The Witch & the Cathedral by C. Dale Brittain

Author:C. Dale Brittain [Brittain, C. Dale]
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Demonoid Upload 4
ISBN: 9780671876616
Publisher: Lisa's E-Book Collection
Published: 1995-04-01T05:00:00+00:00

PART SIX

The Borderlands

The air cart came down out of the mountains. The snow lingered on the

northern slopes, but finally we dropped enough that the land beneath us

was green again, and we spotted miniature flocks of goats followed by

miniature goatherds. These were the first humans, other than the wizard,

we had spotted in three days.

I filled my lungs with cold air and almost felt confident again of my

ability to practice wizardry. But I reminded myself that this might only be

due to the influence of the land of magic, not a sign of returning abilities.

Vor pointed. "There's my valley." Ahead of the air cart was a deep gash

in the mountain slope, perhaps a mile wide and ten miles long. The sun

had not yet reached down the sides of the rift, but I could see a waterfall

pouring into it from the mountains and a dark green river winding the

length of the valley.

The air cart slowly descended beside the waterfall, its roar loud in our

ears. The tumbling water rushed downward like something solid, and

drops of spray nearly reached us. Vor leaned what I considered

dangerously far over the edge of the cart, staring ahead. The valley floor

was a patchwork of fields, but there were no buildings. "So where do your

people live?" I started to ask and then saw them.

Their houses were built into the nearly vertical rocky sides of the valley,

half-hidden by gnarled trees. A network of steep stairs, ladders, and

toeholds connected the valley floor with the doors of dwellings burrowed

back into the rock. Theodora, with her love of climbing, would like this

valley.

"How long is it that you've been gone?" I asked as though casually.

"Years," Vor replied briefly.

"Why haven't you been home again?" asked Paul.

"Three thousand miles is a long way on foot," said Vor. "My men and I

reckoned we might not be home again in our lifetimes."

As we moved slowly downward, I could see people on the ladders,

looking up. To them, I thought, we must appear as frightful, appearing

without warning out of the sky, as the gorges had appeared to the citizens

of the cathedral city. "We don't want to terrify anyone into falling," I said

anxiously.

Vor tore his eyes away from the valley long enough to give me a quick,

amused glance. "Everyone knows these purple flying beasts aren't

dangerous. The only surprise will be when they see us inside the skin." I

was interested to realize that the flying beast from which the air cart had

been made was not unique, as I had always supposed. I found myself

wondering if we could find an aged flying beast and induce it to come

back south with us, so that after it died a natural death I could have an air

cart of my own.

The air cart was now level with doors and windows, and heads

protruded, staring at us. Paul waved cheerfully, and several people waved

back. We landed with a bump in a meadow by the river, a mile

downstream from the waterfall.

Vor leaped out at once and was off, springing from tussock to tussock

across the meadows damp surface. Other people came running toward

him,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.