The sky seemed to echo his agony with booms of thunder and flares of lightning. Cale knew what Riven was feeling, the emptiness that accompanied revelation. He knelt beside the assassin, let his shadows cloak him, comfort him. Rivalen watched them both intently, golden eyes alight, the Black Chalice already recovered from where Riven had dropped it and returned to the extra-dimensional space in which the Shadovar stored it. "It will pass," Cale said to Riven. "It will pass." Riven gritted his teeth, hugged himself, writhed, and screamed again. After a time the screams ended. He drew a shuddering breath and let Cale pull him to his feet. His good eye regained focus. He doubled over, vomited. When he was done, he looked up at Cale. "It's that simple? It's been there all along?" Cale nodded. "That simple." They stared at one another for a long moment. Both knew that one of them, at least, must die. Both if they failed to kill Kesson Rel. "We need to know where he is," Cale said over his shoulder to Rivalen.
