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.More of the poisonous drooldripped from the tips of the red flower centers.The pristine white petalsturned black, crisping at the edge as if burned. Da! I screamed with mindand voice. Da, save me.Save the Ardh Rhi. The demon exploded into athousand shards of black glass.The pieces flew in all directions.Two sharpbits whizzed past me at lightning speed.I ducked again and cowered deepwithin myself.The light grew again.The shadows within its heart coalesced into theWorldtree.The massive trunk shot upward.Up and up beyond my limited vision.Up it grew to pierce the darkness above me.Sunlight flooded the darkness.Warmth returned with the light.And with it a sense of my self and my body.Da sat in the lower branches of the Worldtree, beckoning me to come to him.Heheld out his arms in loving welcome.I knew in that moment he had forgiven me.For what? I couldn t remember.Like a small child, I knew only that I hadtransgressed and needed forgiveness.And then my beloved father changed.He grew horns.His long legs shortened andbent.His face twisted and elongated.Cernunnos, god of the Underworld, beckoned me forward with my father s dotingeyes and loving embrace. No! no, no, no, I screamed and hid my face. I won t go with you.It s notmy time.I can t go. Wren, Wren, wake up. Da shook my shoulder.Sleep dropped from me like a heavy burden.I had the sense that a great dealof time had passed, and yet my memories of my time in Venta Belgarum blurredtogether into a confused mass of hurt pride, anxious questions, and achingfatigue.I did remember Da working a great healing spell to remove the cancerous demonthat ate at Uther s innards.Iremembered watching the spell and feeling proud that my Da had saved the ArdhRhi s life. You have sat vigil over the Ardh Rhi for a full day and half the night, Wren.You must rest now. The demon& ? Uther s demon is banished.The danger is over. But you must rest, Da.The spell drained all your strength away.  I haverested while you sat here so diligently.Now you must rest, too, or I willhave to find a new spell to heal you as well. He smiled, love radiating outof his face. Go now.Go to the women s bower and sleep until you wakenaturally. But the dream&  Was only a bad dream.A headache pounded so fiercely in my temples I wondered if the demon that Daand I had rousted from Uther s vital organs had taken up residence in my head.Even the meager moonlight that filtered through the overcast sky threatened toblind me.I trudged off to my cot in the women s bower.Dreamless sleep grabbed me andheld me down until sunshine once more brightened the room.Samhain dawnedbright and clear.I dreaded rising from my soft nest of warm blankets for yetanother day of guarding the Ardh Rhi s health.Duty dragged me forth.Irefused food and wandered into the corridors of the fortress.A coldnortheast wind swept the skies clean and fanned the bonfires outside the city.An air of expectation hovered inside Uther s fortress.Every cold draftstartled the inhabitants and sent them seeking evidence of ghosts andotherworldly spirits.I longed for some of that fresh air to clear the painPage 76ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlfrom my temples.Ihadn t time to slip outside the city and sit quietly on the hillsidesurrounded by the natural patterns of trees and grass, free running creeks andclean air.Da needed me to take over his vigil.Giggling children ran throughthe fortress with innocent abandon.They tugged at hemlines and sleeves frombehind unsuspecting adults, then ran away laughing.The adults jumped and gasped.They searched all around them with anxious eyes.Many clasped a cross displayed prominently on their chests and whisperedprayers, or they traced the sigil of death backward as a ward againstit around a corsage of rowan leaves pinned to their left shoulder.Deathalways sat on the left shoulder.I watched a large number of them clench their fists in the ward againstCernunnos as I passed.I shuddered, half remembering my nightmare.I clutchedthe sprig of protective rowan leaves I kept in my sach.By the time I reachedUther s apartment, the anxious atmosphere these people generated hadpenetrated my heart.I approached the now open door cautiously.Shadowsinvited me, and I merged with them as I slipped through the doorway withoutthe guards noticing me.The heavily armed soldiers retained their usual sternexpressions.However, a slight relaxation in their postures indicated goodnews.I hastened inside the Ardh Rhi s apartment, pausing in the first layer ofshadows.Sunlight flooded the sickroom.Ygraina hovered anxiously.Uther paced the room, supported by Da.The guards hadn t seen me through the shadows, but I couldn t hide from Da. Go back to bed, Wren, before you take ill [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]