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Bale nodded grimly. "Trouble is, he's a long way away." "How do you know?" He pointed to the boats. "They've been out here looking for fish for the past five days, so they didn't know who we were. They were helpful. Told me what the others kept from us. Someone found Torak's bow in the reed-bed." "The reed-bed?" Renn was aghast. "Near the Island of the Hidden People. The Otter Mage sent us the wrong way." He punched his palm. "Ah, Renn, we were so close! If only we'd known, we might have found him by now." 180 "But to send us the wrong way--why?" "What does that matter? We're farther away than ever. And if you're right, he's running out of time." She thought quickly. "How long will it take us to get there?" "As the raven flies, maybe a day. By skinboat, with all these islands in between? Two days, maybe three." "Let's get going!" "Not yet." He pointed east. Above the ice river, purple-gray clouds were massing. The World Spirit was restless. "But we can still try!" she said desperately. "If I knew the Lake, yes. But out here, with a storm coming? No. We'd be no use to Torak drowned." She ran to the water's edge. Now she saw that everything had conspired to bring her here. Maybe this was why the Otter Mage had sent them east: to force her into doing what she'd resolved she never would. Turning her back on the ice river, she stared west. Spiky black islands floated on the amber Lake. Somewhere beyond them, Torak was dying of soul-sickness. "Then I've got no choice." She faced Bale. "We'll have to send help from here." "What do you mean?" She took a deep breath. "I'll have to do Magecraft." *** 181 "Renn, this is madness!" yelled Bale as he fought to keep the skinboat afloat in the teeth of the storm. "We've got to get back to shore!" "Not yet!" shouted Renn. "We have to get past that last island. Imusthave a clear view to the west, or the help won't reach him." "But we're taking on water!" "If you care about Torak,keep going!" The sky turned black, the wind screamed in her ears, tugging at her clothes and whipping her hair about her face, churning the Lake to a frenzy of white water. The skinboat reared and plunged, and only Bale's skill kept them from going under. Somehow she managed to stay kneeling on the cross bar, gripping the boat with one hand as she thrust the other into her medicine pouch. She'd done all she could on the shore. Only the final charm remained. As she pulled out what she needed and held it up, she felt a thrill of grim satisfaction. The Viper Mage might have Torak's name-pebble, but she, Renn, possessed something just as potent. "What's that?" cried Bale. "His hair," she shouted. "Last winter he needed a disguise, and I cut it off and kept it!" Staggering to her feet, she raised her fist, and Torak's long, dark locks streamed in the wind. Bale grabbed her belt to hold her steady. "For the 182 last time, we've got to get back to shore! That's hail on the way. If it holes the boat, we're sunk!" "Not yet!" Throwing back her head, Renn howled the charm to the storm--she summoned the power of the guardian of all Ravens, who flies over Ice and Mountain, Forest, and Sea--she summoned it and sent it to seek Torak-- and the wind wrenched the charm from her lips and bore it west across the Lake. But in the midst of the charm, as she braced her legs on the frame of the pitching boat and clutched Bale's shoulder to steady herself, she felt a powerful will confronting hers. I feel your purpose.... You shall not succeed. Renn's knees buckled--she nearly went down. You shall not succeed. She tried to shut it from her mind--but it was too strong. Stronger than the Otter Mage, stronger even than Saeunn--it had the awesome power of the Soul-Eater-- and it was not to be outdone by the puny spell of some untried girl. The World Spirit hammered open the clouds, and down came the hail, pummeling their faces with arrows of ice. Bale swung the skinboat about. "Rocks! Rocks ahead!" Renn raised her fist one final time. "Fly!" she 183 screamed. "Fly to the aid of the soul-sick!" The wind ripped Torak's hair from her fingers and scattered it over the Lake, and Renn was flung backward as the skinboat gave a terrific heave and reared out of the water. "We've hit a rock!" yelled Bale. "Grab hold of the boat! Don't let go !" The hailstorm thundered west, carrying Renn's charm with it. It swept across the Lake, flattening the reeds, pounding the Island of the Hidden People. At the edge of the black beach, the pine trees thrashed, and beneath them Torak's miserable shelter shook. Pine cones and branches rained down upon it. Then something heavy dropped out of a tree and thudded onto the roof ... ... and Torak woke up. 184 [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |
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