[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
his& favors."
Wicket got up from his chair and stalked toward them, all trace of the
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
cheerful little nondescript gone.
"Portia!' he exclaimed in fury. "Damn I wish Pyrrhus hadn't told me she's
dead. I want to kill her with my own hands!"
"You're too late," said Julia. "We already did."
"Julia!" exclaimed Aradia.
"Well, with our minds, then. It's the same thing."
"But it's as if she won't stay dead," said Master Clement. "Just as she
wouldn't stay "
"You, of all people, know she is dead," Aradia said firmly, and Julia
remembered how the old Master
Reader had lain for days, his mind trapped outside his body, lost on the
planes of existence, for when
Portia's body died her spirit had refused to depart peacefully to the plane of
the dead. Master Clement had tried to escort her there and only a circle of
Adepts and Readers had been able to call him back to his body before he, too,
died.
But later they had found out, to Master Clement's dismay, that Portia's angry
spirit had not stayed on the plane of the dead. Torio had gone there to bring
back the woman he loved. He had met Portias spirit, still seeking revenge, on
what he described as the plane of lost souls. He had made certain Portia could
not follow, knowing she would trace him back to the physical plane if she
could. So Portia's spirit was left trapped in a hell of her own making.
Master Clement said, "She is dead, but not at peace. I should not have let you
call me back. I should have escorted her through the portal. If she escaped
from where Torio met her, she could "
"No," Aradia said. "Torio made certain she could not follow him back to the
physical plane. Don't you trust Torio, Master Clement?"
Master Clement stood. "Yes, I trust Torio. Portia may be what prevents his
return. He left her trapped, and feels the same guilt I do.
"Oh, yes, Portia is dead, but her evil lives on. Indirectly, she drove Torio
from us. Directly& " The old man shook his head. "The damage she did lives on.
Pyrrhus how could one Reader do such a thing to another? By the gods, it would
have been kinder to kill him!"
When Aradia returned home that evening, she found it difficult to eat supper
despite having used her
Adept powers. Julia also picked at her food, and Aradia did not have to Read
her to know the girl was as depressed as she was by what they had learned from
Pyrrhus.
Feeling excessively tired, Aradia decided to be sensible and go to bed early.
She didn't even hear
Devasin's chatting, and dismissed the woman as soon as she was in her
nightgown, her hair let down.
Then she sat for a while, brushing the tangles out of her hair, thinking of
Lenardo. She remembered how she had first come to respect him when he helped
her and Wulfston cure their father of a brain tumor.
Healing such a condition had been impossible for either Adepts or Readers
alone, and they had always been alone in those days, trapped on either side of
the border in societies where the appropriate power meant respect and
position, but exhibiting the wrong power meant that a child would be summarily
executed. But when Lenardo and Aradia overcame their arbitrary division,
together they had brought
Nerius back to full health.
Only to have him die in the battle with Drakonius.
He died as he would have preferred
fighting like a man
, she reminded herself.
He saved my life, and Lenardo, Wulfston, and I went on to defeat our enemies
Page 36
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
.
For a time, it had seemed that Adepts and Readers working together could
accomplish anything. Only now was it coming home to them how little they could
really do.
What kind of ideal society were they building, where nothing could be done for
someone as devastatingly wounded, physically and mentally, as Pyrrhus?
Small and recent as Aradia's Reading talent was, she shuddered at the idea of
losing it, never to know again the touch of another mind& Lenardos mind.
I may never know his touch again, on my body or in my mind.
Aradia stared into her small round mirror and shook herself. "No more maudlin
thoughts!" she said aloud, getting up and taking off her robe. "I'm just
being& pregnant!"
Still, as she lay down and tried to fall asleep, she was acutely aware that
the other side of the bed was empty. No warm chest to curl up against. No
strong arms to make her feel absurdly protected even though both she and
Lenardo knew that she was the one with the Adept powers to throw thunderbolts
or using proper leverage move mountains.
She would never fall asleep if she lay there missing Lenardo.
But when she tried to put her husband out of her mind, the confrontation with
Pyrrhus replayed itself, unbidden. No wonder the man was so brittle, bitter.
Aradia sat up in bed, her arms about her knees. If all she could do was think
negative thoughts, perhaps she should go into her study and read. But she was
very tired. She had not slept well recently.
Then she remembered something Nerius had taught her when she was a little girl
and couldn't sleep because she was upset over something she had no control
over. "Make plans," her father had told her.
"Make positive plans to correct something that is wrong. Remember, daughter,
there are far more things in this world outside your control than in it so
worry about what you can do something about."
It had always worked in childhood.
She had no control over Lenardo's absence. She had no control over Pyrrhus'
burnt-out nerves.
But if she could not restore Pyrrhus' Reading, perhaps she could do something
for the ex-Reader and
his loyal Wicket. "We're in this together," Wicket had said. What was "this"?
If they had a purpose, Aradia would try to help them achieve it.
If, as so many people did, they had come to Zendi seeking work, a better life,
possibly she could hire them. She smiled. Tomorrow she would have to find out
what, exactly, the two men could do.
On that positive note, she fell asleep.
And dreamed.
It began as a pleasant dream, one that was becoming familiar now. She saw her [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl exclamation.htw.pl
his& favors."
