Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy)-第17章

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mogget　purred　under　the　scratching；　but　as　sabriel　leaned　close；　she　could　hear　the　faint　peal　of　the　tiny　saraneth　bell　cut　through　the　purr；　and　she　was　reminded　that　mogget　was　no　cat；　but　a　free　magic　creature。　for　a　moment；　sabriel　wondered　what　mogget’s　true　shape　was；　and　his　true　nature。

“i　am　the　servant　of　abhorsen；”　mogget　said　at　last。　“and　you　are　abhorsen；　so　i　must　help　you。　but　you　must　promise　me　that　you　will　not　raise　your　father；　if　his　body　is　dead。　truly；　he　would　not　wish　it。”

“i　cannot　promise。　but　i　will　not　act　without　much　thought。　and　i　will　listen　to　you；　if　you　are　by　me。”

“i　guessed　as　much；”　mogget　said；　twisting　his　head　away　from　sabriel’s　hand。　“it　is　true　that　you　are　sadly　ignorant；　or　you　would　promise　with　a　will。　your　father　should　never　have　sent　you　beyond　the　wall。”

“why　did　he？”　asked　sabriel；　her　heart　suddenly　leaping　with　the　question　that　had　been　with　her　all　her　school　days；　a　question　abhorsen　　had　always　smiled　away　with　the　one　word；　“necessity。”

“he　was　afraid；”　replied　mogget；　turning　his　attention　back　to　the　fish。　“you　were　safer　in　ancelstierre。”

“what　was　he　afraid　of？”

“eat　your　fish；”　replied　mogget；　as　two　sendings　appeared　from　the　kitchen；　bearing　what　was　obviously　the　next　course。　“we’ll　talk　later。　in　the　study。”

d　　



chapter　ix

：
lanterns　lit　the　study；　old　brass　lanterns　that　burned　with　charter　magic　in　place　of　oil。　smokeless；　silent　and　eternal；　they　provided　as　good　a　light　as　the　electric　bulbs　of　ancelstierre。

books　lined　the　walls；　following　the　curves　of　the　tower　around；　save　for　where　the　stair　rose　from　below；　and　the　ladder　climbed　to　the　observatory　above。

a　redwood　table　sat　in　the　middle　of　the　room；　its　legs　scaled　and　beady…eyed；　ornamental　flames　licking　from　the　mouths　of　the　dragonheads　that　gripped　each　corner　of　the　tabletop。

an　inkwell；　pens；　papers　and　a　pair　of　bronze　map　dividers　lay　upon　the　table。　chairs　of　the　same　red　wood　surrounded　it；　their　upholstery　black　with　a　variation　on　the　silver　key　motif。

the　table　was　one　of　the　few　things　sabriel　remembered　from　her　childhood　visits。　“dragon　desk”　her　father　had　called　it；　and　she’d　wrapped　herself　around　one　of　those　dragon　legs；　her　head　not　even　reaching　the　underside　of　the　table。

sabriel　ran　her　hand　over　the　smooth；　cool　wood；　feeling　both　her　memory　of　it　and　the　current　sensation；　then　she　sighed；　pulled　up　a　chair　and　put　down　the　three　books　she’d　tucked　under　her　arm。　two；　she　put　together　close　to　her；　the　other　she　pushed　to　the　center　of　the　table。　this　third　book　came　from　the　single　glassed…in　cabinet　among　the　bookshelves　and　now　lay　like　some　quiescent　predator；　possibly　asleep；　possibly　waiting　to　spring。　its　binding　was　of　pale　green　leather　and　charter　marks　burned　in　the　silver　clasps　that　held　it　closed。　the　book　of　the　dead。

the　other　two　books　were　normal　enough　by　parison。　both　were　charter　magic　spell　books；　listing　mark　after　mark；　and　how　they　could　be　used。　sabriel　didn’t　even　recognize　most　of　the　marks　after　chapter　four　in　the　first　book。

there　were　twenty　chapters　in　each　volume。

doubtless　there　were　many　other　books　that　　would　be　useful；　sabriel　thought；　but　she　still　felt　too　tired　and　shaky　to　get　more　down。　she　planned　to　talk　to　mogget；　then　study　for　an　hour　or　two；　before　going　back　to　bed。　even　four　or　five　waking　hours　seemed　too　much　after　her　ordeal；　and　the　loss　of　consciousness　involved　in　sleep　suddenly　seemed　very　appealing。

mogget；　as　if　he　had　heard　sabriel　thinking　of　him；　appeared　at　the　top　of　the　steps　and　sauntered　over　to　sprawl　on　a　well…upholstered　footstand。

“i　see　you　have　found　that　book；”　he　said；　tail　flicking　backwards　and　forwards　as　he　spoke。

“take　care　you　do　not　read　too　much。”

“i’ve　already　read　it　all；　anyway；”　replied　sabriel；　shortly。

“perhaps；”　remarked　the　cat。　“but　it　isn’t　always　the　same　book。　like　me；　it　is　several　things；　not　one。”

sabriel　shrugged；　as　if　to　show　that　she　knew　all　about　the　book。　but　that　was　just　bravado—　the　inner　sabriel　was　afraid　of　the　book　of　the　dead。　she　had　worked　her　way　through　every　chapter；　under　her　father’s　direction；　but　her　normally　excellent　memory　held　only　selected　pages　of　this　tome。　if　it　changed　its　contents　as　　well—she　suppressed　a　shiver；　and　told　herself　that　she　knew　all　that　was　necessary。

“my　first　step　must　be　to　find　my　father’s　body；”　she　said。　“which　is　where　i　need　your　help；　mogget。”

