With a Single Spell

CHAPTER 27

The flying castle’s outer study was not as dark as the tapestry chamber, but was still dim and gloomy; Tobas realized that they had emerged either at night, or at least dusk, or during a heavy rain. He heard no rain and decided it must be night. He tried to flick a fire into existence, then remembered that wizardry did not work here.

“Can you make a light?” he asked Karanissa.

She responded by raising a hand that glowed dimly. “I’m out of practice,” she apologized. “I’m better with fire, if you can find me something to burn.”

Without regard for whatever respect might be due the dead Derithon’s property, Tobas picked up the nearest length of shelving. “I’ve got some wood here that should burn; light one end, and I’ll hold the other.”

The witch complied; in a second or two a blue flame sprang up from a corner of the ancient plank, then spread across one end and brightened to a cheerful yellow.

Karanissa looked around at the wreckage of her long-dead lover’s library and murmured, “Gods!”

“What’s the matter?” Tobas asked.

“This place, last time I saw it...”

“The last time I saw it, it looked just about as it does now.” The burning plank was awkward to hold and was burning faster than he liked; he did not care to take the time to indulge Karanissa’s nostalgia. “Let’s get out of here,” he said. He took her hand and led her into the bedchamber.

She stared about, horrified, at each of the rooms as they passed through, but said nothing further.

When they reached the balcony above the Great Hall, Tobas noticed a light at the far end of the hall; he held his own light away from himself for a moment to get a better look.

A fire was burning somewhere outside, its glow visible through the crumbled gate. He hurried Karanissa down the steps and across the debris.

As the pair emerged into the cool night air, Tobas called, “Peren? Is that you?” He looked down over the edge of the stone disc on which the castle stood.

A lone figure sat crouched beside a campfire; at the sound of Tobas’ voice he arose and called, “Tobas?”

“Yes!” Tobas answered, all doubts dispelled by the yellow gleam of firelight on white hair. “Thank all the gods you came! No, not the gods; thank you, Peren! Thank you for coming!” He flung aside his burning piece of shelf and began half climbing, half sliding down the stone, Karanissa with him, in his eagerness to join his companion.

Peren came around the circumference to the lowest point to help the two down; he clasped Tobas’ hand warmly and tried to hide his surprise at Karanissa’s presence.

When all three were on the ground, Tobas, still catching his breath, announced, “Karanissa, this is Peren the White; Peren, this is Karanissa of the Mountains; she’s a witch.”

“I’m pleased to meet you,” Peren said.

“And I you,” Karanissa replied with an odd salute that reminded Tobas that she had been in the military.

A moment of awkward silence followed; then Tobas took the initiative and began walking toward the campfire, asking, “How long have you been here, Peren?”

“Not long; I arrived around noon.”

“What time is it now?”

“The sun has been down less than an hour.”

“What did you do with the skeleton?”

Peren hesitated before replying. “I buried it. It seemed the best thing to do, since I had no way of making a proper pyre for bare bones. The spirit must have been freed long ago.”

Tobas glanced at Karanissa, worried that Peren’s words would upset her, but she seemed undisturbed. “That’s good,” he said. He hesitated, then asked Karanissa, “Do you think we should make a marker of some sort?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Derry never mentioned anything about it. He didn’t intend ever to die, after all. I think he’d like something, though.”

“Derry?” Peren asked.

“Derithon the Mage,” Tobas replied. “Those were his bones you buried.”

Peren nodded.

They had reached Peren’s little camp and all three settled to the ground by the fire; Peren, observing that Tobas and Karanissa were sitting as close together, as humanly possible, quietly made sure that he himself was several feet away. He could see well enough that three together would be a crowd.

“What about the spriggans?” Karanissa asked suddenly.

“What about them?” Tobas asked.

“Where are they? Some of them went through with you. And what about the mirror? Did you break it?”

“No,” Tobas admitted. “They got it away from me when I fell down the sloping floor. They’re all in the castle somewhere, I suppose, and the mirror with them.”

“Should we do anything about it?”

“I don’t think we need to,” Tobas replied, then hesitated. “Kara, are any of them listening?”

She peered around carefully. “No,” she said at last. “There are a few animals over there, chipmunks, maybe, but no spriggans.”

“Good. Kara, wizardry doesn’t work around here; we think that’s why Derithon’s castle fell. I told you about that. The mirror’s harmless unless they take it out of the dead area, and I don’t think they’re smart enough ever to figure that out unless someone tells them. So there won’t be any more spriggans appearing. And I don’t think they can reproduce any other way. A few dozen spriggans won’t hurt the World; we don’t need to worry about them anymore.”

“Oh.” Karanissa relaxed slightly. “Oh,” she said again, “that’s good.”

Peren said nothing, but glanced curiously at Tobas.

“Oh, you don’t know what a spriggan is, do you?” Karanissa said, noticing the glance. “I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“It’s all right,” Peren said.

“No,” Tobas said. “I don’t mean to shut you out. I’ll tell you the whole story.”

He described his adventures since their parting. By the time he had finished, Karanissa had dozed off, her head on Tobas’ shoulder, and the greater moon had risen halfway up the sky.

“...And we didn’t bring any supplies at all, I’m afraid,” he concluded. “Just what we were wearing. I’ve got my belt and a few precious things, but no food, no other weapons, no blankets. I’m sorry to be so careless.”

He did have his athame, he never went anywhere without it, and the little vial of brimstone was still on his belt because he had never bothered to remove it, but he had no other magical ingredients, no Book of Spells. He was glad that he had happened to have boots on when he tumbled through the tapestry.

When he stopped speaking, he shivered; the night had turned cold. Despite the fire they had kept up, he felt a sudden strong chill. “What’s the date?” he asked, suddenly curious.

“The fourth of Snowfall,” Peren replied. “We’re having a warm spell, and the snows are late this year.”

“Snowfall?” Tobas stared at the flames. “That’s almost three months. Where have you been, all this time? Did you get over the mountains?”

“It’s late,” Peren said. He pulled a blanket from his pack and wrapped it about himself. “We all need sleep. You and your woman take the tent; I’ll stay out here.”

“But...”

“I’ll tell you in the morning,” Peren said. “Now, go get some sleep.”

Reluctantly, Tobas obeyed. Karanissa never stirred as he carried her into the tent.