《Sabriel (The Abhorsen Trilogy)》第76章

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　still　harsh　and　dry　from　the　cold　winds　of　their　flight；　unquenched　by　tea。　“and　he　is　no　longer　imprisoned。　he　walks　in　life。”
“all　these　things　give　him　power；”　sabriel　continued。
“but　there　is　a　weakness　there；　too。
kerrigor’s　mastery　of　free　magic；　and　much　of　his　power　in　both　life　and　death；　is　dependent　on　the　continual　existence　of　his　original　body。　he　hid　it；　long　ago；　when　he　first　chose　to　bee　a　dead　spirit—and　he　hid　it　in　ancelstierre。　near　the　village　of　wyverley；　to　be　exact。”
“and　now　he’s　ing　to　fetch　it　。　。　。”　said horyse；　with　terrible　prescience。　outwardly；　he　looked　calm；　all　those　long　years　of　army　service　forming　a　hard　carapace；　containing　his　feelings。
inwardly；　he　felt　a　trembling　that　he　hoped　wasn’t　being　transmitted　to　the　mug　in　his　hand。
“when　will　he　e？”
“with　the　night；”　replied　sabriel。　“with　an　army　of　the　dead。　if　he　can　emerge　out　of　death　close　to　the　wall；　he　may　e　earlier。”
‘‘the　sun—”　horyse　began。
“kerrigor　can　work　the　weather；　bring　fog　or　dense　cloud。”
“so　what　can　we　do？”　asked　horyse；　turning　his　palms　outwards；　towards　sabriel；　his　eyes　questioning。　“abhorsen。”
sabriel　felt　a　weight　placed　upon　her；　a　burden　adding　to　the　weariness　that　already　pressed　upon　her；　but　she　forced　herself　to　answer。
“kerrigor’s　body　is　in　a　spelled　sarcophagus　under　a　cairn；　a　cairn　atop　a　little　hill　called　docky　point；　less　than　forty　miles　away。　we　need　to　get　there　quickly—and　destroy　the　body。”
“and　that　will　destroy　kerrigor？”
‘‘no；”　said　sabriel；　shaking　her　head　wistfully。
“but　it　will　weaken　him　。　。　。　so　there　may　be　a　chance　。　。　。”
“right；”　said　horyse。　“we’ve　still　got　three　or　four　hours　of　daylight；　but　we’ll　need　to　move　quickly。　i　take　it　that　kerrigor　and　his　。　。　。
forces　。　。　。　will　have　to　cross　the　wall　here？　they　can’t　just　pop　out　at　docky　point？”
“no；”　agreed　sabriel。　“they’ll　have　to　emerge　in　life　in　the　old　kingdom；　and　physically　cross　the　wall。　it　would　probably　be　best　not　to　try　and　stop　him。”
“i’m　afraid　we　can’t　do　that。”　replied　horyse。
“that’s　what　the　perimeter　garrison　is　here　for。”
“a　lot　of　your　soldiers　will　die　to　no　purpose　then；”　said　touchstone。　“simply　because　they’ll　be　in　the　way。　anything；　and　anybody；　that　gets　in　kerrigor’s　way　will　be　destroyed。”
“so　you　want　us　to　just　let　this　。　。　。　this　thing　and　a　horde　of　dead　descend　on　ancelstierre？”
“not　exactly；”　replied　sabriel。　“i　would　like　to　fight　him　at　a　time　and　a　place　more　of　our　choosing。　if　you　lend　me　all　the　soldiers　here　who　have　the　charter　mark；　and　a　little　charter　magic；　we　may　have　enough　time　to　destroy　kerrigor’s　body。　also；　we　will　be　almost　thirtyfive　miles　from　the　wall。　kerrigor’s　power　may　only　be　slightly　lessened；　but　many　of　his　minions　will　be　weaker。　perhaps　so　weak；　that destroying　or　damaging　their　physical　forms　will　be　sufficient　to　send　them　back　into　death。”
