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have
expected on such a wet night, but climbing the rope to the window was no easy
task, and hauling herself over the windowsill was even more difficult. Annis
dragged her into the room, and then helped her up from an ungainly sprawl.
ôHowÆs the rocket business?ö Zanja asked.
ôIÆm making big, nasty ones now.ö Annis started to pull the rope up, but let
it
go when Zanja clasped her hand. ôYouÆve got quite a chill on you. You better
get
those wet clothes off.ö
ôWould you make a fire for me?ö
ôOh, sure.ö Annis knelt on the cold hearth to lay a fire. She had some big
sulfur matches to light it with, but everything seemed to be a bit damp, and
it
took her some time to get a fire going. Zanja talked as she got undressed, so
that Annis would heed her voice more than the sounds outside. She told Annis
a
tale of selfishness and betrayal in South Hill, a tale that ended with Emil
imprisoned by his own company for treachery, with his life endangered by
WillisÆs assassins, who could not afford to wait for a Truth-ken to arrive
and
sort the whole mess out. The situation required MabinÆs intervention, Zanja
said, and she had burned through three horses getting here ahead of WillisÆs
men.
Annis blew the tinder into flame, then sat back on her heels. ôYouÆre right;
IÆve got to help him somehow. HeÆs been like a father to me. I suppose I have
some influence with Mabin . . .ö As she looked up, Zanja contrived to be
taking
off her last item of clothing, her shirt, which she innocently hung on the
chair
back. Then, feeling AnnisÆs gaze, she looked directly into her eyes. ôI
really
have missed you.ö
It was easy, almost natural, to embrace her and kiss her. Annis wore only a
hastily-buttoned shirt, and was more than willing for it to be unbuttoned
again.
Zanja took Annis to the bed and laid her down upon it, with a knee between
her
thighs and her tongue in her mouth. She dragged the shirt from AnnisÆs
shoulders
so it entangled her arms. Annis was entirely distracted when Zanja heard Emil
grunt as he hauled himself over the edge of the window. She jammed a fistful
of
the bedsheet into AnnisÆs mouth, tossed her onto her belly, and twisted the
tangled shirt into a fetter. Annis struggled, but Zanja held her face into
the
pillow until she fell still, no doubt half smothered.
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ôWell,ö Emil said, as he came over to the bed, breathing heavily, ôan
unconventional solution.ö He helped Zanja to contrive to bind Annis more
securely to the bedframe. Then he covered Annis modestly with the blanket and
sat on the edge of the bed, admonishing her to behave herself, while Zanja
hauled Medric through the window. Annis stopped fighting the tethers after a
while.
The raven flapped heavily on sodden wings to the windowsill. Zanja patted his
feathers with a towel to sop up the worst of the wet. Medric had knelt on the
hearth to take apart and clean his pistols and reload them with dry
gunpowder.
He did it as if he had an impatient commander screaming at him to do it
faster.
As Zanja came over to put on her wet shirt, he asked, ôNow what?ö
ôI donÆt know. Any ideas, raven?ö
The raven shook his wet feathers and brooded.
Karis lay rigid in the too-small bed, with the rain sound rushing past her.
From
far away, she watched three bedraggled rescuers crawl through an open window.
One was like a knife blade white hot from the forgeùone was like a knife
blade
tempered and honedù and one was like the forge itself. Fire and earth makes
the
forge; fire and earth makes the blade.
She must not sleep. Oh Shaftal, she prayed. Oh Shafted I must not sleep. She
could not remember why. Oh Shaftal I must not move lest the watcher awaken.
Oh
Shaftal.
The raven turned his head and now she saw Zanja: wet and thin and grim as
death.
Zanjaùimplacably loyalùOh Shaftal protect her heart, she is so true, the
truest
blade I ever forged. Zanja save me I am gone to smoke, I am gone.
Karis. I know you can hear me. Karis, I am at your door.
The rain whispered now. The voice whispered in her ravenÆs ear. Karis do you
feel me I am here. Silence. Presence. Do you remember when I was imprisoned
doubly imprisoned and you freed me. In bed, Karis remembered what a good
night
that had been, how tired she had been, and then the hunger that drove her was
sated and she could rest for a while. She remembered Zanja, limp as an
exhausted
child, sleeping in her arms as the snow fell. For a few hours, for a night,
the
world had been as it should be, and her heart had been at peace.
Now I am here for you but you must unlock the door.
A whisper: Unlock the door. Dear gods Karis unlock the door.
Karis touched stone through plaster, the stone of the wall which was rooted
in
earth, and breathed in. Presence. She sat up in the bed.
Dear gods Karis unlock the door. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] - zanotowane.pl
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