The Glass Word Read Online Free PDF

kingdom?”
    Eft nodded. “The suboceaners were powerful in this area of the undersea.”
    â€œThere is still an enormous amount to discover. The ruins of the suboceanic cultures are full of riddles. But I would have a greater compulsion to find them out if I did not have to worry about the Egyptians.”
    â€œWhy should a being like you have to fear the Pharaoh?”
    The witch allowed herself a real smile for the first time. “You need not flatter me, mermaid-with-legs. True, I am powerful here in the undersea. But that which gives the Egyptians power could also become dangerous to me sometime. And yet I do not fear for myself only. The Empire has almost exterminated the mermaids. We sea witches are born to rule, but over whom shall we rule if our subjects become ever fewer? Someday there will be no more mermaids, and then our hour has also come. The sea will become an empty, dead kingdom, full of fish with no understanding.”
    â€œThen hatred of the Egyptians unites us,” said Eft.
    â€œI do not hate them. I recognize their necessity in the course of things. But that does not mean that I will come to terms with them. With all the anger and the sorrow they have caused me.” For a moment the gaze of the huge witch eyes was turned inward, lost in thought and heavy withcare. Just as quickly her attention returned to the here and now. “What will you do if I let you go?”
    Serafin had remained quiet for the entire time, and now, too, he thought the most reasonable thing was to leave the talking to Eft. She knew best how to deal with such a being. “The humans who are with me will die of thirst on the wide sea,” said Eft. “And I do not want to go on alone. I would rather die.”
    â€œGreat words,” said the witch. “You mean them seriously, don’t you?”
    Eft nodded.
    â€œWhat is your goal?”
    Yes,
thought Serafin,
what really is our goal?
    â€œEgypt,” said Eft.
    Serafin stared at her. The witch noticed it.
    â€œYour companion is of another opinion?” The question was formulated as if it were addressed to Eft, but in fact the witch was now looking at Serafin, and she was expecting that he would give an answer.
    â€œNo,” he said uncertainly. “By no means.”
    Eft gave him the shadow of a smile. Turning to the witch, she said, “Our only choices are hiding or fighting. I will fight. And I am sure my friends will choose the same course once they have the opportunity to think about it.”
    â€œYou intend to attack Egypt?” asked the witch scornfully. “You alone?”
    Serafin thought of the small troop waiting for them onthe surface of the water. He guessed that Dario, Aristide, and Tiziano would join them. But Lalapeya? She was a sphinx, even if she’d assumed the form of a human. Already, in Venice, she’d taken a stand against her people and so against the Empire, but the defeat had worn her out. He wasn’t sure that she was ready to carry on the fight now. Or what sort of a reason she might have for it.
    Anyway, what did that really mean, “fight”? What would that look like? The witch was right: At best they were six—against the combined power of the Pharaoh and the sphinx commanders.
    Again the witch put the question to Eft: “You want to attack Egypt?”
    Eft smiled, but the effect was grim. “We will find ways to injure them. Even if it’s small things: a raid here, a dead priest there. A leaking ship, perhaps a dead sphinx once in a while.”
    â€œNothing of that will even reach the ear of the Pharaoh,” said the witch, “not to mention worry him.”
    â€œThat doesn’t matter. The act counts, not the result. You must understand that, Mistress. Did you not speak of exploring the ruins of the suboceanic kingdoms? What’s your purpose in that? They will not rise again in their old glory. No result—only the will to do it. Just