Legacy of the Darksword - Margaret Weis [61]
I hastened after her, my way comparatively easy now. She heard my footsteps, when I drew near, and made a halfhearted attempt to increase the speed of her pace, but that didn’t last long. Realizing the futility of trying to escape, she stopped and turned to face me. Her extreme pallor made her face ghostly in the starlight; her black eyes beneath their thick brows were bright with anger and defiance. But I saw that she was tired, too, and perhaps a little frightened, and that there was something in her which was glad she was no longer alone.
I caught hold of her arm beneath her cloak and started to draw her into the shadows of the trees that lined the road. “What are you doing?” she demanded, breaking free. I pointed to the shadows, then to the gleaming white road, and shook my head.
“He’s trying to tell you that we stand out like a mole on the Countess D’Arymple’s backside. She had a very white, smooth backside,” Teddy added helpfully.
“I don’t see what difference it makes,” Eliza said petulantly. She held the bear tucked under one arm, the heavy bundle awkwardly in the other hand. “No one is around to notice us, anyway.”
“From your mouth to the Almin’s ear,” said Teddy, which was, more or less, exactly what I had been thinking.
I took hold of Eliza’s arm again and this time she allowed me to lead her off that gleaming highway and into the shadows of the trees. She carried the bundle. I did not try to take it from her. Once in the deep shadows, she dropped the burden on the ground, in a pile of leaves. Then she sank down on a low, crumbling wall and stared at the bundle at her feet.
“I didn’t know it would be so heavy,” she said. “It didn’t seem heavy when I first picked it up. But now it weighs more and more. And it’s awkward and difficult to carry.”
I pulled out my electronic notebook from the pocket of my jacket; thanking the Almin that I’d put it there earlier, for such had been my haste at departure that I had not thought to bring it along. I typed the words. The Darksword.
“Yes,” said Eliza, looking at what I’d written.
What are you doing with it? Where are you taking it? I asked.
“To the army base,” she replied.
I was so astonished, I stared at her and forgot to type.
“My father is wrong,” she said in a low, determined voice, looking down at the sword at her feet. “It’s not his fault.” She defended him loyally, glanced at me defiantly, as if I’d accused him. “You don’t know him! If he finds it hard to trust people, can you blame him? Time and again he was betrayed by those he trusted.”
It was not quite as simple as that, but I honored her for defending him.
“I’m taking the sword to the army base, to give it to the Border Patrol to take back to Earth. Then people will leave us alone and our lives will be peaceful once more. And when the sword is gone, no one will hurt Father, ever again.”
I saw the tears shine in her dark eyes that were looking forward to that life, a life that would be empty for her, isolated and alone on this deserted world. I saw her generous, noble spirit in that moment and I loved her. I could not tell her. It would not be fair to take advantage of her. But silently I pledged my heart and my soul to her service, as I knew in that other life the catalyst had pledged his heart and soul to serve his queen.
How do you know about the army base? I typed.
“I’ve been there,” she said with a smile at my surprise. “Simkin showed me. It was his idea to take the sword there tonight.”
She fondled the bear, rubbing his head.
“Oh, no one at the base ever saw me,” she said. “I made certain of that. Simkin used his magic to keep me invisible. I would sit on crates and watch the people come and go and listen to them talk. I’d do that for hours, when Mama and Papa thought I was in the library studying.” She grinned impishly. “I used to watch the