[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
quickly reached the other side, the big black horse swimming powerfully until
it could put its front hooves on the farther bank and heave its body up out of
the water. The manikin reined its head around to face Jim from across the
racing current.
You see, my Lord? he called triumphantly.
Now, ride him back across the bridge! shouted Jim.
But, my Lord-
Jim flourished his sword again.
The manikin bowed his head and put the stallion in motion, reining him
around. At the horse s first step on it, the bridge sank below the surface of
the water.
By the time they were halfway back, the rushing stream plucking and pushing
like powerful hands against the animal s legs as high as his hocks, Jim was
sure that the running water would carry the legs from under any other horse;
but this one came on without pausing to the near side of the stream,
successfully stepping out at last and striding up to where Jim sat on Gorp.
The horse still looked past Jim, rather than at him.
You see, my Lord? cried the manikin triumphantly.
Jim saw, all right. What he had just watched being done was physically
impossible. The black horse might be able to swim that current; but there was
no way, walking on that bridge, that he could keep it from pulling him off
balance. The stallion had to have accomplished what he had just done by
magic-there was no other answer.
If Morgan le Fay was behind this-and Jim was feeling more and more sure she
was-then it was her magic making this possible. So, if the fight with the
accursed, wifeless knight had been an attempt to test Jim s fighting ability
and courage, it appeared more obvious all the time that this was an attempt to
force him to use the black horse, for some reason.
Well, if that was what she wanted, she was not going to get it, he told
himself.
The manikin must be in on it on her side. In fact, he, the stallion, the
tent, and the river might all be her creatures or things. Unless they were all
illusions-and Jim himself was enough of a magician to know they were not, now
that he was close to them.
So, rule out illusions. What else was left?
-Well, my most puissant Lord? the manikin was saying, sneering once more
and halting the still-wet stallion in front of Jim.
Jim stared at him, a long, wordless stare; and the sneer faded as the
manikin s face grew pale.
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ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
My Lord, my Lord... he said shakily, if I have said aught amiss-
I do not care what you say, said Jim, slowly and distinctly. So, your
animal can stem the river current. That doesn t mean he can tow my horses
safely across as well; and I m not about to risk them just to find out. Prove
to me you can do that and I will think on it.
How can I prove- the manikin began, wringing his hands. But then he stopped
suddenly and the touch of a sly look crept onto his face. But why does your
Lordship not ride him across yourself, and see how strong he is? He has
strength to lead both your horses and to spare. You will see.
Jim hesitated. If the horse tried to throw him off and drown him in the
river, he could always save himself, of course; but that would mean using his
magic. And since the name of the game here had become avoiding any such use
that Morgan le Fay might be able to observe...
Still, he had to go forward somehow. He could not stay on this side of the
river indefinitely. He could, if he had to, try riding the stallion and see
what developed. Besides, one of the few things that Brian-types and the kind
of ordinary medieval gentleman-knight Jim was pretending to be had in common
was that they never turned away from a challenge.
I will ride the beast, he said, and waved in his best disdainful fashion at
the little man. Fetch a clean cloth and wipe the saddle.
Yes, my Lord. Immediately, my Lord! The manikin ran into the tent and came
out with a cloth that seemed to gleam brightly silver in the Lyonesse
sunlight. He carefully wiped the saddle and stood back from it.
My Lord-
Jim dismounted, Gorp looking back over his shoulder at his customary rider
curiously. Putting his left foot into the stirrup of the black horse, Jim
swung himself up onto its back. Under his weight and to his touch, the animal
seemed as solid as any real horse could be.
Not only that, but he showed himself marvelously obedient to his rider s
intentions. Almost without Jim s laying the right-hand rein against that side
of the black neck, he turned about and angled toward the river just below the
bridge. As he reached the edge and plunged in, Jim braced himself for the
touch of icy waters, like those from high on a mountainside.
But the water was almost warm. Jim frowned. They were in midstream already
and he tightened his legs around the barrel of the horse s massive chest-
· And like a soap bubble popping in midair, the horse was gone. He had
simply ceased to be; and Jim found himself being whirled on by the racing
stream, frantically trying to swim enough to keep his head above the water
against the weight of his sword and armor.
