Kissed by Starlight Read Free Page B

indescribable flavor that only the wyrcan could brew. Was his invisible helper some maid whose cheek he’d patted long ago?
    Before he’d lowered the tankard, a plate with a loaf of bread and a ramekin of cheese came to rest beside the jug. When he broke the loaf, the steam rose from the soft white bread, for it was that fresh. The scent made Blaic dizzy. No exotic fare could have been a more welcome first meal than that fair loaf.
    After he’d eaten, he found his way to the rooms that had been his when, as a visiting prince, he had stayed in Boadach’s palace. As he walked through the corridors, he believed he heard a few voices, muffled and far-off. Though he hastened on, calling, they never came near.
    His rooms were also unchanged. He put off his clothing and bathed, standing for a long time under the hot waterfall. He washed his hair five times, knowing that he’d left the bird-slime behind when he changed back to flesh, yet it was a long time before he felt rid of it. Slowly the stiffness left his limbs and the last of the fog cleared from his mind.
    He lay down and slept. He dreamed of the past.
    Blaic watched with mingled pleasure and bitterness as Sira declared her everlasting love for Conn and the human world. Then a cold thrill told him that he was no longer alone. Knowing fear for the first time in his long, long life, Blaic turned his head with infinite care.
    “You have betrayed me,’’ King Boadach said. He stood there in mortal form, burly and strong. Yet his eyes held the yellow gleam of the hungry wolf and Blaic knew himself to be the prey. Beyond him stood the others of the People who were first and eldest. Cuar the Harpist, Forgall the Wily, and Anat, companion to Sira. Her face was wet with tears, but there was no more mercy in her than in a stone statue wet with rain.
    Useless to deny anything. ‘‘ Yes, I have betrayed you. But I have done what was right for her.’’
    “That was not for you to decide!’’ The beastlike growl became shriller. Then the king caught the tail end of his control. “You betrayed not only me but your People. For that, punishment must be meted out.’’
    “You cannot kill me,” Blaic reminded the king. “You can banish me back to the Westering Lands—no more.’’
    “Kill you? Nay. You will keep your immortality. Much good may it do you.’’
    Blaic felt it first in his feet. A heaviness, as though he could not move them if he tried. There was no sensation of cold, only of unbearable weight. It moved up his legs, slowly at first but gaining speed moment to moment. Blaic looked down, saw the gray stone spreading, and knew in moments he ‘d never move again. He wrenched his head up as his spine solidified. Let his last sight be of Sira‘s happiness!
    Then it was done. Within the stone, Blaic’s consciousness was but a flicker, like a candle flame that burned on despite every wind that blew. Boadach laughed cruelly with a coldness greater than the north wind’s. “There let him stay forever!’’
    Behind the king, Anat spoke in a soft, soft voice. “Is it not against the Law to condemn with magic and not to leave a loophole?”
    “What?” The king swung about on her.
    Forgall stepped in front of Anat. “She is entirely right. The Law is clear.’’
    Boadach breathed heavily. “Very well. Forgall, cleverest of all my People. Think of a loophole. Something unlikely. “
    The second-eldest of the People thought, rubbing his chin. “Very well. Speak these words, o king. “ He conjured a scroll, complete in every detail, from the wax seal to the small red tassel.
    Boadach laughed as he read the words aloud. “Nevermore be flesh until a woman weeps over you as Anat weeps. Nevermore return to your home until you betray her as you have done your king. Nevermore be with your people until you are wise as Forgall. Nevermore be free until you sing like Cuar.’’ The king laughed as he vanished in a great swirling wind, followed by the others.
    Blaic