The Shadow Isle - Katharine Kerr [78]
“Naught.” Neb got out of bed, then strode over to the window. “It’s chilly tonight. I think I’ll close the shutters.”
With them, he closed his heart, or so Branna thought of it. When he came back to bed, he’d arranged a masklike smile on his face. He blew out the candles, announced he was tired, and turned on his side with his back toward her. She lay awake for some while and tried to understand what had caused the change in him. Mentioning memory? she wondered. The subject seemed a slight one to have such a great effect, but it was the best answer she could come up with.
On the morrow, the silver dragon flew in, bringing Dallandra a good reason to leave her chamber. Although he landed out in the meadows behind the dun, Branna went down to tell him to come lair on the roof of the broch itself, a shorter distance for Dallandra to travel.
“There’s no need to fuss,” Dallandra said wearily. “I may be sore, but I didn’t tear, and I can certainly climb up to the roof on my own.”
“Oh, I assumed that,” Branna said. “I’m not fussing, truly I’m not. You were just so tired by all the traveling.”
“Now that, alas, is true.” Dallandra had a sudden thought. “Would you go fetch Penna? If she’s not afraid to come see the dragon, I’d like her to look at Rori’s wound.”
“I will. She’s an odd lass, isn’t she?”
“Very.”
“Have you ever seen her wash?”
“Um, I haven’t. Doesn’t she?”
“Oh, all the time, Solla tells me. But she takes a little bit of water in a basin and washes only one small bit of herself, her hands, say, or one arm, or a foot. Then a little while later she’ll get more water and wash another small bit. It takes her a couple of days to wash all of herself.”
“How very odd indeed! Now, keep this to yourself, but I’ve come to the conclusion that she’s as different from us as we are from the Horsekin.”
“But she’s not Horsekin?”
“Somewhat else entirely. When I feel stronger I’ll have a good long talk with her. For now, I’ll go see Rori.”
Up on the roof there was barely room for the dragon and Dallandra both, but Penna did climb the ladder and stick her head out of the trapdoor. Dallandra leaned against the dragon’s massive haunch and watched the lass study the wound on Rori’s side.
“There’s a hole in the blue shadow part,” Penna pronounced at last. “Did someone cut a piece out of his side?”
“They didn’t,” Dallandra said. “It’s just a stab wound in the flesh.”
“Well, in the blue shadow it’s a hole, like you’d scoop out of the dirt with a trowel, if you were going to plant a seedling.”
“That’s most interesting, and you have my thanks, Penna. I thought you might be able to see somewhat that I couldn’t.”
“It gladdens my heart to help.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “May I go now? I don’t mean to be rude, but there’s this smell about him.”
“I stink, you mean,” Rori said. “I know it, no need to mince words.”
“My apologies anyway.” Penna turned a little pale at the deep growl of his voice. She bobbed her head Dallandra’s way to substitute for a curtsy, then climbed down the ladder and disappeared from view. Dallandra could hear her speaking with someone on the landing below—a male voice, Neb’s, she realized. She could hear that Penna was telling him about the wound in the “blue shadow part,” as she termed the etheric double. Their voices faded away down the stairs. Someone else who’ll need teaching, Dallandra thought, a trifle wearily. Well, all in good time.
Rori crossed his front paws and looked at her expectantly.
“Thanks to Penna, we have somewhat of an explanation,” Dallandra said. “No wonder I can’t get that wretched cut to heal.”
“So!” Rori said. “The wound is cursed after all.”
“It’s not, not in the usual sense.” Dallandra sighed. It seemed that evil curses were the first thing everyone thought of whenever some bad thing needed explaining. “I’m not sure what exactly is wrong, but Raena didn’t attach any evil spirits to you or invoke any nasty godlets, either. I suspect Yraen’s silver dagger is what’s to blame. That beastly spell on it drains etheric force, somehow, when one of the People touches it, if that