In spite of his efforts, his head began to dip, and dip again, under the
liquid surface. All right, you idiot! he told himself, you had to walk
right into it... He could not keep up this struggle to stay afloat in his
armor; and there was no way to shed any of his armor or even his sword without
going straight to the bottom of the river.
This was it. Only magic would get him out of this-and once he cracked his
ward, Morgan would have him.
Page 64
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Water filled his mouth and despair mounted in his chest. Brian and Dafydd-
God knows he needed them, but they needed him. If Morgan took him out of the
situation now, his friends would be lucky to escape Lyonesse alive; and Brian,
damn chivalrous fool that he was, would probably consider it his duty to stay
and do what he could alone. If so, Dafydd might well feel that he could not
leave; and both of them might die.
Better to lose his magic and hold on to life a little longer. Maybe, even
without magic, he could frustrate Morgan somehow...
His strength was going. The water closed over his head. He heard a roaring in
his ears and felt the toes of his shoes dragging on the bottom of the river.
Panic took him. He tried to push himself off from that surface and reach the
air; and to his astonishment he bobbed up with his face barely above the
water.
He gulped air for a wonderful moment, to get what he could into his lungs
before he went down again-and then, to his dawning astonishment, he realized
he was not going down again. He was floating on the surface, being rushed
along by the galloping speed of the water. It was a miracle.
Or was it?
He suddenly realized he was no longer in his human body. He was in his dragon
shape. Morgan had now gotten a good look at his instinctive shape-changing
ability-and as far as Jim knew, there were no resident dragons in Lyonesse.
But wait a minute-dragons were supposed to be heavier than water-that was why
Smrgol and all the other dragons of the Cliffside Eyrie had thought him a
reckless fool for flying about at night. Why, in the darkness, a dragon could
fly right into a lake, where he would sink and drown.
But he was not sinking-for some strange but welcome reason. He heaved a sigh
of relief... and immediately began to sink. He was aware of his half-spread
wings under water making rowing motions, trying to push him up that way.
Hastily he inhaled again, filling his lungs; and once more his body rose to
ride high in the water.
So much for dragon beliefs that they would drown if they fell into any water [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
quickly reached the other side, the big black horse swimming powerfully until
it could put its front hooves on the farther bank and heave its body up out of
the water. The manikin reined its head around to face Jim from across the
racing current.
You see, my Lord? he called triumphantly.
Now, ride him back across the bridge! shouted Jim.
But, my Lord-
Jim flourished his sword again.
The manikin bowed his head and put the stallion in motion, reining him
around. At the horse s first step on it, the bridge sank below the surface of
the water.
By the time they were halfway back, the rushing stream plucking and pushing
like powerful hands against the animal s legs as high as his hocks, Jim was
sure that the running water would carry the legs from under any other horse;
but this one came on without pausing to the near side of the stream,
successfully stepping out at last and striding up to where Jim sat on Gorp.
The horse still looked past Jim, rather than at him.
You see, my Lord? cried the manikin triumphantly.
Jim saw, all right. What he had just watched being done was physically
impossible. The black horse might be able to swim that current; but there was
no way, walking on that bridge, that he could keep it from pulling him off
balance. The stallion had to have accomplished what he had just done by
magic-there was no other answer.
If Morgan le Fay was behind this-and Jim was feeling more and more sure she
was-then it was her magic making this possible. So, if the fight with the
accursed, wifeless knight had been an attempt to test Jim s fighting ability
and courage, it appeared more obvious all the time that this was an attempt to
force him to use the black horse, for some reason.
Well, if that was what she wanted, she was not going to get it, he told
himself.
The manikin must be in on it on her side. In fact, he, the stallion, the
tent, and the river might all be her creatures or things. Unless they were all
illusions-and Jim himself was enough of a magician to know they were not, now
that he was close to them.
So, rule out illusions. What else was left?
-Well, my most puissant Lord? the manikin was saying, sneering once more
and halting the still-wet stallion in front of Jim.
Jim stared at him, a long, wordless stare; and the sneer faded as the
manikin s face grew pale.
Page 63
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
My Lord, my Lord... he said shakily, if I have said aught amiss-
I do not care what you say, said Jim, slowly and distinctly. So, your
animal can stem the river current. That doesn t mean he can tow my horses
safely across as well; and I m not about to risk them just to find out. Prove
to me you can do that and I will think on it.
