Fisherman's Children 1: The Prodigal Mage by Karen Miller

Author:Karen Miller [Miller, Karen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Winnovative HTML to PDF Converter for .NET
Published: 2011-03-22T13:14:26+00:00

Her fingers tightened on his sleeve. “No, Rafe. Not again. And you should know better. There’s not a mage in this whole kingdom, Olken or Doranen, who understands the way your father does that some things are best left alone. How can you pretend not to know that? You’re his son. And you’ve been told things denied to everyone else.”

“Even if that’s true,” he said, “I still don’t—”

“If it’s true?” Mama echoed. Shock was burned away by anger. “You puff and preen yourself a fine mage then stand there and say if ? D’you mean to tell me you don’t feel what’s out there? What your father feels, and Deenie?”

No. He couldn’t tell her that. The tangle of magics in Dragonteeth Reef was bad. It tasted rotten in his mind, like maggot-ridden meat. And worse than that, it was strong. Twenty years, his whole life, and it hadn’t grown weaker by even a breath. No doubt on it, the task of breaking it was dangerous.

But I don’t care. I could do it. I know I could. The power’s in me.

He tugged his arm from his mother’s grasp. “I don’t reckon this is about what’s risky. This is about Da. He won’t let me help Garrick and the others ’cause he doesn’t want to be shown up as wrong about the reef.”

Mama gasped. “Rafel—are you blind? Your father doesn’t care about being wrong, he cares about people dying for no reason! He’s come here against every opposition to try and save Fernel Pintte and the Doranen from their overweening arrogance, which puts all of us in danger!”

“You keep saying that, Mama, both of you do, but—”

“Because we know a little about this, Rafel,” she snapped. “We’ve lived a few more years than you. I know your father, better than anyone alive. If he can’t stop those fools he’s going to blame himself for what happens because of them. It won’t be his fault, it’ll be theirs, but he’ll still blame himself. And if—no, when—things go horribly wrong out at that reef, Rafel, d’you know what he’ll do then? He’ll risk his life for them, though they sneer and jeer and call him coward behind his back.

Coward! When he saved every life in this kingdom. Was prepared to die for it. When they howled for his blood, when they—and now you, his son, you—”

Her angry grief doused his temper. “I’m sorry,” he said, reaching for her. “I didn’t mean—Mama, I’m sorry.” He folded her against him, feeling the past shudder through her, feeling shamed and chastened. Feeling like a bad son. “Please, Mama, don’t fratch yourself. It was twenty years ago. Don’t—”

“It was yesterday, ” she said, wrenching out of his arms. “For him and for me. You don’t know, Rafe. For all the stories Darran told you, trust me, you don’t know. What it cost him. What it still costs. What your father’s had to do since—”

“Mama?” he said, staring down at her. She was so small now. She used to be the tallest woman in the world.

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