sixth year of the reign of King Cassius the Second, and I wrote them faithfully, without elaboration or reduction or alteration—’ ”
“What does that mean?” said Stirling.
“It is required by law. It means he didn’t change what he saw.”
I read on. “ ‘I dreamt, and I saw myself beside a lake in a strange country, and I heard these words in the darkness:
Mourn for Malonia, cry out for her cities;
for trouble like a shadow will fall on our country, days of
fighting and unrest.
But though many die, the boy will not be killed;
the prince will live and he will not be harmed.
His destiny is in his eyes and his destiny will endure;
but in these years he will be a stranger in a strange land.
The boy will live; he will not be killed.
If a man lifts his hand to strike him, that man will be struck down;
if a man lifts a sword against him, he will fall by the same blow.
If anyone dares to kill this boy, the same will come to him;
retribution will fall on anyone who harms him.
The boy will be a stranger for many years;
far from his people, he will mourn for Malonia.
But change will come to our land again;
the prince will return and his kingdom will be restored.
The silver eagle will be lost and it will be found;
the prince will mourn and he will be comforted.
And the one he loves will see him return;
the eagle will be restored by this beloved one.
The boy will choose between his duty and his heart;
between love and obligation, which will prevail?
‘And I, Aldebaran, swear that this is a faithful record of what I saw.’ ”
I put down the book. “That does not mean anything to me,” I said.
“It means the prince will come back,” said Stirling. “It said he would not be killed. It said he would return. I told you, Leo.” He picked up the book and traced the letters with his fingers, as though they were magical symbols. “It means the prince is coming back.”
“Stirling,” I began, “just because Aldebaran supposedly wrote this book …” Then I gave up. Why shouldn’t he believe it? I watched him tracing those letters, every so often spelling a word or two of the text aloud.
“Leo?” he said then, looking up. “Can you see into the future like Aldebaran can?”
I was startled. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. My powers are nothing like his.”
“Try,” said Stirling. “Shut your eyes and try to.”
I shut my eyes and concentrated all my willpower. But I couldn’t see anything. I opened my eyes again and laughed. “Nothing,” I said. Maybe it was because I didn’t really believe that I could. I didn’t really believe that anyone could. But the strange thing is that prophecies come true. People really can see into the future, and you can deny it no more than you can deny that the earth is round or the stars are fire.
At that moment we heard Grandmother’s key in the door. “Quick—hide it!” whispered Stirling. I shoved the book back into the chest of drawers, and when I went into the living room, Stirling was talking innocently to Grandmother about some incident at school. I could not help smiling at that. For all his goodness, he could be very like me.
W e had just started dinner when there was a sharp rap on the door. Grandmother went to open it anyway. “Ethan Dark,” I heard. “Truancy officer.” I turned in my chair. The man was standing right on the threshold, glancing from me to Grandmother behind those reflective glasses. “Are you the legal guardian of Leonard North?” he demanded.
“Yes.” She wasn’t, but she said it anyway.
“Are you aware that he has failed to attend school today after a previous warning?”
Grandmother tried to explain about the incident the weekbefore in training, but he waved it aside. “Yes, I know about all that. So why is he still at home?”
“There is a lot of silent fever about,” Grandmother said. “I don’t want him to catch the germs. They say that if you are
“What does that mean?” said Stirling.
“It is required by law. It means he didn’t change what he saw.”
I read on. “ ‘I dreamt, and I saw myself beside a lake in a strange country, and I heard these words in the darkness:
Mourn for Malonia, cry out for her cities;
for trouble like a shadow will fall on our country, days of
fighting and unrest.
But though many die, the boy will not be killed;
the prince will live and he will not be harmed.
His destiny is in his eyes and his destiny will endure;
but in these years he will be a stranger in a strange land.
The boy will live; he will not be killed.
If a man lifts his hand to strike him, that man will be struck down;
if a man lifts a sword against him, he will fall by the same blow.
If anyone dares to kill this boy, the same will come to him;
retribution will fall on anyone who harms him.
The boy will be a stranger for many years;
far from his people, he will mourn for Malonia.
But change will come to our land again;
the prince will return and his kingdom will be restored.
The silver eagle will be lost and it will be found;
the prince will mourn and he will be comforted.
And the one he loves will see him return;
the eagle will be restored by this beloved one.
The boy will choose between his duty and his heart;
between love and obligation, which will prevail?
‘And I, Aldebaran, swear that this is a faithful record of what I saw.’ ”
I put down the book. “That does not mean anything to me,” I said.
“It means the prince will come back,” said Stirling. “It said he would not be killed. It said he would return. I told you, Leo.” He picked up the book and traced the letters with his fingers, as though they were magical symbols. “It means the prince is coming back.”
“Stirling,” I began, “just because Aldebaran supposedly wrote this book …” Then I gave up. Why shouldn’t he believe it? I watched him tracing those letters, every so often spelling a word or two of the text aloud.
“Leo?” he said then, looking up. “Can you see into the future like Aldebaran can?”
I was startled. “I don’t know. I don’t think so. My powers are nothing like his.”
“Try,” said Stirling. “Shut your eyes and try to.”
I shut my eyes and concentrated all my willpower. But I couldn’t see anything. I opened my eyes again and laughed. “Nothing,” I said. Maybe it was because I didn’t really believe that I could. I didn’t really believe that anyone could. But the strange thing is that prophecies come true. People really can see into the future, and you can deny it no more than you can deny that the earth is round or the stars are fire.
At that moment we heard Grandmother’s key in the door. “Quick—hide it!” whispered Stirling. I shoved the book back into the chest of drawers, and when I went into the living room, Stirling was talking innocently to Grandmother about some incident at school. I could not help smiling at that. For all his goodness, he could be very like me.
W e had just started dinner when there was a sharp rap on the door. Grandmother went to open it anyway. “Ethan Dark,” I heard. “Truancy officer.” I turned in my chair. The man was standing right on the threshold, glancing from me to Grandmother behind those reflective glasses. “Are you the legal guardian of Leonard North?” he demanded.
“Yes.” She wasn’t, but she said it anyway.
“Are you aware that he has failed to attend school today after a previous warning?”
Grandmother tried to explain about the incident the weekbefore in training, but he waved it aside. “Yes, I know about all that. So why is he still at home?”
“There is a lot of silent fever about,” Grandmother said. “I don’t want him to catch the germs. They say that if you are
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