morrow,â Xemion said quietly. âWe will be going near the coast road. It will be safer for you to go back that way.â
âI wish I could come with you,â Torgee said, looking shyly at Saheli.
âDonât forget your mother,â Saheli whispered, tilting her head toward Tharfen, who was half lost in her newfound love for Chiricoru.
âYes.â He nodded.
They agreed to take turns keeping watch through the night. Xemion drew first watch and sat just inside the wicker entrance to the porch. Behind him Saheli cuddled up on the other side of Chiricoru while Torgee lay down with his back to his sisterâs back. Other than the soft falling of the rain the night was very quiet now.
Torgee and Tharfen quickly fell asleep but Saheli couldnât. She kept sensing and almost hearing that melody. And yes, it seemed to be a lilting, beautiful tune, but for some reason it was starting to make her feel anxious. It kept arising, quietly, tauntingly at the back of her mind as though trying to make itself known. But when she tried to actually listen to it, it would disappear and leave her trembling and wary. The more it seemed she might finally recognize it, the more her apprehensiveness increased. And then, just before it looked like it must finally come clear, it would be gone entirely, only to return seconds later in subdued form.
Finally though, with a long, slow fade, the song stopped and everything in her mind became blissfully quiet and she fell into a fitful slumber. Then with a smeary, uneven lurch the melody â the unheard melody â went into reverse. She didnât know at first this was what happened. All she felt was a sudden freefall as though everything in her had been suddenly dropped. But the instant the dream song touched her with the next note of its melody she was drawn back with it, wanting more of it, wanting to know all of it; whirling around backward in a sweeping curve. She was fastened by the back of her heel to something that turned away from her, a spell kone spinning her backward round and round, smaller and smaller pieces of her shooting off, hurled beyond her. Faster and faster it seemed the kone turned and then when she was almost nothing she saw a manic bearded face, brilliant grey eyes, an aged hand cranking a handle round and round.
Saheli opened her eyes with a gasp. Torgee was bending over her and she grabbed his shoulders in her fright and he grabbed hers and said, âItâs just me. Itâs your turn.â
12
The Ruse
S aheli woke Tharfen for the last watch just before dawn. The pain in the back of Tharfenâs thighs was severe and she wanted to scratch it, but when she did it hurt too much. So she arose, quietly surrendering Chiricoru to Saheli. She stood outside in the grey light of the forest and let the wind soothe her as much as possible. She was worried about her mother. She reminded herself to be hard like her mother and she took comfort in the thought that her mother was probably being hard right now about her. The whole process of being hard was a lot harder than she had thought.
There were a lot of acorns on the ground, so Tharfen retrieved some of them and began firing them into the forest with her slingshot. When she set her eyes on a target it satisfied her that she rarely missed. There were regular impacts of acorns against trees for the next hour, until the first flickering rays of dawn filtered through the high branches of the trees and she went back into the veranda. Somehow Torgee had rolled into the place where she had been sleeping, right up against Saheli and Chiricoru. Xemion lay on the other side of the swan, leaving space in front of the door.
Quietly she trod over the first two sleepers and stood over Xemion, looking down into his face, her own features reflecting the complexity of her thoughts about him. For a while she toyed with the idea of waking him, just so he could see how closely Torgee was lying to
âI wish I could come with you,â Torgee said, looking shyly at Saheli.
âDonât forget your mother,â Saheli whispered, tilting her head toward Tharfen, who was half lost in her newfound love for Chiricoru.
âYes.â He nodded.
They agreed to take turns keeping watch through the night. Xemion drew first watch and sat just inside the wicker entrance to the porch. Behind him Saheli cuddled up on the other side of Chiricoru while Torgee lay down with his back to his sisterâs back. Other than the soft falling of the rain the night was very quiet now.
Torgee and Tharfen quickly fell asleep but Saheli couldnât. She kept sensing and almost hearing that melody. And yes, it seemed to be a lilting, beautiful tune, but for some reason it was starting to make her feel anxious. It kept arising, quietly, tauntingly at the back of her mind as though trying to make itself known. But when she tried to actually listen to it, it would disappear and leave her trembling and wary. The more it seemed she might finally recognize it, the more her apprehensiveness increased. And then, just before it looked like it must finally come clear, it would be gone entirely, only to return seconds later in subdued form.
Finally though, with a long, slow fade, the song stopped and everything in her mind became blissfully quiet and she fell into a fitful slumber. Then with a smeary, uneven lurch the melody â the unheard melody â went into reverse. She didnât know at first this was what happened. All she felt was a sudden freefall as though everything in her had been suddenly dropped. But the instant the dream song touched her with the next note of its melody she was drawn back with it, wanting more of it, wanting to know all of it; whirling around backward in a sweeping curve. She was fastened by the back of her heel to something that turned away from her, a spell kone spinning her backward round and round, smaller and smaller pieces of her shooting off, hurled beyond her. Faster and faster it seemed the kone turned and then when she was almost nothing she saw a manic bearded face, brilliant grey eyes, an aged hand cranking a handle round and round.
Saheli opened her eyes with a gasp. Torgee was bending over her and she grabbed his shoulders in her fright and he grabbed hers and said, âItâs just me. Itâs your turn.â
12
The Ruse
S aheli woke Tharfen for the last watch just before dawn. The pain in the back of Tharfenâs thighs was severe and she wanted to scratch it, but when she did it hurt too much. So she arose, quietly surrendering Chiricoru to Saheli. She stood outside in the grey light of the forest and let the wind soothe her as much as possible. She was worried about her mother. She reminded herself to be hard like her mother and she took comfort in the thought that her mother was probably being hard right now about her. The whole process of being hard was a lot harder than she had thought.
There were a lot of acorns on the ground, so Tharfen retrieved some of them and began firing them into the forest with her slingshot. When she set her eyes on a target it satisfied her that she rarely missed. There were regular impacts of acorns against trees for the next hour, until the first flickering rays of dawn filtered through the high branches of the trees and she went back into the veranda. Somehow Torgee had rolled into the place where she had been sleeping, right up against Saheli and Chiricoru. Xemion lay on the other side of the swan, leaving space in front of the door.
Quietly she trod over the first two sleepers and stood over Xemion, looking down into his face, her own features reflecting the complexity of her thoughts about him. For a while she toyed with the idea of waking him, just so he could see how closely Torgee was lying to
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