Black wizards - Douglas Niles [9]
"Come with me" she said quietly. "I'll take you to a place where you can rest and eat."
Slowly, Robyn reached for the man's arm, helping him stagger to his feet. He was very weak, swaying drunkenly. He certainly would have fallen if not for Robyn's supporting arms. He weighed little, however, and she had no difficulty holding him upright. Newt crept out of the leaves and buzzed warily behind.
Carefully she led him through the grove among the broad oak boles. They approached a vast tangle of brush beside the ring of stone arches that marked the Moonwell.
As Robyn approached the clump its thickly intertwined branches parted silently, creating a rounded arch that was slightly higher than her head – and revealing the tangle as a ring of brush, not a solid clump. Within the ring, she could see the tiny building that was the Great Druid's cottage. With its thatched roof and vine-covered walls, it looked like it had sprouted from the ground itself.
Robyn stopped abruptly, remembering that her teacher was taking a well-deserved nap. She decided to tell Genna about the stranger after she awakened. For now, she could tend to the man herself.
"Come this way," she said, changing course. "Through these trees." She led him between sheltering aspens, into a shaded area of lush grasses and soft flowers. "You can rest in the bower."
She helped the man into the meadow, leaning against a sturdy aspen to rest. A sudden growl erupted behind her, and she whirled – nearly dropping the stranger – to see a small mountain of brown fur rise from the grass. A huge creature snarled and bared its white fangs in annoyance.
The man cried out in fright and shrank against the tree trunk. His eyes nearly popped from his head at the sight of the huge bear.
"Grunt, stop it!" Robyn scolded, waving a hand at the animal. "Shame on you!"
The bear growled again but settled to all four feet and shambled across the meadow, disappearing into the aspens on the other side.
"I'm sorry," she explained, laying a hand upon the man's trembling arm. "He's very grumpy when he's awakened suddenly. Just ignore him – he wouldn't hurt you. Besides, the animals are forbidden to attack other creatures within the grove. You're safe here!"
She doubted that the stranger understood her, but he seemed soothed by her tone, for he clung tightly to her arm and allowed her to lead him further into the bower.
The bower was actually a grassy meadow, surrounded and covered by a converging tangle of trees. It was small, for they kept no animals and only used it for those periods when some injured creature of the wild needed the grove as a haven while recovering from wounds.
She helped the man, who seemed to grow weaker with every step, to a bed of lush grasses. Lowering him gently to the ground, she offered him more water.
Gradually his trembling subsided, and finally he slept. Even in unconsciousness, however, he clutched the tattered pouch and its rocklike contents tightly to his chest.
She rose silently when his breathing became deep and even, slipping through the curtain of aspens to leave him to his rest. There she found Newt perched suspiciously upon a low branch, waiting for her.
"Now, can we go swimming?" he asked.
* * * * *
"They were Calishites," reported Daryth. "At least, they learned their trade in Calimshan – at the Academy of Stealth." The Calishite's brown face was taut with anger, and his black eyes blazed.
"How can you be sure?" asked the prince. He shook his head, trying to clear away the grogginess of his short sleep. Suddenly, he remembered his father's body in the next room, but he clenched his jaw to stifle any display of emotion.