[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
that alone had taken Parry months of practice, but now he blessed that effort.
Even so, it took him many minutes to cover the distance. By the time he reached the village, he knew
from the clamor that his worst fear had been realized. The soldiers of the crusade were there, and they
were before the house of Jolie's family. Something was happening there, and Parry dreaded to imagine
what.
He landed and returned to his human form. He was naked. He had not yet developed to that
sophistication of transformation that enabled him to change his clothing, too. But he had prepared for
such an event; he had a cache of clothing in a hollow tree just beyond the village.
He hurried to this now. Just as he was reaching into it, a harsh voice sounded: "We have you. Sorcerer!"
Parry jumped up, whirling on the man, but found himself facing a cocked crossbow aimed at his chest.
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Click here to buy
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He froze in place.
"Before you try magic, know this," the crossbowman said. "We have your girl, and she will die the
moment you oppose us. Then we shall hunt you down, too; we know how to do it."
Evidently they did! Twice now, in two places, the soldiers of the crusade had sprung successful traps.
They had known exactly where to find his father and himself, and who else to look for. It was too neat.
There had to be magic involved--and until he knew its source and nature, he would have to cooperate.
Unless his hand was forced.
They marched him, naked, into the village. None of the villagers was in evidence; the soldiers had
evidently cowed them and sent them to hide in their cottages while waiting for Parry. Now they had
him. He could change form and escape, or conjure a weapon and attack; he was not at all helpless. But
he was sure they were not bluffing about Jolie, and he could not risk precipitating harm to her.
They did have her. Another sergeant held her by the arm. Her dress was torn, and the other soldiers were
ogling what showed. She had evidently fought, but been overcome; the white cross on the sergeant's
tunic was smeared with dirt. Because she lacked the ability to change form, she had been unable to
escape that way. How he wished now he had taught her that, and let some of the other arts wait!
Still, she did have effective abilities. She could mesmerize, if she could gain and hold the direct gaze of
a single person. If they could maneuver things so that she could stun her captor with a glance, then Parry
could change to a horse and carry her swiftly away.
"Bind him!" the sergeant commanded. "Blindfold him, too; that will stop his magic!"
They were wrong in that; Parry had limited second sight, so that he could see almost as well without
eyes as he could with them. They were underestimating him, and that was an asset. He needed every
advantage he could muster!
They bound him tightly with rope, and put a hood over his head, tying it closely about his neck. They
thrust him against the wall of the cottage.
"I don't know," a soldier said. "I've heard those sorcerers cannot be bound if they don't want to be. How
do we know he isn't pretending helplessness until he's ready to wipe us out?"
The sergeant considered. "You're right. We were warned to take no chances. If anything goes wrong at
the old sorcerer's place, we want to be sure we've got this one secure. So we'll test it. Keep the crossbow
on him, and kill him if he moves."
"But he could wait till night, then make a vision to distract the guard and break away," the soldier
pointed out.
That soldier was too smart!
"I had a good test in mind," the sergeant said. "I'm going to take the wench inside and have some fun
with her. If he can get free, that's when he'll do it. If he doesn't budge, we'll know he's secure."
The sergeant was too cocksure. He knew less about sorcerers than he thought. Parry could break free
anytime, but he would not-because it was not his safety but Jolie's he was concerned with. But the
sergeant was giving her the opportunity she needed. The moment he tried to rape her, she would
mesmerize him. Because they would be out of sight of the soldiers, she would be able to stun him and
tie him up. Then Parry would burst free and change and carry her away.
Ah, but there was the crossbow. With his second sight, he could see the soldier clearly. Parry was facing
away from him, but it didn't matter; second sight did not depend on direction.
He generated an image that caused his own body to seem to blur. The soldier blinked, but this blurring
was not of his eyes but of the subject. Parry's form wavered rhythmically, in a manner that induced
mesmerism. The soldier's mind became clouded, and then the soldier drifted gently to sleep, his eyes
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Click here to buy
Click here to buy
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still open and his weapon still pointed. But now he would not fire when Parry moved.
Parry diverted his sight to Jolie. Her parents' cottage was empty, or perhaps the people were bound in [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl freetocraft.keep.pl
that alone had taken Parry months of practice, but now he blessed that effort.
