Storm at the Edge of Time by Pamela F. Service Read Free Book Online

the ground. For a moment, its crackling was the only sound in the total stillness.
    â€œFire!” the smaller figure said, running toward it. “You can make fire by magic?”
    â€œOf course. It’s one of the basics.”
    In the firelight, Jamie could now see those two clearly. The man was short and dark, his curly black hair and beard shot with gray. He was wearing leathertrousers and a long cloak of slick dark fur. The boy was young. The hood of his woven yellow cape had fallen back to show a mop of red hair.
    The other figure strode toward them, and Jamie stared. His skin was dark, but not in the way she was used to. It was more the color of old avocados, a greenish brown. His hair was not just black. It was a glossy blue-black, and it bristled in a crest over his head to trail down his back like a mane. He was wearing boots and a coppery-colored jumpsuit.
    â€œYou have no right to hold me here,” he said angrily, “and I am not interested in your petty holographic illusions. I demand that you let down the force field you have around this place and let me go.”
    â€œNo time for argument, boy. Sit down, we need to talk.”
    â€œYou can not order me around. I am Kreeth. I have permission to be on this island and—”
    â€œNo,” the man interrupted, “you are not Kreeth. You are part Human—
my
part. And here, Tyaak, all the rights are on my side.” Abruptly he turned and addressed the other boy. “And you—your name is Arni.”
    â€œArni Arnorson,” the younger boy said eagerly. “My father is Arnor, skald to Earl Thorfinn.”
    The man nodded, then looked up. “And you, Jamie, come join us. I’ve had enough trouble with you already.”
    Confused, angry, and terribly afraid, Jamie walked toward the fire. She decided to hide everything but the anger. “Mister, I have no idea who you are, how you know my name, or what is going on here, but—”
    â€œThen sit down, and I’ll tell you.”
    â€œBut—”
    â€œSit!”
    Jamie found herself sitting on the heather. The two called Tyaak and Arni were sitting as well, with surprised looks on their faces. The man stared down at them with cold blue eyes; then he, too, sat.
    â€œMy name is Urkar. I am your great-great-great-whatever—your ancestor, anyway. And that is why you are here. Ours is a family of power. It is strong in me, and it is strong in each one of you.”
    Arni’s face lit up. “You mean I
do
have the power, like Great-grandmother Eithne? I always knew it! I always knew I could work magic!”
    â€œMagic?” Tyaak objected. “What sort of superstitious babble is this? Backwater planet that it may be, I thought Earth was at least advanced enough to forget that foolishness.”
    â€œIn your time, unfortunately, it
had
forgotten magic,” Urkar growled. “But forgetting something doesn’t make it not exist. Now, stop interrupting me.
    â€œWhere was I? Yes, descendants. For millennia, every member of our line has inherited some degree of power. Many never used or even recognized it. Others channeled it into certain trades or skills. But all three of you are especially strong carriers of the power, and you also live in especially critical times—times when you are called upon to use it.”
    â€œI am sorry,” Tyaak said, standing up. “Not only are you ridiculous, you are wrong. I have no ‘magic powers.’ The only thing I am called upon to do is complete my Nri Irll and—”
    â€œDo shut up!” Urkar snapped, and abruptly Tyaakwas sitting again. Strange-looking as the boy was, Jamie could recognize the anger and confusion in his face. His expression, she was sure, mirrored her own.
    She cleared her throat uncertainly. “I don’t know about these two, but I
certainly
don’t have any magic powers. I always thought I could sense the supernatural, but it turns