The cursed towers 218
Bạn đang xem bản rút gọn của tài liệu. Xem và tải ngay bản đầy đủ của tài liệu tại đây (3.21 KB, 1 trang )
and, overtaken with wonder at the strangeness of their cavalcade, he had joined them.
A woolly bear raised her snout and called mournfully, and without realizing what he did, Niall called back
in reassurance. In the ten months that they had been patrolling the forests, the big man had grown close to
all the creatures of the forest but closest to the bear. He had confessed to Lilanthe one night that his
grandfather had lived with a woolly bear he had saved from a trap as a cub. Niall had often seen the huge
creature lumbering around in the forest outside his grandfather's cottage and had come to be called "the
wee bear" after his grandfather. The nickname had stuck, probably because of his great size and thick,
brown hair.
The past ten months had been the happiest of Li-lanthe's life. She had been able to wander through the
forests at will, enjoying their peaceful beauty and sinking her roots in rich, dark soil. She was never lonely
for she had Niall and Brun to talk to, the antics of the nisses to laugh at, and the quiet, wise presence of
the tree-changers to teach and inspire her. At first there had been many confrontations with encampments
of Bright Soldiers scattered through the forests, but the satyricoms, gravenings and shadow-hounds had
done most of the fighting. As the months passed, the Bright Soldiers had all been driven out of Aslinn and
their days had fallen into a more peaceful pattern. In the depths of the forest they encountered many other
faeries and Lilanthe spoke to them all, convincing them of Lachlan the Winged's integrity and peaceful
intentions.
Two weeks earlier she had been bathing as usual in one of the many calm, green pools strung through the
forest when she had seen Dide's face slowly appear in the ripples of light dancing over the surface. The
jongleur had been calling her name rather anxiously, and Lilanthe had responded automatically.
The tree-shifter had never scryed before but she had seen Dide talk to Lachlan through water and once
she had spoken mind-to-mind with the young jongleur when he had been lost in the marshes of Arran.
She stared at him in mingled pleasure, perplexity and embarrassment. The last time she had seen him was
in Isabeau's bed two and a half years ago, the memory bringing color to her face in a hot rush. She could
not help smiling at him, though.
The young jongleur showed no sign of embarrassment, though his gaze lingered on her slender form so
intently that she had to quickly sink below the water so that all he could see of her was her face and the
green floating tresses of her hair. He asked after her affectionately and she told him all the news. He
asked a few questions about the movements of the Tirsoilleirean army through Aslinn and she told him
that they had seen no sign of any of the Bright Soldiers since the previous autumn.
"The Graycloaks ride on Ardencaple to drive the Bright Soldiers out o' Blessem once and for all," he
said. "Meghan asked me to try and reach ye to see if ye could bring the forest faeries and join us there.
Indeed, we will need all the help we can get, for hordes more o' the blaygird witch-haters have been
pouring through Arran, seeking revenge for all their losses. How far away are ye?"
"I do no' ken where Ardencaple is," Lilanthe answered, "but we're a couple o' weeks' march away from
the edge o' the forest at least, I'd say."
Dide lowered his voice, saying, "We march on Arden-caple in the dark o' the moons after Beltane. Can
ye try and reach us by then? Indeed it would be good to see ye, Lilanthe."
She blushed again and answered rather awkwardly, "And ye, Dide. It has been a long time."
' Aye," he answered. "Hard to believe it's been two and a half years! I've missed ye though."
Words tangled in her throat. Not knowing which ones to choose, she said nothing. He waited a moment
expectantly then bid her farewell, his reflection slowly dissolving into the ripple of the water's surface.
