[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Sal said to him: "This puts a great burden on you, Jeremy."
He blinked at her. "What does?"
"Me. I depend on you for everything."
"No!" He shook his head, trying to make her understand. "I mean, that's not a
problem."
The boy had just scrounged up some food, which his client attacked with savage
hunger. Her mouth was still full when she said: "My name is something you need
not know." His hurt must have shown in his face, for immediately she added:
"It's for your own good. And others'. What you don't know you can never tell."
"I'll never tell!"
"Of course not!" She put out her hand to gently stroke his. Somehow the touch
seemed the most marvelous that he had ever known. He was touched by the fact
that her hand was smaller than his. He could feel the roughness of her
fingers, as callused as his own.
"I see you can be trusted." And she had turned her head again to favor him
with that look, on which it now seemed that his life depended.
Before he could find any words to answer that, there came a noise nearby, a
scurrying among dead leaves, making them both start, but when the sound came
again they could tell that it was only some small animal.
Jeremy settled down again beside her, still holding her hand. As long as he
sat here, he would be able to hold her hand. "Who hurt you this way?" he
whispered fiercely. "Who is it that's hunting you?"
"Who? The servants of hell. Lord Kalakh's men. If I tell you who isn't hunting
me, the list will be
file:///D|/Documents%20and%20Settings/harry/...The%20Face%20of%20Apollo%20(v1.
1%20htm).html (16 of 221) [2/4/2004 11:11:04 PM]
Fred Saberhagen - The Book of the Gods 1 - The Face of Apollo shorter." She
bestowed on Jeremy a faint, wan smile and sighed. "Yet I've done nothing
wrong."
"I wouldn't care if you had!" he burst out impulsively. That wasn't what
worried him. What did concern him was a new fear that she might be growing
feverish, delirious. He dared to feel her forehead, an act that brought only a
vague smile as reaction from the patient. Yes, she was too warm. If only there
were someone he could call upon for help. . . . About all that he could do was
bring more water and a scrap of cloth to wet and try to cool her forehead with
it.
When Jeremy saw the young woman again, Sal in her feverish weakness increased
her pleas and demands to be taken or sent downriver. She was determined to go
soon, if she died in the attempt. Jeremy tried to soothe her and keep her
lying still. Well, he was going to take her where she wanted to go; that was
all there was to it.
The very worst part of the situation now was that Sal's mind seemed to be
wandering. Jeremy feared that if she really went off her head, she might get
up and wander off and do herself some harm. And there was a second problem,
related to the first: he couldn't tell if she was getting stronger or weaker.
She had refused his offer to try to find a healer for her, turned it down so
fiercely that he wasn't going to bring it up again. He had to admit that if
she was determined to keep her secrets, she was probably right.
Several times, in her periods of intermittent fever and delirium, Sal murmured
about the seven. As far as
Jeremy could make out, this was the number of people who were involved with
her in some business of life-and-death importance. Then she fell into an
Page 16
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
intense pleading with one of the seven to do something.
Or, perhaps, not to do the opposite.
Almost half of what Sal babbled in her fever was in another language, like
nothing that Jeremy had ever heard before. He could not understand a word.
When she paused, he asked: "Who are the seven?"
Sal's eyes looked a little clearer now, and her voice was almost tragic. "Who
told you about that?"
"You did. Just now. I'm sorry if I "
"Oh god. Oh, Lord of the Sun. What am I going to do?"
"Trust me." He dared to put his hand on her forehead and almost jerked it away
again, the fever was so high.
She shook her head, as if his vehemence had pained her. "I have a right to
carry what I'm carrying. But I
can't use it. If only I were worthy."
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]