Spellbreakers by Katherine Wyvern Read Free Book Online Page A

the river. You might have warned me that devilish tree was alive!”
    “All trees are alive, Leal.”
    “Damn you. You know what I mean. The thing shook me
off!”
    “Ah, yes. I thought it might do something like that,
but I was not certain. The references to the dragon-fern and indeed to the
whole Fading business in the old scrolls are somewhat enigmatic. Half of my
knowledge is guesswork. Informed guesswork, of course, but...”
    “I get it. Let’s get on with this Fading business. Any
informed guess on how to proceed from here?” asked Leal testily.
    Dee nodded, pulling her up the bank and back onto the
path. “Let’s go.”
    “Go where?”
    “Just over the edge of the gorge. There will be ... ah, there!”
    In a few yards, they stepped through the natural stone
portal where the stream rushed out of the ravine, and the most lovely, serene
sight met their eyes.
    They were in a much more open but still confined vale,
wooded all the way up the sides. But in the middle the stream had formed a
narrow limpid lake. The banks were soft and overgrown with reeds, except at the
place where they stood, where the path descended to a sort of flat stone jetty.
Where the jetty ended, half a dozen stepping stones prolonged the line of the
path a bit further still, right in the direction of a little wooded island in
the middle of the lake.
    “That,” said Dee reverently, “is the place where the
Fading rituals were performed, centuries ago. There is no record of anybody
attempting the passage for hundreds of years. Even before the demise of the
last true-gifted Magician in Escarra, more than three hundred years ago, the
Fading was somewhat outside our line of magic. Only our hedge wizards and
witches preserved that kind of approach to the elements, and they were
considered crackpots even by the most benevolent members of the Order. However,
until no more than one hundred years ago this place was still known to a few.
People who wished to talk with the Faded could access the proper frame of mind
here. Other just came on a sort of pilgrimage even after the Faded had passed
out of all local knowledge and legend.”
    “Do you not think that the hedge wizards were
cracked pots?”
    Dee shrugged.
    “They might have been. Or not. The fact remains that the Order lost any real magical powers shortly after the
Red War. The further away they moved from natural magic, the more difficult it
was to complete the enchantments. The five great Battle Spells of the Red War
were the last significant achievements of the Order. After that it all became
formulas and diagrams and theories, and the true spark was lost. It may be that
magic was never intended to be bent to shape as the Order did. It might well be
that what they called—with some contempt—natural magic, has more power and more
permanence. I hope so. I hope so indeed. Well. There must have been a boat here
once. Long gone. You can swim, however, yes?”
    “Er, yes. Must I swim to the island, then?”
    “From what I gather from the scrolls, you must eat the
fruit of the fern, swallowing all of it, including the seed. But you must not chew the seed or crush it. It must be swallowed whole. And as soon as this is
done you must set out for the island. The timing seems to be of some
importance. First eat, then ferry to the island.”
    “Well, all right. But listen, this thing will not make
me Fade, will it? I mean I am not really that tired of the hassle and strife,
as you once put it. I don’t want to leave the burden on Amata. I mean to
fight.”
    Dee smiled.
    “Oh gods, no. The
fruit alone will only open your mind to their channels of communication. The
full Fading ritual is vastly more demanding, requiring fasting to the edge of
death before the fern seed is taken and a bunch of other things. No, you’ll be
safe from Fading, don’t worry.”
    “Uhm. And...”
    “Heaven, Leal, what else?”
    “Well, you are a magician, and all. Why are not you trying to talk to them? I thought