplessly.For all his father's strength, the man seemed light as air in his arms.He looked small, and very, very old.Kali had no idea what to say to his father, how to answer the imploring look in his eyes.He could only hold him as he slid into unconsciousness."You can't save him," said a soft, feminine voice.Kail whirled, reaching for his sword, but the woman cradled it in her hands.She was almost as tall as he, with a shott bob of black hair capping a round face and green eyes."A fine blade," she said, watching Kail appraisingly."I've no doubt he was wrong.You are worthy of wielding it.""Who are you?" Kail asked, but he tecognized the symbol she wore.He'd seen it once before, in this same garden."Meisha Saira," the woman introduced herself.Of the Harpers, Kail added silently."You're here because of Haig," Kail said, lowering his father gently to the ground.He stood, measuring the woman's intent.He didn't like what he saw.The spread of her feet and the tension in her neck and shoulders gave her away.She was here for a fight."I owe you thanks.You've saved me the trouble of subduing his murderer." She looked down at his fathet with a mixture of disgust and pity."Not that he appears to warrant great effort, in his cutrent state.""You can't have him," Kali said steadily.The woman lifted a brow."Oh? Was his confession the ravings of a madman, then?""The man responsible for Haig's death is Balram Korttun," said Kail."My father acted under Balram's influence, and as you can see, he is no longer a threat to anyone.""He soon won't be," Meisha agreed.She cast his sword to the far end of the garden and raised her empty hands.Kail got to her first.He grabbed her arm and twisted it, slamming her against his chest with her hand bent at a painful angle against het lower back."You're not listening," he said in her ear.When she struggled, he wrenched her palm back until she gasped."If you want justice for Haig, let my father live, and I will get it for you.""He's no longer your father," Meisha argued."He doesn't recognize his own son.""I know," Kali said, swallowing his grief."What is left of him suffers more than enough.""Then why not end it? Give him a quick, merciful death.""No." Kail shook his head."I won't kill him if there's a chance he might come back."Meisha fell silent.She relaxed her stance, but Kail kept her hand pinned."You won't kill him," she said softly."But are you willing to die to protect what he has become?"She brought her heel up, clipping his knee.Pain shot up Kail's leg.He released her involuntarily.Backing away, she flicked a wrist, fingers splayed, and traced a circular pattern with her other thumb in midair.She spoke as she cast."Will it be your life for his?"Her eyes blazed red, and Kail thought for an instant they were afire, burning the orbs out of their sockets.The circle she traced filled with flame, swirling in on itself to become a ball of brilliant orange with a blue vottex
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