[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
At least the black figure was gone, and in the company of one of her own, Wynn
might be safe for the moment.
The dark-skinned sage picked up the crystal-adorned staff, but when he tried
to touch Wynn⬠"!s forehead the dog lunged at him. What followed cut through
Chane⬠"!s suffering as he watched, to the instant Wynn floated up into the
sage⬠"!s arms.
This man was more than a sage. Chane⬠"!s amazement succumbed to pain as
Wynn⬠"!s savior headed off, carrying her in his arms. And the dog followed,
still snarling and circling.
Chane barely fumbled his sword back into its sheath. He was almost grateful
for the Suman⬠"!s arrival, as he certainly could not carry Wynn anywhere in
his present state. He needed to feed, and soon, and he didn⬠"!t care whom he
found. Almost anyone would do, but he continued to watch the retreating deep
blue robe.
Chane knew conjury, though he was less skilled than a true mage. Nothing in
that art could have raised Wynn from the ground without a telltale
sign⬠perhaps a geyser of conjured air. He had felt no wind, let alone one
powerful and controlled enough to lift her small body from the street.
Thaumaturgy⬠"!s manipulation of the physical world had better possibilities,
but he had never heard nor read of a thaumaturge who could turn a breeze into
wind so precisely shaped and with such strength.
This sage had appeared suddenly, in just the right place and moment, barely an
instant after the black figure had vanished.
Chane grew anxious⬠and frustrated with his own weakness⬠for there was
nothing he could do. Had he left Wynn in the hands of some new and unknown
threat living within the walls of her own guild?
CHAPTER 14
Wynn groaned as she opened her eyes. She found herself in her own bed, in her
own room.
She felt as if she had both a fever and a sunburn, and her right hand tingled
uncomfortably. When she raised it, her hand and forearm were their normal
tone. She remembered falling in the street, burning inside, as if the
crystal⬠"!s light had sunk within. . . .
Wynn sat up too quickly.
Colored blotches spun over her sight, and she blinked against dizziness. How
had she ended up in her room, and where was the inky-colored majay-hì? And
what had become of Chane after the crystal ignited?
She remembered him rushing toward her, but no more, and she had no way to find
him. At a grunt and a whine from the room⬠"!s far corner, her mouth dropped
open.
The majay-hì lay curled on the floor near her desk. The tip of its bushy tail
covered its nose, and its crystal blue eyes stared back at her.
⬠SHow did you get in here?⬠" Wynn breathed in wonder.
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The dog⬠"!s tall ears pricked at the sound of her voice. But when she swung
her legs over the bedside, trying and failing to stand up, the majay-hì
lifted its head with a rumble.
Wynn sat perfectly still. ⬠SIt⬠"!s all right,⬠" she whispered.
Then she realized she wore only her shift.
She scanned the room in panic for her cloak and spotted it draped over the
desk⬠"!s wooden chair. The majay-hì rumbled again as she wobbled to her feet.
She stumbled over and dug into the cloak⬠"!s inner pocket. At the feel of old
tin, Wynn exhaled and pulled out the scroll case.
It looked the same as when Chane had offered it to her⬠safe and sound. She
tucked it back into the cloak and turned about.
The majay-hì watched her intently, ears slightly flattened at her close
proximity.
A pitcher of water and a clay mug rested on her bedside table. Ignoring the
mug, Wynn retrieved the washbowl atop her chest and filled it from the
pitcher. But when she tried to step back across the little room, she made it
only halfway.
The majay-hì let out a sharper rumble.
Wynn set the bowl down in the room⬠"!s center. Even as she backed to the bed,
the animal didn⬠"!t move. Its gaze shifted only once to the bowl.
⬠SIt⬠"!s all right,⬠" she repeated, but the words made no difference.
Finally the majay-hì rose.
Holding its place for a moment, it then padded one careful step at a time to
the bowl. Lowering its muzzle to lap the water, it never took its eyes off
Wynn. A wave of sadness washed through Wynn as she thought of Chap⬠and the
majay-hì⬠"!s ears rose up.
She couldn⬠"!t help a stab of regret that this four-footed stranger wasn⬠"!t
him⬠not by its color, let alone that it was obviously female. She remembered
the pack that had helped her and Chap find Leesil⬠"!s mother in the
an⬠"!Cróan⬠"!s Elven Territories. A yearling majay-hì had run among them.
This charcoal-colored female looked about the same age, if Wynn guessed right.
