Cleric Quintet 03 - Night Masks by Salvatore R.A

Author:Salvatore, R.A. [Salvatore, R.A.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-08-31T17:37:27+00:00

Cadderly glared at her but could not sustain any anger in the face of her disarming smile. Through his smile, though, Danica recognized the young man's torment.

"Perhaps it is just a variation of a wizard's magic, as you fear," she offered,

"but perhaps the strength does come from Deneir. You seem too quick to deny what others of your order—"

"My order?" Cadderly was quick to interrupt, his tone both sarcastic and incredulous.

"Your holy symbol vibrated with power," Danica replied. "I witnessed it myself."

"A conduit to the energy, much like the tome on my desk," Cadderly said more sharply than Danica deserved. He seemed to understand that, and his tone softened considerably as he continued. "Whenever I call on the magic, I Night Masks

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merely recall some of the words in that book."

"And it is a book of Deneir," Danica reasoned.

Cadderly shook his head. "Do you know of Belisarius?" he asked.

"The wizard in the tower to the south?" Danica said.

Cadderly nodded. "Belisarius has a similar book—a spell book. If he attached a god's name to it, would it then become a holy book?"

"It is not the same," Danica muttered, frustrated.

"I do not know," Cadderly said finally.

Danica looked to the lake behind her, to the gently lapping waves against the many small rocks at the peninsula's tip, determined to change the subject. Then she looked at the muddy hole, somewhat disconcertingly. "How long will it take to refill?" she asked, clearly not happy with the results of Cadderly's display.

"Or must it wait for the next rain?"

Cadderly smiled and bent low, scooping a few drops of the remaining water into his cupped palms. He pulled his hand in close to his chest, again muttered some words under his breath.

"As the graceful rain must fall!" he ended, then he threw his hands out before him, threw the water to the air above the muddy pit. A tiny cloud appeared, hovering and churning in the air, and a moment later, a steady stream of water poured forth, splashing into the mud.

Before Danica ended her first burst of laughter, the pool had returned, as full as when she had first seen it.

"You find this humorous?" Cadderly asked, narrowing his gray eyes and thumping his fists against his hips so that he seemed a caricature of wounded pride.

"I find you humorous," Danica retorted, and Cadderly's expression revealed that he was truly hurt.

"You have all the proof right before you," Danica explained, "more proof than the vast majority of ordinary people will ever know, and yet you remain so filled with doubts. My poor Cadderly, so damned by the unending questions of his own intelligence!"

162

R. A. Salvatore

Cadderly looked to the pool he had magically evaporated and then refilled, and chuckled at the irony of it all. Daniea took his hand then and led him back to the clearing at the center of the peninsula. Cadderly thought to keep going, down the other narrow path and back out to the wider beaches, but Daniea held tight to his hand and did not continue, forcing him to turn about.

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