Ram was nearly asleep when he knew Tayba was crying, holding herself rigid, trying not to wake him, shuddering as she swallowed her sobs. He turned over, touched her face, felt tears. “Mamen? What is it? What’s the matter?”
“I—I don’t know what’s the matter.” She pushed her face against him. “Everything’s the matter. I’m afraid.”
“But it’s all over. You—”
“It’s not all over. I’m afraid.” She sat up, stared into the dying fire, then turned to look at him. “We would be in Burgdeeth now. Jerthon would have taken it, if it hadn’t been for me. I’m scared, Ram. That’s all. Just scared of what I am. Go to sleep.” She lay down, pulled him close. “Go to sleep. It’s all right. I’m done crying.”
He could feel little of what tore at her. He guessed it would be all right. They would make it all right between them. He lay staring at the dying fire and now, once awake, could not go back to sleep. Lay thinking of Tala-charen and seeing those other faces, seeing the past and the future come together, hearing the thunder, feeling the heat of the stone in his palm, the mountain rocking. Smelling the stink of the gantroed.
He shivered with a terrible fear of what he was born to; but that passed, and he lay knowing in some depth of himself the strength he would one day hold. He touched the stone, lying warm in his tunic next to the wolf bell, and knew a sharp anticipation of what waited beyond this night; tried again to see forward in time, and again felt only the yearning he could not explain, could simply hold close as he drifted—and then slept.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirley Rousseau Murphy grew up in southern California, riding and showing the horses her father trained. She attended the San Francisco Art institute and later worked as an interior designer while her husband attended USC. “When Pat finished school, I promptly quit my job and began to exhibit paintings and welded metal sculpture in the West Coast juried shows.” Her work could also be seen in many traveling shows in the western States and Mexico. “When we moved to Panama for a four-year tour in Pat’s position with the U.S. Courts, I put away the paints and welding torches, and began to write.” After leaving Panama they lived in Oregon, Atlanta, and northern Georgia before returning to California, where they now live by the sea.
Besides the novels in this volume and the following one, The Runestone of Eresu, Murphy wrote the Dragonbards trilogy (also available as ebooks) plus sixteen children’s books before turning to adult fantasy with The Catswold Portal and the Joe Grey cat mystery series, which so far includes sixteen novels and for which she is now best known. She is the winner of five Dixie Council of Authors and Journalists Author of the Year awards as well as eight Muse Medallion awards from the national Cat Writers Association.
ALSO AVAILABLE
The Runestone of Eresu
An omnibus containing the last three novels of the five originally published as the Children of Ynell series—The Castle of Hape, Caves of Fire and Ice, and The Joining of the Stone—which tell of the adult lives of the characters in The Shattered Stone.
As a child Ramad of the Wolves had sought the potent Runestone of Eresu that could save his world from the dark, only to have it shatter at the moment it came into his hands. Now as a man, leader of his fellow Seers in their war against the dark powers, he knows it is up to him to find and rejoin the shards before evil Seers can do so. Following his true love Telien into far reaches of Time, he is followed in turn by the Seer Skeelie, who also loves him. The quest to make the stone whole again demands the commitment not only of Ramad but of others, ultimately including his son, for only far forward in Time can the final battle against the dark forces be fought.
Dragonbards Trilogy, Book 1: Nightpool
As dark raiders invade the world of Tirror, a singing dragon awakens from her long slumber, searching for the human who can vanquish the forces of evil—Tebriel, son of the murdered king. Teb has found refuge in Nightpool, a colony of talking otters. But a creature of the Dark is also seeking him, and the battle to which he is drawn will decide Tirror’s future.
Dragonbards Trilogy, Book 2: The Ivory Lyre
The bard Tebriel and his singing dragon Seastrider together can weave powerful spells. With other dragons searching for their own bards, they have been inciting revolts throughout the enslaved land of Tirror. Only if they can contact underground resistance fighters and find the talisman hidden in Dacia will they have a chance to break the Dark’s hold on the world.
Dragonbards Trilogy, Book 3: The Dragonbards
Only the dragonbards and their singing dragons have the power to unite the people and animals of Tirror into an army that can break the Dark’s hypnotic hold over the world. Before their leader Tebriel can challenge the hordes gathering for the final battle, he must confront the dark lord Quazelzeg face to face in the Castle of Doors, a warp of time and space.
Shattered Stone Page 37
