Gray Magic by Gary Myers

Author:Gary Myers [Myers, Gary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-03-22T23:00:00+00:00

14. The Captive Heart

The servant led us to a large room on an upper floor, nicely furnished with two comfortable beds. There he left us to clear ourselves of the dust of the road, to wash and brush and, in my master’s case, shave. I watched this last with no little amazement. My master’s shaving was nothing unusual. He was careful about his appearance even on the road. He shaved almost every morning, often under conditions that were less than optimal. But this was the first time I had seen him shave a second time in a day. This was the first time I had seen him take such particular care in the operation. But it was also the first time I had seen him shave in such a house, or as the guest of such a lady.

His shaving finished, my master turned to me.

“You are very quiet, Cyron.”

“Am I, Master? I do not mean to be. I was only thinking.”

“Thinking is always a worthwhile activity, and one to be encouraged. May I ask what you were thinking about?”

“I was thinking about how quickly our circumstances have changed. We woke up this morning under a pile of leaves beside the road, with no prospect before us but a long journey with no clear end in sight. And here we are at early evening, lodged in a magnificent palace as the guests of its beautiful queen. The end of our journey is still some way before us, but I am sure it will look much closer after so pleasant a break. Truly the gods have smiled on us today.”

“There may be something in what you say, Cyron. Certainly there is nothing like a wash and a brush to brighten one’s outlook on the world.”

“Still, our situation is not as good as it might be. In some ways I felt more at ease while we were still on the open road. Do not misunderstand me, Master. I am not ungrateful. A real bed is a good thing, and so is a meal prepared by someone other than ourselves. But they are not the only things. We are not out of danger yet. We have only exchanged two tired old enemies for a fresh new one. At any moment we may find ourselves under another attack. I only hope we can weather it as well as we did the last one.”

“It is not like you, Cyron, to surrender to an enemy who has not struck even a single blow. But you are probably hungry and tired. You will feel more cheerful after food and sleep.”

“You are right, Master, as always. And when the enemy comes you will make short work of him, as you did of the others before him. No doubt you already have a plan for his quick and utter defeat.”

“I would not go so far as that. There will be time enough for making plans when we know what we are dealing with. When I have spoken to the lady, we can devise our strategy then.

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