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"They'll steal the life from you, take yer soul! and you'll be a livin'
corpse, walking the shadows of the earth for eternity!"
Even I began to shiver at his words. And what frightened me most was that
none of it was just old wives' tales; it was all true. I licked my lips
slightly and leaned back.
"I saw& no such creatures," I whispered.
"Ahhh, ye were lucky!" he said. "But ye might not be so fortunate, if ye stay
in this place, walking about unprotected at night. They can only strike at
night, ye see, for the sun'll burn them to a crisp!"
"I'm sure I can make it out of here safely if I just find an inn "
"No inns in this town," he said. "You'll have to find someone who'll take ye
in for the night."
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"Oh," I said. "Well& " I said, rising from my seat, "I should trouble you no
longer, then "
"Jacob!" the woman called. Jacob turned to his wife, and I stopped to listen.
She threw him a few curious looks, gesturing toward me a little with her
shoulders.
"We can't let her go walking about all alone like that," she chastised. Jacob
rose and cast me a quick glance before rushing over to his wife to argue with
her.
"No, really, I can take care of myself," I protested over their disagreement.
I certainly couldn't afford to stay there all night, after all. They ignored
me and continued arguing, she for me to stay, and he, to not get involved.
"I'm certain they won't bother me, good people," I continued. No use. They
were really going at it, and I had little choice but to think of a way to get
away from there. Then I was momentarily distracted by a wide-eyed little girl
who stood before me, watching me intently with round blue eyes. She made me
think of Kiri, as I remembered her, and the sound of her parents' arguing was
soon drowned out by my own fascination with the girl.
We watched each other unblinkingly for some time, and then I couldn't help
slowly beginning to smile at her, perhaps hoping she would smile back. But
then she broke away her gaze and ran from me, rushing up to her mother and
clutching her leg. I stopped smiling and looked down, a little sad now.
The adults finished their "discussion," and it was rather obvious that the
woman had won. She came toward me, smiling and extending her arms. I moved
back a little, but she took my hands into her own and began leading me toward
the back of the room.
"It's far too dangerous for you," she said. "You'll be staying with us
tonight, and then you'll be safe to move on. And& Why, you're chilled to the
bone!" she exclaimed. "You'll be by the fire tonight, as well."
"No, really, I& I ought to find someplace else," I protested.
"Oh, no," she said. "Not with those monsters out there! It'd be inhuman of us
to let them loose on you! You're so young and fair ye don't deserve the fate
they deal out to travelers& "
"Don't I?" I said.
"Of course not," she said, leading me to a pile of bedding. "Now you just lie
here for the night, and you'll be safe that way "
I broke away from her and backed off, shaking my head.
"I'm sorry, mistress, I& I really can't stay," I said. "I'll find somewhere
else, and I'll be safe. You needn't worry about "
"I'd never forgive myself if something should happen to you "
"I've imposed myself too much on you already "
"No, no, you'll stay here," she insisted rather firmly this time, reaching
for my hand again. I was near panic by now; what was I to do? Staying was out
of the question, but how to get away from there? The only solution I could
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come up with was simply bolting for the door and running away. But what would
that make them think? That might very well frighten them even more than they
already were.
"She don't want to stay, Clairisse," Jacob then intervened. I thanked the
gods silently. "Why don't ye just let her go, then?"
"You know that wouldn't be right!"
"She's trying to leave, Clairisse!" he said, more loudly this time. "Why
don't we let her?"
"I'm quite certain I'll be safe," I said quietly, smiling as pleasantly as I
could. I could sense Clairisse's frustration in having to give in to us. She
alternated her glances first at him, then me, then him, until she sighed
loudly and walked away, shaking her head.
"I'm sure someone else'll be happy to take you in," said Jacob, placing his
hand on my back to turn me toward the door.
"Wait," Clairisse called suddenly, and Jacob turned to chastise her, only she
stepped boldly past him and stopped in front of me. She held a small bag in
her hand.
"Take this with you, then," she said, closing my hands around the bag, "It'll
give you some protection."
"Butwe need "
"We have plenty of it left, Jacob!" she called to him curtly. I was curious
as to the bag's contents; its smell answered my question before I opened it to
peer inside.
"Garlic?" I said.
She nodded quickly. "It's said to be protection against the creatures," she
whispered. "Keep it in your hand while y'walk, hold it in front of you always.
And walk quickly!"
"Umm, thank you," I said. "Thank you, mistress master. I'll even rub it all
over me, if I have to!" I added, and made many quick bows on my way to the
door. Finally I could get out of there. Clairisse followed me to the door and
even watched me walk out into the night, holding the door slightly ajar all
the while. I stopped some yards away from the house and looked over at her and
smiled and waved a little. Then I pulled out a bulb and held it up for her to
see, and began walking away.
As I continued walking I heard the door shut swiftly, followed by the sounds
of locks being pushed and turned into place. I stopped and dropped the bulb
back into the bag and closed it up and sighed. If these people were using
garlic to protect themselves, no wonder they were so frightened&
Chapter 19
"I forbid you to return to that town," Agyar said after he had discovered my
little escapade.
"They're terrified of you, you know," I said, ignoring his anger. "They're
terrified to even leave their homes at night."
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"They are not afraid ofme ," he insisted. "They fear my servants, I'm
afraid."
"Then why don't you do something about it? Or do youlike them running around
terrorizing your people?"
"I cannot waste my time keeping track of every servant I have, Mara," he
growled. "What they do on their own, once they have been fed "
" is go out into the village and frighten everyone, that's what they do!" I
interrupted.
"You listen to me, woman," he warned, his eyes fading into red now. "I don't
like my servants frightening the villagers any more than you do. But I can
only control them so much; they're wild creatures! They know only hunger,
thirst, cold, heat, and comfort; beyond that, they have no conscience no sense
of decency or morality. I can only do so much with them "
"And whose fault is that?" I interrupted.
Agyar stiffened. His eyes began to glow a little, and I felt my will being
drained slightly.
"They are the way they are," he said in a low growl, "Because I wish them to
be the way they are. They may be animals. They may possess no minds, no wills
of their own, but that is exactly as I wanted them to be. And I think you
ought to bear in mind in case you decide to criticize my judgment again that I
could just as easily have made you the same way. Understand& dear?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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