The Shadow Isle - Katharine Kerr [69]
“From what you and my mam have told me, I do see what you mean, but then, what about us? Those of us who do live on Haen Marn, I mean? Be we naught but force taking form?”
“Very unlikely, partly because I’m here, too. I traveled with the island, and the gods all know that I’m made of real meat.” He held up his maimed right hand in illustration. “Besides, your mother had children in the usual way.”
Marnmara smiled in relief and nodded.
“I suspect,” Laz went on, “that real physical persons exist here the way we’d ride in a cart. We can climb in and out of a cart. It moves, we go along with it, but it’s made of different stuff than we are.”
“That does ring true to me.”
“Good. On the other hand, I do wonder about some of the boatmen. Lon and his mother are most definitely actual Mountain Folk, and quite probably so is one of rowers, but the others seem to appear and disappear like Wildfolk. I think the one real rower is the pattern, like, for the others. I certainly can’t tell them apart.”
“No more can I. Laz, this all be—”
A voice began calling, loudly and insistently, old Lonna’s voice, “Wynni! WYNNI! Where be you?” The voice came closer and closer, and eventually Lonna came walking through the apple trees to stop in front of the bench where they sat.
“Mara?” she said. “Where be your sister?”
“Oh, how would I know?” Mara said. “We were discussing somewhat of grave importance.”
“Here now.” Laz got up and smiled at Lonna. “I’ll help you look, if you’d like.” He glanced back at his sulky pupil. “Lonna’s a bit elderly to go running all over the island.”
Mara blushed. She forced out a smile and got up with a pleasant nod Lonna’s way. “My apologies,” she said. “Lonna, I’ll be looking upstairs for you. Doubtless, Her Laziness has gone back to bed.” She glanced at Laz. “I want to fetch the Ancients’ book, too. I do get impressions from it, and mayhap it will add to our discussion.”
While Mara went back to the manse, Laz searched the island, but he found no trace of Berwynna. He returned to the great hall to see a worried-looking Angmar talking with Mara by the staircase while Lonna listened, hands on hips, and a scowl on her face.
“Laz!” Angmar called out. “Found you Wynni?”
“I didn’t,” Laz said. “I take it Mara didn’t, either.”
“I didn’t.” Mara sounded close to tears. “And the dragon book is gone.”
“What?”
“I did lock it in the chest by my window, and it be not there now. I’ll wager that wretched Wynni stole it!”
“Now, now,” Angmar broke in. “More like you just mislaid it somewhere. What would Wynni be wanting with a book, and her not able to read? It be your sister’s whereabouts that worry me, anyway, not some book.”
“I do wager she knows value when she sees it.” Mara started to say more, then glanced Laz’s way and forced out a hypocritical smile. “But of course I do worry about her, as well. Avain may have the power to see her.”
In an anxious pack they hurried outside to Avain’s tower and trooped up the stairs along with a cloud of Mara’s cats, who always seemed to know excitement when they saw it. Avain was sitting at the table by her window, her big puffy head bent over her silver basin of water. Two of the cats jumped onto the table and advanced upon the basin as if they were planning on having a drink from it. Avain raised a huge hand and shooed them away.
“Avain, my love,” Angmar began.
“She be on the water, Mama,” Avain said.
“Wynni, you mean?”
“Wynni be on the water with Dougie.”
Although Angmar asked her many a question more, always the answer was the same, “Wynni be on the water with Dougie.”
“Mama, no more asking!” Avain looked up from the basin with tears in her eyes. “Avain see no more.”
“Well and good, then, my love.” Angmar ran her hand through Avain’s hair and smiled, soothing her. “My thanks for telling us what you did see.”
“Avain,” Mara said, and