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You must, Elena said. The flame in the woman wavered with her words. Elena
fed more of her wit chfire into the blaze. Fight it!
Panic widened Vira ni s eyes. Stop! You can t defeat him this way. You don t
understand what you re doing. Like an army massing, the black magicks grew
thicker at the edges of the silver flame. The energies now crackled wildly
within the small woman s body. You re making him stronger in me!
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Elena hesitated. She had only the smallest bit of magick left. You don t
understand! The woman now howled.
He feeds on me!
As Elena watched, the black energies swelled, drawing substance from the
stoked flame.
Understanding suddenly dawned in Elena. Sweet Mother, it was feeding on
Vira ni s elemental power.
Her efforts had only succeeded in strengthening the black magick, giving it
fuel for its fire. The silver flame faded, its energies drawn into the
darkness.
Once again, a mad gleam crept into Vira ni s eyes. But before she was
overwhelmed, the woman s hand reached up and grabbed Elena s, pressing it
firmly to her cold flesh. It s not too late! Vira ni moaned.
What? Elena cried. I don t understand!
Then it was too late. Elena could see the other s eyes go cold, her expression
harden to granite. The grip on Elena s wrist spasmed tighter. The woman was
gone and the demoness was back.
Er ril kept his eyes fixed upon Vira ni s spawn, reluctant to face the others.
The she-demon grinned harshly at him, wings spread wide, eyes aglow with
hunger. She seemed to relish the pain of his decision.
Er ril ground his teeth, his jaw aching.
If there was to be any hope of harming the creature, one of them must die
first. Only death could wear thin her dark protections. But who would
volunteer to be her first kill?
If not for the fact that he alone knew the true path to A loa Glen, Er ril
would not hesitate. He had lived more than his share of winters. But as
guardian to the girl and the only one capable of unlocking the Blood Diary, he
could not sacrifice himself. And worst of all, he had to ask someone else to
take his place. Krai spoke beside him. Take my ax, Er ril. Meric had crossed
to near the mountain man s shoulder and pushed the ax back toward Krai. No,
tis your tainted blade that can kill her. I m too weak to fight this night,
while you re still strong.
The blood of my lost king must be preserved, even if it means my death.
Mogweed huddled in their shadows. The elv in speaks wisely, he muttered.
The she-demon cackled at them. If you mice are done with your chattering,
perhapsss I should make the choice for you.
Time had run out. Er ril could think of no words to argue against Meric s
statement. He glanced at the silver-haired elv in. Meric s blue eyes were
sharp with purpose. Er ril regretted all the hard words the two had shared. It
was clear the elv in cared as much for Elena s safety as Er ril did, even if
it was for different reasons. Er ril stared at the large bruise that marred
Meric s left cheek, proof already of his brave heart. Now Meric stood ready to
show the full depth of his resolve and spirit.
Er ril found the elv in s eyes staring into his own. No further words were
needed. Er ril nodded his head, the decision made.
Meric stepped forward just as a howl shattered the night.
All eyes, including the she-demon s, swung to the left. From the wall of
meadow grass, a huge wolf leapt into the clearing. It was Fardale. He crouched
with a loud growl flowing from his throat, the hackles on his back raised
high.
It seemsss we have another volunteer, the she-demon said with a sharp smile.
Get back, Mogweed screamed to his brother. You can t harm it! Fardale
glanced at his brother, his amber eyes glowing like twin moons in the night.
Oh, Mogweed whispered and slunk farther into the shadows of the others.
Er ril sensed that some silent communication had been shared between the two.
Did Fardale tell you something? he whispered quickly.
Mogweed kept his eyes toward the she-demon and his growling brother. He s
freed the& There s another
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Again the quiet night was shattered, this time by a rumbling bellow that came
from the other side of the clearing. It was no wolf. It rose from the tall
meadow grass and kept rising and rising. How could something so large have
moved so quietly upon them, especially burdened?
It took a shocked moment for Er ril to recognize Tol chuk. The og re held a
squirming dog over his head, its muzzle clamped shut in one of his large,
clawed hands.
The she-demon snapped her wings and swung to face the new challenge. But
before she could turn, Tol chuk threw the dog at her. The squirming weapon
cartwheeled across the clearing, limbs scrambling at the empty air.
Instinctively, the she-demon struck out at the flying object. Poison-tipped
claws lashed out at the dog, knocking it aside. The hound crashed to the mud
in a limp pile, its chest raked open, dead from the poison before it even
struck the ground.
My, my, the she-demon said, you do seem to be running short on weapons.
What next, a sheep? A
goat?
Using the distraction of the dog, Tol chuk had by now stalked into the
clearing.
Er ril noticed that his companions had succeeded in surrounding the she-demon.
But of what use was that? She still had her dark magicks. Meric glanced once
at Er ril, then swung back toward the winged beast and walked toward it.
Er ril s heart ached, but he knew there was no other choice. Mogweed suddenly
snatched at Meric s billowing white shirt and tugged the elv in to a stop.
Leave him Er ril began to say.
The& the dog! Mogweed stuttered in a faint whisper. It s dead.
So?
Mogweed s voice snapped louder. The monster killed it. Didn t she?
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| Cytat |
Dobre pomysły nie mają przeszłości, mają tylko przyszłość. Robert Mallet
De minimis - o najmniejszych rzeczach.
Dobroć jest ważniejsza niż mądrość, a uznanie tej prawdy to pierwszy krok do mądrości. Theodore Isaac Rubin
Dobro to tylko to, co szlachetne, zło to tylko to, co haniebne.
Dla człowieka nie tylko świat otaczający jest zagadką; jest on nią sam dla siebie. I z obu tajemnic bardziej dręczącą wydaje się ta druga. Antoni Kępiński (1918-1972)
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