The Fionavar Tapestry Omnibus Read Online Free PDF Page B

could see there was an old pain at work here.
    “North and west of Brennin is Pendaran Wood. It runs for miles to the north, between the Plain and the Sea. Beyond the forest is Daniloth, the Shadowland.” The Dwarf stopped, as abruptly as he’d begun, and turned to adjust his pack and gear. There was a silence.
    “Matt?” It was Kimberly. The Dwarf turned. “What about the mountain north of the Plain?”
    Matt made a swift, convulsive gesture with one hand, and stared at the slight, brown-haired girl.
    “So you were right, my friend, from the very first.”
    Kevin wheeled. In the doorway leading from the bedroom stood the tall figure of Loren, in a long robe of shifting silver hues.
    “What have you seen?” the mage asked Kim, very gently.
    She, too, had twisted to face him. The grey eyes were strange—inward and troubled. She shook her head, as if to clear it. “Nothing, really. Just . . . that I do see a mountain.”
    “And?” Loren pressed.
    “And . . .” she closed her eyes. “A hunger.
Inside
, somehow. . . . I can’t explain it.”
    “It is written,” said Loren after a moment, “in our books of wisdom, that in each of the worlds there are those who have dreams or visions—one sage called them memories—of Fionavar, which is the First. Matt, who has gifts of his own, named you as one such yesterday.” He paused; Kim didn’t move. “It is known,” Loren went on, “that to bring people back in a crossing, such a person must be found to stand at the heart of the circle.”
    “So that’s why you wanted us? Because of Kim?” It was Paul Schafer; the first words he’d spoken since arriving.
    “Yes,” said the mage, simply.
    “Damn!” tried Kevin softly. “And I thought it was my charm.”
    No one laughed. Kim stared at Loren, as if seeking answers in the lines of his face, or the shifting patterns of his robe.
    Finally she asked, “And the mountain?”
    Loren’s voice was almost matter-of-fact. “One thousand years ago someone was imprisoned there. At the deepest root of Rangat, which is the mountain you have seen.”
    Kim nodded, hesitated. “Someone . . . evil?” The word came awkwardly to her tongue.
    They might have been alone in the room. “Yes,” said the mage.
    “One thousand years ago?”
    He nodded again.. In this moment of misdirection, of deceit, when everything stood in danger of falling apart, his eyes were more calm and compassionate than they had ever been.
    With one hand Kim tugged at a strand of brown hair. She drew a breath. “All right,” she said. “All right, then. How do I help you cross?”
    Dave was struggling to absorb all this when things began to move too quickly. He found himself part of a circle around Kim and the mage. He linked hands with Jennifer and Matt on either side. The Dwarf seemed to be concentrating very hard; his legs were wide apart, braced. Then Loren began to speak words in a tongue Dave didn’t know, his voice growing in power and resonance.
    And was interrupted by Paul Schafer.
    “Loren—is the person under that mountain dead?”
    The mage gazed at the slim figure who’d asked the question he feared. “You, too?” he whispered. Then, “No,” he answered, telling the truth. “No, he isn’t.”
    And resumed speaking in his strange language.
    Dave wrestled with the refusal to seem afraid that had, in large part, brought him here, and with the genuine panic that was building within him. Paul had nodded once at Loren’s answer, but that was all. The mage’s words had become a complex rising chant. The aura of power began to shimmer visibly in the room. A low-pitched humming sound began.
    “
Hey!
” Dave burst out. “I need a promise I’ll be back!” There was no reply. Matt Sören’s eyes were closed now. His grip on Dave’s wrist was firm.
    The shimmer in the air increased, and then the humming began to rise in volume.
    “No!” Dave shouted again. “No! I need a promise!” And on the words he violently pulled his