by Andre Norton
With a sigh, Elgaret lowered her Jewel. “Sister,” she said, “we have wrought well this day. Master Derren, I urge you to find a suitable bludgeon and demolish that unspeakable form.”
Once again master of his own body, Derren had been flexing his arms. He looked at the gray mass that had been Tull, and exclaimed, “With pleasure, lady!” He cast about the chamber until he found a metal torch bracket which Tull must have used during the night hours. Wrapping his hands in a fold of his tunic, Derren pushed against Tull's statue until, overbalanced, it crashed to the floor, one outstretched arm shattering upon impact. With powerful blows, Derren pulverized the statue until only small chunks and dust were left.
Elgaret regarded the debris with distaste. “If there be such a thing in this place as a broom, let us find it and remove this refuse.”
Nolar recalled a sturdy bound-twig whisk that Wessell had insisted on packing, and ran to retrieve it from their baggage. Elgaret accepted it with an approving nod. Rather like a country housewife engaging in belated spring cleaning, Elgaret vigorously swept up what remained of both Smire and Tull, brushing the material onto her cloak, which she spread on the floor. It was such a homely sight that Nolar began to laugh, but tears soon overcame her, and she sank to her knees.
Elgaret dropped the whisk and hurried to put her arms around Nolar's heaving shoulders. “Master Derren,” Elgaret asked urgently, “If you could survey the outside area and find a quick-flowing stream, it would be wise to disperse this dust therein. We in Estcarp have not been assailed by the Shadow for so long that I know not the proper means for such disposal, but I believe that running water should prevent any future reassembly of … these two.”
Derren bowed respectfully. “Lady.” He folded the sides of the cloak across to make a stout bundle, and hurried away down the passage.
Elgaret stroked Nolar's hair, and said gently, “Child, there is no need now to cry. The worst is done. You have helped prevent a great evil from afflicting Escarp and all the lands we know.”
Nolar raised her head, tears shining on her cheeks. “I was so afraid that Tull would sound that bell,” she blurted.
Elgaret guided Nolar to sit on the nearby stone block. “Quite a sensible aversion,” the Witch commented. “We must deal now with those wicked implements.” The dagger that had killed Smire was lying isolated on the floor. Elgaret wrapped her hand in her robe and gingerly placed the dagger on the table. “Smire said that Tull had summoned these wicked objects—therefore they could presumably be sent back, but they might be used again for evil purposes. If the Stone of Konnard will allow it, I think a clean flame should consume them.”
Nolar felt an answering throb from her shard. “Yes, the Stone concurs,” she said, sensing its wordless consent.
Elgaret held out her Jewel and sang a phrase. A bolt of shimmering heat ignited the table, intensifying to a whiteness that first melted, then bubbled away all traces of the bell, brazier, and dagger. As the flames flickered out, leaving only a scorched area on the floor, Elgaret raised a shaking hand to her forehead, and sank down beside Nolar.
Concerned by the Witch's faltering, Nolar shyly touched her arm, then exclaimed, “Your Jewel! Look!”
The cloudy crystal suspended over the Witch's heart had taken on a creamy opacity streaked with veins of green.
“It would appear,” mused Elgaret, “that in working with the Stone of Konnard, one's own implements may be affected by its character.”
Nolar dared to reach out and lightly touch the Witch's cheek. “The Stone healed Derren's leg,” she said in a whisper trembling with hope. “Can you now see from your blind eye?”
Elgaret smiled, and in response, brushed Nolar's cheek. “No, my dear, I am still half-blind, and you continue to bear upon your face that stain which has for so long set you apart. No, do not turn away. I think I sense why we two were not healed. Tull's petrification spell caused Derren's broken bones to become whole, but that was certainly an effect not intended by Tull. I suspect that Tull's misuse of the Stone has wrenched it away from its healing purpose. In order for it to be restored, it must be refocused, and that will require much study and the aid of those with more Power than I possess.”
Nolar gazed at the Witch. “But it did return you to us. Those others of the Council who were injured in the Turning as you were—if they could come here, could they not also be restored?”
