Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy)-第48章

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ore　so　little　resemblance　to　the　touchstone　she　knew。　but　at　least　he　was　running　away　from　the　enemy　。　。　。

on　he　ran；　leaving　the　road；　climbing　over　the　tumbled　stones　of　what　had　once　been　a　gateway；　hardly　pausing；　jumping　from　one　rock　to　another　with　goat…like　precision。　his　face　was　as　bright　red　as　a　fire　engine　now；　the　pulse　in　his　neck　beating　as　fast　as　a　hummingbird’s　wings。

sabriel；　forgetting　her　own　wound　in　sudden　fear　that　his　heart　would　burst；　started　shouting　at　him；　begging　him　to　e　out　of　the　rage。

“touchstone！　we’re　safe！　put　me　down！　stop！　please；　stop！”

he　didn’t　hear　her；　his　whole　concentration　bent　on　their　path。　through　the　ruined　gateway　he　ran；　on　along　a　walled　path；　nostrils　wide；　head　darting　from　side　to　side　like　a　scentfollowing　hound。

“touchstone！　touchstone！”　sabriel　sobbed；　beating　on　his　chest　with　her　hands。　“we’ve　got　away！　i’m　all　right！　stop！　stop！”

still　he　ran；　through　another　arch；　along　a　raised　way；　the　stones　falling　away　under　his　　feet；　down　a　short　stair；　jumping　gaping　holes。　a　closed　door　halted　him　for　a　moment；　and　sabriel　breathed　a　sigh　of　relief；　but　he　kicked　at　it　viciously；　till　the　rotten　wood　collapsed　and　he　could　back　through；　carefully　shielding　sabriel　from　splinters。

beyond　the　door　was　a　large；　open　field；　bordered　by　tumbledown　walls。　tall　weeds　covered　the　expanse；　with　the　occasional　stunted；　selfsown　tree　rising　above　them。　right　at　the　western　edge；　perched　where　a　wall　had　long　since　crumbled　down　the　hill；　there　were　two　paperwings；　one　facing　south　and　the　other　north—and　two　people；　indistinct　silhouettes　bordered　with　the　flaming　orange　of　the　afternoon　sun　that　was　sinking　down　behind　them。

touchstone　broke　into　a　gait　that　could　only　be　described　as　a　gallop；　parting　the　weeds　like　a　ship　ploughing　a　sargasso　sea。　he　ran　right　up　to　the　two　standing　figures；　gently　placed　sabriel　on　the　ground　before　them—and　fell　over；　eyes　rolling　back　to　whiteness；　limbs　twitching。

sabriel　tried　to　crawl　over　to　him；　but　the　pain　in　her　side　suddenly　bit　sharp　and　deadly；　so　it　was　all　she　could　do　to　sit　up　and　look　at　the　two　people；　and　beyond　them；　the　paperwings。

“hello；”　they　said；　in　unison。　“we　are；　for　the　moment；　the　clayr。　you　must　be　the　abhorsen　and　the　king。”

sabriel　stared；　dry…mouthed。　the　sun　was　in　her　eyes；　making　it　hard　for　her　to　see　them　clearly。　young　women；　both；　with　long　blond　hair　and　bright；　piercing　blue　eyes。　they　wore　white　linen　dresses；　with　long；　open　sleeves。

freshly　pressed　dresses　that　made　sabriel　feel　extremely　dirty　and　uncivilized；　in　her　reservoirsoaked　breeches　and　sweaty　armor。　like　their　voices；　their　faces　were　identical。　very　pretty。

twins。

they　smiled；　and　knelt　down；　one　by　sabriel’s　side；　the　other　by　touchstone’s。　sabriel　felt　charter　magic　slowly　welling　up　in　them；　like　water　rising　in　a　spring—then　it　flowed　into　her；　taking　away　the　hurt　and　pain　of　the　arrow。

next　to　her；　touchstone’s　breath　became　less　labored；　and　he　sank　into　the　easy　quiet　of　sleep。

