As Charissa broke into a derisive laugh, Jehana suddenly seemed to blur slightly. The stunned Kelson had been about to seize his mother’s arm and remove her from the path of danger, but now he found himself unable to approach closer. As Jehana raised her hands and pointed toward Charissa, long sparks of golden light streamed from her fingertips toward the fearsome woman in gray. Suddenly, all the unleashed power of a full Deryni lashed out at the Shadowed One, guided only by the despair of a mother who must try to save her only child, whatever the personal consequences.

But Jehana’s power was untrained. The long denial of her Deryni heritage so many years before had left her unskilled in its use, unable to adequately control it or use it to best advantage. And Charissa, in her evil, was all that Jehana had denied herself—full Deryni sorceress, skilled in her art, in complete control of an arsenal of power so great, Jehana had probably never even dreamed of its extent.

The blast of power never reached Charissa. Responding immediately to the initial onslaught, she wove a defensive net around herself that repelled anything Jehana could summon. Then she began to concentrate her own power, bent on destroying this bastard Deryni who dared to challenge her powers.

The air between the two women glowed. The air crackled as fantastic power was launched and neutralized. Kelson watched wide-eyed as his mother held her own against Charissa for a time. But meanwhile, Duncan and Morgan had already spotted the trap Charissa was laying, and they worked feverishly to deflect the killing force Charissa now directed at her royal adversary.

Then, very suddenly, it was over. With a little cry, Jehana crumpled softly to the floor to lie like a sleeping child on the rich carpet of the steps. As Kelson scrambled to her side, Duncan was already kneeling beside her, feeling for a pulse, his mouth going grim and tense as he found what he feared.

With a worried shake of his head, he motioned Nigel and Ewan to move her gently to the side. Faint energy crackled lightly around her as they took her to safety. As Duncan helped Kelson to his feet, the boy turned wide, dreading eyes on the priest, and Duncan shook his head.

“She isn’t dead,” the priest whispered so that only Kelson could hear. “Alaric and I were able to deflect the worst of the power.” He glanced aside at where Morgan lay, then let his eyes touch on Jehana.

“So far as I can tell, she’s in a binding trance controlled by Charissa. She’ll be all right if we can break it. But other than that, only Charissa can release her—either by will, or by her own death. Since the first is unlikely, I’m afraid you’re going to have to try for the second. So now you have something else to fight for.”