“Would they believe our tale?” asked Elgaret. “You must remember that the Guardian's Council has been shattered. The few empowered Witches who remain may not choose to listen to our strange claim. Look you upon my Jewel—is .this the crystal that it was before? Will the other Witches consider me their Sister still?”
Nolar wrestled with her confusion and her burning sense that the news must be shared. “Could I …” She hesitated, dreading the thought of having to face the Witches left at Es Castle. “Could I return to bear witness myself … alone, if need be? I would try to explain to them … although I must confess to you that above all, I fear they might hold me there at Es Castle to force me to become a Witch.” Overcome, she hid her face in her hands.
Elgaret gently grasped Nolar's hands in her own and eased them down so that Nolar had to look at her. “You are a Witch, child. It was born in you to be a Witch. You cannot deny it or hope to put it aside. But you are even more, and there lies your challenge. You have found … or should I say, you have been found—chosen by this great Stone of Konnard for purposes which we cannot know. I think it unlikely,” she added dryly, “that any Witch—of the Council or not—could force you to do anything against your will. However, for that same reason,” she went on, her face grave, “I suspect that the Council would not receive you gladly, nor listen to you with willing ears. You are different, because of the Stone. It is an object of Power from the far past, beyond their imagining. I can tell you this: because of Tull's tampering with the Stone, I suspect that forces of both Light and Dark are now suddenly aware that the Stone of Konnard has emerged, renewed. It can no longer rest here in total obscurity. You were drawn here because of your shard, a gift of the Stone. Others, for reasons good and ill, will now turn their attention to this place.”
Nolar sat speechless, trying to absorb the import of Elgaret's words. “Then we cannot hope,” she said slowly, “to persuade the Council to send the injured Witches here?”
“No,” Elgaret answered, “not immediately. Perhaps later, when we have learned more about and from the Stone.”
“What shall we do?” Tears welled again in Nolar's eyes. “Oh, Elgaret, what shall we do?”
The Witch frowned. “You name me?” she said, her voice sharp-edged.
“I needed some name to address you by to others,” answered Nolar, preoccupied by her heavier burdens. “I called you my Aunt Elgaret.” The Witch surveyed her with apparent consternation, so Nolar hastened to say, “It was just a name that came into my mind on the trail when I was explaining your presence to Derren.”
The Witch gave a fleeting, humorless smile. “Indeed it did come into your mind, but it came to you unknowingly from me, for my True Name is Elgaret.”
Nolar's eyes widened with horror as the implications struck her. “But I have used that name often at Lormt, and Ostbor said that a Witch's True Name could be a dire weapon if known by an empowered enemy.”
The Witch's severe expression softened. “Do not distress yourself.” Nolar tried to speak, but no words would come. How could she make amends for her betrayal? The Witch calmly continued, “Because of your very openness in using my name, I am all the more protected.” Her smile now was genuine, its warmth evident in her good eye. “Is it not well known to all those who pry into and guess about the affairs of Witches that they keep their True Names as their deepest secret? A name used openly could not possibly be a True Name.”
“I did say it was what we in the family had chosen to call you,” Nolar recalled, considerably relieved that she had not unintentionally endangered the Witch. “I had to claim you a
s my aunt in order to remove you from Es Castle.”
“Think no more of it,” said the Witch briskly. “You might, however, address me henceforth as ‘Aunt,’ just to err upon the side of caution.”
“But,” murmured Nolar miserably, “you are not my aunt.”
“Not by the usual bonds of blood, no,” the Witch agreed, “but by the bonds of the mind, we are linked as if we did share the same blood. Perhaps we are even closer than many who share kinship, but never truly touch each other's lives. As you know, we Witches call one another ‘Sister,’ and it is no idle claim or mere formality. In the realm of Power, we are Sisters, you and I.”
“I have so little knowledge of what such ties can mean,” said Nolar, despising her tears, but unable to stop them. “I am honored that you would consider me worthy of your regard.”
“You have earned that regard and respect,” the Witch declared. “Let us rejoice that our linkage is more than that of mere acquaintance. The Power has taken a curious hand with the two of us, granting me my Foreseeings, which led me to urge your journey to Lormt; and then your own discoveries there, which gifted you with the shard and drew you hither. I suspect that we have not yet seen the end of what is intended for us. I know that we may not turn aside from the path that lies before us.” She paused. “I hear the Borderer returning.”
Derren slowly entered the chamber. Once he had carefully washed the foul dust away down a nearby stream, he had stood outside Tull's lair for some time, agonizing over his situation. His broken leg was healed, as was his ankle. The way to Karsten lay open before him: take a pony and go … yet he lingered. Walking back within Tull's den was the most difficult action that Derren had ever had to choose. He had forced himself to move forward, and now that he stood once again before the two Witches of Estcarp, his heart pounded and it was all he could do to keep from running away.
“Lady,” he managed to say to Elgaret, “I have done as you asked. The remains of the mage and his minion have been washed away in a clear stream. I let the cloak go with them.”
Elgaret nodded. “Well done. Join us now, as we decide what we must do next.”
Derren gripped his hands together to stop them from shaking. “I … I must tell you something,” he blurted, then stopped.
Nolar guessed his intention. Perhaps she might ease his anguish. “You are not truly a Borderer, are you?” she asked quietly. “I suspected before we reached Lormt, and became certain of it during our journey here. I think you must be a spy from Karsten.”
Derren gaped at her. “You knew? But you did not betray me.” He swung to confront Elgaret. “But you did not blast me.”
Elgaret looked annoyed. “Young man, I was in no condition to take any action until I was restored by the Stone of Konnard. According to Nolar, you have been completely reliable as both guide and escort. Why should we offer harm to you as recompense for fair service?”
“But … but it is true. I am of Karsten,” Derren confessed. “I was an advance scout. The Turning trapped me in Estcarp. I thought if I escorted you to Lormt, no one would question me, and later, when we journeyed here, I hoped to send you safely back to Estcarp and go my own way.”
“Then fortune has indeed smiled upon you. You are now free to return home to Karsten,” suggested Elgaret, as if soothing an unreasonable child.
“But I cannot leave you here!” Derren exclaimed. “You cannot find your way back to Estcarp.”
“Think carefully,” Elgaret admonished him. “You must understand our situation. Nolar and I have just agreed that we would not likely be welcome at Es Castle because of our association with this unexpected Stone of Konnard. It is an object of great Power, as you have seen … and felt for yourself. It will draw attention now from the forces of both the Light and the Dark. For that reason, I feel that I must stay here, to listen, in my fashion, for any signs of activity threatening the Stone.”
Nolar had silently risen and moved to the face of the Stone. Tentatively, then with assurance, she reached out and placed her open hand on the glistening surface. She felt the same deep warmth that she had sensed from her shard, and also an upwelling of hope. Suddenly, Nolar knew what she had to do.
“Lormt,” she said, with complete conviction. “I must tell them at Lormt about the Stone, about all that has happened here. Morfew and the others will listen to me, and they will believe. Those who need to hear the message of the Stone's Power for healing will seek help at Lormt, so they may also be reached.”
Elgaret nodded her approval. “Your shard was preserved at Lormt. It is fitting that you bear the news to Lormt. The scholars there should also be urged to seek any further knowledge of the Stone and how it was originally used. Above all, they must be alerted to the stirrings of both the Light and the Dark which may now be aroused.”
“Any travel to Lormt must begin soon,” Derren put in quickly. “The storms of winter have already begun.” He paused as both ladies looked at him. “I mean … that is, I should hunt for some days first. We must leave ample supplies for your lady aunt.” He stopped abruptly, as surprised by his own words as were his listeners.
Elgaret stood up. “I would be obliged, young man, if you could cut for me a proper staff to replace the one I seem unaccountably to have lost. A pity, for it was a staff long prized in my family.”
“It is still at Es Castle, Aunt,” said Nolar. “I had to leave it there with your other belongings when we set out for Lormt.”
“I shall take care to reclaim it in the future,” Elgaret asserted. “For the present, I require a staff. Come, Nolar, let us take an inventory of what food and accommodations we may find in this peculiar place. I shall be here for some time, I expect, and should like to know what can be done to improve the living arrangements.” She pulled her robes tighter. “Quite chill here, with the roof open. Come along. I did see a brazier or two within, did I not?”
“I believe that I preserved some journeycake and other food from Smire's notice,” said Nolar, taking Elgaret's arm.
Derren hurried after them. “If there is another fur or hanging, I can block away some of this draft.” He swiftly converted word to deed, pulling down one of the ornate wall hangings from Tull's former throne room and stretching it across the passageway leading back to the Stone.
That done, Derren nervously faced his companions. “Do you truly accept my service?” he asked. “I must tell you honestly that the Witches of Estcarp have always been figures of dread to us in Karsten.”
“It was clear on the trail,” said Nolar, “that you were not comfortable in Aunt's presence once you learned that she was a Witch.”
“But she has defended me!” Derren burst out. His hand strayed to touch his amulet. “When I was forced to call upon … My Lord of the Forest, the evil dagger turned away from me, but I could no longer move. I was benumbed. Had not you, lady, wielded your Jewel, we should all have been lost. I am obligated to repay you, if I can, by any service I may do for you.”
“You have a commendable sense of honor,” observed Elgaret, “but you owe me no obligation. Each of us stood forth against Tull, armed with our own beliefs. By the grace of Those who watch over Their own, we triumphed. We three are now free to pursue our separate destinies. I believe that I am meant to reside here, as a Guardian of the Stone of Konnard. I feel its Power constantly, and I long to understand its ways. Nolar feels similarly drawn back to Lormt, to bear the news of the Stone.”
Derren stood before Nolar. “Lady,” he said earnestly, “I fear that there will be naught for me in Karsten. We once spoke of my returning, and you gave me a great gift of hope for restoring the forests. But I have thought upon it, and what I know of the ways of men. Karsten will be in turmoil. Duke Pagar's armies had to be crushed in the Turning. Folk will spare no time for the planting of trees and the restoring of the wildlife. They will be clawing for advantage over one another, if not absorbed by the bare needs of living. Best that I leave the land be to revive as it must. I, too, would go back to Lormt, lady.
I think I could be of use to the scholars there, as before. I felt as if I … belonged there.” He paused, his face flushing pink. “I would also learn to read, if that be possible.”
Nolar grasped his hand, remembering her own desire and Ostbor's welcome aid. “I shall gladly teach you, if you care to study with me. You speak truly—I, too, felt that I might belong at Lormt. It was a rare feeling for me, one that I feared to trust. If you could guide us back to Lormt, I am certain that Morfew and Wessell would receive you with joy, and likely put you to work that very day. Come with me, then, to Lormt, once we have made Aunt secure here.”
Derren seized Nolar's other hand. “Lady, with all my heart,” he vowed.
“Now that is settled,” the Witch inserted, “will you kindly find me a staff, and a spare cloak, if one remains in the baggage? The mages of old who immured Tull here gave no thought at all to how cold these rooms would be to the unspelled.”
Nolar felt a surge of happiness. Spring would follow this early winter, and in the meadows above Lormt, the Noon and Midnight plants would bloom again. Perhaps she could gather some for Master Pruett. She turned to Elgaret. “While I search for another cloak, Aunt, do take my scarf. I do not think I shall need it again to hide my face. When I get to Lormt, I shall be among friends, and for the present, I am surely among true friends.”
We had news of the Witch Elgaret from time to time. Derren visited her with supplies, in spite of the heavy storms of a winter more severe than any we had known before. Once I rode with him. That was when great good came to me, for, when I looked upon the Stone of Konnard, two things happened. One, the constant ache in my leg was gone, though my injury was not entirely cured, for the once shattered limb was now some shorter than the other. But, which for me was more important, there came inside my mind the sensation (which with it first carried fear, for there is always uneasiness in the unknown) of a door opening. Straightway I found my talent was enlarged so I could communicate wordlessly with my own kind as well as with animals. Knowing this was unchancy and, in ways, an invasion of another's self, I did not practice it much, only when there was great need.
