“It is a simple trade,” Stricklend says, “you give me what I want, and I will give you back your lover. If not…” To underline his point he lets Bram drop suddenly six feet before stopping him again.

Behind me Terence shouts and rushes toward Stricklend. I try to warn him, to stop him, but in an instant the Sentinel has sent a spell at the poor, frail man, so that he crumples to the ground and lies silent. I feel my stomach turn over. My Cavaliers offer their assistance.

We will help you, mistress! We can assail your enemy, catch him unawares, beat him back.

No! If you interrupt his concentration you may cause the spell to be broken and Bram will fall. The risk is too great.

“I grow tired of waiting for your answer, Morningstar. Are you content to watch another loved one die?”

A calmness descends upon me as I realize what it is I must do. I experience no fear, no panic, only a firm certainty. There is no other path.

I look at Bram. He has mastered his own fear and his face is resolute. I know he is thinking of me, of how to make this easier for me.

“Don’t do it, Lilith,” he calls to me. “Don’t give him what he wants. You can’t. You must not.”

I instruct my guardians clearly, so there can be no doubt.

Use all your strength. Save Bram. Let nothing prevent you. Nothing. Only save him.

But mistress …

Do as I tell you!

Stricklend sees what is happening and begins working another spell. It could be one to stop my captains helping or it could be one to send Bram plummeting to his death. I cannot know. In the moment his attention is drawn away from me, I summon all my strength. My witch’s strength. Silently, I call on Hekate to come to my aid, to give me even a fraction of her power. The power to stop a beating heart or to force breath from a body. I call on any listening spirits to contribute their energy to what I must unleash upon Stricklend. I wait as long as I dare, trusting that if Bram falls, when Bram falls, he will be caught by my spirit allies and brought to safety.

Stricklend curses. The spell he is using to suspend Bram is affected. I hear a shout and see Bram tumbling, not quite falling, but turning, over and over. Stricklend’s magic is precise and expertly controlled, but it is hampered by his having to defend himself from my own spells. I know I have only a fraction of the time I really need to work a spell of disturbance, a fierce and painful one, against Stricklend. I recite the ancient phrases at great speed, tripping over the unfamiliar sounds in my haste. He becomes aware of what I am doing and his face darkens further.