Excerpt: The Crucible

From Sanctum of the Archmage: Hell Gate, Chapter 17 - Heart of Steel

She closed her eyes and rested the flat of the blade against her forehead. She let the rage burn through her, free and unrestrained. It was an alien feeling to her kindly soul, but it comforted her. It left her with an odd sense of confidence and determination — and of clarity.

She thought about her promise to Gerard, that she would do what must be done. She had said the words. She knew now they had been empty.

Her people would need guidance, leadership, and inspiration. A frightened victim could not give that to them. And that was what she had been.

All she had done that day was to react. To run, desperate and afraid, to keep one step ahead of the monsters that pursued her. To shed a tear for each protector that died to buy her a few more precious seconds of life.

But Gerard had believed in her — and with a quiet confidence that had terrified her. Why had it terrified her?

She knew the answer now. It wasn’t the demons that truly frightened her. It was the woman she would have to become to fight them.

She had to let go of that fear.