Kerr, Katherine - Deverry 05 by Kerr Katherine

Author:Kerr, Katherine
Language: eng
Format: epub

Early the next year, from an Eldidd port Maddyn sailed off with Nevyn to Bardek, and Aderyn never saw or heard of him again, not even to hear how he died, far off in the islands after the rose-shaped pin had been stolen from him. But oddly enough, Dallandra did hear of the bard’s death, or, to be more precise, she realized what had happened when his blue sprite turned up at the court of the Guardians on what seemed to her to be the day after she’d gotten the silver ring. It was the jewelry that drew the little creature, in fact, because they found her clasping it between her tiny hands. Her face was screwed up in an agony of despair, and when Elessario tried to stroke her, the sprite whipped her head around and sank her pointed teeth deep into the Guardian’s hand. Illusory blood welled, then vanished. Elessario stared for some moments at the closing wound.

“What made her do that?”

“I don’t know for certain, but I’d guess that Maddyn’s dead.”

The sprite threw back her head, opened her mouth in a soundless howl, and disappeared.

“He seems to be, yes,” Dallandra went on. “And she’s mourning him.”

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Elessario cocked her head to one side and considered the words for some time. They walked across the glowy emerald grass in a pinkish twilight, where blue-green trees on the horizon shifted like smoke. With a howl that they could actually hear, the sprite reappeared, much larger, about the size of a three-year-old child.

“She mourns because he’s gone to the place called death,” Elessario said, “and she can’t follow him there.”

“That’s right, yes.”

They were sitting on the billowing grass with the sprite between them, leaning her head into Elessario’s silken lap.

“Every now and then I wonder what it would be like to die,” Elessario said. “Tell me.”

“I don’t know. I can only make guesses. I suppose it’s a lot like falling asleep—but you’ve never been asleep—sorry.”

“I’m growing very tired of finding out that there are all these things I’ve never done.” But she sounded sad rather than cross. By then, the sprite was sitting on her lap and was larger again, like a child of nine or ten, cradled in her arms and silent. “If I go to live among the People, if I go to be born and someday die, what then, Dallandra?”

“I don’t know. None of us can know what would happen then.”

“I’m growing very tired of you telling me that there are all these things you don’t know.”

“But I don’t know them. The only one who can find those answers is you.”

They were walking among roses, with the sprite, tiny again, skipping ahead. All at once the little creature threw back her head and sniffed the air like a hunting dog. For the briefest of moments she froze, then darted into the air, swooped round them in joy, and disappeared.

“Something’s made her happy,” Dallandra remarked.

“Maybe her bard’s been reborn.”

“Oh no, it’s much too soon! Although, I don’t know about the Round-ears.

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