[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

once-fairy, caught up in the merriment and feasting, soothed by the cool breezes that blew out of the
trees and by the warmth of the people surrounding them.
At midnight they retired to a small guest house provided for their lodging. They fell into bed, exhausted
but smiling, lying together, holding each other against a return of the fears and doubts they had managed
to put aside, falling asleep finally as exhaustion overtook them.
Sometime afterward, several hours before morning, Ben woke, extracted himself from Willow s arms,
rose, and walked to the window. The world without was lit by a single half-moon and stars that peeked
down through a scattering of low-slung clouds and interlocked tree limbs. He stared out into the
darkness, looking for the Ardsheal, wondering if it was there. He had not seen it since the River Master
had presented it to him. It had been real enough then but now seemed somehow to be an imagining
conjured in a dream.
An Ardsheal is very dangerous, Father, Willow had said.
He saw it then, back within the trees, another of the night s shadows. He would not have seen it at all
except that it moved just enough when he was looking so that he would know it was there, standing
guard, keeping watch.
Why was Willow so frightened of it? Was that a good thing or bad, given its purpose?
He didn t know. He put both questions in the cupboard in his mind that held all his unanswered
questions and went back to bed. Tomorrow he would try to find out. He pressed himself tight against
Willow s body, wrapped his arms around her, and lay awake holding her for a very long time before he
slept.
Nightshade s Tale
Mistaya s days in the Deep Fell slipped by so quickly that she was barely aware of their passing.
Enthralled by her lessons on the use of magic, caught up in the exploration of her newly revealed powers,
and consumed by the intensity of Nightshade s demands, she gave little notice to any expenditure of time.
It might have been only days since she had arrived; it might have been weeks. In truth, it didn t matter.
What mattered was what she was doing and the progress she was making in doing it. In that she was
delighted, if never satisfied. She had learned a great deal; she had not yet learned enough.
She almost never thought of her parents and home. They were an extraneous and inconsequential
consideration for her. Once she had determined that they knew where she was and that therefore she had
no need to worry, she had dismissed them completely. Her growing trust in Nightshade and her
enthusiasm for her studies made it easy for her to do so. In the beginning she had not been sure that it
was all right for her to be here. She had not been sure her parents really did know where she was. But
Nightshade s reassurances and her own desire to believe soon convinced her that her fears were
misplaced and that all was well. Nightshade had said she could leave when she wished, so it was easy
enough to discover whether the witch was lying. That was proof enough for Mistaya that she was being
told the truth. Besides, her growing mastery of her magic would help her father in his battle against
Rydall, and that provided an extra incentive for her to stay. Her father needed her; she must not fail him.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
Time s passage was also affected by where she was. The Deep Fell had a tendency to blur day into
night, light into darkness, then into now, making all seem very much alike. The Deep Fell s thick jungle
canopy kept everything beneath it gray and misty. Sunlight did not penetrate. The moon and stars were
never seen. Temperatures seldom changed more than marginally, and the look of Mistaya s surroundings
was constant and unremarkable. What color and brightness were to be found came solely from her
magic, from the wonders she performed and the marvels she uncovered. Nightshade gave her new insight
with each lesson, turning the focus of Mistaya s attention inward so that she saw only what she created
and almost nothing of the world about.
Nightshade was an effective teacher, endlessly patient with her pupil, praising and correcting by turns,
offering small insights where needed, never disparaging or condemning a failed effort. It seemed to
Mistaya that in the beginning Nightshade was interested primarily in results, but as her involvement in
uncovering the girl s latent magic increased, the witch became more and more caught up in the mechanics
of how the magic was performed. It seemed to surprise the witch as much as the girl; it also served to
draw them closer.
And they were remarkably close by now, so close that Mistaya was beginning to think of Nightshade as
a second mother. This did not seem odd to her. No one would ever replace her real mother, of course,
but there was no reason why she could not have more than one, each fulfilling certain functions in her life.
Nightshade was a strong presence, and her command of magic and revelation of its secrets were
powerful inducements to the girl. Mistaya was very young and easily impressed. Nightshade had rescued
her from Rydall. She had brought her to the Deep Fell to keep her safe. She was training her in the magic
arts so that she could help her father. She was proving herself a good friend and a wise counselor.
Mistaya could not have asked for more.
Yet there were still times when she experienced small twinges of doubt. Most of them were inspired by
the appearance of Haltwhistle, who came to her in secret each night. While she no longer agonized over
her parents or even Questor Thews and Abernathy, she was reminded by the continued presence of the
mud puppy that there was another life waiting for her beyond the confines of the Deep Fell. Try though
she might, she could not make the memories of that life go away, and while Haltwhistle never said or did
anything to interfere, she knew somehow that he was there to make certain she did not forget. It was
disconcerting to have to endure this, but she was mindful of the Earth Mother s warning of the dangers
she would face and the promise given that the mud puppy would help protect her if she kept him by her
side by remembering to call him once each day. So she conducted a balancing act, immersing herself in
Nightshade s teachings by day while each night suffering small glimpses of what she had left behind.
Haltwhistle never gave her away. It was a risky thing she was doing, keeping the mud puppy s presence
a secret. Nightshade would not approve, though was it really the witch s place to give that approval?
Now and again Mistaya thought she could see Haltwhistle watching her while she worked, concealed by
the mist and gray, hidden back in the jungle. Small bits and pieces of him would appear: eyes one time,
feet the next, ears or nose another. At night he came at her smallest whisper, sitting just out of reach in
the misty dark, barely more substantial than the haze out of which he materialized. Good old Haltwhistle,
she would say. And smile when his tail thumped. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]