Chainfire: Chainfire Trilogy Part 1

"Yes. And likely in short order while it knows precisely where you are. Being that it's elementally Subtractive, it exists only partially in this world, so, while the beast is not hampered by things such as distance or obstacles, it also doesn't function in this world with ease. It can't fully conceive of the laws of this world, such as time. Still, it doesn't get tired, it doesn't get lazy, or angry, or eager.

"By all this I do not mean to suggest that because you use your gift the beast will therefore act. As I've said, its actions can't be predicted, so, like everything else, the use of magic cannot be used as a predictive factor. It only means that it increases its ease in being able to find you. Whether or not it will do so is not knowable."

"Great," Richard muttered as he went back to pacing.

"How can he kill it?" Cara asked.

"It isn't alive," Shota said. "You can no more kill the blood beast than you can kill a boulder that is about to fall on you, or kill the rain before it has a chance to get you wet."

Cara looked as frustrated as Richard felt. "Well, there has to be something that it's afraid of."

"Fear is a function of living things."

"Maybe, then, something it doesn't like."

Shota frowned. "Doesn't like?"

"You know, fire, or water, or light. Something it doesn't like and so avoids."

"Today it might choose to avoid water. Tomorrow it might slither up from a bog, snatch his leg, and drag him under the water to drown him. It moves through this world as it would through an alien landscape that has little effect on it."

"Where in the world could someone learn how to create such a beast?" Richard asked.

"I believe that the core of the knowledge was discovered by Jagang in ancient books on weapons that originated during the great war. He is a student of ancient subjects having to do with warfare; he collects such knowledge from all over. I have a suspicion, though, that he took what he found and added specifications he wanted in order to defeat you. We do know that he then used the gifted Sisters to spawn the beast.

"Since they used Subtractive Magic along with their stolen wizardry, they were able to make use of other gifted people as constituent parts of the beast, ripping their souls from them, ripping away all but what was needed in order to conjure, combine and create the beast. It is a weapon beyond anything we have ever encountered before. Jagang is the one who caused the beast to be created. He has to be stopped before he creates anything else."

"I couldn't agree more," Richard muttered.

"You can't stop him if you are off chasing phantoms," Shota said.

Richard halted his pacing and stared at her. "Shota, you can't just tell me all this without at least telling me something that will help."

"You are the one who came to me asking questions. I did not go looking for you. Besides, I have helped you. I told you what I know. Maybe by using the information you now have, you can live another day."

Richard had heard enough. The blood beast had no nature, but not to have a nature, in a way, was its nature, so it had one as far as he was concerned. It may be true, as Shota had said, that there was no accurate way to predict what it would do next, but lack of understanding or knowledge did not constitute a lack of a nature. It was, however, a point that was not worth arguing. He thought that it might be an important distinction sooner or later, but right then it didn't matter much. Everything Shota had said largely confirmed what Nicci had already reported. While she had added facets and details that Nicci hadn't known about, Shota hadn't provided any solutions.

In fact, it seemed to him that she had gone to a great deal of trouble to make sure she had painted a hopeless picture.

Richard almost rested his hand on his sword. He stopped and ran his fingers through his hair, instead. He was at his wits' end. He turned and stared off at the trees spread across the valley, their leaves shimmering in the late-day sun.

"So, there is nothing I can do to protect myself from the blood beast."

"I didn't say that."

Richard spun back around. "What? You mean there is a way?"

Without emotion, Shota studied his eyes. "I believe that there is one way to keep you alive."

"What way?"

She clasped her hands, twining her fingers together. She looked down at the ground a moment, as if considering, and then met his gaze with steady resolution.

"You could stay here."

He saw Samuel come to his feet. Richard returned his attention to Shota's waiting gaze. "What do you mean, I could stay here?"

She shrugged, as if it were a trivial offer. "Stay here and I will protect you."

Cara straightened, her arms coming unfolded. "You can do that?"

"I believe I can."

"Then come with us," Cara suggested. "That would solve the problem."

Richard already didn't like Cara's idea.

"I can't," Shota said. "I can only protect him if he stays here, in this valley, in my home."

"I can't stay," Richard said, trying to make it sound casual.