Witch Silver Read Free

enormity of this one.
    “Milord, what can I say? I … I am terribly, terribly sorry. To lose your daughter like this …” he gestured vaguely and his voice petered out as his master looked at him in surprise.
    “Sorry?” Lord Jezail seemed puzzled. “Sorry? Oh, I see,” he waved his hand irritably, “yes, well, it
is
a pity, I suppose, but then she always knew that this was going to happen to her, didn’t she?” His face darkened and anger gleamed once more in his black eyes. “Serves her right for marrying a human!” he added coldly. “But that isn’t what I meant!” he leant forward, frowning darkly. “I want to know what you think of her hiding the silver talisman!!” His voice rose in anger. “
Hiding it,
Vassili!” he repeated.
    Vassili tried not to look shocked and it was only with a great effort that he managed to keep his face blank. He’d always known that Lord Jezail had a pretty cold heart but, until now, hadn’t realized just how frozen it must be — for incredible as it seemed, it was obvious that even at a time like this, all he could think of was the talisman!
    “I … er, I can’t believe it, milord,” Vassili looked at him helplessly, throwing his hands out in disbelief.
    Lord Jezail eyed him sourly, drawing his fur-lined cloak around him with a sweeping gesture that all but knocked the crystal off its stand.
    Noting the twitching eyebrows and tight set of his master’slips, the count bowed low and eyed him watchfully as he rose angrily to his feet and started to pace the floor.
    “How could she
do
this to me?” Lord Jezail muttered, his voice rising. “My own daughter,” he said, “hiding the talisman not only from the eyes of the world of magic but from
me,
her own father.”
    Vassili made a vague noise that could have meant anything.
    “She knew perfectly well what was going to happen to her!” his master added. “Why the devil didn’t she send it back here?” He turned round and glowered accusingly at the count as though it were all his fault.
    “I’m sure …” Vassili attempted to soothe his master’s anger but wasn’t given the chance to finish his sentence.
    “I should
never
have given it to her in the first place!” Lord Jezail continued. “I must have been mad to even
think
of it!”
    “Forgive me for asking,” Vassili ventured as his master continued to pace the room, “but what is it that’s so … well, special about the talisman?”
    Lord Jezail turned and looked at him through hooded eyes. “Well, to begin with, its magic is extremely powerful and it protects its owner from danger of any sort,” he explained. “That was the reason I gave it to Merial in the first place; to protect her from harm. But it has many other magical properties; it can cure evil spells and has great power over nature. That’s one reason why the witches must never have it, for in the wrong hands they could, and would, use it to cause earthquakes, tidal waves and hurricanes; to say nothing of drought, flood and famine.”
    “But the witches have that power already,” Vassili pointed out, “and so do you,” he added reasonably. “Why, even I can call up storms
and
the like and,” he deftly slipped in the compliment , “I’m nowhere
near
as great a magician as you are, milord!”
    “Ah, but the talisman can control the witches and the storm carriers,” Jezail answered. “It works for the good of the earth. That’s why Merial couldn’t …” he stopped in mid-sentence “… that was why she couldn’t leave it to any of the witches.”
    “You said that before,” Vassili acknowledged.
    “Yes, but the point is that she
must
have known that in so doing she was virtually leaving the talisman to
me
.” Lord Jezail replied.
    Vassili eyed him warily.
    “Think about it,” his master smiled, rubbing his hands together almost gleefully. “She’s hidden it! It has no owner now that she’s gone; which means, Vassili, that as I gave it to her as a gift, it is