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ceases to be a child. * * * When Karis came out of the water, Emil wrapped her in a blanket, and gave her the last cup of tea. She sat by the coals of the fire, watching Zanja stew her shirt and spice it heavily with shavings from their solitary bar of soap. ôYou never told me what a peculiar feeling it is to have someone work magic on you,ö she said to Zanja. ôWell, I didnÆt want to seem as if I were complaining.ö ôWhat did he do?ö Medric asked. ôWater magic makes no sense to me. He did something very ordinary.ö ôSurely not!ö ôIt was ordinary, I tell you.ö Perhaps Karis was incapable of appetite, but she ate an astonishing quantity of bread and fish, and then pursued a lengthy argument with Medric. It was well past sunset by the time the tremors began, and when Zanja went into the cave with her, the porringer under the water clock had filled to overflowing, and was surrounded by a small pond of spilled water, with the water clock nearly empty. ôI guess we need a bigger bowl,ö Zanja said. Page 192 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html Karis sat upon her pallet of woven reeds. ôHere, youÆre supposed to drink dry the jug, he said.ö Zanja picked up the water jug from the floor, but it already was empty. ôWhat did he do to you?ö Karis said, ôYou know how people wish for more time.ö Zanja looked at the overflowing porringer. Another drop plunked into it. ôTime is water?ö ôFor him it is. I told you it made no sense.ö ôHow is it ordinary that he gave you more time?ö ôPeople give each other time fairly commonly, donÆt they? YouÆre giving me some of yours right now. I tend to be miserly with mine, however. I always feel like I donÆt have enough of it.ö She lay down. ôAm I tired?ö ôYou should be.ö The spasms, when they came, were not nearly as violent as they had been. Afterwards, in the few moments between smoking the pipe and going under smoke, Karis said, ôI think I might live.ö ôYouÆve faced your ordeal with great courage.ö ôWhat choice had I?ö And she was gone. Chapter Twenty-four The night had been edged with a bit of autumnÆs chill, and when Zanja awoke, she remembered that she had crawled into KarisÆs bed in the middle of the night and covered them both with her blanket. She lay alone now upon the reed pallet, and a bowl with waves painted along its edge sat beneath the water clock, collecting time. She went out and found Karis beside the fire with Emil. He had unbuttoned and rolled up the leg of his breeches to reveal the knee that plagued him so. It was a wonder that he could walk at all, Zanja realized as she got a closer look at the scarred, distorted, swollen joint, much less run and fight the way he did. Karis laid her hand upon his knee and he began arguing with her. ôJust concede,ö Zanja advised him. ôSheÆs bigger and stronger than you are.ö Her clothing had dried enough to wear. She took MedricÆs borrowed shirt to put it with his gear, and found him asleep on the reed bed he and Emil shared. He often slept late, for he often sat awake for half the night. When Zanja returned to the fire, EmilÆs knee had been transformed. ôI donÆt know,ö he said bemusedly. ôSomehow, this seems like cheating.ö He worked the new knee as he might work the trigger of a new pistol. Karis said, ôFive years of walking on a shattered knee seems long enough to me.ö ôItÆs just as well I havenÆt known you all these years. How could I have kept from entreating you to heal my friends, who all are dead now? What a horror I would have made of your life, laying upon you a burden of moral quandaries, matters of life and death, that no one person should have to resolve by Page 193 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html herself. It used to take an entire government and strength of tradition to relieve the GÆdeon from having to decide how to dole out his favor. You have no such protections.ô ôNot even the protection of being able to pretend that IÆm superior to everyone else. Good morning,ö she added to Zanja. ôIs it too early for such serious talk?ö ôWeÆre out of tea,ö Emil said sadly. Karis had already eaten, but sat down with Zanja to eat again, and told her that Annis, who seemed to be living with the Otter People, had rowed over at dawn with the new bowl for the water clock, the dayÆs delivery of food, and a pair of sandals for Karis. ôHave I met Annis before?ö Karis asked. ôI doubt you remember. SheÆs a genius at blowing things up, and comes from a good family.ö ôThatÆs better than I can say about myself.ö Emil took a few steps, testing his new knee. ôOh blessed day,ö he said, ôYouÆre a genius, anyway. You can always get a good family.ö Karis was still smiling as, after breakfast, she took ZanjaÆs arm and walked her down the beach. ôYou must have been cold last night.ö ôIÆm afraid it made me presumptuous.ö [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ] |