Mercedes Lackey & Josepha Shennan Castle of Deception

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68 Mercedes Lackey ^Josephs Shennan
been well trained in the sorceries that can draw back
the dead. One would think Count Volmar would have
been anxious to learn anything that might have helped
him recover his niece. And yet I was refused."
"Not surprising,** the White Elf snapped. "He didn't
want anything tainted by Darkness in his castle."
"Ah, my touchy cousin-elf, you don't understand.
One would also think the groom would have been
buried with honor, having died defending his lady. But
there was no public burial, and even I have no idea
what became of his body."
Odd, Kevin admitted to himself uneasily, very odd.
But before he could continue chat thought, a small,
shrill voice called out:
"Here you are! It cook you long enough!"
With a laugh, Lydia reined in her horse. "Well, for-
give me, Tich'ki! You knew it was going to take some
dme! I went as fast as I could."
"A fairy!" Kevin cried.
"A human!" the fairy mocked in return. "My, my,
what a clever little boy!"
The bardling tried in vain not to stare. As with all her
kind, Tich'ki was small, barely coming up to his horse's
knee. She was undeniably female, an adult woman other
kind, almost beaudful in a sharp-edged, predatory wild
creature way. Her bright, sharply slanted eyes, green as
those of a White Elf, seemed enormous m her triangular
face, her hair was caught up in a tangle of auburn braids,
and even her irridescent wings seemed to have a
predatory glint to them, like those of a dragonfly.
She was, if half the stories about her kind were true,
just as likely to stab a human with that gleaming little
spear she bore as talk to one-
That didn't seem to bother Lydia. / never heard of any
human making friends with a fairy, Kevin thought. But
friends they did seem to be, or at least acquaintances.
"We're off on an adventure," the warrior woman said.
CASTLE OF DECEPTION 69
"No-0," Tich'ki drawled, "really? I drought you were
just out for a ride in the woodland." Her green gaze
sharpened. "With a White and Dark Elf together, no
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less. So, Lydia? Are you going to give me a hand up?"
"You you're going with us?" Kevin asked, then
had to hold fast to his startled horse's reins as Tich'ki
darted upward in a blur and buzz of wings, landing
lightly behind the warrior woman-
"You going to stop me?"
" No, no, of course not It's just... well... I never knew
one of your people to be friendly with one of mine."
"No, and you're not likely to again."
Lydia laughed. "Tich'ki and me, we're a lot alike. Don't
like staying cooped up in one place too long. I first met her
when she was pinned down by a hunting hound."
"And I saved you later from the angry hunters."
Tich'ki gave the woman a sharp little pinch. "So don*t go
getting all superior." She squirmed about to stare at
Kevin with her hard green gaze- "That's it, boy. Lydia
and me, we sometimes travel together. But don't think
because I tolerate her, I have a love for all you humans."
"Ah." For a fairy to be out on her own like this, travellust
or no, could only mean she'd been cast out from her
people possibly for associating with a mere human. Not
knowing what else to say, Kevin stammered, "Uh, wel-
come to our group. We're searching for die nieceof **
"I know all that!" Tich'ki said impatiently, wings stir-
ring. "I have every bit as strong a scrying talent as those
hulking elf-men. The only reason I wasn't up there in
that castle with you is because I didn't want to get
stepped on by some clumsy lout of a human."
More likely, Kevin thought, the humans wouldn't let
such a perilous litde creature in!
Tich'ki settled herself more comfortably sidesaddle
behind Lydia, folding her wings, too small to ride
astride. "I want to find out what happened to that
simpering little girl, too."
70 Mercedes Lackey ^Jasepha Shennan
"She doesn't simper!" Kevin said hody, then stopped
shon at Tich'ki's sly grin. Too late, he remembered
another nasty litde trait about fairies: they delighted in
tormenting humans, one way or another. And I fell right
mtofiertrap.
"Now we are five," Naitachal murmured wryly.
Tich'ki glared. "And you'll be glad of it. Dark Elf! All
right, enough of this. Let's go!"
As they rode deeper into the forest, dense brush all
but engulfed the trail, forcing them to ride single file.
Thick canopies ofleaves shut out more and more of the
tight. At last, surrounded by dim green twilight, Lydia
swore under her breath and dismounted, peering at
the ground in disgust "Damn.*"
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"What's wrong?" Kevin asked. "You've lost the
track?"
"No, no, the track's still there I just can't see it in
all this gloom."
"Acorch "
"Torches flicker too much, create too many distort-
ing shadows." She glanced up at the elves. "One of you
give me some nice, steady light"
Eliathanis hesitated, then admitted reluctandy, "I
can't I'm a warrior, not a magician. The only magic I
possess is that innate to my race."
"No light-spells, eh? Tich'ki, I know you don't have
any, either."
The fairy shrugged. "Can't know everything. Better
things to do with my time than waste it studying spells."
A fairy who wasn't too much of a magician? Kevin
had never heard of such a thing. Maybe that was why [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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