Magic Casement Read Online Free PDF

she
offered her right to each of the simpering matrons. To be invited to one of
Princess Kadolan’s tea parties in the palace was a screaming social
success, and to meet Princess Inosolan as well was probably a stupid honor.
    Especially,
she realized, when the princess was wearing her dowdy brown worsted, regally
emblazoned-at least on the right sleeve-with silver cobwebs. Oh, horrors! There
were probably cobwebs on her hair and face, also, while the society ladies were
all dressed in their best gowns and bonnets, and loaded with every piece of
jewelry they owned or, likely, had been able to borrow. Boots on the stairs!
With a wail, Inos jumped loose from the fourth introduction and started backing
away from the door.
    Her
aunt spluttered at such gaucherie. “Inos!”
    And
then the door flew wide and a man appeared in the doorway-an elderly man, tall
and stooped. He folded his arms and straightened, and his gaze swept the room.
Inos had never seen him before, she was certain, yet he had known what she
looked like. He had a gaunt face, with a hooked nose like an eagle’s beak
and fierce blue eyes. Deep clefts ran down at the sides of his mouth,
emphasizing the nose and the strong chin. Wisps of white hair showed under the
brown hood of his cloak. His gown bore traces of cobwebs.
    “Doctor
Sagorn! “ Aunt Kade exclaimed in delight. “How nice that you are
able to join us! May I...” Her voice tailed away as she saw how the
newcomer was staring ferociously at her niece, as that niece continued to edge
backward.
    Inos
was fighting a spring tide of panic, drowning in rising terror before that
deadly glare. Her hips touched the trolley and she could back away no farther.
Where was her father? Why had he not come, also?
    And
how in the world had this sinister old man come down the stairs so quickly? He
must have outrun her and her father both, yet he was not even panting. She was.
    “Inosolan?”
Aunt Kade sounded vexed. “What are you holding behind your back, dear?”
    Her
mouth opened and nothing came out.
    “Silk!”
said the terrifying Sagorn. “Silk with yellow dragons on it. “
    A
sorcerer!
    Inos
screamed in terror and turned to flee.
    The
trolley crashed over, spilling cakes and wine in all directions.
    Aunt
Kade’s special and enormous silver tea um seemed to shake the castle as
it struck the floor with a deafening boom. Tea exploded over half the ladies.
    Staggering,
Inos trod a creamy chocolate flan into the rug and almost fell. Then she
hurtled out and down the stairs, leaving Aunt Kade’s midmorning salon in
ruins and confusion.
     

4
    Whimpering
in her panic, Inos fled down all the rest of the staircases; raced in turn
across antechamber, robing room, presence chamber, and throne room; burst out
into the great hall; and there alarmed a group of small children being fed an
early lunch. Out on the terrace she ran, not at all sure where she was going.
Startled pigeons and seagulls clawed their way skyward, while the yellow cat
that had been stalking them flew over a wall. She rounded a corner and saw
ahead of her the open doorway of the palace chapel. She dived through it,
seeking refuge in religion. Surely she would be safe from a sorcerer in the
house of the Gods? She skidded to a halt in the cool dark interior, panting and
deafened by the thunder of her heart, which seemed to be beating inside her
head. The chapel was a small building, with room for only twenty or thirty
people on its ancient pinewood pews. Its walls were immensely thick and it was
said to be even older than the rest of the castle. At one end stood the
offering table, before the two sacred windows, one bright, the other black and
opaque, and on the table stood the sacred balance, its pans of gold and lead
symbolizing the battle between good and evil. The air was clammy and musty. She
hurried forward to the table and was about to drop to her knees when a dry
voice spoke behind her.
    “Well!”
it said. “Do we have a sudden