ZYGRADON Read Online Free PDF Page B

man, huddled down among the water-smoothed
stones, sunk to his calves in sand that had melted in reaction to the hatred in his heart,
trapping him. She closed her eyes and tried to see through the boy's eyes. The rotting
leather tunic, the rusty iron buckles, wrist and armbands, which the Encindi barbarian
had worn in a futile attempt to shield against Rey'kil magic.
    "Lady?" Mrillis returned to her with slow steps, head bowed, fists clenched in his
new braided leather belt--a birthing day present. The boy frowned, deep in thought, and
the Queen of Snows saw in that expression the man who would guide and guard
Lygroes, through turbulent centuries ahead.
    If she did not fail in her duty to put him on the right path. If she and her allies
did not fail in discovering the Child of Blood, to keep him from destroying this boy who
was as precious to her as if she had given birth to him.
    "Magic is a double-edged blade, my lad," she said. Le'esha took a few steps
further up the shore and sat on a boulder dusted with ice crystals. "It can do wondrous
things, just as the knife of a healer can clean away rotted flesh and dig to retrieve arrows
from wounds. You have seen Andienha do such things when you have fetched and
carried in the healing rooms, have you not?" She watched the boy for the first sign of
confusion.
    He nodded, gaze fixed on her, little face serious.
    Perhaps the healing rooms, at the base of the cliffs, were not fit places for small
children. However, Le'esha had decided almost from the day Mrillis was born that the
boy would be allowed to go where his curiosity led him, so he could learn as much as his
hungry mind could accept. Who knew where the spirit of the Estall would lead him, to
prepare him for future duties? She would have stopped Mrillis if nightmares had come
from his furtive visits to the surgery rooms and the infirmary where wounded Rey'kil and
Noveni warriors came to be tended.
    "And, in the reverse, a knife can take life and cause grievous wounds that scar
and cripple," she continued. "Just so, the imbrose , which the Estall gave the
Rey'kil, can be a tool and a weapon. Weapons protect and they destroy, depending on
the hearts and hands of those who use them. Magic protects us. A fence is pretty and a
harmless defense, but what do we do when the enemy tries to climb over the fence to
harm us?"
    "We have to stop them from climbing over," the boy whispered. He glanced
over his shoulder at the dim, huddled shape along the curve of the shore.
    "You have stood with the sentinels when they question those who approach the
Mist Gates." Le'esha stood and held out her hand to the boy. They walked along the
shore, away from the bones. "Have you felt the power, spun in webs around the minds
and hearts of those in the mists?"
    "The sentinels read their hearts and minds like I read scrolls." The boy flashed
her a grin that lacked its usual mischief. He was rightly proud of his ability in reading and
doing quick sums.
    Nobody told the boy he was a prodigy, years ahead of his age-mates in lessons.
Le'esha wondered if he would ever guess it. The fact that he tried to pass on all his
lessons to Ceera, and she treated all their lessons as games, helped in Le'esha's mission to
keep the boy humble and to consider his quick mind as ordinary.
    It struck her then that she dreaded the day Mrillis learned he was highly gifted,
unique even among the most gifted Rey'kil. If he lived up to the potential in his
blood and the Seeing that had come to her and Graddon and High Scholar
Breylon.
    Always, the future was one enormous, shadowy 'if'.
    "Yes, the magic sees into their intents, to tell us if they lie, if they come to us
hoping to do harm, to make themselves rich, to find wisdom or shelter or healing."
    "If they lie... if they want to hurt us..." Mrillis swallowed loudly and glanced
over his shoulder. "The magic punishes them."
    "They punish themselves. What justice is there if we do not warn those who
violate our laws? Everyone is