[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
"Yes, Lord!" one of them called up, and two of them began to swing
the heavy gates shut.
I went back down to the courtyard, waited for the next bolts of
lightning to strike and the debris to fall, then sprinted across the courtyard
and into the audience hall.
It was deserted. Two of the windows had broken, and I saw blood on
the floor someone had been cut by flying glass, I thought.
I spotted servants moving in the hallway, and I hurried to see
what they were doing. Anari, it turned out, had taken Dworkin's orders to
heart and had begun moving all the castle's beds and bedding to the ground
Page 137
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
floor. Servants would sleep in the grand ballroom. My sisters would share the
dining hall. My brothers and I would have one of the lesser halls one with no
windows. Hopefully the lightning would stop or the castle would withstand its
blasts through the morning.
I caught sight of Aber, who was supervising two servants as they
carried an immense wooden chest down the stairs, and I strode over to join
him.
"Who got hurt in the audience hall?" I asked.
"Conner," he said. "A section of the glass fell in on him. His
face and hands are cut up, but he'll live."
"That's good news," I said. "What's in the trunk?"
"My set of Trumps. And a few other precious items I don't want to
lose. I thought I'd store them down here until we leave. Weare leaving, aren't
we?"
I smiled bleakly. "What happened to your faith in Dad, Locke, and
me? I thought you planned to sit tight until we killed everyone."
His voice dropped to a whisper. "No offense, brother, but have you
noticed what we're up against? We won't be alive to fight if we don't get out
of here, and soon. They're bringing the castle down on our heads!"
A particularly loudcrack! sounded outside as if to underscore his
words. The castle shook, and I heard the low rumble of falling stones.
He might have a point, I thought. But the castle walls grew
stronger the closer you got to the foundations. It wouldn't be easy to destroy
Juniper.
"In case you missed it," I told him, "our Trumps aren't working
anymore. Wecan't go anywhere. It's time to stand and fight."
"What?" He paled. "You're wrong! The Trumps always work!"
"Try one," I said, "and you'll see. Neither Freda, Dad, nor I
could get them to work."
The servants carrying the trunk had reached the bottom of the
stairs, and he motioned for them to set it down. They did so, and he flipped
open its lid. I peered over his shoulder and saw stacks of cards... there had
to be hundreds of them.
He picked up the top one, which showedme... it was the same card
he'd been painting in his room earlier.
"Do you mind?" he asked me.
"Go ahead."
He stared at it intently, frowning, but I felt no sense of
contact. From his frustrated expression, I knew it wasn't working for him,
either.
With a low moan, he dropped his arm and looked at me. His face had
gone ashen; his hand trembled.
Page 138
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
"I'm sorry," I said. I felt a little guilty for having him try the
Trump when I'd known it wouldn't work. Making Trumps seemed to be his one
great talent, and it had been rendered useless right now.
"I can't believe it," he said.
"We'll think of something else," I said with more confidence than
I felt. "Dad has whole rooms full of magical stuff. He must have something
that can help us."
Aber tossed the card back into the trunk, then slammed down the
lid. Motioning for the two men to pick it up again, he told them to put it
with the rest of his belongings. They started off down the hall.
"Well," he told me philosophically, "I'll just have to fall back
on my other plan, I suppose."
"What's that?" I asked.
"Hide until the danger's past!"
I laughed, and he gave me a weak smile. At least he still had his
sense of humor.
The lightning stopped half an hour later, with the coming of
night, but I suspected it was a temporary reprieve. Perhaps whoever had sent
the cloud needed daylight to direct his attack. I had little doubt but that
the blasts would resume at dawn.
Our father remained locked in his workshop, leaving the rest of us
to care for the castle. It was late by the time we had everyone bedded down
for the night, from family to servants. The guards bravely walking the
battlements were the only ones outside.
Freda, Blaise, and I retired to the audience hall, waiting for
Locke and Davin to return. We didn't have much to say to each other, but the
company was better than being alone.
The silence outside seemed ominous.
Finally, toward midnight, I heard horses in the courtyard and rose
to check.
"It's Locke and Davin," I told my sisters.
"About time," Blaise murmured.
Locke left the horses with Davin and hurried inside. He looked
grim when he saw us.
"What news?" I asked.
"The men are now a safe distance from the castle," he said. "I
don't think the lightning will reach them. What have I missed? Where's Dad?"
"Locked in his rooms," I said unhappily. "He's not answering to
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]