(eng) Patricia C. Wrede - Lyra 02 by Daughter of Witches

Author:Daughter of Witches [Witches, Daughter of]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

RANIRA AWOKE SCREAMING FROM a nightmare of shadows and Temple priests. The black-clad figure in her dream had chased her with drawn dagger through the streets of Drinn and out into the fields while Gadrath had looked on and smiled, and a dark, cold presence had brooded menacingly over everything. She looked wildly about her, only to find the nightmare becoming reality—the trees seemed twisted and menacing. She struck out in terror at a figure bending over her.

Hands caught and held her. Ranira thrashed violently, but she could not break free. She heard voices above, but they made no sense. Pain shot through her like a knife wound, and in Ranira’s mind something writhed blackly before it burned away. Ranira found herself staring up at the worried faces of Shandy and Mist.

“I’m all right now. You can let me go,” she said, and Mist leaned back with a sigh of relief. Ranira sat up. The forest spun around her, and she had to brace herself to keep from toppling over once more. After a moment, she looked up cautiously. “What happened?”

“You were shouting and yelling in your sleep,” Shandy informed her. “I tried to wake you up and you wouldn’t, and then Mist woke up and tried and you started hitting her. I sat on you, and Mist did something, and you stopped. Why were you yelling?”

Ranira laughed shakily. “You’d yell, too, if you had dreams like that. I’m glad it’s over.”

“It was more than a dream, Ranira,” Mist said. Her face was lined with weariness, but Ranira was glad to see her also awake. “And I am afraid it may not be over, my dear. I am sorry; if I had done a thorough job when Jaren first brought you to me, I do not think you would have had to suffer this.”

“What do you mean?” Ranira asked warily.

“Before I explain, will you tell me your dream?” Mist asked. “And do you know anything about the drug the Temple gave you before you escaped?”

The questions surprised Ranira. She frowned for a moment trying to recall the nightmare from the rapidly fading wisps and shreds of memory that remained. Then she plunged into a description of the dream and the disorientation that followed.

Mist listened in silence. When Ranira finished, she nodded and said, “And the drug?”

“High Master Gadrath put something in my wine, but I don’t know what it was. I don’t really remember anything but bits and pieces after that until I was riding in the carriage.” She frowned again as a fragment of memory brushed the surface of her mind, then hovered tantalizingly just out of reach. She shook her head in frustration.

“You told me someone said it was permanent,” Shandy volunteered. “Remember, Renra?”

“No, but I’m sure I ought to,” she said in exasperation. Instinctively, she looked around for something to jog her memory, and for the first time realized consciously that it was day. As she automatically reached up to adjust her veil, she noticed that not everyone was present.

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