Read Online Dawnbringer: A Forgotten Realms Novel by Samantha Henderson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Samantha Henderson
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still she knew it shifted its thick, coiled body, raised its immense bulk, and considered her. Despair filled her as she sensed it gloating.
It was Bane or one of his servants. It did no good to flee Mulmaster and the dreadful bargains with the Dark Lord brewing there. He had hunted her down, and in her death he would take her.
Then, in the center of the blackness, came a spot of light—not the bright painful sparks she saw in her death struggle, but a gentle glow like a hearth fire. It strengthened and lengthened, a long thin oval, and she felt the invisible malevolence retreat, sullen and reluctant. The light grew brighter, until it was almost painful to look at. Then it blazed so brightly that she was as blinded by the light as she had been before by the darkness.
Jandi tried to blink, but her eyes remained open. She was faintly aware of her body, stiff and cooling, in the long grass, the campfire falling apart and dying before her.
She was supposed to keep the fire burning, wasn’t she? She tried to remember who had told her that.
The light faded until it no longer pained her eyes, and the shape in the middle shifted and resolved itself intothe tall and long-legged figure of a woman. Jandi watched with a detached curiosity as the woman approached and kneeled beside her.
The woman tilted her head and considered her. She wore a garment of some river-green fabric that flowed about her as if a breeze were blowing, and her scarlet hair was cropped close beneath her ears. Her eyes, a slightly darker green than her dress, were almond shaped.
The woman smiled suddenly, and her smile was like sunshine on Jandi’s cold flesh. Reaching out, she stroked Jandi’s hair, and her gentle touch broke the icy grip that kept her limbs frozen.
She blinked rapidly. The woman’s elfin features came into focus, and the blaze of light faded until she could see the grass she lay in, the trees beyond, and the dying, stone-banked fire before her. Everything was imbued with a golden, illuminated quality, as if the light had flowed into the landscape instead of dying away.
Jandi flexed her stiff limbs and found she could sit up effortlessly, although the movement made her dizzy. The woman rose and stood over her, still smiling.
“Who are you?” Jandi whispered, expecting her throat to hurt and surprised that it did not.
The woman reached out a long-fingered hand, and Jandi took it.
“You can call me Mandira for now,” she said in a voice that had the tremble of silver bells in it, pulling Jandi to her feet, and seeming to expend no effort doing it. Indeed, Jandi felt as if she were floating.
“I don’t remember …” she began, then, looking down, saw the crumpled body at her feet. The pale face with theblue lips looked familiar, the eyes slightly protruding and staring at nothing. She had the impression of an insubstantial figure bending over the body.
“I don’t understand,” she concluded.
Mandira still had her hand, a touch so light she could barely feel it.
“You will in time,” she said. “But now you have a choice. You can stay here, tied to the flesh and its memories. Or you can come with me, and dwell a while in Brightwater’s gentle realm.”
The red-headed woman tugged her hand, the slightest of tugs, and Jandi let herself be pulled away one step, then two.
“Wait,” she said. “I’m waiting for someone. I’m waiting for …”
Ivor
. The name was a whisper in her mind. The woman smiled sadly at her, and Jandi knew she’d somehow heard it.
“It’s a cruel thing,” she said. “To be struck down when love is fragile and new, uncurling like a butterfly from its cocoon. Flesh is mortal and love is not.”
She tugged her hand again. “The lady grants this mercy, because love had found a home in your heart. You may find a home, for a while, with her. You may refuse. You may stay with this body, and see your lover grieve. You may haunt this place, searching ceaselessly for what you can no longer
It was Bane or one of his servants. It did no good to flee Mulmaster and the dreadful bargains with the Dark Lord brewing there. He had hunted her down, and in her death he would take her.
Then, in the center of the blackness, came a spot of light—not the bright painful sparks she saw in her death struggle, but a gentle glow like a hearth fire. It strengthened and lengthened, a long thin oval, and she felt the invisible malevolence retreat, sullen and reluctant. The light grew brighter, until it was almost painful to look at. Then it blazed so brightly that she was as blinded by the light as she had been before by the darkness.
Jandi tried to blink, but her eyes remained open. She was faintly aware of her body, stiff and cooling, in the long grass, the campfire falling apart and dying before her.
She was supposed to keep the fire burning, wasn’t she? She tried to remember who had told her that.
The light faded until it no longer pained her eyes, and the shape in the middle shifted and resolved itself intothe tall and long-legged figure of a woman. Jandi watched with a detached curiosity as the woman approached and kneeled beside her.
The woman tilted her head and considered her. She wore a garment of some river-green fabric that flowed about her as if a breeze were blowing, and her scarlet hair was cropped close beneath her ears. Her eyes, a slightly darker green than her dress, were almond shaped.
The woman smiled suddenly, and her smile was like sunshine on Jandi’s cold flesh. Reaching out, she stroked Jandi’s hair, and her gentle touch broke the icy grip that kept her limbs frozen.
She blinked rapidly. The woman’s elfin features came into focus, and the blaze of light faded until she could see the grass she lay in, the trees beyond, and the dying, stone-banked fire before her. Everything was imbued with a golden, illuminated quality, as if the light had flowed into the landscape instead of dying away.
Jandi flexed her stiff limbs and found she could sit up effortlessly, although the movement made her dizzy. The woman rose and stood over her, still smiling.
“Who are you?” Jandi whispered, expecting her throat to hurt and surprised that it did not.
The woman reached out a long-fingered hand, and Jandi took it.
“You can call me Mandira for now,” she said in a voice that had the tremble of silver bells in it, pulling Jandi to her feet, and seeming to expend no effort doing it. Indeed, Jandi felt as if she were floating.
“I don’t remember …” she began, then, looking down, saw the crumpled body at her feet. The pale face with theblue lips looked familiar, the eyes slightly protruding and staring at nothing. She had the impression of an insubstantial figure bending over the body.
“I don’t understand,” she concluded.
Mandira still had her hand, a touch so light she could barely feel it.
“You will in time,” she said. “But now you have a choice. You can stay here, tied to the flesh and its memories. Or you can come with me, and dwell a while in Brightwater’s gentle realm.”
The red-headed woman tugged her hand, the slightest of tugs, and Jandi let herself be pulled away one step, then two.
“Wait,” she said. “I’m waiting for someone. I’m waiting for …”
Ivor
. The name was a whisper in her mind. The woman smiled sadly at her, and Jandi knew she’d somehow heard it.
“It’s a cruel thing,” she said. “To be struck down when love is fragile and new, uncurling like a butterfly from its cocoon. Flesh is mortal and love is not.”
She tugged her hand again. “The lady grants this mercy, because love had found a home in your heart. You may find a home, for a while, with her. You may refuse. You may stay with this body, and see your lover grieve. You may haunt this place, searching ceaselessly for what you can no longer
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