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Authors: Mary H. Herbert
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cried.
Gabria could only shake her head. She gasped for breath and held tighter to Kelene's arm.
Frustrated, Kelene looked to Tam, but she was still distracted by the frightened children. The girl steadied her shaking legs. There was one way to get a partial answer, if she wanted to do it. Kelene had always been sensitive by touch to other people's emotions. She didn't know why she had the ability, and she had never told anyone about it. It was usually something she regarded as painful and a nuisance. This time-, though, fear for her mother overcame her reluctance, and she laid her other hand over her mother's. Opening her mind to her mother's feelings, she concentrated on the touch of her skin against Gabria's. The results were immediate.
"She's not ill. She's terrified," Kelene cried to Tam.
"Terrified of what? Gabria, is this like yesterday? Or the day before?" Tam demanded.
Kelene was surprised. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mother had a vision two days ago, then a strange experience during the race yesterday. Was this the same thing, Gabria?"
The sorceress finally nodded. "Only worse. Much worse.
For just a moment I felt a hatred so strong. . . so malevolent. . . . O Mother of All, what was it?" she moaned.
"I don't know, but I think you'd better lie down. The moment Athlone and Sayyed get back, we have to tell them," Tam insisted. "You're not going to keep it to yourself for a day or two like you did the vision."
Gabria drew a long, ragged breath to steady her voice and let go of Kelene and Nara. "Yes, we'll tell them. But. . . I don't want to lie down. The feeling is passing."
She smiled reassuringly at the children around her. "Why don't we go on with the story? It will take all our minds off this for a while."
Kelene and Tam eyed her with some disbelief, but Gabria composed herself.
Although her face was pale and there was a tremor in her hands, she took up the tale of Valorian where she had left it. The children settled back down, looking relieved.
Tam shook her head and went to search for her cat.
Only Kelene could not relax. She had never sensed a fear like her mother's before; its intensity had left her badly shaken. If it had touched her so deeply, how must it have affected Gabria? She hoped when her father returned they could discover the cause of these strange attacks. Her mother did not deserve such terror.
* * * * *
The men pushed harder, and the door slowly ground open to a shoulder's width.
"Stop there," Ordan ordered. "Let the air within freshen before we open the door fully." When they all tried to peer into the interior, they could see nothing beyond the small patch of light in the entrance. The darkness beyond the portal was complete.
Overcome perhaps by the silence of the tomb and the closeness of death, the men fell quiet, their eyes riveted on the empty opening. For a long while no one moved.
Then Ordan slowly raised his arms to the sky and began a chanted prayer to Sorh. The rest of the priests joined him until the canyon sang with their voices.
When their last words died into the early evening, the men stirred and muttered among themselves, feeling slightly better now that they had appeased Lord Sorh.
"Open it now," Ordan commanded.
Savaron and Koshyn obliged, and the stone door swung fully open. Several torches were passed around, then Ordan stepped into the burial chamber. The other priests and several chieftains slowly filed in after him until the narrow space within was full. By the flickering light of the torches, they stared around the room in surprise.
The chamber was built in the older clan tradition of stone walls, dirt floor, and a shallow timbered ceiling. The walls were dirty and stained with moisture, and a heavy smell of mold and rot permeated the air. Those who were expecting to find a large trove of objects were disappointed, for the room was virtually empty. There was only a single stone sarcophagus sitting on a platform in the center of the chamber
Gabria could only shake her head. She gasped for breath and held tighter to Kelene's arm.
Frustrated, Kelene looked to Tam, but she was still distracted by the frightened children. The girl steadied her shaking legs. There was one way to get a partial answer, if she wanted to do it. Kelene had always been sensitive by touch to other people's emotions. She didn't know why she had the ability, and she had never told anyone about it. It was usually something she regarded as painful and a nuisance. This time-, though, fear for her mother overcame her reluctance, and she laid her other hand over her mother's. Opening her mind to her mother's feelings, she concentrated on the touch of her skin against Gabria's. The results were immediate.
"She's not ill. She's terrified," Kelene cried to Tam.
"Terrified of what? Gabria, is this like yesterday? Or the day before?" Tam demanded.
Kelene was surprised. "What are you talking about?"
"Your mother had a vision two days ago, then a strange experience during the race yesterday. Was this the same thing, Gabria?"
The sorceress finally nodded. "Only worse. Much worse.
For just a moment I felt a hatred so strong. . . so malevolent. . . . O Mother of All, what was it?" she moaned.
"I don't know, but I think you'd better lie down. The moment Athlone and Sayyed get back, we have to tell them," Tam insisted. "You're not going to keep it to yourself for a day or two like you did the vision."
Gabria drew a long, ragged breath to steady her voice and let go of Kelene and Nara. "Yes, we'll tell them. But. . . I don't want to lie down. The feeling is passing."
She smiled reassuringly at the children around her. "Why don't we go on with the story? It will take all our minds off this for a while."
Kelene and Tam eyed her with some disbelief, but Gabria composed herself.
Although her face was pale and there was a tremor in her hands, she took up the tale of Valorian where she had left it. The children settled back down, looking relieved.
Tam shook her head and went to search for her cat.
Only Kelene could not relax. She had never sensed a fear like her mother's before; its intensity had left her badly shaken. If it had touched her so deeply, how must it have affected Gabria? She hoped when her father returned they could discover the cause of these strange attacks. Her mother did not deserve such terror.
* * * * *
The men pushed harder, and the door slowly ground open to a shoulder's width.
"Stop there," Ordan ordered. "Let the air within freshen before we open the door fully." When they all tried to peer into the interior, they could see nothing beyond the small patch of light in the entrance. The darkness beyond the portal was complete.
Overcome perhaps by the silence of the tomb and the closeness of death, the men fell quiet, their eyes riveted on the empty opening. For a long while no one moved.
Then Ordan slowly raised his arms to the sky and began a chanted prayer to Sorh. The rest of the priests joined him until the canyon sang with their voices.
When their last words died into the early evening, the men stirred and muttered among themselves, feeling slightly better now that they had appeased Lord Sorh.
"Open it now," Ordan commanded.
Savaron and Koshyn obliged, and the stone door swung fully open. Several torches were passed around, then Ordan stepped into the burial chamber. The other priests and several chieftains slowly filed in after him until the narrow space within was full. By the flickering light of the torches, they stared around the room in surprise.
The chamber was built in the older clan tradition of stone walls, dirt floor, and a shallow timbered ceiling. The walls were dirty and stained with moisture, and a heavy smell of mold and rot permeated the air. Those who were expecting to find a large trove of objects were disappointed, for the room was virtually empty. There was only a single stone sarcophagus sitting on a platform in the center of the chamber
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