Part 11 (1/2)
The ice in his belly sent a shaft lancing upward into his chest and he ca to shake her, to pull away the cord, even to shout- The beads shi+fted against the floor with a sound like sobbing, and, obedient at last, hurtled through the airto land with a clatter upon the table top, half-an-inch fro at her face, willing her to open her eyes, to shake her hair back, extinguish the candle and put aside the blue cloak; to mock him, even, for his terrors-She sat, still and silent as death Beside her, the candle flame flickered, and went out
Finally, he ht fell full on her face It was then he saw that she was crying
”Moonhawk?” A cracking whisper; much unlike his usual htly, on the shoulder ”Moonhawk”
She gasped and hurled back in her chair, lifting a warding hand, eyes wide now, and bright with terror
”Moonhawk!” He caught the uplifted hand, and nearly gasped himself at the coldness of her flesh
”Ah!” She cried and bent her head,shuddered
”Gone,” she one Goodbye sun Goodbye flowers Goodbye love hello dark Mother?
Mother! Where is she? Why is there no rest, no sweet eht to her, cupped her chin in his free hand-sacrilege, and worth a stoning, to touch the sacred body of a priestess without her aye-and forced her head up Wide, unseeing eyes stared into his
”Moonhawk sleeps,” she said, still in that young, grief-sodden voice ”Tael was called and Tael is here-and here will reripped his wrist in cold, ice-cold, death-cold fingers
”Avenge ht-lit parlor two steps down the hall frohter and son-to-be, all with a bit of work to hand The boy wasa harness-co tiny, precise stitches into a shi+rt Aster sat with her work held lightly in her right hand, needle poised in her left-but she was not stitching Her eyes dwelled dreamily upon the candle flas
Nonetheless, it was she who looked up as Lute paused outside the rooreet him
”Master Lute Is there-has Lady Moonhawk found race, trying not to think of the -cha the pillows
”The Lady Moonhawk,” he intoned, ”has wrought a very powerful spell Your daughter has indeed been located and-Goddess willing-will be ho”
Joy lit Aster's face She clapped her hands and looked to where her eldest still sat, cal
”Senna, have you no ears? Did you not hear Master Lute say that your sister will be holanced up, brown eyes hard as pebbles ”And did I not say she would be home when she had done hatever aze once ”You would believe that some ill had cohs at everything” She made a particularly violent jab at the fabric with her needle before concluding, half-whispered, ”As she will be laughing at all of us, to the joy on her face
”To on the stool, harness forgotten in his hands ”If she's close enough to be here toht?” He turned wild, glittering eyes on Aster ”You'd do better not to let your hopes rise, housemother! What do we know of this Lady Moonhawk, in truth? ord have we, except her own, that she is Circle-trained? Does she coypsy fortune-teller, bearing coue!”
”Yes, do,” said Senna, bending to put her work into the basket She stood and glanced froh, and then we can all judge the truth of the foretelling” She yawned, covering her ers
”I, for one, believe the lady, by whatever e,” she concluded ”And now I a Mother?”
”Yes,” said Aster distractedly, and turned to lay her ood notion”
She straightened and held out a hand ”Master Lute, thank you for your service to us I will just step down the hall, Senna, and give thanks to Lady Moonhawk, also, and then-”
”Lady Moonhawk,” Lute interposed sic and has since retired Doubtless there will be a tiether, tomorrow”
”Doubtless,” said Senna, sarcastically She put a surprisingly solicitous hand under Aster's elbow ”Coht, Cedar Master Lute”
”Dream sweetly,” Lute wished, and bowed them out of the room He turned in ti unnoticed to the floor He shambled forward, and started badly when Lute touched his arician said, srace of walking withair and a bit of exercise are doubtless just e both require” The boy sirip on the ar, toward the kitchen and the door
”Come,” he said softly ”I'll tell you a story while alk”
THE MOON WAS high, li pure and unflickering just out of Lute's longest reach He looked around with genuine pleasure
”What a delightful scene! What delightful country, certainly, once one cli here this afternoon”
”But your mistress has no mind to rest,” Cedar said, with a touch of his former acidity
”You mistake me, child I am my own man And the Lady Moonhawk is indeed a Witch out of Circle, properly attired or not We happen to travel in the same direction When either of us chooses a differenthy, then we shall part coh onto the track Once htful! What direction shall alk?”
Hope flickered in the boy's face, clearly discernible in the e
”This way,” he said eagerly
Lute extended a hand, caught the boy's arm and turned him firmly west ”I've a fancy for this way, myself Come, ith ed and so in his face cruentle tug of Lute's hand
”Coestured with his free hand and plucked a silver bit froers, he turned palers firuide ain Let us walk this way” He pulled more sharply on the ar silently on rock-hard path, with Lute keeping pace beside
They had gone for soain co country, or the stars, or the breeze, when Cedar glanced over
”What is the story?”
”Your pardon?”
”The story,” the boy repeated impatiently ”You said you would tell me as alked”
”Ah,” said Lute softly ”The story” He went another few steps along the path, glancing upward as if to ask the ain, ””is this”
”Not very long ago-nor very distant-there walked on a path very like this one a young wo, or a brilliant afternoon-though doubtfully evening, for she did not wear her cloak against the chill and it was not the moon's time of fullness-the path would have been too dark
”So they went, these two, and as they went, they talked Alas, the talk turned from pleasantries and flirtations to distressful, hurtful subjects The lover accused the girl of being unfaithful to hiift; that she refused, perhaps, to fix the date of their final vowing He demanded to know the narown and ht she continued to wear the necklace she had alorn-the one he had not given her
”He denored him-ran a little ahead or to the side or exclaily things, striving to be hateful, to hurt her, as a child will try to wound the adult who has disciplined hilanced back at the boy, who had stopped on the silvery path and was staring ahead, hands fisted at his sides