Wicket got up from his chair and stalked toward them, all trace of the
Page 35
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
cheerful little nondescript gone.
"Portia!' he exclaimed in fury. "Damn I wish Pyrrhus hadn't told me she's
dead. I want to kill her with my own hands!"
"You're too late," said Julia. "We already did."
"Julia!" exclaimed Aradia.
"Well, with our minds, then. It's the same thing."
"But it's as if she won't stay dead," said Master Clement. "Just as she
wouldn't stay "
"You, of all people, know she is dead," Aradia said firmly, and Julia
remembered how the old Master
Reader had lain for days, his mind trapped outside his body, lost on the
planes of existence, for when
Portia's body died her spirit had refused to depart peacefully to the plane of
the dead. Master Clement had tried to escort her there and only a circle of
Adepts and Readers had been able to call him back to his body before he, too,
died.
But later they had found out, to Master Clement's dismay, that Portia's angry
spirit had not stayed on the plane of the dead. Torio had gone there to bring
back the woman he loved. He had met Portias spirit, still seeking revenge, on
what he described as the plane of lost souls. He had made certain Portia could
not follow, knowing she would trace him back to the physical plane if she
could. So Portia's spirit was left trapped in a hell of her own making.
Master Clement said, "She is dead, but not at peace. I should not have let you
call me back. I should have escorted her through the portal. If she escaped
from where Torio met her, she could "
"No," Aradia said. "Torio made certain she could not follow him back to the
physical plane. Don't you trust Torio, Master Clement?"
Master Clement stood. "Yes, I trust Torio. Portia may be what prevents his
return. He left her trapped, and feels the same guilt I do.
"Oh, yes, Portia is dead, but her evil lives on. Indirectly, she drove Torio
from us. Directly& " The old man shook his head. "The damage she did lives on.
Pyrrhus how could one Reader do such a thing to another? By the gods, it would
have been kinder to kill him!"
When Aradia returned home that evening, she found it difficult to eat supper
despite having used her
Adept powers. Julia also picked at her food, and Aradia did not have to Read
her to know the girl was as depressed as she was by what they had learned from
Pyrrhus.
Feeling excessively tired, Aradia decided to be sensible and go to bed early.
She didn't even hear
Devasin's chatting, and dismissed the woman as soon as she was in her
nightgown, her hair let down.
Then she sat for a while, brushing the tangles out of her hair, thinking of
Lenardo. She remembered how she had first come to respect him when he helped
her and Wulfston cure their father of a brain tumor.
Healing such a condition had been impossible for either Adepts or Readers
alone, and they had always been alone in those days, trapped on either side of
the border in societies where the appropriate power meant respect and
position, but exhibiting the wrong power meant that a child would be summarily
executed. But when Lenardo and Aradia overcame their arbitrary division,
together they had brought
Nerius back to full health.
Only to have him die in the battle with Drakonius.
He died as he would have preferred
fighting like a man
, she reminded herself.
He saved my life, and Lenardo, Wulfston, and I went on to defeat our enemies
Page 36
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
.
For a time, it had seemed that Adepts and Readers working together could
accomplish anything. Only now was it coming home to them how little they could
really do.
What kind of ideal society were they building, where nothing could be done for
someone as devastatingly wounded, physically and mentally, as Pyrrhus?
Small and recent as Aradia's Reading talent was, she shuddered at the idea of
losing it, never to know again the touch of another mind& Lenardos mind.
I may never know his touch again, on my body or in my mind.
Aradia stared into her small round mirror and shook herself. "No more maudlin
thoughts!" she said aloud, getting up and taking off her robe. "I'm just
being& pregnant!"
Still, as she lay down and tried to fall asleep, she was acutely aware that
the other side of the bed was empty. No warm chest to curl up against. No
strong arms to make her feel absurdly protected even though both she and
Lenardo knew that she was the one with the Adept powers to throw thunderbolts
or using proper leverage move mountains.
She would never fall asleep if she lay there missing Lenardo.
But when she tried to put her husband out of her mind, the confrontation with
Pyrrhus replayed itself, unbidden. No wonder the man was so brittle, bitter.
Aradia sat up in bed, her arms about her knees. If all she could do was think
negative thoughts, perhaps she should go into her study and read. But she was
very tired. She had not slept well recently.
Then she remembered something Nerius had taught her when she was a little girl
and couldn't sleep because she was upset over something she had no control
over. "Make plans," her father had told her.
"Make positive plans to correct something that is wrong. Remember, daughter,
there are far more things in this world outside your control than in it so
worry about what you can do something about."
It had always worked in childhood.
She had no control over Lenardo's absence. She had no control over Pyrrhus'
burnt-out nerves.
But if she could not restore Pyrrhus' Reading, perhaps she could do something
for the ex-Reader and
his loyal Wicket. "We're in this together," Wicket had said. What was "this"?
If they had a purpose, Aradia would try to help them achieve it.
If, as so many people did, they had come to Zendi seeking work, a better life,
possibly she could hire them. She smiled. Tomorrow she would have to find out
what, exactly, the two men could do.
On that positive note, she fell asleep.
And dreamed.
It began as a pleasant dream, one that was becoming familiar now. She saw her [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]