Sherwood Smith Quote

He caught it one-handed, set it gently back in its place.I clenched my teeth together to keep from screaming.The Marquis stepped to the door, opened it. Please bring Lord Branaric here.Then he sat down in one of the window seats and looked out as though nothing had happened. I turned my back and glared out the other window, and a long, terrible silence drained my wits entirely until the door was suddenly thrust open by an impatient hand; and there was my brother, tall, thinner than I remembered, and Mel! he exclaimed.Bran, I squawked, and hurled myself into his arms. After a moment of incoherent questions on my part, he patted my back then held me out at arm’s length. Here, Mel, what’s this? You look like death’s cousin! Where’d you get that black eye? And your hands-- He turned over my wrists, squinting down at the healing rope burns. Curse it, what’s toward?Debegri, I managed, laughing and crying at once. Oh, Bran, that’s not the worst of it. Look at this! I stuck out my bare foot to show the purple scars. That horrid trap--We pulled ‘em all out, he said, and grimaced. It was the Hill Folk sent someone to tell us about you--that’s a first, and did it scare me!--but by the time we got down the mountain, you were gone. I’m sorry, Mel. You were right.I was s-s-s- I got caught, and now we’re both in trouble, I wailed into his shoulder.The carved door snicked shut, and I realized we were alone. I gave a great sob that seemed to come up from my dusty bare toes, and all those pent-up emotions stormed out. Bran sighed and just held me for a long time, until at last I got control again and pulled away, hiccoughing. T-Tell me how everyone is, and what happened?Khesot, Julen, both are fine. Hrani cut up bad, but coming through. We lost young Omic and two of those Faluir villagers. That was when we tried a couple of runs on the greenie camp. Afterward, though, we got up Debegri’s nose but good, he said with a grin. Ho! I don’t like to remember those early days. Our people were absolutely wild, mostly mad at me about those accursed traps. After our second run, Shevraeth sent a warning under truce. Said you were on your way to Remalna-city, and we should hole up against further communication. Then we found out that the King had gone off on one of his tantrums--apparently wasn’t best pleased to find that this fop of a marquis had done better in two weeks than his cousin had in two months, and gave the command back to Debegri. We enjoyed that. He grinned again, then winced. Until Azmus appeared. Nearly killed himself getting to our camp. Told us about the King’s threat, and your escape, and that you’d disappeared and he couldn’t find you. Debegri left, with half his army, and we knew it was to search for you. We waited for word. Bad time, there. think it was bad… I started.Mmm. He hugged me again. Tell me.Vivid images chased through my mind: Shevraeth over the campfire; Galdran’s throne room and that horrible laughter; the escape; what Ara’s mother said; that fortress. I didn’t know how to begin, so I shook my head and said, Never mind it now. Tell me more.