Shadow and Bone

pursuit if he thought it was nothing but a peasant tale. But
once he has it, nothing will be able to stop him.”
I threw up my hands in exasperation. “Stop him from doing
what?”
“Using the Fold as a weapon.”
“I see,” I said. “Does he also plan to build a summer home
there?”
Baghra seized hold of my arm, “This isn’t a joke!”
There was a desperate, unfamiliar edge to her voice, and her
grip on my arm was nearly painful. What was wrong with her?
“Baghra, maybe we should go to the infirmary—”
“I’m not sick and I’m not insane,” she spat. “You must
listen to me.”
“Then talk sense,” I said. “How could anyone use the
Shadow Fold as a weapon?”
She leaned into me, her fingers digging into my flesh. “By
expanding it.”
“Right,” I said slowly, trying to extricate myself from her
grasp.
“The land that the Unsea covers was once green and good,
fertile and rich. Now it is dead and barren, crawling with
abominations. The Darkling will push its boundaries north into
Fjerda, south to the Shu Han. Those who do not bow to him
will see their kingdoms turned to desolate wasteland and their
people devoured by ravening volcra.”
I gaped at her in horror, shocked by the images she had
conjured. The old woman had clearly lost her mind.
“Baghra,” I said gently, “I think you have some kind of
fever.” Or you’ve gone completely senile. “Finding the stag is
a good thing. It means I can help the Darkling destroy the
Fold.”
“No!” she cried, and it was almost a howl. “He never
intended to destroy it. The Fold is his creation.”