Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy)-第6章

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his　voice　faltered　a　little　as　he　mentioned　abhorsen；　a　strange　stutter　in　so　confident　a　man。　sabriel　glanced　at　him　and　saw　that　his　eyes　flickered　from　the　sword　at　her　waist　to　the　bell…bandolier　she　wore　across　her　chest。

obviously　he　recognized　abhorsen’s　sword　and　also　the　significance　of　the　bells。　very　few　people　ever　met　a　necromancer；　but　anyone　who　did　remembered　the　bells。

“did　。　。　。　do　you　know　my　father？”　she　asked。

“he　used　to　visit　me；　twice　a　year。　i　guess　he　would　have　e　through　here。”

“yes；　i　saw　him　then；”　replied　horyse；　as　they　started　walking　around　the　edge　of　the　parade　ground。　“but　i　first　met　him　more　than　twenty　years　ago；　when　i　was　posted　here　as　a　subaltern。

it　was　a　strange　time—a　very　bad　time；　for　me　and　everyone　on　the　perimeter。”

he　paused　in　mid…stride；　boots　crashing；　and　his　eyes　once　again　looked　at　the　bells；　and　the　whiteness　of　sabriel’s　skin；　stark　against　the　black　of　her　hair；　black　as　the　bitumen　under　the　feet。

“you’re　a　necromancer；”　he　said　bluntly。　“so　you’ll　probably　understand。　this　crossing　point　　has　seen　too　many　battles；　too　many　dead。

before　those　idiots　down　south　took　things　under　central　mand；　the　crossing　point　was　moved　every　ten　years；　up　to　the　next　gate　on　the　wall。　but　forty　years　ago　some　。　。　。　bureaucrat　。　。　。　decreed　that　there　would　be　no　movement。

it　was　a　waste　of　public　money。　this　was；　and　is　to　be；　the　only　crossing　point。　never　mind　the　fact　that；　over　time；　there　would　be　such　a　concentration　of　death；　mixed　with　free　magic　leaking　over　the　wall；　that　everything　would　。　。　。”

“not　stay　dead；”　interrupted　sabriel　quietly。

“yes。　when　i　arrived；　the　trouble　was　just　beginning。　corpses　wouldn’t　stay　buried—our　people　or　old　kingdom　creatures。　soldiers　killed　the　day　before　would　turn　up　on　parade。

creatures　prevented　from　crossing　would　rise　up　and　do　more　damage　than　they　did　when　they　were　alive。”

“what　did　you　do？”　asked　sabriel。　she　knew　a　great　deal　about　binding　and　enforcing　true　death；　but　not　on　such　a　scale。　there　were　no　dead　creatures　nearby　now；　for　she　always　instinctively　felt　the　interface　between　life　and　death　around　her；　and　it　was　no　different　here　than　it　had　been　forty　miles　away　at　wyverley　college。

“our　charter　mages　tried　to　deal　with　the　problem；　but　there　were　no　specific　charter　symbols　to　。　。　。　make　them　dead　。　。　。　only　to　destroy　their　physical　shape。　sometimes　that　was　enough　and　sometimes　it　wasn’t。　we　had　to　rotate　troops　back　to　bain　or　even　further　just　for　them　to　recover　from　what　hq　liked　to　think　of　as　bouts　of　mass　hysteria　or　madness。

“i　wasn’t　a　charter　mage　then；　but　i　was　going　with　patrols　into　the　old　kingdom；　beginning　to　learn。　on　one　patrol；　we　met　a　man　sitting　by　a　charter　stone；　on　top　of　a　hill　that　overlooked　both　the　wall　and　the　perimeter。

“as　he　was　obviously　interested　in　the　perimeter；　the　officer　in　charge　of　the　patrol　thought　we　should　question　him　and　kill　him　if　he　turned　out　to　bear　a　corrupted　charter；　or　was　some　free　magic　thing　in　the　shape　of　a　man。　but　we　didn’t；　of　course。　it　was　abhorsen；　and　he　was　ing　to　us；　because　he’d　heard　about　the　dead。

