[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
serpents. Sunjata s voice apologizing for serving two masters. Telling me I was lucky my mother loved
me. Telling me to go to Cythera.
And then the tide of madness swallowing me.
Again, Solon said.
I closed my eyes and told him again, shutting out the sound of his pen scratching, shutting out
everything. This time, there was nothing new. When I had finished, I was drained. I opened my eyes. Do
you wish to hear about the madness now?
Solon began to reply, then caught my mother s warning glance. No, he said in a circumspect
tone. Later, perhaps. Tell me about the ring. Is it significant?
Tired as I was, I almost laughed. Sidonie had given it to me before I d wed Dorelei. When I d
struck out from Skaldia into the unknown in search of Berlik, I d sent the ring back to Sidonie with a
message that I would return to claim it. And when I d been stuck waist-deep in a Vralian snowbank,
bone-weary and frozen and ready to die, it was the thought of that promise that had kept me moving.
I d reclaimed it in Alba. At long last, Berlik s skull was interred, letting Dorelei s spirit rest
peacefully. Sidonie had taken the ring from its resting place on a chain around her neck. She d undone
the clasp and let the chain fall, slid the ring onto my finger. And we had made love like gods, filled with
wonder and awe.
Yes, I said. Oh, yes.
A love token? Solon pressed. From the Queen s daughter?
I stared at him. What do you suppose? Yes.
He shrugged. I needed to be sure.
Be sure. I turned to my mother. What did Sunjata mean about serving two masters?
A frown knit her graceful brows. Tis a long story. To shorten it, Sunjata is a journeyman in my
service. But as far as the Guild in Carthage knows, he is a gem-merchant s assistant who has been
secretly recruited by a Guildsman named Hannon.
A horologist, Solon added.
Why did he take my ring? I asked.
Melisande shook her head. At a guess, I d hazard it was an order he feared to disobey without
exposing himself. As to why the order was given, I can t say.
I can. Solon tapped the pages of the book before him, no longer blank, but filled with scribbled
notations and charts. But it will take some doing. This was not a simple spell. It was not one spell. I
suspect there are a multitude of magics combined here. Horology, symbology, and something else rare
and powerful. There is a wide array of lore I must consult to be certain.
How long will it take? I asked him.
It will take as long as it takes, he replied.
I gave a brief nod of acknowledgment. Can you undo it?
Undo it? Solon pursed his lips. No. It does not lie within my power, and even if it did . . . His
voice trailed off. Well. It doesn t. But I do believe I can provide you with the keys to unlock each link
of this chain.
I stood and bowed. That will suffice.
Suffice! He laughed dryly. I told you, even in this I take a risk. No one else could unknot this
puzzle. Carthage will know.
You could have prevented it, I said softly. And that, I know.
Solon s gaze darted to my mother s face. Her expression was neutral. Yes, he admitted. And
I aid you now for the same reason I withheld the whole truth from Melisande. Because I have become a
fool in my dotage, and I do not wish to lose her. He flapped one hand at me. Now go, and let me
work.
I went.
Twenty-One
While Ptolemy Solon consulted his library and collected toad-slime and fever-sweat, or whatever
it was he did to plumb the mysteries of Carthage s magic, I passed more time in my mother s company.
Tell me, I said to her the first day. Did you actually threaten to leave Solon if he didn t aid
me?
Yes, Melisande said in a calm voice.
Why? I asked.
We were dining in another inner courtyard of her villa beneath the cool green shade of a
grapevine-laced lattice. There were marks on the tile where Hellene-style couches had been removed,
replaced by an oval table with two chairs. I knew without being told that my mother had ordered the
couches removed because I wouldn t be at ease reclining in her company.
Let us say I have become a fool in my dotage, too. Melisande gave a self-deprecating smile,
glancing around. I don t wish to lose this, Imriel. But strangely, it is more important to me to make what
amendments I might for all that you have suffered.