But then, she didn⬠"!t know the life span of the majay-hì. Its color was
almost as dark as that of the grizzled pack elder. By contrast, Wynn
remembered Lily, Chap⬠"!s beautiful white companion with yellow-flecked blue
eyes that looked green from afar. Lily⬠"!s strange attributes were rare for
the wild protectors of those faraway elven lands.
The strange female stopped drinking and lifted her head.
Wynn couldn⬠"!t fathom how this young one, maybe only a yearling, had traveled
so far from home. And why had the dog come to her, let alone at the moment the
black figure appeared? She crouched to the dog⬠"!s level and hesitantly
stretched out her hand, palm up.
⬠SIt⬠"!s all right,⬠" she said again.
The majay-hì shrank away with a twitch of jowl⬠but she cocked her long head
as well.
And a moment passed.
The dog stretched her neck just a little, reaching out her nose, though she
remained well beyond Wynn⬠"!s reach. The majay-hì sniffed at Wynn, and then
shook herself all over, and those pale blue eyes gazed intently into Wynn⬠"!s.
The same way Chap had sometimes studied her. And the way Lily had looked her
over when they first met.
The young female huffed suddenly and took a step.
Wynn remained still, with her hand extended, but the female paused as if
waiting for something. The dog finally backed up. That brief instant of near
acceptance⬠and its sudden passing⬠frustrated Wynn.
The majay-hì pack had also had a hard time accepting her. The grizzled black
elder had barely tolerated her at all. Lily was the first to allow Wynn close.
The young female⬠"!s ears pricked up again.
Even Lily wouldn⬠"!t have let Wynn touch her without Chap present. How was she
going to establish trust with this lost sentient being⬠without getting
bitten? Wynn leaned forward with her hand still outstretched, until she had to
Page 142
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brace her other hand on the floor. She hesitated every inch for fear of
startling the anxious female.
The majay-hì finally extended her head in like manner, until her cold, wet
nose touched the tip of Wynn⬠"!s middle finger.
A barrage of memories erupted in Wynn⬠"!s mind. Wobbling under the onslaught,
she barely caught a glimpse of one before it washed away under the next.
Chap, his silver-gray fur glinting in shafts of sunlight lancing through the
forest canopy . . .
Lily running somewhere nearby, more brilliant white where the light touched
her coat . . .
Violet-tinged ferns in the underbrush whipping across them within the vast
Elven Territories . . . [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl chiara76.opx.pl
At least the black figure was gone, and in the company of one of her own, Wynn
might be safe for the moment.
The dark-skinned sage picked up the crystal-adorned staff, but when he tried
to touch Wynn⬠"!s forehead the dog lunged at him. What followed cut through
Chane⬠"!s suffering as he watched, to the instant Wynn floated up into the
sage⬠"!s arms.
This man was more than a sage. Chane⬠"!s amazement succumbed to pain as
Wynn⬠"!s savior headed off, carrying her in his arms. And the dog followed,
still snarling and circling.
Chane barely fumbled his sword back into its sheath. He was almost grateful
for the Suman⬠"!s arrival, as he certainly could not carry Wynn anywhere in
his present state. He needed to feed, and soon, and he didn⬠"!t care whom he
found. Almost anyone would do, but he continued to watch the retreating deep
blue robe.
Chane knew conjury, though he was less skilled than a true mage. Nothing in
that art could have raised Wynn from the ground without a telltale
sign⬠perhaps a geyser of conjured air. He had felt no wind, let alone one
powerful and controlled enough to lift her small body from the street.
Thaumaturgy⬠"!s manipulation of the physical world had better possibilities,
but he had never heard nor read of a thaumaturge who could turn a breeze into
wind so precisely shaped and with such strength.
This sage had appeared suddenly, in just the right place and moment, barely an
instant after the black figure had vanished.
Chane grew anxious⬠and frustrated with his own weakness⬠for there was
nothing he could do. Had he left Wynn in the hands of some new and unknown
threat living within the walls of her own guild?
CHAPTER 14
Wynn groaned as she opened her eyes. She found herself in her own bed, in her
own room.
She felt as if she had both a fever and a sunburn, and her right hand tingled
uncomfortably. When she raised it, her hand and forearm were their normal
tone. She remembered falling in the street, burning inside, as if the
crystal⬠"!s light had sunk within. . . .
Wynn sat up too quickly.
Colored blotches spun over her sight, and she blinked against dizziness. How
had she ended up in her room, and where was the inky-colored majay-hì? And
what had become of Chane after the crystal ignited?
She remembered him rushing toward her, but no more, and she had no way to find
him. At a grunt and a whine from the room⬠"!s far corner, her mouth dropped
open.
