"Speak . . . ? Yes, I can speak." She turned to look at the wizard in wonder. Belloc smiled in response.

"Yes, child. A little wizard's magic. Now tell me, do you have a name?"

With Anest's help she got to her feet a little unsteadily. After thinking a moment, she said, looking to Anest, "Names are bestowed. Though I was known to my sisters, and they to me, we had no . . . `naming.'"

Feeling awkward, Anest said, "Naming is something our parents do when we're born. I . . ."

"I will do the naming," said Belloc, smiling, and placed a hand on the girl's head. "I name thee . . . now let me see . . . yes, that will do. That will do nicely. I name thee Lily. An appropriate name for a water-sprite, if ever I heard one."

"It's Lily, then," she murmured distantly, as though to impress the fact on her own mind. "My name is Lily." She stood still for a moment, gazing off into the distance.

"What is that?"

With a glance at the east, Belloc intuitively understood that she was not entirely ignorant of that distant threat. "That," he told her, "is a very ancient and powerful enemy. For now, it is very distant, but one day, I'm afraid, it will spread its hold over the wide lands."




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