How can I prove- the manikin began, wringing his hands. But then he stopped
suddenly and the touch of a sly look crept onto his face. But why does your
Lordship not ride him across yourself, and see how strong he is? He has
strength to lead both your horses and to spare. You will see.
Jim hesitated. If the horse tried to throw him off and drown him in the
river, he could always save himself, of course; but that would mean using his
magic. And since the name of the game here had become avoiding any such use
that Morgan le Fay might be able to observe...
Still, he had to go forward somehow. He could not stay on this side of the
river indefinitely. He could, if he had to, try riding the stallion and see
what developed. Besides, one of the few things that Brian-types and the kind
of ordinary medieval gentleman-knight Jim was pretending to be had in common
was that they never turned away from a challenge.
I will ride the beast, he said, and waved in his best disdainful fashion at
the little man. Fetch a clean cloth and wipe the saddle.
Yes, my Lord. Immediately, my Lord! The manikin ran into the tent and came
out with a cloth that seemed to gleam brightly silver in the Lyonesse
sunlight. He carefully wiped the saddle and stood back from it.
My Lord-
Jim dismounted, Gorp looking back over his shoulder at his customary rider
curiously. Putting his left foot into the stirrup of the black horse, Jim
swung himself up onto its back. Under his weight and to his touch, the animal
seemed as solid as any real horse could be.
Not only that, but he showed himself marvelously obedient to his rider s
intentions. Almost without Jim s laying the right-hand rein against that side
of the black neck, he turned about and angled toward the river just below the
bridge. As he reached the edge and plunged in, Jim braced himself for the
touch of icy waters, like those from high on a mountainside.
But the water was almost warm. Jim frowned. They were in midstream already
and he tightened his legs around the barrel of the horse s massive chest-
· And like a soap bubble popping in midair, the horse was gone. He had
simply ceased to be; and Jim found himself being whirled on by the racing
stream, frantically trying to swim enough to keep his head above the water
against the weight of his sword and armor.
In spite of his efforts, his head began to dip, and dip again, under the
liquid surface. All right, you idiot! he told himself, you had to walk
right into it... He could not keep up this struggle to stay afloat in his
armor; and there was no way to shed any of his armor or even his sword without
going straight to the bottom of the river.
This was it. Only magic would get him out of this-and once he cracked his
ward, Morgan would have him.
Page 64
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
Water filled his mouth and despair mounted in his chest. Brian and Dafydd-
God knows he needed them, but they needed him. If Morgan took him out of the
situation now, his friends would be lucky to escape Lyonesse alive; and Brian,
damn chivalrous fool that he was, would probably consider it his duty to stay
and do what he could alone. If so, Dafydd might well feel that he could not
leave; and both of them might die.
Better to lose his magic and hold on to life a little longer. Maybe, even
without magic, he could frustrate Morgan somehow...
His strength was going. The water closed over his head. He heard a roaring in
his ears and felt the toes of his shoes dragging on the bottom of the river.
Panic took him. He tried to push himself off from that surface and reach the
air; and to his astonishment he bobbed up with his face barely above the
water.
He gulped air for a wonderful moment, to get what he could into his lungs
before he went down again-and then, to his dawning astonishment, he realized
he was not going down again. He was floating on the surface, being rushed
along by the galloping speed of the water. It was a miracle.
Or was it?
He suddenly realized he was no longer in his human body. He was in his dragon
shape. Morgan had now gotten a good look at his instinctive shape-changing
ability-and as far as Jim knew, there were no resident dragons in Lyonesse.
But wait a minute-dragons were supposed to be heavier than water-that was why
Smrgol and all the other dragons of the Cliffside Eyrie had thought him a
reckless fool for flying about at night. Why, in the darkness, a dragon could
fly right into a lake, where he would sink and drown.
But he was not sinking-for some strange but welcome reason. He heaved a sigh
of relief... and immediately began to sink. He was aware of his half-spread
wings under water making rowing motions, trying to push him up that way.
Hastily he inhaled again, filling his lungs; and once more his body rose to
ride high in the water.
So much for dragon beliefs that they would drown if they fell into any water [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]