Read Online Night Gate by Isobelle Carmody - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Isobelle Carmody
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take it with him?”
“Firecat not knowing. Wizard saying obey words on hourglass and be rewarded with what you deserve.”
Rage didn’t like the sound of that at all. It almost sounded like a threat. She had intended to ask if the wizard was good or bad, but now that she knew he was the firecat’s master, she doubted that it would answer truthfully—especially since it wanted them to deliver the hourglass. It was clear, though, that the wizard had instructed the firecat before disappearing, which meant he really must want the hourglass. But why hadn’t he simply taken it with him, or given simple instructions, instead of creating a difficult and mysterious riddle?
“The wizard told you to bring the hourglass to him, didn’t he?” Rage guessed. “He promised to give you a reward if you would bring it to him. So why do you need me?”
“Hurrying,” the firecat hissed, then the water began to bubble and spit, and gradually the colors faded.
“I should have asked it if magic is really running out in Valley,” Rage muttered aloud, although the firecat seemed to have no shortage of the magic necessary for appearing and disappearing. She thought over its answers and decided it really did not know where its master was or how to find him.
The urgency of its final, hissed word made her think of the sand in the hourglass. What did it measure? The firecat had warned her not to break it, saying it was dangerous. No doubt it had only said this to make her careful. The wizard would probably be furious at it if the hourglass was damaged. The biggest puzzle was why the wizard had asked the firecat to bring the hourglass to him at all.
Unless the riddle was a test for the firecat itself!
Rage bit her lip in excitement, certain she was right. It was the only explanation that made sense. It even explained the firecat’s evasive manner—by getting Rage to try to figure out the riddle, it was obviously cheating.
Another thought occurred to her. If she was right about the quest for the hourglass being a test, maybe the sand in the hourglass represented the amount of time the firecat had been given to solve its master’s riddle.
Rage wondered how the wizard would feel about their solving the riddle, if they managed it. Maybe he would be angry. He might turn them all into frogs or river slime. The firecat had said they would be rewarded, but it was clear the creature would say anything to get them to do what it wanted.
A drab little bird fluttered to the ground and tilted its head to drink from the tea-colored water. Flinging off her clothes, boots, and all thoughts of the firecat and the hourglass, Rage climbed gladly into the lagoon. The water was warm from the sun or maybe from the firecat, and she was still paddling in her underclothes when Billy appeared. He ran at the lagoon with a whoop of delight and plunged in with a great splash.
“You ought to have taken your clothes off,” Rage spluttered, laughing.
He looked embarrassed. “I forgot.” He climbed out and peeled off his T-shirt, jeans, and jacket and jumped in again in cotton shorts. Rage studied him curiously for signs that he was really a dog, but there were none, other than his hairy toes. His skin was creamy pale, and his shoulders were broad and muscular. There were little patches of toffee hair under his arms and a fuzz of hair down his legs, but grown men had those. In human years, Billy appeared to be about sixteen, but as he looked over the small sandbar that separated the lagoon from the river, his expression of longing seemed very young to Rage.
“It’s dangerous,” she said firmly, remembering how he had always been attracted to water as a dog. He sighed and came away from the edge. As they paddled, she told him about the firecat’s appearance. He agreed that it was very likely that the riddle on the base of the hourglass was a test that had been set for it.
“But it doesn’t make any difference to us if it is,” Billy said. “We still
“Firecat not knowing. Wizard saying obey words on hourglass and be rewarded with what you deserve.”
Rage didn’t like the sound of that at all. It almost sounded like a threat. She had intended to ask if the wizard was good or bad, but now that she knew he was the firecat’s master, she doubted that it would answer truthfully—especially since it wanted them to deliver the hourglass. It was clear, though, that the wizard had instructed the firecat before disappearing, which meant he really must want the hourglass. But why hadn’t he simply taken it with him, or given simple instructions, instead of creating a difficult and mysterious riddle?
“The wizard told you to bring the hourglass to him, didn’t he?” Rage guessed. “He promised to give you a reward if you would bring it to him. So why do you need me?”
“Hurrying,” the firecat hissed, then the water began to bubble and spit, and gradually the colors faded.
“I should have asked it if magic is really running out in Valley,” Rage muttered aloud, although the firecat seemed to have no shortage of the magic necessary for appearing and disappearing. She thought over its answers and decided it really did not know where its master was or how to find him.
The urgency of its final, hissed word made her think of the sand in the hourglass. What did it measure? The firecat had warned her not to break it, saying it was dangerous. No doubt it had only said this to make her careful. The wizard would probably be furious at it if the hourglass was damaged. The biggest puzzle was why the wizard had asked the firecat to bring the hourglass to him at all.
Unless the riddle was a test for the firecat itself!
Rage bit her lip in excitement, certain she was right. It was the only explanation that made sense. It even explained the firecat’s evasive manner—by getting Rage to try to figure out the riddle, it was obviously cheating.
Another thought occurred to her. If she was right about the quest for the hourglass being a test, maybe the sand in the hourglass represented the amount of time the firecat had been given to solve its master’s riddle.
Rage wondered how the wizard would feel about their solving the riddle, if they managed it. Maybe he would be angry. He might turn them all into frogs or river slime. The firecat had said they would be rewarded, but it was clear the creature would say anything to get them to do what it wanted.
A drab little bird fluttered to the ground and tilted its head to drink from the tea-colored water. Flinging off her clothes, boots, and all thoughts of the firecat and the hourglass, Rage climbed gladly into the lagoon. The water was warm from the sun or maybe from the firecat, and she was still paddling in her underclothes when Billy appeared. He ran at the lagoon with a whoop of delight and plunged in with a great splash.
“You ought to have taken your clothes off,” Rage spluttered, laughing.
He looked embarrassed. “I forgot.” He climbed out and peeled off his T-shirt, jeans, and jacket and jumped in again in cotton shorts. Rage studied him curiously for signs that he was really a dog, but there were none, other than his hairy toes. His skin was creamy pale, and his shoulders were broad and muscular. There were little patches of toffee hair under his arms and a fuzz of hair down his legs, but grown men had those. In human years, Billy appeared to be about sixteen, but as he looked over the small sandbar that separated the lagoon from the river, his expression of longing seemed very young to Rage.
“It’s dangerous,” she said firmly, remembering how he had always been attracted to water as a dog. He sighed and came away from the edge. As they paddled, she told him about the firecat’s appearance. He agreed that it was very likely that the riddle on the base of the hourglass was a test that had been set for it.
“But it doesn’t make any difference to us if it is,” Billy said. “We still
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