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 You should have seen yourself! he said more vehemently than he had planned to. It occurred to him
that he sounded priggish.  I mean, alright, so you were beautiful, but where did you learn to dance like
that? not from your grandmother, I ll wager.
 As a matter of fact, I did, she replied hotly.  It is part of the ceremony of welcoming young witches to
adulthood, and we do it every year at our Sorcerous Ceremonials, so there!
 I guess that would get them into adulthood fast, alright, if they do it the way you did.
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 It is a beautiful and meaningful ceremony, I ll have you know  the witch began her retort but was
interrupted by Ching sliding between her ankles.
 It seems to me that that silly minstrel is more concerned with your virtue than I am, and I m the
chaperone! You d better come out with it, witchy, and tell us what you re up to.
 Alright, then, she said to the cat and turned to Colin with exaggerated patience.  I thought I would
make him fall in love with me, then I could reject him and give a little of the anti-love potion to his other
conquests and leave him to their mercy. That s little enough revenge for what he s done to Winnie.
 That ought to do it, for sure, he admitted.
 So you think he is?
 Is what?
 Is in love with me, of course.
 No. Heat, maybe.
She looked mortally offended.  Well, how would you know anyway? Is it so impossible?
 Oh, don t pout, Maggie. Ordinarily, of course, it wouldn t be impossible. If we had that whole silly
village following you like puppy dogs I wouldn t be the least surprised. But in his case it is impossible.
That fellow can t give you his heart, because he hasn t any.
 Excuse me? Would you repeat that?
 I said he hasn t any heart. One of his childhood sweet- hearts has become disenchanted enough with
the present Davey to try to persuade me to help her do something about it so she can return him to what
she insists was his former perfect self. She told me the whole story.
 Which is?
 His mother had the heart removed when he reached puberty. He was about to explain further when
Xenobia and Davey reappeared.
Xenobia smiled.  Here we are again. It didn t take long at all, now did it? I trust you will stay with us
tonight? Maggie noted that the hissing element in Xenobia s voice that had so impressed her through the
crystal was actually a lisp. It was somehow more unpleasant than the hiss.
 As a matter of fact, Colin said, not caring at all for the gypsy woman s manner,  as a matter of fact,
we must be getting on. There s a fair at Queenston market in a day or two where we re supposed to
perform.
 Odd, said Xenobia, still smiling.  I heard of no fair. We naturally couldn t allow you to travel so far at
night, could we, son?
 No, indeed. He circled Maggie s waist with an embrace that appeared affectionate, but which she
found painful.  I choreograph the dance numbers for our entertainments, you know? I intend to persuade
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you to share a few of those beautiful dance movements with me, my dear, you know what I mean?
There was no need for all of this horrible cat-and-mousing, Colin thought indignantly. A ring of
shadowed faces and the occasional glint of moonlight off metal, barely visible behind Xenobia and
Davey, undoubtedly accounted for the prickles running up his spine.
 Oh, I ll gladly show you those steps, Great Gypsy Prince, replied Maggie. Colin groaned inwardly.
 Great Gypsy Prince. Now really!  But in privacy, please. You know already how shy I am.
He laughed what to Colin was a very nasty laugh, and led her off to the woods.
 Here, his mother cried after him, apparently unable to bear the pretense that theirs was just a friendly
little seduc- tion. She tossed him a length of leather rope, which she had concealed in the folds of the
garish skirt.  Tie her up when you re done with her, or you won t get your rest.
 Who said I plan to rest? grinned the gypsy with a moonlit flash of white teeth, his jewelry jingling
against his bare chest
as he leaped to catch the rope with one hand while retaining a firm grip on Maggie with the other. The
rope apparently dispelled any illusions Maggie might have had about making matters go according to her
plan, for she yelped indignantly as the gypsy began once more to propel her toward the woods. Colin
urgently wished for Lord Rowan s second best family sword. He might have at least looked sufficiently
frightening to wipe the smile off that ogre s face, even if he couldn t wield the thing properly.
 As for you, my merry minstrel, Xenobia said sweetly,  You could prove less easy to handle than the
girl.
 A lot you know, he mumbled under his breath, but replied more clearly.  Why are you treating us this
way? Your son was bragging about your famous hospitality. Is this how you treat your distant kin?
 MY kin? She really did hiss now.  You re MY kin? Say something to me, then, in our own secret
tongue, relative. She chucked him under the chin with her fingers so hard it made his eyes water.  Sing
me a sweet gypsy lament in the old tongue. No? I thought not. She turned to the shadows behind her.
 Mateo, my boy, show this false gypsy what you found on his horse.
Triumphantly, the boy dragged forth the second best family sword, House of Rowan crest and all.
 This sword, I am told, is the property of the enemy of a great sorcerer who is friend to my people. If
you re such a fine gypsy, how come you have it, eh?
 I stole it.
She shook her head.  No. And there are no gypsies in the world who look like you, as my son well
knows. He only liked your singing and playing and thought,  ah well, he s harmless enough. Then we
found this. Too many of your kind mixing with my people is what I say. She spat the last and turned
from him to give a command to her guard. When her back was turned, Colin amazed himself with his
own ruthless cunning as he snaked an arm around her throat, catching her neck in the crook of his elbow.
 Nobody move, he ordered.  Or I strangle the old witch. He was snarling in the voice he used when
singing the villain s part in a murder ballad, and was gratified to see how effective it was. Xenobia clawed
at his arm and he tightened his grip.
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 Mateo, if you are fond of your present form of govern- ment, it would behoove you to replace that
sword in its scabbard and put it back where you found it. Then you will bring my horse right here.
How was he going to elude them long enough to free Maggie from the gypsy s lustful clutches and ride
away through the thick wood beyond danger of capture was quite beyond him. It was better than [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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