[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.But she concentrated on the path that ended at the ruler’s court, hoping that, after so long, it was still there, or that Chrysom’s journeys had led him into a time more recent in Saphier’s history than his own.She became aware, dimly, that stars had been burning in the dark around her for some time, a curiosity which coaxed her out of the key finally to investigate.She found candles lit throughout the room- Brand, his supper finished, sat in a window waiting for her.A moon-paring hung over his shoulder, high above the swamp.She slipped the key back into her pocket, rubbed her eyes tiredly.Movement felt strange; she tried to remember how long she had been standing there, bewitched with Chrysom’s knowledge.His taut, uneasy face told her: long enough.“What were you doing?” he asked.“You didn’t move, you wouldn’t speak- I thought some spell had been cast over you by that key.”“No.” She drifted to the table, her thoughts inlaid with winding paths of silver.She ate bits of cold peppered meat, and bread and a stew of mushrooms and leeks, until she felt she had climbed out of the little black cube into her own time again.She poured wine, drank a mouthful, then turned.In the candlelight her eyes held a trace of lavender.“I found Chrysom’s path to Saphier.”She heard his breath catch.He moved away from the window, relinquishing the bird’s familiar place.“I can go home?”“I’ll take you.”“How?” His fingers twisted the blackened path on one wrist.“How?”“The black cube.You came into it once, to rescue me.Do you remember?”“No.” Then he shook his head a little.“Perhaps.It’s like a dream—““It was real,” she said soberly.“I was lost and you led me out.That’s when you remembered your name.”“I don’t remember,” he said, but for once with regret.He added, “I would like to remember that I did something for you.”“You will.” She nibbled pieces of slivered carrots and almonds with her fingers, thinking.“Where would Rad Ilex most likely have taken Meguet?”His face tightened at the name, but he did not retreat from it.“My father’s court,” he said after a moment.“It’s where he lives.”“He’d go there even after casting a spell over you?”“He wouldn’t expect to see me.He is still free to come and go from Saphier; my father must not suspect him.”“Well,” she said, “it’s a place to start.”“My father will help you.He can send his mages searching across Saphier, even across the Luxour if need be.Not every mage can cross the Luxour.So I’ve heard- They say ancient magics, old as the beginning of the world, blow across it like wind.But some mages learn to anticipate the winds.”“Rad Ilex?”He was silent, struggled again; he nodded briefly.“Yes.And my father.And some others.”“It sounds fascinating.”“Perhaps- I never understood his love of the Luxour.”“Your father’s?”“Rad.” Blood streaked his face suddenly; he turned away from her, but she saw him tremble.She wondered uneasily what jagged edge of truth waited for him in Saphier.She dipped her fingers in orange-scented water, wiped them on a napkin, then pinned up a stray coil of hair.She said slowly,“I should tell my mother that I’m going.”“Will she let you go to a strange land?”“Most likely she’ll be so amazed I told her that she won’t ask where.But I don’t know how long it will take me to find Meguet, and I don’t want her thinking I’m in danger.”“My father will protect you,” he said swiftly.“Nothing will harm you in Saphier.”Absently she looked for her shoes, found them on her feet.She brushed a crumb off her skirt.“I’d better change.I can’t wear silk shoes across a desert, if it forces me to walk.”“There will be no need for you to go.The mages will search the Luxour.”She stared at him- “A desert full of magic, and you expect me to sit in your father’s house trying to watch my manners?”He blinked.“I forget,” he said, “how much freedom you have- You choose to come and go; my father’s mages do his bidding.You also do things for love.” His face closed abruptly, before she could question him.She said to his set profile,“I’ll be back as soon as I speak to my mother.”His brow crooked anxiously.“It’s late,” he reminded her.“I’ll hurry.If Rad Ilex comes—““Do you expect—““No,” she said quickly.“Though it would be worth this key and more to find Meguet here instead of there.If he comes, tell him to wait for me.Don’t touch him.Don’t let the firebird break out of you.”“How can I stop the bird?” he demanded.“Find a way.Do anything to keep Rad Ilex here.The heart of sorcery is the clear and patient mind.So Chrysom says.I am trying to be patient and clearheaded, for once in my life.But if the mage vanishes again with Meguet, I am liable to lose my temper and do something impulsive.”“My father says the heart of sorcery is the fire that forges the dragon’s heart.”“He does.”“So he teaches.”“Moro’s eyes.Just don’t fight.”She summoned one of the tower pages, sent him running to the Holder’s chambers to request a few moments’ privacy.Then she vanished, reappeared in front of her startled attendants, picking jewels out of her hair.She changed quickly, packed a few oddments of her own [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]