Bedlam's Bard 01: Knights of Ghosts and Shadows by Mercedes Lackey

Author:Mercedes Lackey [Lackey, Mercedes]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 1990-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

Eric looked up at the towering building, the opaque glass window exterior hiding everything within. Anything could be going on in there, and we'd never know, he thought, gazing skyward.

So, this is the home of Llewellyn Investment Corporation, the guys who bought the Faire land—I wonder if it's as intimidating on the inside as it is from out here?

All that stone, that glass—it made him think of . . . prisons. Buildings like this were meant to trap, to hold, to clutch—

He looked resolutely away from the intimidating facade. Caitlin's inside, talking with some of their execs. She's really doing her damnedest with this. She, of all the Admin people, really cares about what happens to the Faire.

He glanced around at the rest of the protestors, looking to see if any of them glowed in that peculiar, silvery way the old animator did. Was that strange, magical light just something that only people who knew elves had? And why was he beginning to see it around people now?

That question triggered another. I wonder if any of these people know that there's more at stake than just an Elizabethan Faire site? Do any of them know about the magic nexus?

Near him the motley group of Faire people (some wearing mundane clothing, others in their colorful Faire garb) milled around uneasily. Beth was several feet away, talking with some of the dancers from her Faire show.

It's strange, I know so many of these people, but here I am, feeling as though I'm standing out here all by myself. It's not that anyone's excluding me, or deliberately not talking to me. It's just that I feel like I'm on the outside, looking in.

He felt odd, uncomfortable—and obscurely unhappy. He wanted to get a little distance from the crowd—but he didn't want to leave them, either.

It's funny, I never thought about it, but I guess that's how I am with Faire people in general. The L.A. Elizabethans, the Texas folks, everyone else I've ever played shows with. I know so many people, but they really aren't friends. Not really.

He swallowed, not liking the direction his thoughts were taking. Maybe this is what Beth was talking about over the weekend, about how I never commit to anything.

But I don't want to get hurt—

"If I don't let them get close to me, they can't hurt me." Yeah, that's true, but look at where I am now. Standing alone in a crowd.

The building seemed to loom over him, gloating at his unhappiness. He could almost hear it in his mind—

Then he did start to hear a strange, slithery voice in the back of his head.

"See," it seemed to say, "see how utterly insignificant you are? See how utterly meaningless this all is? Why, you can't even call any of these people a friend, not really—and what good are friends, anyway? Will they buy you power like this?"

Friend . . . The only one I feel close to at all is Beth, and maybe a few of the musicians.

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