Overall, a good installment. I know you were worried about Ash's Mary Sue moment, so I'll share a few thoughts:
She goes from wanting to run to suddenly fighting. If the intent is vengeance for SpellMaker, protecting Carolyn, or saving her parents, this should be mentioned, but it isn't. All we get is that she suddenly wants to fight.
I like Justice as a living sword, and I can respect that it's doing most of the fighting (versus "sudden magic knowledge" which would make Ash a true Mary Sue). If I could ask for anything, I would ask for a developing relationship between Ash and Justice, where she starts out as the idiot who's only doing what a magic sword tells her, have her actually gain some real skill, so that by the end, she is an accomplished swordsman with a magic sword that's an accomplished peoplesword, and the two of them can actually work together. It doesn't have to be overly explicit, like the sword literally speaking to her and having opinions as a tangible character, but it would be an interesting thread to develop.
The whole "casting protection spells on self but gets skewered by own weapon because it's part of the person" was a tad predictable. But I guess some major villain had to die in this book.
So I'm guessing that a Shell is a more gruesome Reflection, in that it's a bit literal? And it has to be maintained by continuing to kill?
Other than that, no thoughts stick out, unless you want specific thoughts on specific parts.
Overall, a good installment. I know you were worried about Ash's Mary Sue moment, so I'll share a few thoughts:
She goes from wanting to run to suddenly fighting. If the intent is vengeance for SpellMaker, protecting Carolyn, or saving her parents, this should be mentioned, but it isn't. All we get is that she suddenly wants to fight.
I like Justice as a living sword, and I can respect that it's doing most of the fighting (versus "sudden magic knowledge" which would make Ash a true Mary Sue). If I could ask for anything, I would ask for a developing relationship between Ash and Justice, where she starts out as the idiot who's only doing what a magic sword tells her, have her actually gain some real skill, so that by the end, she is an accomplished swordsman with a magic sword that's an accomplished peoplesword, and the two of them can actually work together. It doesn't have to be overly explicit, like the sword literally speaking to her and having opinions as a tangible character, but it would be an interesting thread to develop.
The whole "casting protection spells on self but gets skewered by own weapon because it's part of the person" was a tad predictable. But I guess some major villain had to die in this book.
So I'm guessing that a Shell is a more gruesome Reflection, in that it's a bit literal? And it has to be maintained by continuing to kill?
Other than that, no thoughts stick out, unless you want specific thoughts on specific parts.