Read Online The Tenth Power by Kate Constable - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kate Constable
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Even in fragments, the power of the chantments repelled her. She couldn’t imagine using them to kill, or maim, or inflict agony, even if she were capable. And what if it was the only way to saveTremaris? She was glad she would never have to make that choice.
She wished she could talk it over with Darrow, despite the vow of secrecy she’d made to Marna. And with Mica’s outburst ringing in her ears, she was engulfed by a wave of loneliness. She missed Marna’s wisdom, and Halasaa, who understood her so well, and Tonno’s gruff reassurance. Most of all, she missed Darrow.Where was he now? She had never been to Gellan, and she found it difficult to imagine him there. As she shivered in the cold shed, she yearned for the warm shelter of his arms, his quizzical smile and the humour in his grey-green eyes.
As she fingered the wooden hawk at her throat, she remembered their last embrace on the docks in Kalysons, before Fledgewing sailed north, and how he’d crushed her against him, so fiercely that she could hardly breathe. When at last he’d let her go, he strode off without looking back, his fair hair shining in the watery sunlight. But the memory was too painful, and she pushed it away.
The small windows had steamed up with the warmth of her breath. Calwyn rubbed a hole to peer out at the night, unsure if she’d imagined a faint light in the east.The bones of the trees seemed more distinct than before, and she could definitely make out the silhouette of the mountains against the sky.There was the Falcon, the proud bird’s head. Day after day she and Darrow had walked toward that peak, on their long journey through the mountains. She only glimpsed it for a few moments before the dawn mists rolled down into the valley. The bees would be calm now.
As Calwyn crept out of the Bee House, she heard a loud bang, then a distant fizzing sound, then three more explosions in rapid succession. For the space of several breaths there was silence. Then the bells began to clang in a discordant frenzy, very different from their usual calm, measured tolling, and shouts came from the Dwellings. ‘Fetch the High Priestess! The barns are on fire!’
Mica and the Clarion had made their diversion after all. The sky was streaked with soaring arrows of flame, and Calwyn ran.
She had dreaded this moment all through the long night of waiting. She knew she couldn’t rely on chantment to help her, but as she ran through the crisp snow to Timarel hive, she found herself mouthing the words of the old song.Would the bees remember her?Would they blame her for disturbing them in the night? Perhaps they’d always resented her for stealing their honeycomb and scraping up their wax, interfering in their peaceful community; perhaps only the power of chantment had prevented them from expressing their fury.
Timarel hive loomed before her. It was the largest of the hives, guarded by the fiercest bees in the valley. Calwyn hesitated. Once she would have been able to plunge her hand into a hive without anything to protect her but the songs she’d learned from Damyr. But now she knew that those songs were really chantments, spells of the Power of Beasts. She had believed the bees left her alone because they loved and knew her, but now she understood that the chantments had compelled them to obey.
Calwyn sang under her breath, praying to the bees. Please don’t hurt me, please forgive me! For the first time in her life she trembled before the humming mystery of the hive. Tall as she was, the top of the dome was as high as her head. Moving slowly so as not to antagonise the bees further, she lifted the heavy lid aside as she murmured the song Damyr had taught her. Too late, she realised that she should have brought gloves and a veil from the Bee House.
The bees were stirring. A few guard bees buzzed around Calwyn’s face, studying her. First one, then another, landed on her hand. Calwyn forced herself to breathe steadily, not to brush them away.
She wished she could talk it over with Darrow, despite the vow of secrecy she’d made to Marna. And with Mica’s outburst ringing in her ears, she was engulfed by a wave of loneliness. She missed Marna’s wisdom, and Halasaa, who understood her so well, and Tonno’s gruff reassurance. Most of all, she missed Darrow.Where was he now? She had never been to Gellan, and she found it difficult to imagine him there. As she shivered in the cold shed, she yearned for the warm shelter of his arms, his quizzical smile and the humour in his grey-green eyes.
As she fingered the wooden hawk at her throat, she remembered their last embrace on the docks in Kalysons, before Fledgewing sailed north, and how he’d crushed her against him, so fiercely that she could hardly breathe. When at last he’d let her go, he strode off without looking back, his fair hair shining in the watery sunlight. But the memory was too painful, and she pushed it away.
The small windows had steamed up with the warmth of her breath. Calwyn rubbed a hole to peer out at the night, unsure if she’d imagined a faint light in the east.The bones of the trees seemed more distinct than before, and she could definitely make out the silhouette of the mountains against the sky.There was the Falcon, the proud bird’s head. Day after day she and Darrow had walked toward that peak, on their long journey through the mountains. She only glimpsed it for a few moments before the dawn mists rolled down into the valley. The bees would be calm now.
As Calwyn crept out of the Bee House, she heard a loud bang, then a distant fizzing sound, then three more explosions in rapid succession. For the space of several breaths there was silence. Then the bells began to clang in a discordant frenzy, very different from their usual calm, measured tolling, and shouts came from the Dwellings. ‘Fetch the High Priestess! The barns are on fire!’
Mica and the Clarion had made their diversion after all. The sky was streaked with soaring arrows of flame, and Calwyn ran.
She had dreaded this moment all through the long night of waiting. She knew she couldn’t rely on chantment to help her, but as she ran through the crisp snow to Timarel hive, she found herself mouthing the words of the old song.Would the bees remember her?Would they blame her for disturbing them in the night? Perhaps they’d always resented her for stealing their honeycomb and scraping up their wax, interfering in their peaceful community; perhaps only the power of chantment had prevented them from expressing their fury.
Timarel hive loomed before her. It was the largest of the hives, guarded by the fiercest bees in the valley. Calwyn hesitated. Once she would have been able to plunge her hand into a hive without anything to protect her but the songs she’d learned from Damyr. But now she knew that those songs were really chantments, spells of the Power of Beasts. She had believed the bees left her alone because they loved and knew her, but now she understood that the chantments had compelled them to obey.
Calwyn sang under her breath, praying to the bees. Please don’t hurt me, please forgive me! For the first time in her life she trembled before the humming mystery of the hive. Tall as she was, the top of the dome was as high as her head. Moving slowly so as not to antagonise the bees further, she lifted the heavy lid aside as she murmured the song Damyr had taught her. Too late, she realised that she should have brought gloves and a veil from the Bee House.
The bees were stirring. A few guard bees buzzed around Calwyn’s face, studying her. First one, then another, landed on her hand. Calwyn forced herself to breathe steadily, not to brush them away.
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