“i　have　no　knowledge　of　where　he　met　his　end；”　mogget　stated；　with　finality。　he　yawned；　and　started　licking　his　paws。

sabriel　frowned；　and　found　herself　pulling　in　her　lips；　a　characteristic　she　had　deplored　in　the　unpopular　history　teacher　at　school；　who　often　went　“thin…lipped”　in　anger　or　exasperation。

“just　tell　me　when　you　last　saw　him；　and　what　his　plans　were。”

“why　don’t　you　read　his　diary；”　suggested　mogget；　in　a　momentary　break　from　cleaning　himself。

“where　is　it？”　asked　sabriel；　excited。　a　diary　would　be　tremendously　helpful。

“he　probably　took　it　with　him；”　replied　mogget。　“i　haven’t　seen　it。”

“i　thought　you　had　to　help　me！”　sabriel　said；　another　frown　wrinkling　across　her　forehead；　reinforcing　the　thin　lips。　“please　answer　my　question。”

“three　weeks　ago；”　mogget　mumbled；　mouth　　half　muffled　in　the　fur　of　his　stomach；　pink　tongue　alternating　between　words　and　cleansing。

“a　messenger　came　from　belisaere；　begging　for　his　help。　something　dead；　something　that　could　pass　the　wards；　was　preying　on　them。

abhorsen—i　mean　the　previous　abhorsen；　ma’am—suspected　that　there　was　more　to　it　than　that；　belisaere　being　belisaere。　but　he　went。”

“belisaere。　the　name’s　familiar—it’s　a　town？”

“a　city。　the　capital。　at　least　it　was；　when　there　was　still　a　kingdom。”

“was？”

mogget　stopped　washing；　and　looked　across；　eyes　narrowing　to　frowning　slits。　“what　did　they　teach　you　in　that　school？　there　hasn’t　been　a　king　or　queen　for　two　hundred　years；　and　not　even　a　regent　for　twenty。　that’s　why　the　kingdom　sinks　day　by　day；　into　a　darkness　from　which　no　one　will　rise　。　。　。”

“the　charter—”　sabriel　began；　but　mogget　interrupted　with　a　yowl　of　derision。

“the　charter　crumbles　too；”　he　mewed。

“without　a　ruler；　charter　stones　broken　one　by　one　with　blood；　one　of　the　great　charters　twi　。　。　。　twis　。　。　。　twisted—”

“what　do　you　mean；　one　of　the　great　　charters？”　sabriel　interrupted　in　turn。　she　had　never　heard　of　such　a　thing。　not　for　the　first　time；　she　also　wondered　what　she’d　been　taught　in　school；　and　why　her　father　had　kept　so　quiet　about　the　state　of　the　old　kingdom。

but　mogget　was　silent；　as　if　the　things　he’d　already　said　had　stopped　his　mouth。　for　a　moment；　he　seemed　to　be　trying　to　form　words；　but　nothing　came　from　his　small　red　mouth。

finally；　he　gave　up。　“i　cannot　tell　you。　it’s　part　of　my　binding；　curse　it！　suffice　to　say　that　the　whole　world　slides　into　evil；　and　many　are　helping　the　slide。”

“and　others　resist　it；”　said　sabriel。　“like　my　father。　like　me。”

“it　depends　what　you　do；”　mogget　said；　as　if　he　doubted　that　someone　as　patently　useless　as　sabriel　would　make　much　difference。　“not　that　i　care—”

the　sound　of　the　trapdoor　opening　above　their　heads　stopped　the　cat　in　mid…speech。

sabriel　tensed；　looking　up　to　see　what　was　ing　down　the　ladder；　then　started　breathing　again　as　she　realized　that　it　was　only　another　charter　sending；　its　black　habit　flopping　over　the　rungs　of　the　ladder　as　it　came　down。　this　　one；　like　the　guards　on　the　cliff　corridor—but　unlike　the　other　house　servants—had　the　silver　key　emblazoned　on　its　chest　and　back。　it　bowed　to　sabriel；　and　pointed　up。

with　a　feeling　of　foreboding；　sabriel　knew　that　it　wanted　her　to　look　at　something　from　the　observatory。　reluctantly；　she　pushed　her　chair　back　and　went　over　to　the　ladder。　a　cold　draft　was　blowing　in　through　the　open　trapdoor；　carrying　with　it　the　chill　of　ice　from　further　up　the　river。　sabriel　shivered；　as　her　hands　touched　the　cold　metal　rungs。

emerging　into　the　observatory；　the　chill　passed；　for　the　room　was　still　lit　by　the　last；　red　light　of　the　setting　sun；　giving　an　illusion　of　warmth　and　making　sabriel　squint。　she　had　no　memory　of　this　room；　so　it　was　with　delight　that　she　saw　that　it　was　totally　walled　in　glass；　or　something　like　it。　the　bare　beams　of　the　redtiled　roof　rested　on　transparent　walls；　so　cleverly　morticed　together　that　the　roof　was　like　a　work　of　art；　plete　with　the　slight　draft　that　reduced　its　perfection　to　a　more　human　level。

a　large　telescope　of　gleaming　glass　and　bronze　dominated　the　observatory；　standing　triumphant　on　a　tripod　of　dark　wood　and　darker　iron。　a　tall　　observer’s　stool　stood　next　to　it；　and　a　lectern；　a　star　chart　still　spilled　across　it。　a　thick；　toe　wriggle…inviting　carpet　lay　under　all；　a　carpet　that　was　also　a　map　of　the　heavens；　showing　many　different；　colorful　constellations　and　whirling　planets；　woven　in　thick；　richly　dyed　wool。

the　sending；　who　had　followed　sabriel；　went　to　the　south　wall　and　pointed　out　towards　the　southern　riverbank；　its　pallid；　charter…drawn　hand　indicating　the　very　spot　where　sabri