It wasn t all your fault, I said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl aikidobyd.xlx.pl
serpents. Sunjata s voice apologizing for serving two masters. Telling me I was lucky my mother loved
me. Telling me to go to Cythera.
And then the tide of madness swallowing me.
Again, Solon said.
I closed my eyes and told him again, shutting out the sound of his pen scratching, shutting out
everything. This time, there was nothing new. When I had finished, I was drained. I opened my eyes. Do
you wish to hear about the madness now?
Solon began to reply, then caught my mother s warning glance. No, he said in a circumspect
tone. Later, perhaps. Tell me about the ring. Is it significant?
Tired as I was, I almost laughed. Sidonie had given it to me before I d wed Dorelei. When I d
struck out from Skaldia into the unknown in search of Berlik, I d sent the ring back to Sidonie with a
message that I would return to claim it. And when I d been stuck waist-deep in a Vralian snowbank,
bone-weary and frozen and ready to die, it was the thought of that promise that had kept me moving.
I d reclaimed it in Alba. At long last, Berlik s skull was interred, letting Dorelei s spirit rest
peacefully. Sidonie had taken the ring from its resting place on a chain around her neck. She d undone
the clasp and let the chain fall, slid the ring onto my finger. And we had made love like gods, filled with
wonder and awe.
Yes, I said. Oh, yes.
A love token? Solon pressed. From the Queen s daughter?
I stared at him. What do you suppose? Yes.
He shrugged. I needed to be sure.
Be sure. I turned to my mother. What did Sunjata mean about serving two masters?
A frown knit her graceful brows. Tis a long story. To shorten it, Sunjata is a journeyman in my
service. But as far as the Guild in Carthage knows, he is a gem-merchant s assistant who has been
secretly recruited by a Guildsman named Hannon.
A horologist, Solon added.
Why did he take my ring? I asked.
Melisande shook her head. At a guess, I d hazard it was an order he feared to disobey without
exposing himself. As to why the order was given, I can t say.
I can. Solon tapped the pages of the book before him, no longer blank, but filled with scribbled
notations and charts. But it will take some doing. This was not a simple spell. It was not one spell. I
suspect there are a multitude of magics combined here. Horology, symbology, and something else rare
and powerful. There is a wide array of lore I must consult to be certain.
How long will it take? I asked him.
It will take as long as it takes, he replied.
I gave a brief nod of acknowledgment. Can you undo it?
Undo it? Solon pursed his lips. No. It does not lie within my power, and even if it did . . . His
voice trailed off. Well. It doesn t. But I do believe I can provide you with the keys to unlock each link
of this chain.
I stood and bowed. That will suffice.
Suffice! He laughed dryly. I told you, even in this I take a risk. No one else could unknot this
puzzle. Carthage will know.
You could have prevented it, I said softly. And that, I know.
Solon s gaze darted to my mother s face. Her expression was neutral. Yes, he admitted. And
I aid you now for the same reason I withheld the whole truth from Melisande. Because I have become a
fool in my dotage, and I do not wish to lose her. He flapped one hand at me. Now go, and let me
work.
I went.
Twenty-One
While Ptolemy Solon consulted his library and collected toad-slime and fever-sweat, or whatever
it was he did to plumb the mysteries of Carthage s magic, I passed more time in my mother s company.
Tell me, I said to her the first day. Did you actually threaten to leave Solon if he didn t aid
me?
Yes, Melisande said in a calm voice.
Why? I asked.
We were dining in another inner courtyard of her villa beneath the cool green shade of a
grapevine-laced lattice. There were marks on the tile where Hellene-style couches had been removed,
replaced by an oval table with two chairs. I knew without being told that my mother had ordered the
couches removed because I wouldn t be at ease reclining in her company.
Let us say I have become a fool in my dotage, too. Melisande gave a self-deprecating smile,
glancing around. I don t wish to lose this, Imriel. But strangely, it is more important to me to make what
amendments I might for all that you have suffered.
It wasn t all your fault, I said. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]