Chapter 6

Dhynelle responded, "Reason or no, anyone with his power should be guarded more closely."

"Do you not mean any man?" Wyxotte spitefully asked.

Dhynelle ignored Wyxotte's comment. She instead was regarding Eyrmysse who seemed deep in thought. "Eyrmysse?"

She did not respond immediately. Her expression was serious and for once the smile was absent from her lips. "The renascency bothers me." Khyrhyelle sighed impatiently. "Mother, hear me out. I have devoted a great amount of time studying the subject and though not expert, I believe I have acquired considerable knowledge." Eyrmysse began playing with a long, dark curl. "As you probably know, the Ritual of Renascence is very dangerous—perhaps one of the most complex rituals there is. The ritual attempts to resurrect one who has been dead for only a short time. Time is of the essence. If too much time has elapsed, the victim's Soul leaves the body and any attempt made thereafter imperils the Soul of the one performing the ritual. For all practical purposes, there are only two ways to perform the ritual. One is to substitute yourself for the one you bring back… trading places in effect. The other is to use another person as the substitute for the one brought back. With either method, a person must die in order to bring back the deceased."

Arhyvhynne was puzzled. "But Uriel is alive."

"Exactly," replied Eyrmysse. "There was only one person, to my knowledge, who ever successfully performed the Ritual of Renascence the way Uriel did. And that, my sisters, was Thaum."

That brought loud murmurs from the witches. Several made signs of warding. Arhyvhynne spoke above the others. "Are you implying…"