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He may succeed. Tyrene s face fell. Yes, my lord. And I accept full responsibility. No. At risk of contradicting you, my lord, I No, Incarnadine said again, softly but firmly. You will not berate yourself. You have done your very best and have inflicted grievous losses on the enemy. You have made him pay in blood. Tyrene protested with a quick shake of the head. Were it not for special forces Tyrene. Incarnadine s smile was benevolently admonishing. The captain s shoulders slumped. Yes, my lord. I will say no more. He shuffled his feet and muttered, Still, it file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruisw...hancie%20-%20Castle%200 1%20-%20Castle%20Perilous.htm (24 of 111)19-2-2006 3:47:03 file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruiswijk/Mijn%20do...ar/John%20 DeChancie%20-%20Castle%2001%20-%20Castle%20Perilous.htm makes no sense. Don t you think the castle a worthy prize for a conqueror? Why & I suppose. But what good can it do Vorn? Surely the last thing he needs is another fortress. Perhaps he means to steal our magic. Tyrene knitted his brow, nodding. Yes, maybe that s what drives him. But even he should know that only a Haplodite can tap the castle s deepest source of power. It may be he does not know. Or has been deliberately misled. Aye, it could be. If so, it s her doing. Incarnadine did not answer. He shifted his weight and placed his left foot on the lower crossbar of the rail. Then, of course, there is always the Page 39 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html attraction of booty. Tyrene laughed. I have lived all my life in and about Castle Perilous and have yet to catch even a whiff of where the treasure room might be. Again, he may not be aware of the peculiarities of this place. Incarnadine mused for a moment, then said, I think I would have trouble finding it myself. Haven t been there in years. As I remember, it lies within one of the more stable areas, but its position may have drifted somewhat over time. With a sweep of his hand, Incarnadine changed the scene below to full perspective. The line of gigantic belfries was moving slowly toward the curtain wall. The infantry marched in files behind, ready to mount the stairs inside the towers. When the belfries drew close enough to the wall, the invaders would pour out through the top, crossing to the wall walk by means of drawbridges let down from the tops of the towers. Then again, Incarnadine said, it may be Vorn has taken a fancy to our Pale and wants a summer residence. Tyrene regarded him gravely for a moment, then broke into sudden laughter. A fine jest, my lord. His mirth was disproportionate, being, as it was, an overdue release from the tensions of battle. Incarnadine waited until Tyrene had wiped the tears from his eyes, then took his foot from the rail and straightened. The infantry were marching in double-time, and had begun mounting the stairways inside the belfries. The time has come, Incarnadine said. The sky dragons again, my lord? I think not this time. Incarnadine stood back from the rail and raised both arms. He closed his eyes and stood unmoving for a moment. Then, quickly and with great precision, he commenced tracing patterns in the air. Touching the tips of his index fingers together above his head, he parted them and brought them around and down in two semicircles to meet again at the bottom, thereby completing the Great Circle. He stepped back to examine his work, as if the figure were visible. Stepping forward again, he outlined a series of arcs linking points of the circumference, connecting the midpoints of these with lines to form a square within the circle. He executed more lines, more figures within figures, his brow knitted, tiny beads of sweat springing to it like a sudden dew. Watching, Tyrene stepped back warily. Presently, Incarnadine s spell figure, composed of faintly glowing red filaments, began to take form in the air. Keep Elsewhere WE RE LOST AGAIN, Snowclaw said. Page 40 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Tell me something new. Gene scratched his head and looked around. They had followed a spiral stairwell down to this, a spacious airy room with numerous window alcoves. An Oriental rug covered the flagstone at the far end of the room, and on it were positioned various pieces of furniture a divan, a few straight-back chairs, two low tables. A sideboard set against the wall held several wrought-iron candelabras bearing the stubs of burned tapers. The alcoves were set at even intervals along the right wall; a single flush window was cut into the far wall, and to the left, an arched file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruisw...hancie%20-%20Castle%200 1%20-%20Castle%20Perilous.htm (25 of 111)19-2-2006 3:47:03 file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry%20kruiswijk/Mijn%20do...ar/John%20 DeChancie%20-%20Castle%2001%20-%20Castle%20Perilous.htm doorway led through to the descending spiral of another stairwell. Gene said, Linda, do you remember Dalton saying to go right at that first landing? Or was it left? Linda stepped past him, following Snowclaw toward the windows. I m sure he said right. And we went right. That s all I m sure of, though. Damn. Well, maybe we just keep following the stairs. But it seems to me we should have come to that grand ballroom by now. Yawning, Gene walked to the far end of the room and flopped down on the divan. He yawned again and keeled over on his side. Tired, he said quietly, closing his eyes. Snowclaw said, Hey, Gene. Come look at this. Gene s eyes popped open. What? He cranked himself up and shuffled over to the alcove into which Snowclaw and Linda had squeezed themselves. They were leaning out of the narrow Gothic window and looking up, Linda bending and ducking her head under Snowclaw s outstretched arm. Gene craned his neck, couldn t see a thing, so he stepped back and went into the next alcove. He looked out. There was nothing above but clear sky. Hundreds of feet below, waves crashed onto black rocks at the foot of a shear cliff. There was nothing below the window. Gene gasped and put his arms out, bracing himself against the stone jambs. The window was suspended in air, floating a few feet above the edge of the cliff. The angle was disorienting; the window was canted vertiginously forward, unnaturally raising the horizon ahead. The whole world out there was cockeyed. Gene stepped back and turned around. The room was level, just as before. He looked out again, trying to adjust to the strange perspective. Nearby, other craggy promontories rose from the water like the heads of sea monsters. He bent and looked out. The dark band of a squall line edged the horizon. Between it and the rocks, about a mile out to sea, a long, high-masted ship tacked through choppy waters, its sails billowing, a voluminous spinnaker blooming off the prow. Hey, this is weird. Page 41 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |