They showed no outward sign of his prominence among them, lest the watermages realize that Runnel was their stonefather. But they all knew that it was Runnel whose power did most of the stoneshaping; that it was Runnel who drew up to the surface the fading outselves of the dead rockbrothers. He fashioned for them bodies of stone, which stood around the inside wall of the dome, their feet fused to the living rock. As long as their outselves persisted, they would have the use of these bodies; and when they faded, these would be their memorial.
When Runnel Cobbleskin was eighteen years old, by the nearest reckoning he could come up with, he went to Lark, who had long since come into her own as a birdfriend, keeping doves at the crest of Mitherjut that carried messages far and wide. He took her into his arms, and she held him close.
“Lark,” said Runnel, “I want to hold you forever, the way the living stone holds the waters of the Mitherlough.”
“I’m only a weak-skinned girl, and mostly water,” she said. “You’re too hardskinned for me now, Stanfar. How can I take a stone as my husband?”
“Gentle can be as good as soft,” he answered. “And there’s no burden I cannot lift for you.”
“I have flown with my birds high above the earth,” she said. “But I will make my nest with you.”
CREDITS
“The Witch’s Headstone,” by Neil Gaiman. Copyright © 2007 by Neil Gaiman.
“Holly and Iron,” by Garth Nix. Copyright © 2007 by Garth Nix.
“Color Vision,” by Mary Rosenblum. Copyright © 2007 by Mary Rosenblum.
“The Ruby Incomparable,” by Kage Baker. Copyright © 2007 by Kage Baker.
“A Fowl Tale,” by Eoin Colfer. Copyright © 2007 by Eoin Colfer.
“Slipping Sideways Through Eternity,” by Jane Yolen. Copyright © 2007 by Jane Yolen.
“The Stranger’s Hands,” by Tad Williams. Copyright © 2007 by Tad Williams.
“Naming Day,” by Patricia A. McKillip. Copyright © 2007 by Patricia A. McKillip.
“Winter’s Wife,” by Elizabeth Hand. Copyright © 2007 by Elizabeth Hand.
“A Diorama of the Infernal Regions, or The Devil’s Ninth Question,” by Andy Duncan. Copyright © 2007 by Andy Duncan.
“Barrens Dance,” by Peter S. Beagle. Copyright © 2007 by Peter S. Beagle.
“Stone Man,” by Nancy Kress. Copyright © 2007 by Nancy Kress.
“The Manticore Spell,” by Jeffrey Ford. Copyright © 2007 by Jeffrey Ford.
“Zinder,” by Tanith Lee. Copyright © 2007 by Tanith Lee.
“Billy and the Wizard,” by Terry Bisson. Copyright © 2007 by Terry Bisson.
“The Magikkers,” by Terry Dowling. Copyright © 2007 by Terry Dowling.
“The Magic Animal,” by Gene Wolfe. Copyright © 2007 by Gene Wolfe.
“Stonefather,” by Orson Scott Card. Copyright © 2007 by Orson Scott Card.
Wizards: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy Page 51