The majay-hì lay curled on the floor near her desk. The tip of its bushy tail
covered its nose, and its crystal blue eyes stared back at her.
⬠SHow did you get in here?⬠" Wynn breathed in wonder.
Page 141
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The dog⬠"!s tall ears pricked at the sound of her voice. But when she swung
her legs over the bedside, trying and failing to stand up, the majay-hì
lifted its head with a rumble.
Wynn sat perfectly still. ⬠SIt⬠"!s all right,⬠" she whispered.
Then she realized she wore only her shift.
She scanned the room in panic for her cloak and spotted it draped over the
desk⬠"!s wooden chair. The majay-hì rumbled again as she wobbled to her feet.
She stumbled over and dug into the cloak⬠"!s inner pocket. At the feel of old
tin, Wynn exhaled and pulled out the scroll case.
It looked the same as when Chane had offered it to her⬠safe and sound. She
tucked it back into the cloak and turned about.
The majay-hì watched her intently, ears slightly flattened at her close
proximity.
A pitcher of water and a clay mug rested on her bedside table. Ignoring the
mug, Wynn retrieved the washbowl atop her chest and filled it from the
pitcher. But when she tried to step back across the little room, she made it
only halfway.
The majay-hì let out a sharper rumble.
Wynn set the bowl down in the room⬠"!s center. Even as she backed to the bed,
the animal didn⬠"!t move. Its gaze shifted only once to the bowl.
⬠SIt⬠"!s all right,⬠" she repeated, but the words made no difference.
Finally the majay-hì rose.
Holding its place for a moment, it then padded one careful step at a time to
the bowl. Lowering its muzzle to lap the water, it never took its eyes off
Wynn. A wave of sadness washed through Wynn as she thought of Chap⬠and the
majay-hì⬠"!s ears rose up.
She couldn⬠"!t help a stab of regret that this four-footed stranger wasn⬠"!t
him⬠not by its color, let alone that it was obviously female. She remembered
the pack that had helped her and Chap find Leesil⬠"!s mother in the
an⬠"!Cróan⬠"!s Elven Territories. A yearling majay-hì had run among them.
This charcoal-colored female looked about the same age, if Wynn guessed right.
But then, she didn⬠"!t know the life span of the majay-hì. Its color was
almost as dark as that of the grizzled pack elder. By contrast, Wynn
remembered Lily, Chap⬠"!s beautiful white companion with yellow-flecked blue
eyes that looked green from afar. Lily⬠"!s strange attributes were rare for
the wild protectors of those faraway elven lands.
The strange female stopped drinking and lifted her head.
Wynn couldn⬠"!t fathom how this young one, maybe only a yearling, had traveled
so far from home. And why had the dog come to her, let alone at the moment the
black figure appeared? She crouched to the dog⬠"!s level and hesitantly
stretched out her hand, palm up.
⬠SIt⬠"!s all right,⬠" she said again.
The majay-hì shrank away with a twitch of jowl⬠but she cocked her long head
as well.
And a moment passed.
The dog stretched her neck just a little, reaching out her nose, though she
remained well beyond Wynn⬠"!s reach. The majay-hì sniffed at Wynn, and then
shook herself all over, and those pale blue eyes gazed intently into Wynn⬠"!s.
The same way Chap had sometimes studied her. And the way Lily had looked her
over when they first met.
The young female huffed suddenly and took a step.
Wynn remained still, with her hand extended, but the female paused as if
waiting for something. The dog finally backed up. That brief instant of near
acceptance⬠and its sudden passing⬠frustrated Wynn.
The majay-hì pack had also had a hard time accepting her. The grizzled black
elder had barely tolerated her at all. Lily was the first to allow Wynn close.
The young female⬠"!s ears pricked up again.
Even Lily wouldn⬠"!t have let Wynn touch her without Chap present. How was she
going to establish trust with this lost sentient being⬠without getting
bitten? Wynn leaned forward with her hand still outstretched, until she had to
Page 142
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
brace her other hand on the floor. She hesitated every inch for fear of
startling the anxious female.
The majay-hì finally extended her head in like manner, until her cold, wet
nose touched the tip of Wynn⬠"!s middle finger.
A barrage of memories erupted in Wynn⬠"!s mind. Wobbling under the onslaught,
she barely caught a glimpse of one before it washed away under the next.
Chap, his silver-gray fur glinting in shafts of sunlight lancing through the
forest canopy . . .
Lily running somewhere nearby, more brilliant white where the light touched
her coat . . .
Violet-tinged ferns in the underbrush whipping across them within the vast
Elven Territories . . . [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]