Bearers of the Black Staff - Terry Brooks [58]
But the story had come from Panterra Qu, a boy she had met only once before and didn’t know much about. That he was friendly with the Orullians didn’t invest him with much credibility. But his demeanor and his presence suggested that tall tales and clever pranks were not something he engaged in. So she had listened until his story was finished. She liked the girl, too. Prue Liss. A tiny thing, but obviously self-possessed and able. She did not seem the sort to engage in foolishness, either.
It was late in the evening by now, the sun two hours gone, the moon up, and the sky ablaze with stars. Neither clouds nor mist obscured the view this night, something exceedingly rare. Phryne was enjoying it, even knowing that she might be wasting her time at this meeting. But it was her time to waste, and she had discovered years ago that an Elven Princess could do pretty much what she wanted. Her parents had told her otherwise, but she quickly came to understand the reality of her situation. If she was discreet and caused no harm, she didn’t need to answer to anyone.
She sighed as she gazed off into the trees, still keeping them waiting. It wasn’t that simple, of course. Never had been. And certainly wasn’t now, with her father married to the stepmother from the black pits of the dead. Sometimes she could barely make herself believe that things had come to this. She had loved and revered her mother. She still loved and revered her father, even after his remarriage. Her stepmother was a different story.
“This is all true, is it?” she asked Panterra Qu suddenly, shifting her eyes to his, pinning him against the darkness. “All of it?”
He didn’t flinch. “It is.”
“I would not like it very much if this turned out to be another Orullian trick performed at my expense.”
He looked confused. “I wouldn’t do that.”
“It is all true, cousin,” Tasha Orullian assured her, reaching out to pour a little more ale into her tankard. “This is no joke.”
She thought about it a moment more. The possibility of the protective wall giving way, of the valley suddenly vulnerable to whatever lived without, whatever had survived the horrors of the Great Wars, was overwhelming. She imagined for a moment what might be out there, and her thoughts were not pleasant.
She was a practical girl—well, girl was not really the right term anymore—a practical young woman. She had become more so since her mother’s death and her father’s remarriage. She had grown up quickly in that new environment, learned how to adapt to unfavorable situations and difficult people. She had grown to accept unpleasantness as a part of life rather than to struggle futilely against truths that could not be changed. Admittedly, this new truth was of a different sort than anything she had encountered before, and she was still not quite sure she believed it. But the possibility of its existence was not something that could be dismissed out of hand.
“So your plan is to go up into the passes and find out if the barrier is still in place or if it is crumbling?”
“Yes,” Panterra responded, and she liked it that he didn’t equivocate.
“Just the four of us,” Tenerife added. “A quick survey and a solid determination of what’s happened. Once we know, we report back to the King and the High Council.”
“I don’t understand,” she said. “What’s stopping you?”
“We can’t go without the King’s permission.”
“Then ask it of him!”
There was a collective hesitation. “We hoped maybe you could do that for us,” Tenerife said finally.
She stared at him. “Why me instead of you, cousin?”
“Because we think whoever tells him needs to ask him to keep it to himself for a while and not confuse the matter by allowing other individuals to become involved,” Tasha blurted out. “Cousin.”
She hesitated only a moment. “You mean my stepmother and her lover. You’re worried about them.”
Panterra and Prue exchanged a quick glance. “‘Her lover’?” the boy repeated carefully.
“Phryne, that