“we　escorted　him　in　and　he　met　with　the　general　manding　the　garrison。　i　don’t　know　what　they　agreed；　but　i　imagine　it　was　for　abhorsen　to　bind　the　dead　and；　in　return；　he　was　to　be　granted　citizenship　of　ancelstierre　and　freedom　to　cross　the　wall。　he　certainly　had　the　two　　passports　after　that。　in　any　case；　he　spent　the　next　few　months　carving　the　wind　flutes　you　can　see　among　the　wire　。　。　。”

“ah！”　exclaimed　sabriel。　“i　wondered　what　they　were。　wind　flutes。　that　explains　a　lot。”

“i’m　glad　you　understand；”　said　the　colonel。　“i　still　don’t。　for　one　thing；　they　make　no　sound　no　matter　how　hard　the　wind　blows　through　them。　they　have　charter　symbols　on　them　i　had　never　seen　before　he　carved　them；　and　have　never　seen　again　anywhere　else。　but　when　he　started　placing　them　。　。　。　one　a　night　。　。　。　the　dead　just　gradually　disappeared；　and　no　new　ones　rose。”

they　reached　the　far　end　of　the　parade　ground；　where　another　scarlet　sign　stood　next　to　a　munication　trench；　proclaiming：　“perimeter　garrison　hq。　call　and　wait　for　sentry。”

a　telephone　handset　and　a　bell…chain　proclaimed　the　usual　dichotomy　of　the　perimeter。

colonel　horyse　picked　up　the　handset；　wound　the　handle；　listened　for　a　moment；　then　replaced　it。　frowning；　he　pulled　the　bell…chain　three　times　in　quick　succession。

“anyway；”　he　continued；　as　they　waited　for　　the　sentry。　“whatever　it　was；　it　worked。　so　we　are　deeply　indebted　to　abhorsen；　and　that　makes　his　daughter　an　honored　guest。”

“i　may　be　less　honored　and　more　reviled　as　a　messenger　of　ill　omen；”　said　sabriel　quietly。　she　hesitated；　for　it　was　hard　to　talk　about　abhorsen　without　tears　ing　to　her　eyes；　then　continued　quickly；　to　get　it　over　and　done　with。　“the　reason　i　am　going　into　the　old　kingdom　is　to　。　。　。

to　look　for　my　father。　something　has　happened　to　him。”

“i　had　hoped　there　was　another　reason　for　you　to　carry　his　sword；”　said　horyse。　he　moved　the　skis　into　the　crook　of　his　left　arm；　freeing　his　right；　to　return　the　salute　of　the　two　sentries　who　were　running　at　the　double　up　the　munication　trench；　hobnails　clacking　on　the　wooden　slats。

“there　is　worse；　i　think；”　added　sabriel；　taking　a　deep　breath　to　stop　her　voice　from　breaking　into　sobs。　“he　is　trapped　in　death　。　。　。　or　。　。　。　or　he　may　even　be　dead。　and　his　bindings　will　be　broken。”

“the　wind　flutes？”　asked　horyse；　grounding　the　end　of　the　skis；　his　salute　dying　out　halfway　to　his　head。　“all　the　dead　here？”

“the　flutes　play　a　song　only　heard　in　death；”

replied　sabriel；　“continuing　a　binding　laid　down　by　abhorsen。　but　the　bound　are　tied　to　him；　and　the　flutes　will　have　no　power　if　。　。　。　they　will　have　no　power　if　abhorsen　is　now　among　the　dead。

they　will　bind　no　more。”

　％％。



chapter　III

gxiaoshuowang
“i　am　not　one　to　blame　a　messenger　for　her　tidings；”　said　horyse；　as　he　handed　a　cup　of　tea　over　to　sabriel；　who　was　sitting　on　what　looked　like　the　only　fortable　chair　in　the　dugout　which　was　the　colonel’s　headquarters；　“but　you　bring　the　worst　news　i　have　heard　for　many　years。”

“at　least　i　am　a　living　messenger　。　。　。　and　a　friendly　one；”　sabriel　said　quietly。　she　hadn’t　really　thought　beyond　her　own　concern　for　her　father。　now；　she　was　beginning　to　expand　her　knowledge　of　him；　to　understand　that　he　was　more　than　just　her　father；　that　he　was　many　different　things　to　different　people。　her　simple　image　of　him—relaxing　in　the　armchair　of　her　study　at　wyverley　college；　chatting　about　her　schoolwork；　ancelstierre　technology；　charter　magic　and　necromancy—was　a　limited　view；　like　a　painting　that　only　captured　one　dimension　of　the　man。

“how　long　do　we　have　until　abhorsen’s　bindings　are　broken？”　asked　horyse；　breaking　into　sabriel’s　remembrance　of　her　father。　the　image　she　had　of　her　father　reaching　for　a　teacup　in　her　study　disappeared；　banished　by　real　tea　slopping　over　in　her　enamel　mug　and　burning　her　fingers。

“oh！　excuse　me。　i　wasn’t　thinking　。　。　。　how　long　till　what？”

“the　binding　of　the　dead；”　the　colonel　reiterated；　patiently。　“how　long　till　the　bindings　fail；　and　the　dead　are　free？”

sabriel　thought　back　to　her　father’s　lessons；　and　the　ancient　grimoire　she’d　spent　every　holiday　slowly　memorizing。　the　book　of　the　dead　it　was　called　and　parts　of　it　still　made　her　shudder。

it　looked　innocuous　enough；　bound　in　green　leather；　with　tarnished　silver　clasps。　but　if　you　looked　closely；　both　leather　and　silver　were　etched　with　charter　marks。　marks　of　binding　and　blinding；　closing　and　imprisonment。　only　a　trained　necromancer　could　open　that　book　。　。　。

and　only　an　uncorrupted　charter　mage　could　　close　it。　her　father　had　brought　it　with　him　on　his　visits；　and　always　took　it　away　again　at　the　end。

“it　depends；”　she　said　slowly；　forcing　herself　to　consider　the　question　objectively；　without　letting　emotion　interfere。　she　tried　to　recall　the　pages　that　showed　the　carving　of　the　wind　flutes；　the　chapters　on　music　and　the　nature　of　sound　in　the　binding　of　the　dead。　“if　father　。　。　。　if　abhorsen　is　。　。　。　truly　dead；　the　wind　flutes　will　simply　fall　apart　under　the　light　of　the　next　full　moon。　if　he　is　trapped　before　the　ninth　gate；　the　binding　will　continue　until　the　full　moon　after　he　passes　beyond；　or　a　particularly　strong　spirit　breaks　the　weakened　bonds。”

“so　the　moon　will　tell；　in　time；”　said　horyse。

“we　have　fourteen　days　till　it　is　full。”

“it　is　possible　i　could　bind　the　dead　anew；”

sabriel　said　cautiously。　“i　mean；　i　haven’t　done　it　on　this　sort　of　scale。　but　i　know　how。　the　only　thing　is；　if　father　isn’t　。　。　。　isn’t　beyond　the　ninth　gate；　then　i　need　to　help　him　as　soon　as　i　can。　and　before　i　can　do　that；　i　must　get　to　his　house　and　gather　a　few　things　。　。　。　check　some　references。”

“how　far　is　this　house　beyond　the　wall？”　asked　　horyse；　a　calculating　look　on　his　face。

“i　don’t　know；”　replied　sabriel。

“what？”

“i　don’t　know。　i　haven’t　been　there　since　i　was　about　four。　i　think　it’s　supposed　to　be　a　secret。

father　had　many　enemies；　not　just