The Way Into Magic: Book Two of The Great Way by Harry Connolly Page B
Authors: Harry Connolly
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Cazia began to have flashes of the grunt she’d killed at Fort Samsit. There was no reason for that particular memory to come back, but there it was, large in her mind. In her mind’s eye, she saw the beast leap onto the prince--the king, Lar was king then--and bite him. She had used the Tenth Gift to strike it down. The moment was right there, vivid in her thoughts. It was only later that she’d realized the grunt had been her own brother, transformed.
As far as she could remember, the grunt had died without a sound, but with every boom came the image of the iron tip of her dart sliding between her brother’s ribs, piercing his heart. The flinches. That’s what Old Stoneface Treygar had called it.
Despite everything she had been taught, she withdrew from the others and allowed herself to weep in the darkness. She allowed tears to touch her cheeks.
Eventually, her fear began to ebb and the whole thing became annoying. The tower was going to hold, it seemed. The beasts outside--whether they were sea giants or not—seemed less like deadly monsters and more like the worst neighbors in the world.
Somewhere near midnight, the moon rose and the noise began to recede. If Cazia was ever going to see the creatures, it would have to be right this moment. She rolled to her knees and peered through the nearest window. Kinz hissed at her in disapproval, but Ivy joined her.
She saw it, but not well. The silver moonlight shone on the thing’s back as it moved into deeper waters. It looked like a silvery mound or a glacier. It was rounded, and where it might have had shoulders, there was no head. It was like watching a mountain of dirty ice glide into deep water.
The girls immediately fell into a deep sleep right there on the stone floor, and when they woke late the next morning, they began a long debate over what they should do next.
Ivy wanted to leave immediately. She abjectly apologized for bringing Cazia and Kinz to the water for her pilgrimage and considered it complete. She also thought they still had a hope of reaching the Northern Barrier before the Tilkilit. Cazia bit back a few sharp remarks about the religious significance of their night of terror; the princess had an exhausted, hunted look, and Cazia thought she might have caught a bit of the flinches herself.
Kinz wanted to stay there for a long while. At least a full month, possibly longer, if they could manage it. They had found a safe place, one that no one knew about, and a source of food. They needed to rest here before they moved on.
“What about the Tilkilit?” Cazia asked. The grunts were her main concern, but it wasn’t Kinz’s.
“They think we drowned, yes?” Kinz looked from Ivy to Cazia, checking their expressions. “They were still able to make read of our minds, and I kept thinking about how I had fallen in and was drowning.”
“Yes,” Ivy said. “So did I. Is that not what--Oh, Cazia.”
Her expression must have given her away. “I thought a message to the queen asking to be rescued from the riverbank on the north side because I thought we were swimming to the southern bank.”
Kinz exhaled loudly. “Inzu’s breath, if you had thought about dying in the water, they would not be searching for us at all.”
“I don’t believe that,” Cazia countered, but she did believe that their idea had been better than hers. She folded her arms so she wouldn’t be tempted to sulk.
“They would have searched for us,” Ivy said. “The queen would have insisted. That is why I laid out Cazia’s jacket on the lakeshore where they can not miss it. They will find it before they find this place, and since Cazia’s the only one they really want, I think they will give up.”
“Even so,” Kinz said, “we can stay here the while to make provisions. All I need is wood for the drying rack and the fire. If we can collect that early in the day, we might have it smoked before tomorrow morning.”
Of course,
As far as she could remember, the grunt had died without a sound, but with every boom came the image of the iron tip of her dart sliding between her brother’s ribs, piercing his heart. The flinches. That’s what Old Stoneface Treygar had called it.
Despite everything she had been taught, she withdrew from the others and allowed herself to weep in the darkness. She allowed tears to touch her cheeks.
Eventually, her fear began to ebb and the whole thing became annoying. The tower was going to hold, it seemed. The beasts outside--whether they were sea giants or not—seemed less like deadly monsters and more like the worst neighbors in the world.
Somewhere near midnight, the moon rose and the noise began to recede. If Cazia was ever going to see the creatures, it would have to be right this moment. She rolled to her knees and peered through the nearest window. Kinz hissed at her in disapproval, but Ivy joined her.
She saw it, but not well. The silver moonlight shone on the thing’s back as it moved into deeper waters. It looked like a silvery mound or a glacier. It was rounded, and where it might have had shoulders, there was no head. It was like watching a mountain of dirty ice glide into deep water.
The girls immediately fell into a deep sleep right there on the stone floor, and when they woke late the next morning, they began a long debate over what they should do next.
Ivy wanted to leave immediately. She abjectly apologized for bringing Cazia and Kinz to the water for her pilgrimage and considered it complete. She also thought they still had a hope of reaching the Northern Barrier before the Tilkilit. Cazia bit back a few sharp remarks about the religious significance of their night of terror; the princess had an exhausted, hunted look, and Cazia thought she might have caught a bit of the flinches herself.
Kinz wanted to stay there for a long while. At least a full month, possibly longer, if they could manage it. They had found a safe place, one that no one knew about, and a source of food. They needed to rest here before they moved on.
“What about the Tilkilit?” Cazia asked. The grunts were her main concern, but it wasn’t Kinz’s.
“They think we drowned, yes?” Kinz looked from Ivy to Cazia, checking their expressions. “They were still able to make read of our minds, and I kept thinking about how I had fallen in and was drowning.”
“Yes,” Ivy said. “So did I. Is that not what--Oh, Cazia.”
Her expression must have given her away. “I thought a message to the queen asking to be rescued from the riverbank on the north side because I thought we were swimming to the southern bank.”
Kinz exhaled loudly. “Inzu’s breath, if you had thought about dying in the water, they would not be searching for us at all.”
“I don’t believe that,” Cazia countered, but she did believe that their idea had been better than hers. She folded her arms so she wouldn’t be tempted to sulk.
“They would have searched for us,” Ivy said. “The queen would have insisted. That is why I laid out Cazia’s jacket on the lakeshore where they can not miss it. They will find it before they find this place, and since Cazia’s the only one they really want, I think they will give up.”
“Even so,” Kinz said, “we can stay here the while to make provisions. All I need is wood for the drying rack and the fire. If we can collect that early in the day, we might have it smoked before tomorrow morning.”
Of course,
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