A Strange and Ancient Name by Josepha Sherman Read Free Book Online Page A

willfully hurt.”
    Hauberin stared at his friend in horror. Who could ever have been dark-souled enough to torture a child? “It . . . must have been some human, back in the boy’s Realm.”
    “I’m sorry. No.”
    “One of us? No, that’s impossible. None of us would ever—”
    “One man would. And did. Your cousin.”
    “But—Alliar, that’s obscene! Not even Serein would—look you, I know you don’t like him—”
    “Ha!”
    “—but he would never do anything so foul—”
    “The proof,” Alliar said sadly, “is there.”
    “It can’t be! You’ve been among us long enough, you know that none of us, not even the—the lowest, would ever hurt a child: a rare, precious child!” But Alliar was watching him steadily, never flinching, and Hauberin hurried on, “Granted, the boy was terrified of him. But what else would you expect from a magickless little creature snatched from his Realm and dropped into ours? That doesn’t mean Serein . . . He . . .”
    Hauberin stumbled to a halt beneath the weight of that quiet, unblinking gaze. “Ahh, Li . . .” Sickened, the prince asked softly, “What proof?”
    “I’m . . . not sure exactly what torment was worked on him.” A new shudder shook the sleek golden form. “Not very much physical torment; at least I don’t think so. There aren’t any lasting scars. But mental harm, magical harm . . .” Alliar waved a helpless hand. “Who can say? The torture was real enough. The boy will not speak, or laugh, or even smile. And whenever anyone approaches, he shrinks away in terror, even from the Lady Aydris.”
    “Aydris! Who could possibly be afraid of Aydris?”
    “It’s the slant of eye, I think,” Alliar said delicately, “and the color of hair and set of features. They must remind him of your cousin. And so the poor little wretch cringes like some beaten animal expecting further blows. Of course,” the being added, “some of us have cringed from him as well.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “The boy has a human’s knife: Iron.”
    Hauberin felt his heart miss a beat. That deadly metal . . . Iron was found only in certain human Realms. Tied totally to the human Earth, with no tempering ties to other forces—not moon-magic like silver, Fire-magic like copper—its power was so alien to Faerie and magic that the merest touch charred Faerie flesh. A cut, even a scratch, from an iron blade meant certain, agonizing death. “And you let him keep it? By all the Powers, Li, where’s your sense? You’re the only one here who can touch it. Get the thing away from him before he kills someone!”
    “The Lady Aydris wouldn’t let me. She says that the boy sees it as the last link with his homeland.”
    “The Lady Aydris is overruled. Sooner or later, the boy must learn to live here. Oh, and don’t give me that wounded wood-sprite look! I’m not being heartless! Alliar, think. Even if we knew which of all the many Realms in space and time was his, human years fly too swiftly. The boy would stand a good chance of—of crumbling to ancient dust the moment he touched mortal soil. Now go, get that dagger away from him.”
    As far as Hauberin was concerned, the subject was now closed; pity wasn’t a Faerie emotion, and the half-human didn’t care to be caught in the middle of it, even by a friend. But Alliar continued to watch him so hopefully the prince added shortly, “All right, what else? Will the boy at least speak to—No, that’s right, he doesn’t speak our language.”
    “I don’t suppose that you . . . ?”
    “No. You know the only human tongue I speak is of my mother’s folk. I doubt the boy is even from her Realm, let alone her land. And stop staring at me!”
    “I only meant—”
    “I know what you meant. And I know what you want of me.” Hauberin threw up his hands in defeat. “Since the boy is, after all, under my protection, I suppose I can find the time to pay him a visit.”

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    Hauberin eyed the small human dubiously. What