Centyr Dominance Read Online Free PDF Page B

clapping her hand over her mouth, only
     to remove it to ask the next one. It was almost comical.
    “I just made it so you could talk again,” said Moira
     simply. “I saw a way to help, and it didn’t feel right to do nothing.”
    “You’re a witch!”
    Moira winced at that remark. Most witches were simply
     older women with some knowledge about medicine and herbal lore. Some even
     possessed weak abilities to manipulate aythar, but in general they were just
     ordinary people who had been badly misunderstood. “I prefer ‘mage’, or
     ‘wizard’.”
    Laura was backing away now. “I don’t believe in
     demons. Doron protects us. You have no power over me!” Fear was written
     plainly in her features.
    “Stop, Laura,” said Moira. “I’m not a demon
     worshipper. I don’t think they even exist, unless you are talking about the
     dark gods.”
    Laura darted for the door suddenly, but Moira erected
     a quick shield over it to keep her from reaching the latch. The girl looked at
     her hand in horror when she discovered the unseen barrier. “Please, don’t hurt
     me!” she begged. “I never did anything to you.”
    “I warned ye not to reveal us,” commented Chad. “Now
     she’s goin’ ta make a terrible ruckus.”
    Laura’s eyes went wide, “Are you going to…? Please, I
     won’t tell anyone. Don’t hurt my parents!”
    Moira sighed, “This is ridiculous. Doron doesn’t even
     exist anymore.”
    The other girl’s face registered shock at that
     pronouncement, and her lip began to quiver. “That’s blasphemy,” she whispered
     to herself.
    “Yer not goin’ to get through to her,” remarked Chad.
     “An’ now we’re goin’ ta have to leave. Do somethin’ about her.”
    Laura’s mouth opened wide as she prepared to scream.
    “Shibal,” said
     Moira, sending the girl into a deep slumber. She caught Laura as her limp form
     began to fall and eased her awkwardly to the ground. “Now what?” she asked.
    “How long will she sleep for?” asked the ranger.
    “At least an hour or two,” said Moira, “probably a lot
     longer since she’s still tired.”
    “Put a little more juice in it, then an’ let’s go back
     to sleep. We’ll leave before dawn and let them sort it out after we’re gone.”
    “Why did she react like that?” asked Moira.
    “People in Dunbar don’t have much to do with Lothion.
     They get most of their news from folk in Gododdin. They don’t have a high opinion
     of magic. After what happened with Mal’goroth an’ his sacrifices there, they
     tend to take a dim view of wizards,” explained the older man.
    “But wizards had nothing to do with that,” argued
     Moira.
    “They don’t know that,” responded Chad. “Priests, wizards,
     an’ magic, they’re all the same to them. She was raised to believe that Doron
     is good, an’ that the people of Gododdin suffered because they turned away from
     the true gods. To them, there’s no difference between yer dad an’ Mal’goroth.”
    Moira’s mouth tightened. She didn’t like what she was
     hearing, but she couldn’t deny that Laura had reacted badly to learning her
     identity.
    Chad rolled over, pulling his blanket tight.
    “Are you just going to lie there?” she asked him.
    “Nah, I’m goin’ to sleep.” His eyes were already
     closed.
    She stared at him for several minutes before sitting
     back down. Gram’s soft snores became more noticeable as silence returned. He
     had never awoken at all, and now Chad showed every sign of being asleep as
     well.
    Eventually Moira lay down as well, but it seemed like
     hours before sleep found her. Her thoughts kept running in circles. When Chad
     woke her before dawn, it felt as though she hadn’t rested at all.
    Quietly they packed up their things and left, taking
     care not to wake the girl sleeping near the door. They found the dragons and
     resumed their journey, but Moira’s mind kept going back to the night before.
     She couldn’t get over