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me," Ria said in a low intense voice.
"Dharinel?" Eric said in surprise. Dharinel disliked humans and despised the half-blood, it was
true, but his contempt was meted out with a fine evenhandedness. It would be completely beneath his
dignity as Magus Major and Elven Bard of Elfhame Misthold to acknowledge any particular human
enough to want to destroy them.
Ria was about to reply when there was a scrabbling on the fire escape. She set down her cup
quickly, and glanced from Eric to the window behind her.
The sash raised, and Greystone climbed down into the room. Ria got slowly to her feet, staring at
the gargoyle.
"She's okay, boyo," Greystone said to Eric. "I admit I had me doubts about you bringing her here
an' all, but t'is copacetic. She's levelling with you, laddybuck."
Ria stared down at the squat, misshapen creature in speechless shock. It had a fanged doglike face
and curling horns. Its arms were long and apelike, and its hindquarters like a satyr's, right down to the
cloven hooves. Great bat wings lay against its back like furled umbrellas. And despite the fact that it lived
and moved and talked, it seemed to be made of solid stone.
"So," she heard it say, "how'd your night out go? Or should I say going? Any o' that high-powered
coffee left? It's a cold night out, and no mistake. I could use a wee bit of a jolt."
"Sure," Eric answered easily. "I'll get you a cup. Ria, this is Greystone. Greystone, meet Ria
Llewellyn. I've told you about her."
With a distant part of her mind, Ria registered that Eric seemed to be on very good terms with this
creature and that he had brought her to it as a sort of test. She found it hard to be angry with Eric for
showing such caution. She'd been wary herself.
She stood perfectly still as the gargoyle waddled up to her. Though if it could stand completely
upright it might be as tall as she was, its crouched position made it several inches shorter.
"You've nothin' to fear from me, Blondie. As for meself, there's more things in heaven an' earth, as
I'm sure you know," Greystone said, and winked at her.
"I'm finding that out," Ria said levelly.
Eric returned from the kitchen with a mug of espresso and handed it to Greystone. The gargoyle
slurped it down with evident relish, then reached out a long simian arm to grab a handful of biscotti. The
talons on its fingertips would have done credit to an eagle with their sharpness, for all that they seemed to
be made of stone. It set the empty cup down on the table, and, still clutching the handful of cookies,
headed for the window once more.
"Well, I've gotta be going. No rest for the wicked, an' all that. You kids behave yourselves, now."
He favored both of them with one last toothy grin and made his exit, closing the window carefully behind
him.
Eric was looking at her, obviously waiting for her reaction.
"Well," Ria finally managed. "I see you still have interesting friends."
Eric laughed. "I seem to have a knack for that."
Cautiously they both sat down once more.
"So..." Ria said finally, returning to the earlier conversation. "Master Dharinel trained you?"
"Even he had to admit that everybody was better off if I knew how to use what I had. But he didn't
send me after you, Ria. I swear it. I don't think most of the elves really care one way or the other about
you now that Perenor's dead."
"I hope you're right. But I do know that your friends blame me for a lot of what happened at
Sun-Descending and the Fairegrove... Beth Kentraine, for example?"
She knew she was fishing now, but if Claire MacLaren's PI report hadn't mentioned talking
gargoyles, it was even less likely to have included mention of elves and their friends. Beth Kentraine was
not somebody she wanted to have appear unexpectedly in her life. From what Ria remembered,
Kentraine had a fiery temper and a wicked right cross.
"Oh, you won't be seeing her. She and Kory mostly live Underhill these days. It's not like they'd be
dropping by unexpectedly. We're still close, but it's... not like it was."
When to scratch one of the three of you made the other two bleed, Ria finished silently. The way
Eric spoke of them as a couple made Ria cheer inwardly. So little Bethie had thrown her lot in with
the elven lover, had she? That was the best news Ria'd had in a long time.
"I suppose I ought to offer my condolences," Ria said politely. "Or... not?"
"Not," Eric said cheerfully. "Things just worked out the way they had to. The only thing is... I'd like
to be able to think of some way to help them out. Because they want kids, and with elves and
humans it's hard to arrange. I don't know if I ought to be asking you this, but... do you know anything
that could help? Some kind of spell or magic, I mean. I mean, you're here."
Half-Blood children were incredibly rare occurrences between Sidhe and mortalkin. In most cases
the unfortunate children were ostracized by their father's and mother's people both, so perhaps it was a
blessing that such half-Blood children rarely inherited the immortality of their elven parent. Immortality
had been the bribe Perenor had held out to his half-breed daughter, but lately Ria had come to wonder if
he had meant to give it to her as a blessing... or as a curse? She shook her head slowly.
"Not in the way you mean, I think. Believe me, Eric. What Perenor did to create me is nothing your
friends would ever want any part of," Ria said with quiet intensity. "It nearly killed my mother. It did drive
her mad. And it cost the lives of several other people he drained their essences to fuel his magic."
Eric sat back, a look of surprise and, oddly, pity on his face. "That's a helluva thing to have to live
with. To know you're here only because a bunch of other people gave their lives or had them taken
away." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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me," Ria said in a low intense voice.
