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." He drained his cup andwiped his lips."I might have been able to subdue him again, but as bad luck would have it,two late-night travelers happened upon us.""What! Who?" Peridaen demanded."And did they see you well enough to recognizeyou?""I don't know; all I could see through the rain were two cloaked and hoodedfigures.By the same token, that would have been all that they couldsee as well.One charged us with a blade whoever he is, he's usedto using it.Rather than risk a wounding and awkwardquestions, I judged it best for us to get away." He held up a hand toforestall the question he knew Peridaen was about to ask."Remember neither Pol nor I were armed.The casting of spells thatpowerful will not tolerate the presence of cold iron.By the time thetravelers found us, we had most of what we wanted and that besides," the magesaid, nodding at Tsan Rhilin lying on the table."Yes, that.And what shall we do with that! We can't leave it here.If one of the servants finds it Blast it,Kas, you're taking too many chances! This wasn't in our plans."Althume smiled one of his wintry smiles."Plans are for changing, my dearprince.And stop worrying; this treasure will remain hidden until the propertime."Low, urgent voices and the sound of people running up and down the hallwoke Maylin up.She sat up, startled by the thickness of the featherbedbeneath her, the feel of finer linen sheets than any she'd ever known.Memory returned in a rush and she tumbled out of bed onto a richlycarpeted floor.Hiking up her borrowed nightgown so that she wouldn't trip, Maylin hurried tothe door and ran into the hall.She was just in time to see KiefShaeldar, water streaming from his clothes, reach the top of the stairsand turn into the hall.He carried Linden Rathan as if the bigDragonlord weighed no more than a child.A bevy of servants draggledbehind him like lost chicks.One caught her eye; a blocky-faced man with ahard expression.Didn't I see him somewhere tonight? No; I couldn't have.He's not been out inthe wet.Then, My godsDragonlords are strong, aren't they? No one as small as Kief Shaeldar has anybusiness being able to carry someone Linden's size that easily.Any other time the image of Linden's long legs dangling over KiefShaeldar's arm would have been funny.But not tonight.Maylin ran down thehall as the door to one of the bedrooms opened."In here," Tarlna Aurianne said from inside the room."Hurry."Maylin caught only a glimpse of Linden's face as Kief Shaeldar hurried intothe room.She reached it in time to have the door shut in her face.For amoment she debated knocking.But whatever grace being Maurynna's cousin earnedher, she didn't think it stretched that far.So she turned and dragged herPage 191ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlfeet back to her room.This time the big bed felt lonely; she wished Maurynna, her mother, oreven Kella, were here with her.She tossed and turned, pounded the pillow,counted sheep but nothing would drive away the memory of Linden's face: still,slack, and grey, with dried blood crusted around his lips.Fifty« ^ »Three desperate faces looked to Tasha for answers she didn't have:the Dragonlords KiefShaeldar and Tarlna Aurianne, and Linden Rathan's friend, Otter."Can you help him, Healer?" Kief Shaeldar asked.Tasha shook her head."Your Grace, you told me that you used a dragon'sHealing fire on him and it did little good.How can a truehumanHealer do any better? Especially with so much time gone by; if only Icould have crossed the river last night.All I can tell you is that he looksto have been poisoned, unlikely as it seems.And if you're right thatthere was magery involved& "She spread her hands helplessly.It was a feeling that she was all toofamiliar with these days and heartily sick of."The best I can do is totry to counteract the symptoms with herbs and make him as comfortableas possible."For the first time since Tasha had arrived at the river estate, TarlnaAurianne spoke."Will he survive?"Tasha drew a deep breath."I don't know.I truly don't know and the oddsaren't on his side.Nearly a day since you brought him here and there'sstill no change."The bard bowed his head and walked a short distance away.Tarlna Aurianneturned to the comforting embrace her soultwin offered.They clung together."I will try my best," Tasha said.Kief Shaeldar nodded."We understand, Healer.And we thank you.He's astubborn pain in the ass at times, but we're very fond of him anyway," theDragonlord said with a weak smile."May the gods help you save him."May they indeed, she thought as she left them in the hallway and returned toLindenRathan's sickroom.Globes of coldfire left there by the other two Dragonlords stood sentry at thefour posts of the bed.Still unnerved by the idea of grabbingsomething her instincts clamored would burn her, Tasha caught one ofthe balls gingerly and directed its light onto Linden Raman's face.His skin had the grey, waxy look of a corpse.Only the slightrise and fall of his chest reassured her that he still lived.Shereleased the coldfire; it drifted back to its place.Once more she sat by his bed and attempted to puzzle out what exactlywas wrong withLinden Rathan.If only he could tell her what had happened to him.All anyonewas certain of was that two men were involved and that only because the youngsea captain and her cousin had seen them.Who were those men? And what did they do to Linden Rathan? Didthey poison him? His symptoms suggest it.If so, how did they overpower aDragonlord? And what did they use?But she had no more answers for this Dragonlord than she did for her youngPage 192ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlprince.All she could do was wait.And hope [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ]