Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy)-第50章

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ellow　aviators；　knights　of　the　sky；　or　anything　like　that。”

jorbert　nodded；　unmilitarily；　saluted；　and　turned　on　his　heel。

“and　don’t　forget　your　sword　next　time　you’re　on　duty；　officer；”　horyse　called　after　him。

“hasn’t　anyone　told　you　your　revolver　might　not　work？”

jorbert　nodded　again；　flushed；　almost　saluted；　then　scuttled　off　down　the　munication　trench。　one　of　the　soldiers　in　the　forward　observation　post；　a　corporal　with　a　full　sleeve　of　chevrons　denoting　twenty　years’　service；　and　a　charter　mark　on　his　forehead　to　show　his　perimeter　pedigree；　shook　his　head　at　the　departing　back　of　the　young　officer。

“why　are　you　shaking　your　head；　corporal　anshy？”　snapped　horyse；　irked　by　his　many　interrupted　shaves　and　this　new　and　potentially　dangerous　appearance　of　an　aircraft。

“water　on　the　brain；”　replied　the　corporal　cheerfully—and　rather　ambiguously。　horyse　opened　his　mouth　to　issue　a　sharp　reprimand；　　then　closed　it　as　the　corners　of　his　mouth　involuntarily　inched　up　into　a　smile。　before　he　could　actually　laugh；　he　left　the　post；　heading　back　to　the　trench　junction　where　his　section　and　the　rsm　would　meet　him　to　go　beyond　the　wall。

within　five　paces；　he’d　lost　his　smile。

the　paperwing　slid　to　a　perfect　landing　in　a　flurry　of　snow。　sabriel　and　touchstone　sat　in　it；　shivering　under　oilskin　and　boat　cloak；　respectively；　then　slowly　levered　themselves　out　to　stand　knee…deep　in　the　tightly　packed　snow。

touchstone　smiled　at　sabriel；　his　nose　bright　red　and　eyebrows　frosted。

“we　made　it。”

“so　far；”　replied　sabriel；　warily　looking　around。　she　could　see　the　long　grey　bulk　of　the　wall；　with　the　deep　honey…colored　sun　of　autumn　on　the　ancelstierran　side。　here；　the　snow　lay　banked　against　the　grey　stone；　and　it　was　overcast；　with　the　sun　almost　gone。　dark　enough　for　the　dead　to　be　wandering　around。

touchstone’s　smile　faded　as　he　caught　her　mood；　and　he　took　his　swords　from　the　　paperwing；　giving　the　left　sword　to　sabriel。　she　sheathed　it；　but　it　was　a　bad　fit—another　reminder　of　loss。

“i’d　better　get　the　books；　too；”　she　said；　bending　in　to　retrieve　them　from　the　cockpit。　the　two　charter　magic　books　were　fine；　untouched　by　snow；　but　the　book　of　the　dead　seemed　wet。

when　sabriel　pulled　it　out；　she　found　it　wasn’t　snow…wet。　beads　of　dark；　thick　blood　were　welling　up　out　of　its　cover。　silently；　sabriel　wiped　it　on　the　hard　crust　of　the　snow；　leaving　a　livid　mark。　then　she　tucked　the　books　away　in　the　pockets　of　her　coat。

“why　。　。　。　why　was　the　book　like　that？”　asked　touchstone；　trying；　and　almost　succeeding；　to　sound　curious　rather　than　afraid。

“i　think　it’s　reacting　to　the　presence　of　many　deaths；”　sabriel　replied。　“there　is　great　potential　here　for　the　dead　to　rise。　this　is　a　very　weak　point—”

“shhh！”　touchstone　interrupted　her；　pointing　towards　the　wall。　shapes；　dark　against　the　snow；　were　moving　in　an　extended　line　towards　them；　at　a　deliberate；　steady　pace。　they　carried　bows　and　spears；　and　sabriel；　at　least；　recognized　the　rifles　slung　across　their　backs。

“it’s　all　right；”　sabriel　said；　though　a　faint　stab　of　nervousness　touched　her　stomach。　“they’re　soldiers　from　the　ancelstierran　side—still；　i　might　send　the　paperwing　on　its　way　。　。　。”

quickly；　she　checked　that　they’d　taken　everything　from　the　cockpit；　then　laid　her　hand　on　the　nose　of　the　paperwing；　just　above　its　twinkling　eye。　it　seemed　to　look　up　at　her　as　she　spoke。

“go　now；　friend。　i　don’t　want　to　risk　you　being　dragged　into　ancelstierre　and　taken　apart。

fly　where　you　will—to　the　clayr’s　glacier；　or；　if　you　care　to；　to　abhorsen’s　house；　where　the　water　falls。”

she　stepped　back；　and　formed　the　charter　marks　that　would　imbue　the　paperwing　with　choice；　and　the　winds　to　lift　it　there。　the　marks　went　into　her　whistle；　and　the　paperwing　moved　with　the　rising　pitch；　accelerating　along　till　it　leapt　into　the　sky　at　the　peak　of　the　highest　note。

“i　say！”　exclaimed　a　voice。　“how　did　you　do　that？”

sabriel　turned　to　see　a　young；　out…of…breath　ancelstierran　officer；　the　single　gold　pip　of　a　second　lieutenant　looking　lonely　on　his　shoulderstraps。

he　was　easily　fifty　yards　in　front　of　the　rest　of　the　line；　but　he　didn’t　seem　frightened。　he　was　clutching　a　sword　and　a　revolver；　though；　and　he　raised　both　of　them　as　sabriel　stepped　forward。

“halt！　you　are　my　prisoners！”

“actually；　we’re　travelers；”　replied　sabriel；　though　she　did　stand　still。　“is　that　colonel　horyse　i　can　see　behind　you？”

jorbert　turned　half　around　to　have　a　look；　realized　his　mistake；　and　turned　back　just　in　time　to　see　sabriel　and　touchstone　smiling；　then　chuckling；　then　out…and…out　laughing；　clutching　at　each　other’s　arms。

“what’s　so　funny？”　demanded　lieutenant　jorbert；　as　the　two　of　them　laughed　and　laughed；　till　the　tears　ran　down　their　cheeks。

“nothing；”　said　horyse；　gesturing　to　his　men　to　encircle　sabriel　and　touchstone；　while　he　went　up　and　carefully　placed　two　fingers　on　their　foreheads—testing　the　charter　they　bore　within。　satisfied；　he　lightly　shook　them；　till　they　stopped　their　shuddering；　gasping　laughter。

then；　to　the　surprise　of　some　of　his　men；　he　put　an　arm　around　each　of　them　and　led　them　back　to　the　crossing　point；　towards　ancelstierre　and　sunshine。

jorbert；　left　to　cover　the　withdrawal；　indignantly　asked　the　air；　“what　was　so　funny？”

“you　heard　the　colonel；”　replied　regimental　sergeant…major　tawklish。　“nothing。　that　was　an　hysterical　reaction；　that　was。　they’ve　been　through　a　lot；　those　two；　mark　my　words。”

then；　in　the　way　that　only　rsms　have　with　junior　officers；　he　paused；　crushing　jorbert　pletely　with　a　judicious；　and　long　delayed　“sir。”

the　warmth　wrapped　sabriel　like　a　soft　blanket　as　they　stepped　out　of　the　shadow　of　the　wall；　into　the　relative　heat　of　an　ancelstierran　autumn。　she　felt　touchstone　falter　at　her　side；　and　stumble；　his　face　staring　blindly　upwards　to　the　sun。

“you　both　look　done　in；”　said　horyse；　speaking　in　the　kindly；　slow　tone　he　used　on　shellshocked　soldiers。　“how　about　something　to　eat；　or　would　you　rather　get　some　sleep　first？”

“something　to　eat；　certainly；”　sabriel　replied；　trying　to　give　him　a　grateful　smile。　“but　not　sleep。　there’s　no　time　for　that。　tell　me—when　was　the　full　moon？　two　days　ago？”

horyse　looked　at　her；　thinking　that　she　no　longer　reminded　him　of　his　own　daughter。

she　had　bee　abhorsen；　a　person　beyond　　his　ken；　in　such　a　short　time　。　。　。

“it’s　tonight；”　he　said。

“but　i’ve　been　in　the　old　kingdom　at　least　sixteen　days　。　。　。”

“time　is　strange　between　the　kingdoms；”

horyse　said。　“we’ve　had　patrols　swear　they　were　out　for　two　weeks；　ing　back　in　after　eight　days。　a　headache　for　the　paymaster　。　。　。”

“that　voice；　ing　from　the　box　on　the　pole；”

touchstone　interrupted；　as　they　left　the　zigzag　path　through　the　wire　defenses　and　climbed　down　into　a　narrow　munication　trench。　“there　is　no　charter　magic　in　the　box；　or　the　voice　。　。　。”

“ah；”　replied　horyse；　looking　ahead　to　where　a　loudspeaker　was　announcing　stand…down。　“i’m　surprised　it’s　working。　electricity　runs　that；　mr。

touchstone。　science；　not　magic。”

“it　won’t　be　working　tonight；”　sabriel　said　quietly。　“no　technology　will　be。”

“yes；　it　is　rather　loud；”　horyse　said；　in　a　strong　voice。　more　softly；　he　added；　“please　don’t　say　anything　more　till　we　get　to　my　dugout。　the　men　have　already　picked　something　up　about　tonight　and　the　full　moon　。　。　。”

“of　course；”　replied　sabriel；　wearily。　“i’m　sorry。”

they　walked　the　rest　of　the　way　in　silence；　slogging　along　the　zigzagging　munication　trench；　passing　soldiers　in　the　fighting　trenches；　ready　at　their　stand…to　positions。　the　soldier’s　conversations　stopped　as　they　passed；　but　resumed　as　soon　as　they　turned　the　next　zig　or　zag　and　were　out　of　sight。

at　last；　they　descended　a　series　of　steps　into　colonel　horyse’s　dugout。　two　sergeants　stood　guard　outside—this　time；　charter　mages　from　the　crossing　point　scouts；　not　the　regular　garrison　infantry。　another　soldier　doubled　off　to　the　cookhouse；　to　fetch　some　food。　horyse　busied　himself　with　a　small　spirit…burner；　and　made　tea。

sabriel　drank　it　without　feeling　much　relief。

ancelstierre；　and　the　universal　forter　of　its　society—tea—no　longer　seemed　as　solid　and　dependable　as　she　had　once　thought。

“now；”　said　horyse。　“tell　me　why　you　don’t　have　time　to　sleep。”

“my　father　died　yesterday；”　sabriel　said；　stony…faced。　“the　wind　flutes　will　fail　tonight。

at　moonrise。　the　dead　here　will　rise　with　the　moon。”

“i’m　sorry　to　hear　about　your　father。　very　sorry；”　horyse　said。　he　hesitated；　then　added；　　“but　as　you　are　here　now；　can’t　you　bind　the　dead　anew？”

“if　that　were　all；　yes；　i　could；”　sabriel　continued。

“but　there　is　worse　to　e。　have　you　ever　heard　the　name　kerrigor；　colonel？”

horyse　put　his　tea　down。

“your　father　spoke　of　him　once。　one　of　the　greater　dead；　i　think；　imprisoned　beyond　the　seventh　gate？”

“more　than　greater；　possibly　the　great；”

sabriel　said　bleakly。　“as　far　as　i　know；　he　is　the　only　dead　spirit　to　also　be　a　free　magic　adept。”

“and　a　renegade　member　of　the　royal　family；”

added　touchstone；　his　voice　sti