Sorcerer's Moon by Julian May Read Free Book Online Page A

blame is mine, Bram. You have nothing to reproach yourself for.'
    Vra-Bramlow shook his head. 'Not true,' he whispered, but could say no more.
    'We can never tell Father the exact truth of this affair,' Orrion said. He was staring into the distance, as if contemplating some faraway event. 'He's a hard man, and I'll not have him revenge himself on either one of you. We three must agree on a suitable fiction to explain my loss, and we must swear never to deviate from it.'
    'Of course,' Corodon exclaimed warmly. 'Bram's the cleverest. He'll think up a proper yarn for us to spin. And let's not forget to plant the banner before we leave, as we planned to do.'
    'Oh, for God's sake, Coro,' Bramlow groaned.
    'I'll do it for luck, if for no other reason.' Corodon opened his pack, shook out the scarlet silk pennon of the Sovereignty with its four interlocked golden crowns (Conrig still claimed the overlordship of Moss, even though the Salka had conquered it), and began tying it to his own climbing staff. Bramlow and Orrion watched as he built a cairn of rocks behind Demon Seat and set about fixing the royal banner atop it.
    Orrion spoke quietly to Bramlow. 'Can you bespeak a message to the Zeth Brethren in Cala Palace for me, or are we too far away?'
    At this great height, I should be able to do it. No natural barriers impede my windspeech. What do you want me to say?'
    'The message is to be given to Lady Nyla. In my name, beseech her to hasten to Boarsden with all speed and meet me there, for the sake of our love. Ask that she also bring her parents, and that they travel with the greatest possible secrecy'
    The novice frowned. 'Orry, are you sure about this?'
    'She and I must be near one another as I confess my transgression to Father. If he spares my life, I mean to wed Nyla immediately. This is why she must bring her parents.'
    Deeply troubled, Vra-Bramlow said, 'It might be better if we first meet Nyla and the Lord Lieutenant and his lady elsewhere than Boarsden Castle, so you have an opportunity to . . . prepare them beforehand.'
    'You're right. Perhaps near the border, at Beorbrook Hold in Cathra?'
    Bramlow shook his head. 'You'd never be able to conceal your disability from the earl marshal's alchymists. They'd insist on examining the arm if we try to pass it off as a climbing injury that I'd already treated and bound up. We'll be able to fend off your Heart Companions that way, but not real physicians ... I have it - we'll meet the Brackenfields at the Castlemont Fortress hostelry just across the pass in Didion. No one there will think it amiss if Cathran travelers keep to themselves. And it's only a day's ride from the fort to Boarsden.'
    'Very well. Bespeak the message, Bram, before Coro finishes.'
    A few minutes later, Prince Corodon climbed down from the moonstone outcropping, took his twin's good left arm, and draped it over one of his shoulders. 'That's done. If any wind-searcher should scry the mountaintop, the banner will confirm that we were here. Now lean on me, Orry, and we'll start down.' He offered a reassuring smile. 'Don't be downhearted. Everything will work out for the best. This happenstance isstrange beyond measure, but we can't deny that it gives both of us our heart's desire!'
    * * *
    She had obtained a sheet of vellum scraped so thin it was nearly transparent, that might be folded into the most exiguous of hiding places and kept safe. From the desk drawer she took a silver inkwell and a crow-quill pen with a fine nib, so that her writing might be minuscule and take up the least possible room, yet still be be legible. These things she laid out just before midnight, after long hesitation deciding that the time had finally come.
    It was the most important letter she would ever write. If it were intercepted, it would surely be her heart's death, though no man laid a hand on her. But if it reached its intended recipient, all her years of suffering would have been well spent.
    My dearest Dyfrig!
    This missive