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used to enter the tree. He started to follow her out, but the moment he moved towards that passage a wave of pure dread washed over him so powerfully that he staggered back a step. Even as he did so he watched as the air inside that hollow in the tree rippled with passing magicks, and then the opening was gone, replaced with new, healthy wood. He pressed his free hand against the inner wall of the tree's heart, but it was firm and solid under his fingers.
The babe in his arms yawned. William looked down into its tiny face and his heart beat faster. He had no idea if it was the tree itself, this ancient, enchanted thing, or some external magick that had sealed him within, but nothing was going to keep him from returning these children to their mother. William ran back to where the other babies lay swaddled in the faerie furs and cloaks on the ground and placed his babe amongst them. Then, with trembling fingers he turned to where the passage through the tree had been. With his anger and frustration and his fear for the children, so too did the power he had inherited from his grandfather rise within him. Sparks of golden light danced at his fingertips.
"By the power of Zariatmek�" William began.
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