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The Wizardwar :: Каннингем Элейн
Страница: 92 из 208Shanair's gray face furrowed in puzzlement as she unbuckled the fasteners and drew a small, smooth, round stone from the bag.
Elf-sister, I greet you .
A familiar voice sounded in Shanair's mind, a lilting, bell-like soprano that lent rare grace and elegance to the rough Crinti dialect Shanair knew only one person whose voice held such music. Clutching the stone, she slapped her heels into her horse's side and reined the beast away from the camp.
"Kiva!" she whispered. "We thought you dead!"
Do you really think I would leave before the battle was over ?
Shanair, suddenly ashamed, glanced back over her shoulder at the bustling camp. She herself was preparing to do precisely that.
Her practical nature quickly reasserted itself. "What more can be done? The battle was fought. Many Halruaans died, but too many remain. We Crinti are too few to push them into the sea."
The Crinti need not fight alone. The floodgate -
"The floodgate is closed," Shanair said flatly. "We felt the magic shake the mountains. We saw the spring disappear."
There was a moment's pause, and the stone in Shanair's hand surged with power. The Crinti, attuned to Kiva through some magic she did not understand, recognized temper flaring bright and quickly controlled.
What I was about to say , Kiva went on pointedly, was that many magical treasures are buried around the site of the floodgate. Dig a circle around the place of the spring's origin, about seven paces from the center .
Shanair shook her head before she remembered the elf could not see this response. "This morning, Xerish did not report. We tracked her to one of the dark fairy mounds. There she disappeared. This is no place for the Crinti."
This time the stone flared hot enough to burn Shanair's fingers. Did you find another set of tracks, or are the Crinti not skilled enough to follow a true elf's trail ?
The venom in Kiva's words smarted worse than the burning stone. "One trail only," Shanair admitted.
There were two trails leading to the Green Crone , Kiva said, giving the Crinti name for that particular fairy mound. Xerish failed me, and I sent her beyond the veil. Do as I say, Shanair, or you will find you have far more to fear than the Unseelie folk .
The magical contact broke off abruptly, leaving Shanair stunned and enlightened.
"Elf-sister," she muttered in self-disgust. All this time, she had believed Kiva viewed her as a comrade, if not quite an equal. The Crinti dealt death with a quick hand.
Elf-sister, I greet you .
A familiar voice sounded in Shanair's mind, a lilting, bell-like soprano that lent rare grace and elegance to the rough Crinti dialect Shanair knew only one person whose voice held such music. Clutching the stone, she slapped her heels into her horse's side and reined the beast away from the camp.
"Kiva!" she whispered. "We thought you dead!"
Do you really think I would leave before the battle was over ?
Shanair, suddenly ashamed, glanced back over her shoulder at the bustling camp. She herself was preparing to do precisely that.
Her practical nature quickly reasserted itself. "What more can be done? The battle was fought. Many Halruaans died, but too many remain. We Crinti are too few to push them into the sea."
The Crinti need not fight alone. The floodgate -
"The floodgate is closed," Shanair said flatly. "We felt the magic shake the mountains. We saw the spring disappear."
There was a moment's pause, and the stone in Shanair's hand surged with power. The Crinti, attuned to Kiva through some magic she did not understand, recognized temper flaring bright and quickly controlled.
What I was about to say , Kiva went on pointedly, was that many magical treasures are buried around the site of the floodgate. Dig a circle around the place of the spring's origin, about seven paces from the center .
Shanair shook her head before she remembered the elf could not see this response. "This morning, Xerish did not report. We tracked her to one of the dark fairy mounds. There she disappeared. This is no place for the Crinti."
This time the stone flared hot enough to burn Shanair's fingers. Did you find another set of tracks, or are the Crinti not skilled enough to follow a true elf's trail ?
The venom in Kiva's words smarted worse than the burning stone. "One trail only," Shanair admitted.
There were two trails leading to the Green Crone , Kiva said, giving the Crinti name for that particular fairy mound. Xerish failed me, and I sent her beyond the veil. Do as I say, Shanair, or you will find you have far more to fear than the Unseelie folk .
The magical contact broke off abruptly, leaving Shanair stunned and enlightened.
"Elf-sister," she muttered in self-disgust. All this time, she had believed Kiva viewed her as a comrade, if not quite an equal. The Crinti dealt death with a quick hand.