for a while.”
Moira twisted her mouth sideways as she thought.
“I will speak to Bal-Simba,” she said finally, “and see if he thinks it is
safe.”
“Where are we going anyway?” Wiz asked for the fifth time as Moira threw a
light cloak over her new dress.
She smiled at him in the mirror as she adjusted the cloak on her otherwise
bare shoulders. “To a special place. You will see.”
Wiz stepped up behind her and put his hands around her waist. “Darling,
any place is special with you. Especially in that dress.”
“I am glad you like it, my Lord. I had it made specially for today.” Then
she turned practical in a flash. “But come, we do not want to be late for
our own picnic. And bring the basket.”
Moira didn’t tell Wiz where they were going even when she took them on the
Wizard’s Way, so Wiz was completely unprepared for the place where they
popped up.
A familiar flash of darkness and they were in a sunlit dell. Clear water
leapt off the rocks above and splashed musically into the pool beside
them. Sunlight poured into the open space about the pool and dappled
through the trees and bushes around it. The grass was bright green and
tiny orange and red flowers spangled the meadow. In a quiet side of the
pool, sweet blue irises reared above swordlike stands of green leaves. The
bushes were blooming in clusters of pink and white and sometimes blood
red. Where it was not stirred by the fall, the water was so clear Wiz
could see minnows darting among the pebbles on the bottom.
“This is beautiful,” Wiz said looking around him.
“Thank you, my Lord. Bal-Simba suggested it as a favorite picnic spot for
those in the castle.”
She forbore to mention Bal-Simba had also suggested it because it was easy
to defend. Nor did she tell him the area had been swept by a troop of
guardsmen and wizards only moments before their arrival. Nor did she
mention the other precautions which had been taken.
Watching from the hilltop, Snorri the dwarf could not believe his luck.
When they weren’t working on Glandurg’s contraptions, the dwarves had been
scouting through the forest and surrounding countryside, hoping for
something that would give them any entry into the castle. He had suspected
something when he saw the guardsmen searching the dell. He had hidden
himself among the bushes and now his patience had been rewarded.
Their quarry himself! Without guards and completely at his ease. The
dwarf’s hand crept to the sword strapped across his back. A quick charge
and . . .
Then Snorri paused and frowned. There was magic about this strange wizard,
and powerful magic at that. He did not recognize the spell, but its import
was clear enough. Not only was the wizard shielded from violence, but any
attempt at it would bring swift and deadly retribution. Protected as he
was he could not be shot, cleaved, hacked, bashed or in any other wise
attacked.
The dwarf bit his lip in frustration. He was closer to his prey than any
of the party had been since the first day when that idiot Gimli tried. Yet
he was as blocked from overt violence as if the wizard was still within
the castle.
But that was only overt violence! Slowly, very slowly, Snorri put his hand
into his belt pouch and felt the small tightly wrapped packet at the
bottom. Then he turned his attention back to the protection spell. Finally
he smiled. If his face had not been hidden by his hood it would have been
a most unpleasant smile.
A fraction of an inch at a time, Snorri began to crawl forward toward the
pair on the blanket.
Even if Wiz had been looking for the dwarf he couldn’t have seen him and
Wiz’s mind-and eyes-were on other things.
Moira had laid aside her cloak and was bustling about spreading the
blanket and laying out things from the hamper. As she came past, he
reached out and pulled her to him for a long kiss.
“I thought you said you were hungry,” Moira said, slipping from his grasp.