《Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy)》第75章

their　backs。
“it’s　all　right；”　sabriel　said；　though　a　faint　stab　of　nervousness　touched　her　stomach。　“they’re　soldiers　from　the　ancelstierran　side—still；　i　might　send　the　paperwing　on　its　way　。　。　。”
quickly；　she　checked　that　they’d　taken　everything　from　the　cockpit；　then　laid　her　hand　on　the　nose　of　the　paperwing；　just　above　its　twinkling　eye。　it　seemed　to　look　up　at　her　as　she　spoke。
“go　now；　friend。　i　don’t　want　to　risk　you　being　dragged　into　ancelstierre　and　taken　apart。
fly　where　you　will—to　the　clayr’s　glacier；　or；　if　you　care　to；　to　abhorsen’s　house；　where　the　water　falls。”
she　stepped　back；　and　formed　the　charter　marks　that　would　imbue　the　paperwing　with　choice；　and　the　winds　to　lift　it　there。　the　marks　went　into　her　whistle；　and　the　paperwing　moved　with　the　rising　pitch；　accelerating　along　till　it　leapt　into　the　sky　at　the　peak　of　the　highest　note。
“i　say！”　exclaimed　a　voice。　“how　did　you　do　that？”
sabriel　turned　to　see　a　young；　out…of…breath　ancelstierran　officer；　the　single　gold　pip　of　a　second　lieutenant　looking　lonely　on　his　shoulderstraps。
he　was　easily　fifty　yards　in　front　of　the　rest　of　the　line；　but　he　didn’t　seem　frightened。　he　was　clutching　a　sword　and　a　revolver；　though；　and　he　raised　both　of　them　as　sabriel　stepped　forward。
“halt！　you　are　my　prisoners！”
“actually；　we’re　travelers；”　replied　sabriel；　though　she　did　stand　still。　“is　that　colonel　horyse　i　can　see　behind　you？”
jorbert　turned　half　around　to　have　a　look；　realized　his　mistake；　and　turned　back　just　in　time　to　see　sabriel　and　touchstone　smiling；　then　chuckling；　then　out…and…out　laughing；　clutching　at　each　other’s　arms。
“what’s　so　funny？”　demanded　lieutenant　jorbert；　as　the　two　of　them　laughed　and　laughed；　till　the　tears　ran　down　their　cheeks。
“nothing；”　said　horyse；　gesturing　to　his　men　to　encircle　sabriel　and　touchstone；　while　he　went　up　and　carefully　placed　two　fingers　on　their　foreheads—testing　the　charter　they　bore　within。　satisfied；　he　lightly　shook　them；　till　they　stopped　their　shuddering；　gasping　laughter。
then；　to　the　surprise　of　some　of　his　men；　he　put　an　arm　around　each　of　them　and　led　them　back　to　the　crossing　point；　towards　ancelstierre　and　sunshine。
jorbert；　left　to　cover　the　withdrawal；　indignantly　asked　the　air；　“what　was　so　funny？”
“you　heard　the　colonel；”　replied　regimental　sergeant…major　tawklish。　“nothing。　that　was　an　hysterical　reaction；　that　was。　they’ve　been　through　a　lot；　those　two；　mark　my　words。”
then；　in　the　way　that　only　rsms　have　with　junior　officers；　he　paused；　crushing　jorbert　pletely　with　a　judicious；　and　long　delayed　“sir。”
the　warmth　wrapped　sabriel　like　a　soft　blanket　as　they　stepped　out　of　the　shadow　of　the　wall；　into　the　relative　heat　of　an　ancelstierran　autumn。　she　felt　touchstone　falter　at　her　side；　and　stumble；　his　face　staring　blindly　upwards　to　the　sun。
“you　both　look　done　in；”　said　horyse；　speaking　in　the　kindly；　slow　tone　he　used　on　shellshocked　soldiers。　“how　about　something　to　eat；　or　would　you　rather　get　some　sleep　first？”