Even so, it took him many minutes to cover the distance. By the time he reached the village, he knew
from the clamor that his worst fear had been realized. The soldiers of the crusade were there, and they
were before the house of Jolie's family. Something was happening there, and Parry dreaded to imagine
what.
He landed and returned to his human form. He was naked. He had not yet developed to that
sophistication of transformation that enabled him to change his clothing, too. But he had prepared for
such an event; he had a cache of clothing in a hollow tree just beyond the village.
He hurried to this now. Just as he was reaching into it, a harsh voice sounded: "We have you. Sorcerer!"
Parry jumped up, whirling on the man, but found himself facing a cocked crossbow aimed at his chest.
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
B
B
Y
Y
B
B
r r
He froze in place.
"Before you try magic, know this," the crossbowman said. "We have your girl, and she will die the
moment you oppose us. Then we shall hunt you down, too; we know how to do it."
Evidently they did! Twice now, in two places, the soldiers of the crusade had sprung successful traps.
They had known exactly where to find his father and himself, and who else to look for. It was too neat.
There had to be magic involved--and until he knew its source and nature, he would have to cooperate.
Unless his hand was forced.
They marched him, naked, into the village. None of the villagers was in evidence; the soldiers had
evidently cowed them and sent them to hide in their cottages while waiting for Parry. Now they had
him. He could change form and escape, or conjure a weapon and attack; he was not at all helpless. But
he was sure they were not bluffing about Jolie, and he could not risk precipitating harm to her.
They did have her. Another sergeant held her by the arm. Her dress was torn, and the other soldiers were
ogling what showed. She had evidently fought, but been overcome; the white cross on the sergeant's
tunic was smeared with dirt. Because she lacked the ability to change form, she had been unable to
escape that way. How he wished now he had taught her that, and let some of the other arts wait!
Still, she did have effective abilities. She could mesmerize, if she could gain and hold the direct gaze of
a single person. If they could maneuver things so that she could stun her captor with a glance, then Parry
could change to a horse and carry her swiftly away.
"Bind him!" the sergeant commanded. "Blindfold him, too; that will stop his magic!"
They were wrong in that; Parry had limited second sight, so that he could see almost as well without
eyes as he could with them. They were underestimating him, and that was an asset. He needed every
advantage he could muster!
They bound him tightly with rope, and put a hood over his head, tying it closely about his neck. They
thrust him against the wall of the cottage.
"I don't know," a soldier said. "I've heard those sorcerers cannot be bound if they don't want to be. How
do we know he isn't pretending helplessness until he's ready to wipe us out?"
The sergeant considered. "You're right. We were warned to take no chances. If anything goes wrong at
the old sorcerer's place, we want to be sure we've got this one secure. So we'll test it. Keep the crossbow
on him, and kill him if he moves."
"But he could wait till night, then make a vision to distract the guard and break away," the soldier
pointed out.
That soldier was too smart!
"I had a good test in mind," the sergeant said. "I'm going to take the wench inside and have some fun
with her. If he can get free, that's when he'll do it. If he doesn't budge, we'll know he's secure."
The sergeant was too cocksure. He knew less about sorcerers than he thought. Parry could break free
anytime, but he would not-because it was not his safety but Jolie's he was concerned with. But the
sergeant was giving her the opportunity she needed. The moment he tried to rape her, she would
mesmerize him. Because they would be out of sight of the soldiers, she would be able to stun him and
tie him up. Then Parry would burst free and change and carry her away.
Ah, but there was the crossbow. With his second sight, he could see the soldier clearly. Parry was facing
away from him, but it didn't matter; second sight did not depend on direction.
He generated an image that caused his own body to seem to blur. The soldier blinked, but this blurring
was not of his eyes but of the subject. Parry's form wavered rhythmically, in a manner that induced
mesmerism. The soldier's mind became clouded, and then the soldier drifted gently to sleep, his eyes
a
a
T
T
n
n
s
s
F
F
f
f
o
o
D
D
r
r
P
P
m
m
Y
Y
e
e
Y
Y
r
r
B
B
2
2
.
.
B
B
A
A
Click here to buy
Click here to buy
w
w
m
m
w
w
o
o
w
w
c
c
.
.
.
.
A
A
Y
Y
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r r
still open and his weapon still pointed. But now he would not fire when Parry moved.
Parry diverted his sight to Jolie. Her parents' cottage was empty, or perhaps the people were bound in [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]