Lightnings Daughter, Mary Herbert [year 7 reading list .TXT] 📗

the treld, but you left before I could talk to you." With trembling hands, the stranger pushed back the hood of the bright yellow Reidhar cloak and revealed the face of a woman. She was not a beautiful woman and never had been. Years of toil and living out in the dry wind and sun had taken a hard tol on her thin, angular face. She was well past middle age, gray-haired, and she wore no jewelry or ornaments to mark her as a member of the higher social ranks of her clan.

"How did you know we were here?" Bregan demanded.

"I overheard the outrider who brought the supplies tel Lord Caurus where you were camped." She glanced warily at the men and turned back to Gabria. "I have something I must give you, Lady," the woman said nervously. "It is very important." She pul ed at something hidden behind her. "Come on!"

she cried and yanked harder. A small grubby girl stumbled out from the folds of the yellow cloak. The girl tried to clutch her companion's skirts, but the woman thrust her toward Gabria.

"This is Tam. She is ten summers old. My sister died giving birth to her," the clanswoman told Gabria desperately. "She is a magic-wielder like you. Please, take her with you. With you she will be safe.

I can't hide her talent much longer, and if Lord Caurus finds out, he will kill her." Gabria was astounded.

She looked speechlessly from the little girl to the clanswoman.

"We can't take a child with us,” Khan'di began to say, but Athlone cut him off with a gesture.

"How do you know she can wield magic?" the chief asked.

The woman gestured nervously. "She can! She does things. She. . . she's different."

Gabria laid her hand on Nara's neck. "Is the child a magic wielder?" she asked the mare.

Yes. The mare answered. Her foal whinnied in agreement.

The sorceress knelt down to look Tam in the face. The child was dirty and disheveled. Her ragged clothes were obviously hand downs from a larger child, but her features were pretty and her unkempt hair was thick and black. Her enormous eyes had an intense, wary gaze that seemed much too old for her years.

Gabria felt her heart melt. Khan'di was right, they did not need a child along. This journey would be long and dangerous, and the chances of survival were questionable. Still, as Gabria studied Tam's troubled face, she felt no doubt. This little girl was a kindred spirit, a magic-wielder, and as such she should be nurtured, protected, and taught, not left to the questionable mercy of someone like Caurus.

"Would you like to come with us, Tam?" Gabria asked.

"She can't talk,” the woman cut in.

"Can't or won't?" Piers inquired.

The clanswoman shrugged. "She hasn't spoken since her father died five years ago. My husband says she's a weakling."

Gabria gently pushed a strand of dark hair away from Tam's eyes. "Did your husband also say how she got this?" She turned the little girl's head toward the firelight and pointed to a large, purplish bruise on her temple.

The woman sidled back, her expression a mixture of fear and sadness, and said, "That's why you've got to take her. She won't last much longer with me."

"I don't know how safe she'll be with us," Gabria said.

"At least she'll have a chance," the woman pleaded. "Tam's your kind. You'll take care of her. I can't!" Before anyone could stop her, she tossed a smal bundle on the ground, turned, and fled into the darkness.

The warriors started after her, but Athlone stopped them.

"Let her go." They came back, sheathing their weapons.

Khan’di, his heavy face frowning, came forward. "Lord Athlone, I must protest. This is no journey for a child. We can't lose any more time by dragging her along." Piers knelt beside Tam and ran his long fingers over the bruise on her head. "She seems healthy, if undernourished. She should be able to stand the journey."

"Besides, we can't just leave her here," Sayyed said.

"Or take her back to Lord Caurus," Keth added.

Athlone quirked an eyebrow at the sudden rush to defend this little girl. He agreed with Khan'di's protest, but at the moment, they did not have much choice. "She'l have to go," he decided. "The Hunnuli can look after her, and we can spare enough food for one more small mouth."

Gabria smiled at Athlone gratefully and, for a moment, the pain in his heart receded under the warmth of her relief and pleasure.

Tam had not budged during the departure of her aunt or the exchange between the men. She stood as if rooted to the ground, too frightened to move. Gabria was surprised by her total silence. The little girl did not cry or speak or even whisper. She just stayed in the place where her aunt had left her and Stared fixedly at the sorceress in front of her. Gabria slowly held out her wrist where the jewel splinter glowed red under her skin.

"Tam," she said softly. "I am Gabria. I am a magic-wielder, too."

Tam did not respond. Her small face was pale under the dirt, and her hands were clenched at her sides.

The sorceress cast a glance at the men. Only Piers, Athlone, and Sayyed could see what she was doing, so she picked up a stone the size of her fist. She smiled at Tam. "Watch." The months of practice in the stone temple came to Gabria's aid, and with Just a single word, she transformed the stone into a perfect sweetplum.

Tam's eyes grew huge. The men around her started in surprise.

"How did you do that?" Sayyed asked eagerly.

Gabria looked up at Athlone, the hint of a smile in her eyes. "Practice." She pressed the plum into Tam's hand and watched as the girl tasted it.

Tam tried a tentative bite, and her body seemed to relax a little. Plum juice ran down her chin as she devoured the fruit.

Lord Athlone said nothing at