we don't stop her now, she's liable to follow us all the way to the treasure. And who knows what dark arts she might practise on us along the way? I'm afraid of no mortal man or creature . . . but an evil witch like her makes me very nervous indeed.'
'I don't know why you keep calling her that,' protested Sebastian. 'I mean . . . if it wasn't for her, that snake would have eaten the pair of us.'
'Oh yes, she arranged our rescue, I'll grant you that. But only because she suspected we might be of value to her. And once she had a sniff of our reason for making this journey, she and her brother came sneaking like thieves in the night, as you well know.'
'I still think that could have been a misunderstanding.'
'Oh really! And what about when they turned themselves into panthers and tried to kill us? That would be a misunderstanding too, I suppose?'
'Umm . . . well, you see, I've been thinking about that. I believe that when they change into cats, their animal instincts probably get the better of them. They can't actually help themselves.'
'The young master is addled in the head,' observed Max glumly. 'We'd do better to take him to a doctor.'
'There's no doctor who can prescribe a cure for what he's got,' muttered Cornelius. 'Come on, let's get moving before she starts to catch up with us!'
Sebastian found himself wanting to linger so that he could speak to her again; but Cornelius was giving him a certain look and he knew that there was little point in arguing. So he slapped the reins against Max's shaggy flanks and they went on their way and began to descend the ridge into the valley below.
C HAPTER 8
ALL CHANGE
They made camp for the night and kindled a fire. Sebastian and Cornelius dined well on a javralat that the Golmiran had killed, back along the trail. Afterwards they laid out their bedrolls, but the little warrior kept gazing off into the darkness, and after a while he was able to point out the distant twinkle of a campfire.
'There she is,' he muttered. 'Looks like she's gained some ground on us too. An equine travels faster than an old buffalope and a caravan.'
'Oh, don't mind my feelings,' grunted Max, who was browsing the grass a short distance away. 'Talk about me as if I'm not here.'
'It's not a criticism,' said Cornelius. 'I'm just stating a fact.' He stared moodily towards the distant light. 'I could easily go out there, you know. We Golmirans are renowned for our stealth. I could wait till she's asleep, creep up on her with my sword and—'
'Nobody's creeping up on anybody!' Sebastian assured him. 'My goodness, earlier today you were criticizing her for doing the very same thing. Let's just get some sleep.' He made a point of waiting until Cornelius had climbed into his bedroll before following suit. He lay there for a while, thinking about Leonora sleeping only a short distance away, and part of him wanted to go to her, just to look into those beautiful tawny eyes again. Yes, he knew it was madness; he understood that after what he'd done to her brother, she would most likely try to kill him; and yet whatever it was she had planted in his unconscious mind, it had a powerful hold on him. It would not allow him to rest; he could feel it tugging at him, nagging at him like some strange malady.
Finally he managed to shrug off the notion and pulled his blanket tighter around him, because it was cold out here at night. He listened for a while but there was just the sound of the restless wind whistling across the wide stretches of grassland. But the day's journey had tired him, and he finally fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
He woke suddenly with a rising sense of apprehension. He wasn't sure what had woken him, but now that it had, he was strangely anxious and sleep seemed a million miles away.
It was late and the moon was full, spreading a pale glow across the plains. He rolled over to say something to Cornelius and was shocked to see that his
'I don't know why you keep calling her that,' protested Sebastian. 'I mean . . . if it wasn't for her, that snake would have eaten the pair of us.'
'Oh yes, she arranged our rescue, I'll grant you that. But only because she suspected we might be of value to her. And once she had a sniff of our reason for making this journey, she and her brother came sneaking like thieves in the night, as you well know.'
'I still think that could have been a misunderstanding.'
'Oh really! And what about when they turned themselves into panthers and tried to kill us? That would be a misunderstanding too, I suppose?'
'Umm . . . well, you see, I've been thinking about that. I believe that when they change into cats, their animal instincts probably get the better of them. They can't actually help themselves.'
'The young master is addled in the head,' observed Max glumly. 'We'd do better to take him to a doctor.'
'There's no doctor who can prescribe a cure for what he's got,' muttered Cornelius. 'Come on, let's get moving before she starts to catch up with us!'
Sebastian found himself wanting to linger so that he could speak to her again; but Cornelius was giving him a certain look and he knew that there was little point in arguing. So he slapped the reins against Max's shaggy flanks and they went on their way and began to descend the ridge into the valley below.
C HAPTER 8
ALL CHANGE
They made camp for the night and kindled a fire. Sebastian and Cornelius dined well on a javralat that the Golmiran had killed, back along the trail. Afterwards they laid out their bedrolls, but the little warrior kept gazing off into the darkness, and after a while he was able to point out the distant twinkle of a campfire.
'There she is,' he muttered. 'Looks like she's gained some ground on us too. An equine travels faster than an old buffalope and a caravan.'
'Oh, don't mind my feelings,' grunted Max, who was browsing the grass a short distance away. 'Talk about me as if I'm not here.'
'It's not a criticism,' said Cornelius. 'I'm just stating a fact.' He stared moodily towards the distant light. 'I could easily go out there, you know. We Golmirans are renowned for our stealth. I could wait till she's asleep, creep up on her with my sword and—'
'Nobody's creeping up on anybody!' Sebastian assured him. 'My goodness, earlier today you were criticizing her for doing the very same thing. Let's just get some sleep.' He made a point of waiting until Cornelius had climbed into his bedroll before following suit. He lay there for a while, thinking about Leonora sleeping only a short distance away, and part of him wanted to go to her, just to look into those beautiful tawny eyes again. Yes, he knew it was madness; he understood that after what he'd done to her brother, she would most likely try to kill him; and yet whatever it was she had planted in his unconscious mind, it had a powerful hold on him. It would not allow him to rest; he could feel it tugging at him, nagging at him like some strange malady.
Finally he managed to shrug off the notion and pulled his blanket tighter around him, because it was cold out here at night. He listened for a while but there was just the sound of the restless wind whistling across the wide stretches of grassland. But the day's journey had tired him, and he finally fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
He woke suddenly with a rising sense of apprehension. He wasn't sure what had woken him, but now that it had, he was strangely anxious and sleep seemed a million miles away.
It was late and the moon was full, spreading a pale glow across the plains. He rolled over to say something to Cornelius and was shocked to see that his
Similar Books
