Beyond the Draak's Teeth by Marcia J. Bennett

Author:Marcia J. Bennett [Bennett, Marcia J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction, General, Fiction
ISBN: 9780345330864
Publisher: Del Rey
Published: 1986-01-01T23:00:00+00:00

Bhaldavin woke to voices. He opened his eyes and saw Lil-el standing in the doorway confronting Gringers. Her arm barred his passage.

One quick glance around the room told him that he was in Nara and Di-nel’s cabin. Neither of them were present.

“… is the third time I’ve come. Isn’t he awake yet?”

“No. He isn’t,” Lil-el responded firmly.

“I must see him, Lil-el. I must!”

“Has Seevan given his permission?”

“Would I be here if he hadn’t?”

“Knowing you, yes.”

Gringers glanced away, then looked back at Lil-el. “Please, let me come in,” he pleaded softly.

Curious, Bhaldavin rolled to his side and leaned over, looking past Lil-el. He saw one of Seevan’s men standing guard at the door, which explained why Gringers didn’t try to force his way into the room.

Lil-el studied Gringers a moment, then relented. “Wait here. I’ll see if he’s awake yet.” She closed the door and crossed to Bhaldavin’s pallet. She smiled when she saw that his eyes were open.

“Welcome back,” she said. “You have a visitor. It’s Gringers, but you don’t have to see him if you don’t want to. I can send him away.”

Bhaldavin needed a moment to think it over. “How long have I been here?”

“Two days. You’ve been sleeping most of the time. How are you feeling?”

Bhaldavin leaned back against his pillow. “Empty,” he said, and it was true. He felt nothing inside, not fear, not anger, not loss. He just felt empty. The fire stone had not only taken his memories, it had purged him of all emotion. “Shall I let Gringers in?” she asked, concern in her eyes. “He says he must talk to you.”

He nodded, not caring. “I’ll talk with him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Let him in.”

Lil-el went to the door and ushered Gringers inside, then moved to the other side of the room and began preparing a small fire in the brazier. A clay hood over the brazier carried the smoke upward through a hole in the roof.

Gringers sat down next to Bhaldavin’s pallet and laid a hand on his arm. “I came to tell you that I’m sorry, Bhaldavin, for what happened the other night.” He shrugged. “I’m not exactly sure what did happen, but I would never knowingly cause you such pain.”

Bhaldavin met Gringers’s glance and tried to revive the inner anger he had always felt when Theon, Gringers, or any man touched him, but that too was gone.

Numbed physically and emotionally, he forced his thoughts to center on the cause of his strange lethargy. “What happened to the crystal? Did I—throw it away?”

“Is that what you were trying to do?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“The fire stones belong to the Ni. Men should not have them.”

“Fire stone,” Gringers repeated. “Is that the name of the green crystal in Diak’s box?”

“Yes.”

Gringers frowned. “Why should Ni have them and not men?”

“Their power can be dangerous in the wrong hands. My father once told me that one must be atuned to the fire stones in order to handle them safely.”

The frown lines on Gringers’s face softened. “It’s too bad you didn’t think about that the other night.

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