Yesterday's Magic by Pamela F. Service

Author:Pamela F. Service
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9780375849879
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2008-05-27T04:00:00+00:00

TEMPLE

Heather was curled up in tear-stained sleep when Morgan swooped down on her in the middle of the night. “Mourning period’s over. Time to go.”

Heather glared up at her through red, darkly circled eyes. Hearing that boy’s voice in her mind last night after watching the battle beyond the tower had lightened her heart—but not her hatred of Morgan. “Your scouts…?”

“Found nothing. And I was so looking forward to dragon steaks. The wretched underground dwellers must have hauled off the bodies. But just in case…”

Swiftly Morgan brought up a knife and sliced off the tip of one of Heather’s frazzled braids. Muttering, the sorceress wove her fingers around it until the strands were enmeshed in a globe of blue light. With a flick, she set it bobbing in the air.

“I doubt there’s anyone to pursue us now, but precautions never hurt.”

“I’m not bait anymore?”

“I’ve got other uses for you now, my dear, and frankly, more important business to attend to. Get moving. The timing is finally right.”

She yanked Heather to her feet and dragged her toward the doorway.

“Wait!” Heather cried. Twisting out of her grasp, Heather dropped back to the mattress and fumbled for her boots. She shot a glance to the base of the wall and saw the rat’s whiskered face peeking out.

Find Earl. Tell him…. Try to tell him….

I know, came the silent reply. Hear your thoughts. I tell him. Be safe.

With her boots only half on, Heather was dragged to her feet and out the door. Once the sound of footsteps disappeared, the rat scurried from her hole and climbed a wall to sit on the broad windowsill, watching to see what direction her friend would be taken.

When they climbed out onto a flat-topped tower, Heather shrank back. Morgan’s mount waited there. The reddish mane that surrounded its beaked face seemed tipped with flame. The creature shifted uneasily on slender legs, pawing the stones with clawed feet. Its split tail switched like an angry cat’s, and the folded wings seemed to hunch impatiently along its sides.

“Choose,” Morgan commanded. “Ride behind me or travel as you did here, in a black cocoon.” She gestured to the right, and Heather saw several wizened figures holding a cloud of darkness. She recognized the stifling smell.

“I’ll ride,” Heather managed to say.

Moments later, they were soaring over the broken battlements of the half-ruined castle. No lights showed as its dark crouched shape dropped away into the night. Heather hated having to touch Morgan, let alone clutch her around the waist. But it was that or plummet into the mountainous darkness.

The wings beside them beat a steady rhythm, but cold and fear kept Heather fully awake. Finally she wrestled up enough courage to ask, “Where are we going?”

After a long silence, Morgan answered. “I have business with an old…acquaintance of mine. You see, while your precious Merlin was stagnating in that mountain, I was free. The old world offered a lot of scope for one with my interests. I traveled quite a bit, met a number of most interesting characters.

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