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.Theceiling was rising up away from her, as well."It's the skin of a field mouse/' Deru said as he wrapped it around her.She tumbled from the bed, and it was a much longer fall than it should havebeen; she landed on her hands and knees, her palms stinging with the impact.Her vision blurred.When it cleared again, she clambered to her feet and looked up.Deru stood before her, unspeakably huge, the pack on his shoulder the size ofQuonmor Keep; between the gigantic pillars of his legs she could see thesmoking stub of candle, taller than she was.The pattern of smoke hung overher, out of reach.She looked up, and up, and up.Deru was putting a tiny red thing on his own tongue; that done, he took ascrap of gray fur and lifted his hands up over his head.And then he began shrinking.The mouse-pelt didn't stretch; Deru shrank.And moment later he stood before her at his normal height, a few inches tallerthan herself, as the candle flared up and went out and the pattern of smokedissipated.Darkness descended, broken only by the orange glow of the greatermoon outside the open window.The little bedchamber stretched out before them in the dimness, an immensityof space."There," Deru said."It worked.""Oh," Kirna said, looking around.The world was strange and different, with ordinary furniture becoming loomingmonstrosities, but she no longer suspected she was dreaming; everything wasquite solid and real.She looked up at the window, impossibly far above them,and asked, "How do we get out?""We levitate.Or rather, I do.I'll have to carry you, I'm afraid; I don'thave a levitation spell that will work on both of us."She frowned, but could hardly argue.She was no wizard.At least, not yet.Deru knelt and opened his pack.He pulled out a small lantern, a gray feather,and a silver bit; he lit the lantern, set the coin inside it, then drew his dagger again and did something Kirna could not see.Then he straightened up,the lantern in his hand and the dagger back in his belt; the feather seemed tohave vanished."Come here," he said.Cautiously, Kirna approached and then shrieked as Deru grabbed her and hoistedher over his shoulder, her head and arms dangling down his back, her legspinned to his chest.She raised her head and turned to look around.Deru was walking, one hand holding her legs and the other carrying thelantern but he was not walking across the floor; instead he was walking upinto the air, as if climbing an invisible staircase."Varen's Levitation," he said.Kirna made a wordless strangled noise.Shehad wanted to learn magic and have adventures, but being shrunk to the size ofa mouse, flung over someone's shoulder, and carried up into the air, withnothing at all holding them up, all in quick succession, was a little morethan she had been ready for.But, she told herself, she was being silly.This was a magical adventure! Sheshould appreciate it.She thought she could appreciate it much more easily if she weren't drapedover Deru's shoulder, though.She tried to twist around for a better view."You don't want me to drop you," Deru cautioned."The spell only works on me."Kirna ignored that and watched.Deru was marching up higher and higher abovethe floor, and had now turned toward the window.Kirna could see the sky andthe surrounding treetops, lit by the orange light of the greater moon.Thefeeble glow of the tiny lantern didn't reach more than a few inches.Fitting between the bars would be no problem at all at their present size buthow would they get down?"Shouldn't you have a rope?" she asked."We don't need one," Deru said, panting slightly."Varen's Levitation goesdown just as well as up.""Oh," Kirna said.That sounded well enough, but she had noticed the panting this fellow Deru wasalreadygetting tired, and they weren't even out the window yet.Well, he had been working magic for hours, which must be tiring, and whileKirna certainly would never have said she was fat, or even stout, she knew shewasn't a frail little twig like some girls princesses were well-fed.Carryingher might get tiring eventually even for a bigger, stronger man than Deru."You're sure you'll be all right?" she asked."I'll be fine," he said, and the panting was more obvious this time.Kirna was hardly in a position to protest, though, so she shut her mouth andwatched as they mounted up over the windowsill.Deru leveled off just a foot or so no, Kirna corrected herself, perhaps halfan inch above the sill, and walked straight forward, placing each foot solidlyon empty air.The bars were as big as oaks as they passed, great oaks of black iron and thenthey were out in the night air, cool and sharp after the hot, stuffybedchamber.Kirna felt her hair dancing in the breeze, and she squirmed,trying to keep it where it belonged."Stop it!" Deru hissed."You do not want me to drop you from here!"Kirna looked down the side of the tower and down, and down, and down anddecided that Deru was right.She knew it was only about thirty feet to theground, at most, but in her shrunken state it looked more like a thousand,and besides, thirty feet was enough to kill someone.She stopped squirming.Deru marched forward, just as if he were walking on solid stone rather thanempty air; then he started descending, step by step, as if he had arrived atanother invisible stair.Kirna, tired of looking down, looked up and shrieked, "Look out!" She pointedand began struggling desperately.Deru turned, trying to hold onto his burdens and see what she was talking about."What is it?" he started to say, but before the words had left hislips, he knew what had caused Kirna's panic.It all happened incredibly fast for Deru; he had been looking down at hisfeet, watching his descent and staying well clear of tree branches or whateverseeds might be drifting on the wind, since Varen's Levitation would endinstantly if either the wizard stopped paying attention, or his booted feettouched solid matter, when Kirna had shouted and begun thrashing.He hadturned his attention to the sky and seen nothing but a night-flying bird.Then it registered that the bird was approaching rapidly, that it was an owlswooping silently toward them.And then, finally, it registered that this was a threat, that in theirshrunken state an owl could eat them both.He instinctly flung up his arms to ward the huge predator off, whereupon Kirnatumbled offhis shoulder and plummeted into the darkness beneath.And at that instant Deru forgot all about Varen's Levitation and dropped thelantern, and he, too, fell into the night.The owl, wings muffled and talonsspread, swept harmlessly through the space where the wizard had stood half asecond before.Kirna sat up, dazed, trying to remember where she was and what had happened tobring her here [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.Theceiling was rising up away from her, as well."It's the skin of a field mouse/' Deru said as he wrapped it around her.She tumbled from the bed, and it was a much longer fall than it should havebeen; she landed on her hands and knees, her palms stinging with the impact.Her vision blurred.When it cleared again, she clambered to her feet and looked up.Deru stood before her, unspeakably huge, the pack on his shoulder the size ofQuonmor Keep; between the gigantic pillars of his legs she could see thesmoking stub of candle, taller than she was.The pattern of smoke hung overher, out of reach.She looked up, and up, and up.Deru was putting a tiny red thing on his own tongue; that done, he took ascrap of gray fur and lifted his hands up over his head.And then he began shrinking.The mouse-pelt didn't stretch; Deru shrank.And moment later he stood before her at his normal height, a few inches tallerthan herself, as the candle flared up and went out and the pattern of smokedissipated.Darkness descended, broken only by the orange glow of the greatermoon outside the open window.The little bedchamber stretched out before them in the dimness, an immensityof space."There," Deru said."It worked.""Oh," Kirna said, looking around.The world was strange and different, with ordinary furniture becoming loomingmonstrosities, but she no longer suspected she was dreaming; everything wasquite solid and real.She looked up at the window, impossibly far above them,and asked, "How do we get out?""We levitate.Or rather, I do.I'll have to carry you, I'm afraid; I don'thave a levitation spell that will work on both of us."She frowned, but could hardly argue.She was no wizard.At least, not yet.Deru knelt and opened his pack.He pulled out a small lantern, a gray feather,and a silver bit; he lit the lantern, set the coin inside it, then drew his dagger again and did something Kirna could not see.Then he straightened up,the lantern in his hand and the dagger back in his belt; the feather seemed tohave vanished."Come here," he said.Cautiously, Kirna approached and then shrieked as Deru grabbed her and hoistedher over his shoulder, her head and arms dangling down his back, her legspinned to his chest.She raised her head and turned to look around.Deru was walking, one hand holding her legs and the other carrying thelantern but he was not walking across the floor; instead he was walking upinto the air, as if climbing an invisible staircase."Varen's Levitation," he said.Kirna made a wordless strangled noise.Shehad wanted to learn magic and have adventures, but being shrunk to the size ofa mouse, flung over someone's shoulder, and carried up into the air, withnothing at all holding them up, all in quick succession, was a little morethan she had been ready for.But, she told herself, she was being silly.This was a magical adventure! Sheshould appreciate it.She thought she could appreciate it much more easily if she weren't drapedover Deru's shoulder, though.She tried to twist around for a better view."You don't want me to drop you," Deru cautioned."The spell only works on me."Kirna ignored that and watched.Deru was marching up higher and higher abovethe floor, and had now turned toward the window.Kirna could see the sky andthe surrounding treetops, lit by the orange light of the greater moon.Thefeeble glow of the tiny lantern didn't reach more than a few inches.Fitting between the bars would be no problem at all at their present size buthow would they get down?"Shouldn't you have a rope?" she asked."We don't need one," Deru said, panting slightly."Varen's Levitation goesdown just as well as up.""Oh," Kirna said.That sounded well enough, but she had noticed the panting this fellow Deru wasalreadygetting tired, and they weren't even out the window yet.Well, he had been working magic for hours, which must be tiring, and whileKirna certainly would never have said she was fat, or even stout, she knew shewasn't a frail little twig like some girls princesses were well-fed.Carryingher might get tiring eventually even for a bigger, stronger man than Deru."You're sure you'll be all right?" she asked."I'll be fine," he said, and the panting was more obvious this time.Kirna was hardly in a position to protest, though, so she shut her mouth andwatched as they mounted up over the windowsill.Deru leveled off just a foot or so no, Kirna corrected herself, perhaps halfan inch above the sill, and walked straight forward, placing each foot solidlyon empty air.The bars were as big as oaks as they passed, great oaks of black iron and thenthey were out in the night air, cool and sharp after the hot, stuffybedchamber.Kirna felt her hair dancing in the breeze, and she squirmed,trying to keep it where it belonged."Stop it!" Deru hissed."You do not want me to drop you from here!"Kirna looked down the side of the tower and down, and down, and down anddecided that Deru was right.She knew it was only about thirty feet to theground, at most, but in her shrunken state it looked more like a thousand,and besides, thirty feet was enough to kill someone.She stopped squirming.Deru marched forward, just as if he were walking on solid stone rather thanempty air; then he started descending, step by step, as if he had arrived atanother invisible stair.Kirna, tired of looking down, looked up and shrieked, "Look out!" She pointedand began struggling desperately.Deru turned, trying to hold onto his burdens and see what she was talking about."What is it?" he started to say, but before the words had left hislips, he knew what had caused Kirna's panic.It all happened incredibly fast for Deru; he had been looking down at hisfeet, watching his descent and staying well clear of tree branches or whateverseeds might be drifting on the wind, since Varen's Levitation would endinstantly if either the wizard stopped paying attention, or his booted feettouched solid matter, when Kirna had shouted and begun thrashing.He hadturned his attention to the sky and seen nothing but a night-flying bird.Then it registered that the bird was approaching rapidly, that it was an owlswooping silently toward them.And then, finally, it registered that this was a threat, that in theirshrunken state an owl could eat them both.He instinctly flung up his arms to ward the huge predator off, whereupon Kirnatumbled offhis shoulder and plummeted into the darkness beneath.And at that instant Deru forgot all about Varen's Levitation and dropped thelantern, and he, too, fell into the night.The owl, wings muffled and talonsspread, swept harmlessly through the space where the wizard had stood half asecond before.Kirna sat up, dazed, trying to remember where she was and what had happened tobring her here [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]