"Dharinel?" Eric said in surprise. Dharinel disliked humans and despised the half-blood, it was
true, but his contempt was meted out with a fine evenhandedness. It would be completely beneath his
dignity as Magus Major and Elven Bard of Elfhame Misthold to acknowledge any particular human
enough to want to destroy them.
Ria was about to reply when there was a scrabbling on the fire escape. She set down her cup
quickly, and glanced from Eric to the window behind her.
The sash raised, and Greystone climbed down into the room. Ria got slowly to her feet, staring at
the gargoyle.
"She's okay, boyo," Greystone said to Eric. "I admit I had me doubts about you bringing her here
an' all, but t'is copacetic. She's levelling with you, laddybuck."
Ria stared down at the squat, misshapen creature in speechless shock. It had a fanged doglike face
and curling horns. Its arms were long and apelike, and its hindquarters like a satyr's, right down to the
cloven hooves. Great bat wings lay against its back like furled umbrellas. And despite the fact that it lived
and moved and talked, it seemed to be made of solid stone.
"So," she heard it say, "how'd your night out go? Or should I say going? Any o' that high-powered
coffee left? It's a cold night out, and no mistake. I could use a wee bit of a jolt."
"Sure," Eric answered easily. "I'll get you a cup. Ria, this is Greystone. Greystone, meet Ria
Llewellyn. I've told you about her."
With a distant part of her mind, Ria registered that Eric seemed to be on very good terms with this
creature and that he had brought her to it as a sort of test. She found it hard to be angry with Eric for
showing such caution. She'd been wary herself.
She stood perfectly still as the gargoyle waddled up to her. Though if it could stand completely
upright it might be as tall as she was, its crouched position made it several inches shorter.
"You've nothin' to fear from me, Blondie. As for meself, there's more things in heaven an' earth, as
I'm sure you know," Greystone said, and winked at her.
"I'm finding that out," Ria said levelly.
Eric returned from the kitchen with a mug of espresso and handed it to Greystone. The gargoyle
slurped it down with evident relish, then reached out a long simian arm to grab a handful of biscotti. The
talons on its fingertips would have done credit to an eagle with their sharpness, for all that they seemed to
be made of stone. It set the empty cup down on the table, and, still clutching the handful of cookies,
headed for the window once more.
"Well, I've gotta be going. No rest for the wicked, an' all that. You kids behave yourselves, now."
He favored both of them with one last toothy grin and made his exit, closing the window carefully behind
him.
Eric was looking at her, obviously waiting for her reaction.
"Well," Ria finally managed. "I see you still have interesting friends."
Eric laughed. "I seem to have a knack for that."
Cautiously they both sat down once more.
"So..." Ria said finally, returning to the earlier conversation. "Master Dharinel trained you?"
"Even he had to admit that everybody was better off if I knew how to use what I had. But he didn't
send me after you, Ria. I swear it. I don't think most of the elves really care one way or the other about
you now that Perenor's dead."
"I hope you're right. But I do know that your friends blame me for a lot of what happened at
Sun-Descending and the Fairegrove... Beth Kentraine, for example?"
She knew she was fishing now, but if Claire MacLaren's PI report hadn't mentioned talking
gargoyles, it was even less likely to have included mention of elves and their friends. Beth Kentraine was
not somebody she wanted to have appear unexpectedly in her life. From what Ria remembered,
Kentraine had a fiery temper and a wicked right cross.
"Oh, you won't be seeing her. She and Kory mostly live Underhill these days. It's not like they'd be
dropping by unexpectedly. We're still close, but it's... not like it was."
When to scratch one of the three of you made the other two bleed, Ria finished silently. The way
Eric spoke of them as a couple made Ria cheer inwardly. So little Bethie had thrown her lot in with
the elven lover, had she? That was the best news Ria'd had in a long time.
"I suppose I ought to offer my condolences," Ria said politely. "Or... not?"
"Not," Eric said cheerfully. "Things just worked out the way they had to. The only thing is... I'd like
to be able to think of some way to help them out. Because they want kids, and with elves and
humans it's hard to arrange. I don't know if I ought to be asking you this, but... do you know anything
that could help? Some kind of spell or magic, I mean. I mean, you're here."
Half-Blood children were incredibly rare occurrences between Sidhe and mortalkin. In most cases
the unfortunate children were ostracized by their father's and mother's people both, so perhaps it was a
blessing that such half-Blood children rarely inherited the immortality of their elven parent. Immortality
had been the bribe Perenor had held out to his half-breed daughter, but lately Ria had come to wonder if
he had meant to give it to her as a blessing... or as a curse? She shook her head slowly.
"Not in the way you mean, I think. Believe me, Eric. What Perenor did to create me is nothing your
friends would ever want any part of," Ria said with quiet intensity. "It nearly killed my mother. It did drive
her mad. And it cost the lives of several other people he drained their essences to fuel his magic."
Eric sat back, a look of surprise and, oddly, pity on his face. "That's a helluva thing to have to live
with. To know you're here only because a bunch of other people gave their lives or had them taken
away." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]