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."No Spells?" But the menwere still behind her.Gate! It must be a Gate.Escape.All the Gates she had been through took her to places of open land where there was no place tohide.Her captors she had felt a pressure on her shoulder, but if it was one of her abductors, his handhad slipped off her shield would catch her within steps.No.There was a place to hide.The mists of theUnformed land would hide her.Elizabeth plunged into the black wall, her mind fixed on the swirling mists.Blackness.Falling.But she wasn't falling, she was running."Catch her.Quick.""How?""She'll get lost in the mist!""Where the hell are we?"Not where we're supposed to be.That's sure."Elizabeth had stopped as soon as she could no longer see the men.She was not far away from them, sheknew, because she could hear their voices clearly, but the mists were hiding her completely.Theyseemed to be even thicker and more restless than when she and Denno and Da had been there earlierwith Elidir and Mechain.Free and in a place she knew, Elizabeth's fear diminished, but she was beginning to feel a little weak anddizzy.Because she had been so afraid, she wondered? And then she remembered the warningsTangwystl had given her about using the shields for too long.The power had to come from her and it wasdraining her.She would have to dismiss the shield."Do you think the amulet didn't work right?"The voice was closer.Elizabeth jumped."It opened the Gate, like the damned Sidhe said it would.It must be working.And it's glowing, see?Maybe this was only a stop on the way and if we get back in the Gate it will take us where we'resupposed to go.""Then we've got to find the girl.Do you want to tell that Sidhe we lost her?"Elizabeth stepped away cautiously, deeper into the mist.She could feel the Gate behind her and sheknew she had to get back to the Fair to find her friends.They would all be frantic, thinking her stolenaway.But she didn't dare try to get past her abductors and get up on the Gate while the men were soclose and could grab her.She would have to lead them deeper into the mist.If it were only a little thinner they could get a glimpse of her."There she is!" one bellowed and plunged toward her.Elizabeth ran away as fast as she could, thinking, Hide me.Hide me.And the mists closed in again.Shestopped running and drew a deep breath.That had been very convenient, almost as if the mist obeyedher.Well, it had obeyed Mechain and Elidir.And it had let her make a kitten.The man's voice brokeher thought."Gone again oh God, where's the Gate?""It's okay.I'm still near it.Just come to my voice."Elizabeth bit her lip.That had not worked out well.Now the men knew they could be lost in the mist andone of them would stay near the Gate even if she could draw the other away.She could wait, but notforever.Da and Denno must be half out of their wits.And poor Elidir and Mechain would feel so guilty.They would blame themselves for her being taken when they had only meant well by her, wanting to clearher mind so she would learn the spells right.Spells.What a fool she had been.She could have used tanglefoot.no, she could not.Spells wereforbidden in the markets although shields weren't, it seemed.And anyway, while the men held her, havingthem fall down wouldn't have helped much.Only they weren't holding her now.And she wasn't in the market.Could she use gwthio or cilgwthio topush them away from the Gate?Elizabeth bit her lip again.She didn't know how strong a push she could give, and tanglefoot wouldn'twork very well unless they were running.If she thinned the mist so they would run after her.No, thatwas too dangerous.She needed them to run away from her.If only she could change herself to look likea monster.Ah! Perhaps she could make a monster.Elizabeth drew in a deep breath.She was very angry andfrightened and there was a hot feeling inside her.She had made a kitten.Why not a.a lion.She knewwhat a lion looked like; there was one in the Royal Menagerie in the Tower.Yes.If the mist would be sogood? She looked around at it, thinking how kind a mist it was and how beautiful.Would it be kind toher, and protect her from these horrible men? It had already hidden her from them.Would it let her makea lion out of it?The mist swirled around in shining coils.Elizabeth's eyes were as bright as the sun as she built an image ofa fierce and terrible lion in her mind."It's thicker 'n ever out there.What're we goin' to do?""Don't worry.She's only a mite of a brat.She'll get scared about being lost pretty soon and start bawlingfor help.Hey, feels like there's grass here.We can sit down."Lion, Elizabeth thought, feeling even hotter.She didn't like being called a brat who would bawl for help.Then shame built even more heat in her.She had been bawling for help from Denno and Da but thatwas different, like calling one's guardsmen.She was supposed to get help from Denno and Da.But she was still angry and thought more intensely lion.Somewhere there was a faint roar.Elizabeth's eyes shone still brighter.Thank you, mist.Lion.The roar came closer.Hastily Elizabeth said the spells for gwthio and cilgwthio and then cast the shieldspell.She felt a little weak-kneed again, but wasn't sure whether it was the draining of her power or justthat she was frightened.She shrieked and spun around when the next roar sounded almost in her ears.And the mist parted.Andit was there! Huge, with the thick mane she had imagined, round yellow eyes and teeth.At the same moment, both men yelled, "There she is!" and started forward.Elizabeth leapt sideways,away from the lion and the lion himself leapt forward, ignoring her, his terrible eyes fixed on the men.Both men screamed.Both turned to run.The lion was on them in a moment, enormous paws swatting at them.One man went down shrieking.Elizabeth did not wait to see what happened after that.She ran blindly toward the feeling of "no mist" that meant Gate to her.The second man was also runningtoward the Gate."Minnau ymbil gwthio," Elizabeth screamed.Pushed violently, the man fell backward, screeching.The lion sprang from its first victim toward itssecond [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]