“something　to　eat；　certainly；”　sabriel　replied；　trying　to　give　him　a　grateful　smile。　“but　not　sleep。　there’s　no　time　for　that。　tell　me—when　was　the　full　moon？　two　days　ago？”
horyse　looked　at　her；　thinking　that　she　no　longer　reminded　him　of　his　own　daughter。
she　had　bee　abhorsen；　a　person　beyond his　ken；　in　such　a　short　time　。　。　。
“it’s　tonight；”　he　said。
“but　i’ve　been　in　the　old　kingdom　at　least　sixteen　days　。　。　。”
“time　is　strange　between　the　kingdoms；”
horyse　said。　“we’ve　had　patrols　swear　they　were　out　for　two　weeks；　ing　back　in　after　eight　days。　a　headache　for　the　paymaster　。　。　。”
“that　voice；　ing　from　the　box　on　the　pole；”
touchstone　interrupted；　as　they　left　the　zigzag　path　through　the　wire　defenses　and　climbed　down　into　a　narrow　munication　trench。　“there　is　no　charter　magic　in　the　box；　or　the　voice　。　。　。”
“ah；”　replied　horyse；　looking　ahead　to　where　a　loudspeaker　was　announcing　stand…down。　“i’m　surprised　it’s　working。　electricity　runs　that；　mr。
touchstone。　science；　not　magic。”
“it　won’t　be　working　tonight；”　sabriel　said　quietly。　“no　technology　will　be。”
“yes；　it　is　rather　loud；”　horyse　said；　in　a　strong　voice。　more　softly；　he　added；　“please　don’t　say　anything　more　till　we　get　to　my　dugout。　the　men　have　already　picked　something　up　about　tonight　and　the　full　moon　。　。　。”
“of　course；”　replied　sabriel；　wearily。　“i’m　sorry。”
they　walked　the　rest　of　the　way　in　silence；　slogging　along　the　zigzagging　munication　trench；　passing　soldiers　in　the　fighting　trenches；　ready　at　their　stand…to　positions。　the　soldier’s　conversations　stopped　as　they　passed；　but　resumed　as　soon　as　they　turned　the　next　zig　or　zag　and　were　out　of　sight。
at　last；　they　descended　a　series　of　steps　into　colonel　horyse’s　dugout。　two　sergeants　stood　guard　outside—this　time；　charter　mages　from　the　crossing　point　scouts；　not　the　regular　garrison　infantry。　another　soldier　doubled　off　to　the　cookhouse；　to　fetch　some　food。　horyse　busied　himself　with　a　small　spirit…burner；　and　made　tea。
sabriel　drank　it　without　feeling　much　relief。
ancelstierre；　and　the　universal　forter　of　its　society—tea—no　longer　seemed　as　solid　and　dependable　as　she　had　once　thought。
“now；”　said　horyse。　“tell　me　why　you　don’t　have　time　to　sleep。”
“my　father　died　yesterday；”　sabriel　said；　stony…faced。　“the　wind　flutes　will　fail　tonight。
at　moonrise。　the　dead　here　will　rise　with　the　moon。”
“i’m　sorry　to　hear　about　your　father。　very　sorry；”　horyse　said。　he　hesitated；　then　added； “but　as　you　are　here　now；　can’t　you　bind　the　dead　anew？”
“if　that　were　all；　yes；　i　could；”　sabriel　continued。
“but　there　is　worse　to　e。　have　you　ever　heard　the　name　kerrigor；　colonel？”
horyse　put　his　tea　down。
“your　father　spoke　of　him　once。　one　of　the　greater　dead；　i　think；　imprisoned　beyond　the　seventh　gate？”
“more　than　greater；　possibly　the　great；”
sabriel　said　bleakly。　“as　far　as　i　know；　he　is　the　only　dead　spirit　to　also　be　a　free　magic　adept。”
“and　a　renegade　member　of　the　royal　family；”
added　touchstone；　his　voice　sti