The Commanding Stone by David Forbes

Author:David Forbes [Forbes, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780060820442
Publisher: HarperCollins

When they stopped for the night at the edge of a small woods, she gave him some food and commanded him to eat. “Some of those I’ve captured tried to starve themselves as a way to escape me,” she said in her strangely accented voice. “There is no escape unless I grant it. The sooner you realize it, the better you will be.”

They did not make a fire. Sitting in the growing darkness, she said to him, “What did you discover in those black Towers? I saw the destruction of the Steadfast army. Was it Gerin Atreyano who called the wall of blue fire? You may speak.”

He felt control of his voice return to him. It was a small, subtle change, and he was surprised at how relieved he felt.

“Who are you? Are you the same—”

“Silence.”

As quickly as it returned, the control of his voice vanished.

“You will only answer questions I ask. If I am pleased, I may allow you to speak more. If I am not pleased, you will remain silent until I deliver you to the Herolen, and I promise you that they will make you tell them whatever they want to hear. Tell me what you found in the Towers. Do not lie. Speak.”

Balandrick felt a deep compulsion to tell her everything he knew about the Watchtowers. He tried to resist, to say something, anything, else.

But her power was too great. He could not fight it, and the words spilled out of him.

Her eyes grew wide when he spoke of the Words of Making, the only emotion she had shown since capturing him.

“Do you know how to reach this fortress where the wizards live?” she asked.

“Yes.” Inwardly, he cursed himself for betraying Gerin. How can I be so weak? he thought miserably.

A wild, animated light danced across her dark eyes. “You have told me more than I would have thought possible.” She fixed her stare upon him once more. “You may ask me questions. Speak.”

His volition moved forward in his own mind, as if he were rising to the surface of the sea from dark depths. There was no other way to describe the sensation. He was now free to speak.

He wanted to weep, but he steeled himself. He needed to be strong if he hoped to escape and prevent her from taking the knowledge he’d just given her back to her masters.

“Are you the one who captured Gerin before?”

“Yes. That is obvious. Do not waste the gift I give you or I will silence you again.”

“Where will you take me? Are there—”

“Silence. I am no fool. I know you are trying to find a weakness in what I am doing, a way to escape.” She turned away from him, pondering what he had told her, leaving him to rage against her in the quiet spaces of his mind.

For the first time, he realized she had never asked him his name.

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