He took her in his arms. “Look darling, I know you mean well, but I can’t let you do that to someone else. Promise me you won’t try to yank someone else through.”
Moira blinked back tears. “Very well.” She tapped herself on the chest with her fist. “I swear I will not use a Great Summoning to bring someone else here from your world.”
“And that you won’t influence anyone else to do it either.”
She glared at him, but she swore.
“I’ll have to ask Bal-Simba to swear that oath tomorrow,” he said, releasing her arms.
She stood up straight. “Very well then. What will you do?”
“It’ll work out,” Wiz mumbled. “I’ll think of something.”
“What? What will you do?”
“Something! Look, leave me alone, will you?” He shook her arm from his shoulder angrily.
Moira stood stiff and straight. “Very well, My lord.” She turned and ran from the room.
Wiz half rose to follow her and then thought better of it. He sank back to the bench and turned his attention to the book in front of him.
Let her work it off, he told himself. She’ll come back when she’s calmed down some. It wasn’t a very attractive solution but it was the best he could think of at the moment.
Moira slammed the door behind her and stormed down the hall, the cloak she had hastily grabbed slung over her arm. By the time she reached the stairs she was crying openly. She paused at the landing to throw the cloak about her and raise the hood to hide her tears, then swept out into the main court.
She did not see the figure in the shadows at the foot of the stairs.
Well, well, Pryddian thought as Moira went past. Trouble in the Sparrow’s nest. He smiled to himself and continued down the corridor.
Five : Shiarra Again
Living with a programmer is easy. All you need is the patience of a saint.
—programmers’ wives’ saying
Like the original Heart’s Ease, the new one was a stone tower with an attached hall. The stones of the tower still bore traces of the fire which had destroyed the original and the hewn logs of the halls shone white and new. The freshly raised building exuded the odor of woods; the faint sweet smell of oak from the floors and paneling, the resiny tang of pine from the walls and rafters and the perfume of cedar wafting down from the shingles that roofed the hall.
Gliding through the hall like a swan, Shiara the Silver absorbed it all. She could not see, but she could smell and she could touch. What she sensed pleased her very much.
The warmth streaming in through the diamond-paned windows told her the day was bright and sunny. Perfect for sitting outside and enjoying the feel of the summer breezes.
She smiled. It was somewhat lonely here without Ugo, her goblin companion killed in the raid that destroyed Heart’s Ease. Then Wiz and Moira had gone. But the forest folk took good care of her and Heart’s Ease was still well named. It would be pleasant to sit in the sun, feel the breeze and smell the growing things.
Suddenly she stiffened as the presence of magic sent a sharp pain through her.
Either very near and very weak, or not too near and stronger. She considered again. The Forest Folk were careful of her and would not allow magic to approach Heart’s Ease without warning her. Further away, then.
She heard the light pit-pat of tiny feet on the floor. “A visitor, Lady,” the little creature said. “She is asking for you.”
Shiara nodded, stately and graceful. “Make her welcome then. I will receive her here.”
As the sound of tiny feet faded into the distance Shiara smiled once more. She had company. Obviously one of the Mighty since she had come on the Wizard’s Way. It would be pleasant to talk magic and lore once more. Shiara was no longer of the Mighty. The accident that had deprived her of her sight left her hypersensitive to magic. Living as she did in the deadest Dead Zone in the North, Shiara was spared the pain of magic, but it also meant she was isolated from the World. Still, she enjoyed sitting and talking about what had once been so central to her life. Besides, it was a chance to catch up on the news from the Capital.