“and　the　rest　of　the　garrison？　we’ll　just　stand　aside　and　let　kerrigor　and　his　army　through　the　perimeter？”
“you　probably　won’t　have　a　choice。”
“i　see；”　muttered　horyse。　he　got　up；　and　paced　backwards　and　forwards；　siteps；　all　the　dugout　would　allow。　“fortunately；　or　unfortunately　perhaps—i　am　currently　acting　as　the　general　officer　manding　the　whole　perimeter。
general　ashenber　has　returned　south；　due　to　。　。　。　ah　。　。　。　ill　health。　a　temporary　situation　only—army　hq　is　loath　to　give　any　sort　of　higher　mand　to　those　of　us　who　wear　the　charter　mark。　so　the　decision　is　mine　。　。　。”
he　stopped　pacing；　and　stared　back　at　sabriel　and　touchstone—but　his　eyes　seemed　to　see　something　well　beyond　them　and　the　rusty　corrugated　iron　that　walled　the　dugout。　finally；　he　spoke。
“very　well。　i　will　give　you　twelve　charter　mages—half　of　the　full　plement　of　the　scouts—but　i　will　also　add　some　more　mundane　force。　a　detachment　to　escort　you　to　。　。　。　what　was　it？　docky　point。　but　i　can’t　promise　we won’t　fight　on　the　perimeter。”
“we　need　you；　too；　colonel；”　sabriel　said；　in　the　silence　that　followed　his　decision。　“you’re　the　strongest　charter　mage　the　garrison　has。”
“impossible！”　horyse　exclaimed　emphatically。
“i’m　in　mand　of　the　perimeter。　my　responsibilities　lie　here。”
“you’ll　never　be　able　to　explain　tonight；　anyway；”
sabriel　said。　“not　to　any　general　down　south；　or　to　anyone　who　hasn’t　crossed　the　wall。”
“i’ll　。　。　。　i’ll　think　about　it　while　you　have　something　to　eat；”　horyse　declared；　the　rattle　of　a　tray　and　plates　tactfully　announcing　the　arrival　of　a　mess　orderly　on　the　steps。　“e　in！”
the　orderly　entered；　steam　rising　around　the　edges　of　the　silver　dishes。　as　he　put　the　tray　down；　horyse　strode　out　past　him；　bellowing。
“messenger！　i　want　the　adjutant；　major　tindall　and　the　csm　from　‘a’　pany；　lieutenant　aire　from　the　scouts；　the　rsm　and　the　quartermaster。　in　the　operations　room　in　ten　minutes。　oh　。　。　。　call　in　the　transport　officer　too。　and　warn　the　signals　staff　to　stand　by　for　coding。”
/d/
chapter　xxvi
？小｜说网
everything　moved　rapidly　after　the　tea　was　drunk。　almost　too　rapidly　for　the　exhausted　sabriel　and　touchstone。　judging　from　the　noises　outside；　soldiers　were　rushing　about　in　all　directions；　while　they　ate　their　belated　lunch。　then；　before　they　could　even　begin　to　digest；　horyse　was　back；　telling　them　to　get　moving。
it　was　somewhat　like　being　a　bit　player　in　the　school　play；　sabriel　thought；　as　she　stumbled　out　of　the　munication　trench　and　onto　the　parade　ground。　there　was　an　awful　lot　happening　around　her；　but　she　didn’t　really　feel　part　of　it。　she　felt　touchstone　lightly　brush　her　arm；　and　smiled　at　him　reassuringly—it　had　to　be　even　worse　for　him。
within　minutes；　they　were　hustled　across　the　parade　ground；　towards　a　waiting　line　of　trucks；　an　open　staff　car　and　two　strange　steelplated　contraptions。　lozenge…shaped；　with　gun　turrets　on　either　side；　and　caterpillar　tracks。
tanks；　sabriel　reali