“thank　you；”　croaked　sabriel。　she　tried　to　smile；　but　seemed　to　have　lost　the　knack　of　it。　“there　are　slavers　。　。　。　human　allies　of　the　dead　。　。　。　behind　us。”

“we　know；”　said　the　duo。　“but　they　are　ten　　　minutes　behind。　your　friend—the　king—ran　very；　very　fast。　we　saw　him　run　yesterday。　or　tomorrow。”

“ah；”　said　sabriel；　laboriously　pushing　herself　up　onto　her　feet；　thinking　of　her　father　and　what　he　had　said　about　the　clayr　confusing　their　whens。　best　to　find　out　what　she　needed　to　know　before　things　got　really　confusing。

“thank　you；”　she　said　again；　for　the　arrow　fell　on　the　ground　as　she　fully　straightened　up。　it　was　a　hunting　arrow；　narrow…headed；　not　an　armor…punching　bodkin。　they　had　only　meant　to　slow　her　down。　she　shivered；　and　felt　the　hole　between　the　armor　plates。　the　wound　didn’t　feel　healed　exactly—just　older；　as　if　it　had　struck　a　week　ago；　instead　of　minutes。

“father　said　you　would　be　here　。　。　。　that　you　have　been　watching　for　us；　and　watching　for　where　kerrigor　has　his　body。”

“yes；”　replied　the　clayr。　“well；　not　us　exactly。

we’ve　only　been　allowed　to　be　the　clayr　today；　because　we’re　the　best　paperwing　pilots　。　。　。”

“or　actually；　ryelle　is　。　。　。”　one　of　the　twins　said；　pointing　at　the　other。　“but　since　she　would　need　a　paperwing　to　fly　home　in；　two　paperwings　were　needed；　so　。　。　。”

“sanar　came　too；”　ryelle　continued；　pointing　back　at　her　sister。

“both　of　us；”　they　chorused。　“now；　there　isn’t　much　time。　you　can　take　the　red　and　gold　paperwing　。　。　。　we　painted　it　in　the　royal　colors　when　we　knew　last　week。　but　first；　there’s　kerrigor’s　body。”

“yes；”　said　sabriel。　her　father’s—her　family’s—　the　kingdom’s　enemy。　for　her　to　deal　with。　her　burden；　no　matter　how　heavy；　and　how　feeble　her　shoulders　currently　felt；　she　had　to　bear　it。

“his　body　is　in　ancelstierre；”　said　the　twins。

“but　our　vision　is　weak　across　the　wall；　so　we　don’t　have　a　map；　or　know　the　place　names。

we’ll　have　to　show　you—and　you’ll　have　to　remember。”

“yes；”　agreed　sabriel；　feeling　like　a　dull　student　promising　to　deal　with　a　question　quite　beyond　her。　“yes。”

the　clayr　nodded；　and　smiled　again。　their　teeth　were　very　white　and　even。　one；　possibly　ryelle—sabriel　had　already　got　them　confused—　brought　a　bottle　made　of　clear　green　glass　out　from　the　flowing　sleeve　of　her　robe；　the　telltale　flash　of　charter　magic　showing　it　hadn’t　been　there　before。　the　other　woman—sanar—　　produced　a　long　ivory　wand　out　of　her　sleeve。

“ready？”　they　asked　each　other　simultaneously；　and；　“yes；”　before　their　question　had　even　penetrated　sabriel’s　tired　brain。

ryelle　unstoppered　the　bottle　with　a　resonant　“pop；”　and　in　one　quick　motion；　poured　out　the　contents　along　a　horizontal　line。　sanar；　equally　quickly；　drew　the　wand　across　the　falling　water—and　it　froze　in　mid…air；　to　form　a　pane　of　transparent　ice。　a　frozen　window；　suspended　in　front　of　sabriel。

