Demon Blade by Mark A. Garland

Author:Mark A. Garland [Garland, Mark A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Magic, Fantasy, Swords, General, Science Fiction, Fantasy fiction; American, Fiction
ISBN: 9780671876104
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 1994-07-14T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter XIII

The river ran wide and slow from Kopeth south into Chelle Lake, then split, one small arm flowing inland while its main arm continued south and west to its mouth at Kamrit and the sea. The journey took three to four days most of the year, but the waters north of Chelle were high and muddy from the spring rains, and unusually swift. The boat arrived at the lake's northern tip by the end of the second day, and with morning, they set out again across the wide waters.

Frost sat back near the boatman and watched the others, all gathered nearer the open bow, and tried not to think about the situation. The river was not wide and no deeper than a man was tall in most places.

But the lake was more menacing; water was a barrier to most magic, a thing not easily controlled or understood, a void that could swallow even a great wizard in a single, unremorseful gulp. There were far too many omens and practices for good and bad luck to do with the sea, most of which he was not familiar with.

Such voyages were a thing Frost had always sought to avoid. Yet at times, there was no reasonable choice.

He watched the shore pass by as the long, deep lake gathered all around them. Then he noticed Madia turned around, staring at him as he looked back. She got up and made her way toward him, climbing over piles of raw wool covered with burlap, the boatman's bonus cargo. She crouched beside him in silence at first, watching the shore with him now. A group of villagers were gathered on their knees at the water's edge, sinking pails to gather water.

"I have done that with buckets," she said, "and worse, living in the villages just west of here, before I found Hoke."

"Few nobility ever know what life is like for most of their people," Frost told her. "You are fortunate."

"It didn't seem that way at the time."

"Yet you survived."

"Hoke helped me, and so did Keara. They expected me to act like 'Princess Madia,' just like everybody else, but with them, I began to want to."

"So many things make us what we are, like the many things that affect a realm."

"I never wanted to be queen."

Frost could not help a smile. "Nor do I."

Madia smiled back, then her expression grew more serious.

"So tell me," she said, "what does Frost want?"

He said, "That has a tendency to change from one day to another."

Madia leaned closer, her eyes fixed on his. "I know. So just today, then?"

"Soon enough, I will let you know."

"But it is soon enough. I keep insisting you will help me, and you don't argue, but that does not mean you will. I stand little chance against Ferris without your magic and experience, but I can't make plans when all I know for sure is that you may not always be counted on."

Frost considered his reply. He was still too busy eyeing the waters

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