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190 lines
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190 lines
11 KiB
HTML
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<head>
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<title>The Shadowmaster - Chapter 34</title>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="imperaWeb.css"/>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type=
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<div class="section" id="xhtmldocuments">
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<h1>34</h1>
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<p>
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"Find our way," Lauralen Flint had asked. Rionna, still holding the staff, bent her head and began to sing, so softly that Jack could barely hear her.
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Kerry and Corriwen stood with them, not yet able to comprehend that it was all over.
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</p>
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<p>
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Far out in the emptiness, a faint curve on the horizon showed a pale arch. Lauralen smiled.
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</p>
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<p>
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"You have more in you that you could guess," she told Rionna. "Uaine will be glad of it in days to come."
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</p>
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<p>
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When they finally stood before the archway, Jack could see green fields on the far side, flowers and bright sunshine. The faint call of songbirds welcomed
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them.
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</p>
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<p>
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Megrin stood alone. Behind her, all that remained of Bodron's hold-fast were a few mossy mounds, as if they had crumbled centuries ago.
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</p>
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<p>
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Rionna stepped forward with the staff and offered it to her.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Oh no, my dear," Megrin said. "It fits your hand better. A new generation brings new life to Uaine."
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</p>
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<p class="break">
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***
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</p>
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<p>
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Now Jack Flint knew who he was.
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</p>
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<p>
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They had woken to a new dawn. Dew was like diamonds on the grass. His mother roused him with a touch on his cheek, took him by the hand and led him through
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the morning glades, to a small forest lake. A gentle mist floated over the surface and nothing stirred.
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</p>
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<p>
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They sat by the water in silence, not needing to speak, not then, as the sun began to rise. Finally, Lauralen Flint rose to her feet and walked - Jack
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always remembered thinking that she had <em>glided ­- </em>to the edge of the lake.
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</p>
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<p>
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The rising sun shone on her golden hair and made it glow. Jack was reminded of the time Corriwen had dived through the sky over the edge of the waterfall
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in Temair and thinking it was the most beautiful thing he had seen in his life. His mother was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.
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</p>
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<p>
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The new light made her long gown seem gauzy and he could see damselflies beyond her as they silently skimmed the surface. For an instant, his vision seemed
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to waver then jump into startling focus.
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</p>
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<p>
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She caught his look and an expression of aching sadness flitted across her face.
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</p>
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<p>
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"What's wrong?" Jack broke the silence. "There's something happening!"
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</p>
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<p>
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She nodded. He stared at her. He could see the reeds on the far bank, still woven with mist, but he could see them faintly behind her, as if she was
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becoming wispy and insubstantial.
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</p>
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<p>
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Lauralen Flint knelt in front of her son and took his hands in hers. Her skin felt like gossamer, as if it was hardly there at all. Then she spoke.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Since our heartstones touched, there have been no secrets between us. All is revealed, your life, your father's and my own. The lives we have lived, the
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lives we now share. I have seen you grow, and I have lived your adventures, my son, Journeyman of my heart.
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</p>
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<p>
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"And now it is time."
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</p>
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<p>
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"I don't understand.! What's wrong? You're…you're <em>disappearing</em>!"
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</p>
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<p>
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"You came for me, and together we prevailed. All of us. Your father and your fine friends and yourself. And the fight will go on. I know you are your
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father's son and I will always be with you, in the heartstone and in your heart."
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</p>
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<p>
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The sun sparkled on the water. It sparkled through her hair and through her eyes, as if she was filled with diamonds.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack was shaking his head, unable to speak, dreading what she might say.
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</p>
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<p>
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"We were too long in the nether-world. The binding spell I wove let me sleep in timeless safety where the beast could not reach me. It lured you down to
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its depths to bring the two hearts together and destroy them. It would have been the end of everything.
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</p>
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<p>
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"But we prevailed and there will be harmony across the worlds, until the next evil arises. That will be your quest. Who knows where, or when, but the
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Journeyman must journey. The battle always waits.
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</p>
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<p>
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"But we are no longer of the worlds of the living. Your father and I must travel on, and we must go now."
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</p>
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<p>
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"No!" Jack was aghast. His heart hammered against his ribs. A pain stabbed behind his eyes.
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</p>
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<p>
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His father stepped out from the edge of the trees, as tall and strong as he had been when the statue on the red plain had shed its skin of stone. He held
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Hedda's magnificent sword in its scabbard. The great horn Jack had heard him blow when he was just a baby, was slung on his shoulder,
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</p>
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<p>
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"Yes, Jack. Our time is gone and another world waits for us."
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</p>
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<p>
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"What world?" Jack was panicking. His heart beat wildly. Desperate anguish rose like bile deep inside him. "Don't go. I've just found you! You <em>can'</em>t leave me now!"
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</p>
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<p>
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Jonathan Flint strapped the sword to Jack's waist, weighed the horn on his son's neck and put both hands on his shoulders.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Don't go," Jack pleaded. Tears welled up in his eyes.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Know that you are <em>always</em> with us, and will be with us again." Jack could see the reflected dew through his father's face. Jonathan Flint was
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fading too.
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</p>
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<p>
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"But where are you going?"
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</p>
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<p>
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"You know the place. From your books."
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack backed away, shaking his head.
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</p>
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<p>
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On the far side of the lake, mist was beginning to roll out past the reeds and on to a grassy bank. It began to coil slowly into twin, translucent pillars.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Tir-Nan-Og!" Realisation struck him like a blow. "The land of the young!"
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</p>
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<p>
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Between the pillars, a clear light shone.
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</p>
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<p>
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"Walk with us," his father said gently.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack shook his head. The tears were streaming down his cheeks. Words tried to get out but choked in his throat. The world seemed to spin.
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</p>
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<p>
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His mother took his hand. Jonathan Flint put his arm around Jack's shoulders, but Jack could hardly feel its weight or his mother's touch. It was as if
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they were hardly in this world at all. Together they led him round the water towards the shining gateway.
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</p>
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<p>
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By now, his mother's face was almost translucent. But her eyes were the clearest blue, and regarded him with such profound love that his heart almost
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stopped.
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</p>
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<p>
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Beyond the gateway a smooth road meandered to a little bridge over a stream. On the far side, rolling green fields stretched into the distance.
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</p>
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<p>
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Across the fields, hundreds people were walking towards the bridge. They looked like the kind of people, the old Celtic heroes and heroines that Jack had
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read about in the books he'd loved. Their faces were wreathed in smiles and they looked at peace.
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</p>
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<p>
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They came over the fields to welcome the Lady Lauralen and Jonathan Cullian Flint to Tir-Nan-Og.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's mother kissed him on the forehead. It was like a breath of air. His father's hand was a featherweight on his shoulder and then it was gone.
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</p>
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<p>
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Together they walked through the shining gateway, as their son watched them leave, and the sunlight of that other place made them whole again. They crossed
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the bridge and then they turned.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack's father nodded to him and waved his hand in silent farewell. His mother smiled.
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</p>
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<p>
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Then the pillars turned back into mist and the gateway was gone.
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</p>
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<p>
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Jack Flint was alone.
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</p>
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</div>
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</div>
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</body>
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</html>
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