[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
and couldn't get back to us, or if he didn't want to come back to us and had
crossed over to a landscape where she didn't belong. It was only a few months
ago that we found information that makes us think he was killed because he had
learned the wizards who were purebloods weren't human; that they were really
the Dark Guides."
"It changed things, his leaving," Michael said, having a clear memory of his
father walking down the road, alone, for that last time.
"Yes, it changed things."
"But your mother's heart didn't turn barren of everything but storms and
rages."
"My mother was where she belonged, in a house that had been in her family for
generations. And my mother has always known the nature of her gift and the way
of the world. She wouldn't have stayed in a place where she didn't belong."
"Well, my mother didn't stay either," Michael said, bearing the bitterness in
his voice. "Of course, where she thought she would end up by walking into the
sea is anyone's guess. Where she did end up was a pauper's grave." And it
hurt. All these years later, it still hurt.
"She didn't love us enough to stay."
Before Lee could reply, Michael stood up, signaling the end of talk.
Lee rose as well. "Shall we join the ladies?"
"Lucky timing on your mother's part to be visiting Sanctuary today," Michael
said as they headed for the guest house.
"Luck has nothing to do with it," Lee replied, smiling. "My mother's sense of
timing is uncanny especially if you're a young boy doing something you
shouldn't be doing."
"Ah." Michael hesitated, then decided this was good timing too. "Speaking of
ladies, I noticed your sister has been absent from the tour of Sanctuary."
"Something needed tending. She'll be back soon."
Where? Although unspoken, they both knew the question had been asked and not
answered. Still an outsider, Michael thought. And maybe I deserve to be.
As they approached Brighid and Nadia, he tucked that thought away in the far
corner of his heart, hoping no one would be able to find it. Including
himself.
"You shouldn't be poking around there," a male voice said. "The place isn't
safe."
Glorianna turned and studied the man standing a few strides behind her. About
Lee's age, maybe a little older. Pleasant face. Old eyes that narrowed now
that he had a clear look at her.
"You came with Caitlin Marie to look at her garden," he said. He wasn't
standing in the right place to see it, but he looked toward the meadow. "That
strange, rust-colored sand disappeared after you were here." His eyes widened.
"You're a sor "
"Landscaper." She put enough emphasis on the word to silence him. "And a Guide
of the Heart. Be careful of your words. They have more meaning than you
realize."
He hesitated, then moved closer. "I'm Nathan."
Glorianna tipped her head. "You're the anchor." He frowned at her, but she
smiled because there was a shimmer of recognition in his eyes. The word itself
Page 146
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
meant nothing to him the way she was using it, but the meaning did. "You
remember what Raven's Hill used to be."
"I'm not that old," he grumbled. But he also nodded, "My grandfather used to
tell me stories. It was a good village, and a fairly prosperous one when the
quarry was open. Fishing was better in those years. There was more game in the
hills. And people were kinder."
They can be again. "It wasn't their fault," she said gently. "Michael,
Caitlin, and Brighid."
"Of course it wasn't their fault," Nathan snapped. The snap was automatic a
habit established long ago but underneath there was uneasiness and doubt. "A
young girl can't turn a fountain foul beyond any hope of cleaning or ruin a
vegetable garden just by looking at it. A boy can't bring someone good luck or
bad just by wanting something to happen to someone. That's all a load of "
"Truth." She watched his mouth fall open, then waited for him to regain his
mental balance. He'd known it was true had known Caitlin and Michael were
capable of such things, but he hadn't expected anyone to acknowledge what they
could do without condemning them for it. "In many ways, it was unknowingly
done, unwittingly done, and the legacy of unhappiness was inherited along with
this house. But Caitlin is a Landscaper who can alter the world to some
extent, and since the village was already predisposed to brand her a
sorceress, they helped shape her and, in return, she helped shape the world
they had to live in. But even she couldn't influence Ephemera beyond a certain
point. Because you were here."
He shook his head. "I don't have any magics."
"You love this place. Despite the troubles that plague this village, you love
it. And your heart holds the memories of what this landscape used to be. You
haven't let go of the memories that were passed down to you or the hope that
Raven's Hill will be what it once was."
He looked sad. "So everyone was right about Michael and Caitlin?"
"Yes and no." Glorianna looked at the burned ruins of the cottage, feeling the
knot of Dark currents directly under it. Why would anyone have built a home on
a spot that must have made all the workers uneasy?
And how much courage had it taken to live in the cottage, even if the people
living there had no knowledge of the currents? Sorrow's ground. The words
came like a whispered memory. She closed her eyes against the pain of it.
"What's the matter? Are you unwell?"
A light hand on her arm. Concern in Nathan's voice.
She opened her eyes and looked into his. He can change things.
"If you want to help your village and your people, this is what you must do."
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]