“watch；”　manded　the　women；　and　sanar　tapped　the　ice…window　with　her　wand。　it　clouded　over　at　that　touch；　briefly　showed　a　scene　of　whirling　snow；　a　glimpse　of　the　wall；　then　steadied　into　a　moving　vision—much　like　a　film　shot　from　a　traveling　car。　wyverley　college　had　frowned　on　films；　but　sabriel　had　been　to　see　quite　a　few　in　bain。　this　was　much　the　same；　but　in　color；　and　she　could　hear　natural　sounds　as　clearly　as　if　she　were　there。

the　window　showed　typical　ancelstierran　farmland—a　long　field　of　wheat；　ripe　for　the　harvest；　with　a　tractor　stopped　in　the　distance；　its　driver　chatting　with　another　man　perched　atop　a　cart；　his　two　draft…horses　standing　　stolidly；　peering　out　through　their　blinkers。

the　view　raced　closer　towards　these　two　men；　veered　around　them　with　a　snatch　of　caught　conversation；　and　continued—following　a　road；　up　and　over　a　hill；　through　a　small　wood　and　up　to　a　crossroads；　where　the　gravel　intersected　with　a　macadamized　route　of　greater　importance。　there　was　a　sign　there；　and　the　“eye；”　or　whatever　it　was；　zoomed　up　to　it；　till　the　signpost　filled　the　whole　of　the　ice…window。　“wyverley　？　miles；”

it　read；　directing　travelers　along　the　major　road；　and　they　were　off　again；　shooting　down　towards　wyverley　village。

a　few　seconds　later；　the　moving　image　slowed；　to　show　the　familiar　houses　of　wyverley　village；　the　blacksmith…cum…mechanic’s　shop；　the　wyvern　public　house；　the　constable’s　trim　house　with　the　blue　lantern。　all　landmarks　known　to　sabriel。　she　concentrated　even　more　carefully；　for　surely　the　vision；　having　shown　her　a　fixed　point　of　reference；　would　now　race　off　to　parts　of　ancelstierre　which　were　unknown　to　her。

but　the　picture　still　moved　slowly。　at　a　walking　pace；　it　went　through　the　village；　and　turned　off　the　road；　following　a　bridle…path　up　the　forested　hill　known　as　docky　point。　a　nice　　enough　hill；　to　be　sure；　covered　by　a　cork　tree　plantation；　with　some　quite　old　trees。　its　only　point　of　interest　was　the　rectangular　cairn　upon　the　hilltop　。　。　。　the　cairn　。　。　。　the　image　changed；　closing　in　on　the　huge；　grey…green　stones；　square…cut　and　tightly　packed　together。　a　relatively　recent　folly；　sabriel　remembered　from　their　local　history　lessons。　a　little　less　than　two　hundred　years　old。　she’d　almost　visited　it　once；　but　something　had　changed　her　mind　。　。　。

the　image　changed　again；　somehow　sinking　through　the　stone；　down　between　the　lines　of　mortar；　zigzagging　around　the　blocks；　to　the　dark　chamber　at　its　heart。　for　an　instant　the　icewindow　went　pletely　dark；　then　light　came。　a　bronze　sarcophagus　lay　under　the　cairn；　metal　crawling　with　free　magic　perversions　of　charter　marks。　the　vision　dodged　these　shifting　marks；　penetrated　the　bronze。　a　body　lay　inside；　a　living　body；　wreathed　in　free　magic。

the　scene　shifted；　moving　with　jagged　difficulty　to　the　face　of　the　body。　a　handsome　face；　that　swam　closer　and　closer　into　focus；　a　face　that　showed　what　kerrigor　once　had　been。　the　human　face　of　rogir；　his　features　clearly　showing　that　he　had　shared　a　mother　with　touchstone。

sabriel　stared；　sickened　and　fascinated　by　the　similarities　between　the　half…brothers—then　the　vision　suddenly　blurred；　spinning　into　greyness；　greyn