02 The Twisted Citadel by Sara Douglass

Author:Sara Douglass
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780732282905
Publisher: Pymble, N.S.W. : HarperCollins, 2008.
Published: 2009-04-10T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

Armat’s Camp, the Central Outlands

Axis,” said Georgdi, “I don’t like to mention this, but I’ve heard a rumor that you discovered your connection to the Star Dance a week or so past. I don’t suppose you could, ah, shed a little light on our current predicament?”

Axis roused himself from the light doze he’d fallen into. “Georgdi, I am sorry. I had gotten too used to not being able to use the Star Dance.”

A phrase of soft music ran among the four occupants of the pit, and the next moment a soft light illumed their surroundings.

Everyone blinked.

“I’m not so sure the light was a good idea,” said Axis.

No one looked their best. They had all been treated roughly by Armat’s men and were dirty and bruised. Inardle looked even worse: her abrasions and wounds were now surrounded by deep bruises, and Axis thought he could see some grazes and marks on her arms that hadn’t been there previously. In the time he’d known her, Inardle had always looked immaculate—her clothes simple yet elegant, her hair carefully arranged to best advantage atop her head. Now her clothes were filthy and torn, and her hair half tumbled down her shoulders.

In this soft light it looked part silver, part rosy, and it reminded Axis a little of the pyramids the Lealfast had given Lister and Isaiah.

She looked very vulnerable, and very lovely, even through the bruises and grime.

Axis realized he was staring, and looked away.

“You can’t use that power to aid us escape?” Zeboath said to Axis. He probably looked the best of the quartet, but even so his eyes were ringed with exhaustion and his skin was unnaturally pale.

Axis gave a little shake of his head. “While I have managed to reconnect to the Star Dance, it is in a different manner than previously. The Dance is all about me, but far more subtle than what I could hear when it thundered through the Star Gate. I am still learning to use it in this form, learning its nuances. I have nowhere near the power I had as StarMan—” he grinned “—even though that title is once again being bandied about, and only a tiny percentage of what I commanded as Star God. Inardle, no doubt, would sneer at my limited capabilities. The Enchanter cannot rescue you from this pit, Zeboath, but I hold out hope for the man.”

“I do not sneer at you, Axis,” Inardle said. “I could not have provided that light with my own command of the Star Dance.” She paused, glancing at him with an awkward expression. “Thank you for the light. It is most welcome and more than comforting.”

Axis felt a little ashamed of his anger toward her earlier; she was not to blame for Eleanon’s stupidity.

“You use the Star Dance differently from Icarii Enchanters,” he said to her. “Would you explain to me how?”

Inardle sat thinking for a little while, and Axis thought she struggled with the Lealfast’s general tendency toward wrapping themselves in mystery in order to bolster their own importance.

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