[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
But the rope would not loosen. She felt a shadow fall over her and realized
the leader was bending down. Seeing the knife in his hand, she shrank away,
sure that he was going to kill her. She heard herself whimpering with fear.
The knife moved to her ankles. With a few careful cuts he freed her.
He was going to let her go. She felt a surge of relief and found herself
thanking the man. He looked at the second man, who smiled.
It was not a friendly smile. Imi felt her stomach twist. The leader barked
again, and one of the other men tossed him a short length of rope. As he moved
toward her ankle again she realized what he was going to do. Relief evaporated
and she tried to leap up, but his hand closed around her leg firmly. The
second man grabbed her shoulders, shoved her down onto her back and held her
there. She shrieked again, and kept shrieking as the leader tied her ankles
together. They rolled her onto her front in order to tie her hands together
behind her, then dragged her to the center of the boat where they tied her
hands to a metal ring.
What are you doing? Imi cried desperately, struggling into a sitting
position. Why won t you let me go free?
Page 86
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The two men exchanged glances, then turned and walked away.
You can t hold me here. I m& I m the Elai king s daughter, she declared,
feeling anger growing. My father will send warriors to kill you!
None of the landwalkers paid any attention. They did not know what she was
telling them. They did not understand her words any more than she understood
theirs. How could she tell them who she was?
One of the landwalkers nearby upended a bag. Its contents spilled out. She
stared at the green mess, and as the men set to plucking small objects out of
the tangle she realized that the limp strands she was looking at were the
fragile branches and roots of the sea-bell plant.
The landwalkers had ripped the plants out of the sandy floor of the sea.
She felt a wave of nausea at the thought of what they d done. There would be
no crop of bells next year for this plant. They had killed the plant outright
in their haste to harvest them.
How can they be so wasteful? she thought. And so stupid! If they left the
plants intact, they could come back next year and gather more bells.
Her father was right. Landwalkers were horrible. She twisted her hands about,
but there was no way she was going to be able to get to the knot to untie it.
Rissi, she thought. He s got to tell father where I am. She struggled to her
feet and searched the water. After an eternity she thought she saw something
move. A head, perhaps.
Rissi! she screamed. Tell father where I am. Tell him I m a prisoner. Tell
him to come
Something struck her face. She staggered to her knees, her face aflame. The
leader was standing over her. He barked out a few words, pointing at her with
his long, webless fingers.
Though she could not understand a word, the warning was clear. Stunned, Imi
watched him walk away.
Father will come, she told herself. He ll save me. When he does, he ll spear
every one of these horrible landwalkers, and they ll deserve it.
14
I t was pleasantly warm outside the cave, now that the late summer sun had
set. The sky was free of cloud, and the stars were a dense carpet above.
Emerahl sighed with appreciation.
That s better, Mirar murmured.
They had decided the rock wall was the most comfortable place to sit two
nights ago, when Mirar had first ventured outside. Though she hadn t caught a
hint of Mirar s thoughts for many days now, he wasn t invisible to physical
eyes so he only emerged at night. The Siyee thought she was alone and she did
not want them to find out otherwise until she and Mirar had decided what they
wanted to do next.
There was little to do at night but admire the stars and talk. She heard Mirar
draw in a breath to speak.
I ve been thinking about the other Wilds today. It is possible some are still
alive.
She turned to look at him. His face was faintly lit by starlight. I ve been
thinking about them, too. I ve been asking myself whether it would be better
or worse for us if we found them.
Worse if it leads to the gods discovering our existence.
How would they? She paused. Do you think the others would betray us?
They may not mean to. The gods may read their minds.
Emerahl smiled crookedly. If their minds were readable, the gods would have
found and killed them long ago, she pointed out.
Mirar shifted his position. Yes. Probably.
She looked up at the stars. Still, the others might need our help.
I m sure if they ve survived this long they don t need our help.
Oh? Like you didn t need my help?
He chuckled. But I m just a young fool a mere thousand years old. The other
Wilds are older and wiser.
Then they might be able to help us, she replied.
Page 87
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
How?
If I was able to teach you to hide your mind, imagine what they might be able
to teach us. Perhaps nothing, but we can t know that until we find them.
You want me to come with you on this search?
Emerahl sighed. I d like you to, but I don t think it would be wise. If you
are right about ordinary priests not being able to read minds&
And I am.
& then I will be safe enough, unless I have a moment of exceptionally bad luck
and bump into the priest with the mind-reading ability who was looking for me
before.
While there are far more people who might recognize Leiard, he finished.
Yes.
If the gods are looking for me, they may have instructed priests and
priestesses to call for them if they see me. Dreamweavers are probably also
watching for me. The gods could be watching their minds, too. He groaned.
There are so many people who could recognize me. Why did Leiard agree to
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]