Prophet of Moonshae - Douglas Niles [40]
She stood there in silence for some time. It might have been hours, though more likely only a few minutes passed. She felt herself drawn deeper and deeper into the soul of the water before her.
"Lady Princess, what do you see?" Blackstone couldn't help himself. He clumped forward on the rocks to stand at her side, not waiting for her to answer his question. "The vein of gold extends at least through that height… there." He pointed to the shoulder on their right.
Suddenly Alicia had a picture of those tunnel mouths, dripping tailings down the slope, into the well. She immediately understood the desecration that would be.
"The well must be preserved," she said quietly, turning to look at the earl.
Blackstone's dark eyebrows came together in such a ferocious scowl that his anger felt like a slap across her face-and that, too, was an abomination in the sacred place of holiness and peace.
"You can't be serious!" he insisted. "It's dead! Look at it, for the sake of the gods and the Ffolk! It stands here useless, while above it lies gold, millions of coins worth!"
"Enough!" Alicia barked her command, not in her role as a princess but in the voice of something deeper, more abiding. It was a power that filled her words, as proved by Blackstone, who blinked, biting back his anger, and held his tongue.
Abruptly a wave of weariness swept over Alicia, and she staggered on the rocks. She would have fallen but for the arm of Tavish as the bard reached out and helped her back to the dry shore.
"What is it, child? What happened?" asked the older woman, her voice soft and concerned.
Alicia looked at her and at Keane in wonder. "I don't know… Something, a feeling, came over me-a knowledge that this place is still important."
"For the sake of the gods, why?" demanded the earl, his fury once again forcing him to speak. In his mind, he saw a stream of gold flowing away from him, just out of his reach.
"Perhaps you should leave her for a while," Keane suggested, his voice low.
The earl whirled on him, and for a moment, the full force of his fury threatened to explode against the thin tutor. Then something-perhaps the memory of Gwyeth's humiliation at Keane's hand-gripped his tongue. Still furious, he stomped away from the trio at the edge of the pool.
"Thanks-thank you both," Alicia said. She felt shockingly weak, as drained as if she had just undergone a long and arduous training session with horses or arms.
"Now, tell us, what did you see?" Tavish persisted. Alicia noticed that the bard's eyes flared brightly, as from the heat of some private excitement.
"Nothing-not really. I didn't see anything, but I had a feeling here. First, of sadness-a sadness so bleak that I feared my heart would break. Then when I approached the water, it was as though I heard a soft voice counseling me, warning me. I knew that it would be wrong to let any harm come to this well!"
"I fear yonder earl does not share your conviction," murmured Keane, with a sidelong glance at Blackstone. The earl had rejoined his men-at-arms and now glowered darkly at the trio on the shore of the pool. His son Hanrald said something to the earl, but the noble brusquely gestured the younger man away.
Alicia looked up in alarm. "He must not destroy the Moonwell! We-I-have to make him understand and obey me."
"It won't be easy," Keane observed. "The king has already given him virtual agreement to go ahead with his plans. Remember the meeting in Callidyrr?"
"Agreement pending the approval of King Tristan's envoy-of me!"
"He may dispute that, claiming that the envoy was originally announced as the queen."
"She would understand. My mother would know if she could but come here!" Alicia exclaimed. "But even without her presence, I don't believe Blackstone would disobey an order backed by the authority of the High Crown of the Isles!"
"Shall we make our way back to the