THE WIZARD AND THE SYLPH

Chapter Six

Pursuit

Lily lay drowsily against Anest's chest, caught in that netherworld between tense watchfulness,and relaxed forgetfulness. She listened to the comforting vibration of his chest as he spoke quietlywith Brogan, Belloc, and Celedhan. A few feet away lay Dorain, asleep, a blanket clutched tightlyabout her. To a casual observer she looked almost as a child as she lay upon her bed whichconsisted of a huge coiled rope. This was an illusion, of course, but one created, seemingly, to torment Brogan, so small and frail she looked. Observing this, Lily saw the visage of a man at odds with himself, unable to want other than the object of his desire. His fading burns somehow accentuated this aspect, as though the fate engraved on his soul was at last emerging to the surface.

Being torn from the Earth Mother had taught Lily much, yet though she could now understandBrogan's pain, this new-found empathy gave her no comfort. She seemed to bear a cost for each new strength she found in herself, and this too she could now see in others. Love and sacrifice seemed inextricably linked to one another like the disparate poles of a single entity, yet in this world, love seemed such a small, fragile thing, cast adrift on the wide sea with little but luck to




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