Avilion (Mythago Wood 7) by Robert Holdstock

Author:Robert Holdstock [Holdstock, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gollancz
Published: 2009-07-23T06:00:00+00:00

From the gloom of the cavern behind the Amurngoth, an Iaelven appeared, carrying a wide wooden bowl. This was placed in the middle of the circle. The bowl contained a thick grey mass, studded with the reds and purples of small fruit. The odour was unmistakably that of fungus.

Silver said, ‘This is a rare privilege. They are inviting you to share their food. They must be very desperate for your help.’

Jack looked at her. ‘What is it?’

‘Their staple meal. They have very little variety.’

‘It looks disgusting. Don’t tell them I said so.’

‘It is very nourishing.’

And probably poisonous, Jack thought. Then Haunter nudged him. Would they want to poison us when we’ve offered to help them? That doesn’t make sense.

They may not intentionally want to poison us, Jack said to his green side. But what is tolerable to the Iaelven might cause madness in a human.

Let go, and let me eat. If I detect poison I shall spit it out discreetly.

Silver had already reached into the bowl and moulded a small ball of the mash, eating it slowly. Jack did the same, and then the group who had greeted him all spooned handfuls of the slimy cake.

To his astonishment, the food was very palatable. Pungent, unusual, with the sweetness and bitterness of the different fruits contrasting with the earthy taste of the mould. Haunter was reassuring. They have picked carefully. You can expect a wild dream, but no damage. You’ve eaten enough. Indicate pleasure and thanks.

Jack did as his alter ego suggested.

To Silver, he addressed a quiet question. ‘Is there anything I can do for you?’

She touched a delicate finger to her lip, brushing a small morsel of food away. ‘I told you, I have nowhere to go. I am now a part of the underworld. I serve a simple purpose: to communicate between the Amurngoth and other forms, including human. There is nothing you can do for me, Jack. But the boy? He can be taken home.’

In fact, Jack had been having very difficult second thoughts about the Hawkings’ boy. To play with the lad’s life was wrong; to use him as a bargaining counter was deeply wrong. The boy would be perfectly safe in the villa. Steven and Rianna could take care of him; he would be well fed - indeed, he would be nurtured. And he might even find a trade, under the expert eye and hand of Hurthig, at least until the young Saxon decided it was time to move on, to find his true destiny, the founding of a new kingdom.

The lad belonged with a family, living within human company.

The meal was finished. The Iaelven rose to their willowy heights and disappeared into the cavern. The boy whispered, ‘Don’t leave me.’

Leaning forward, thinking hard, Jack said, ‘I want you to stay with my father. You’ll be well cared for. I have a journey to make, and I have no idea how hard it will be, no more than I know where I’m going! Will you stay with my father? You’ll be warm and well fed.

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