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concealment. Fleta, being a unicorn, was resistive to magic practiced on her, so had been able to pick up
hints, while Bane had not. However, his spirit was not subject to the same limits as his body. He could
perceive the shimmer of the magic force; indeed, he passed through it with extreme caution, for his
presence could disturb it, alerting the Adept who had set it.
This party could only be here to spy on Mach and Fleta. The Adepts were not merely watching, they
were keeping a force close by. Why?
He infiltrated the main tent. There was a goblin chief. He was settling down for the night. Goblins were
more at home in the dark than the day, but since these were evidently following Bane and Fleta, they
had to match their schedule to that of the day-dwellers; otherwise they would get no rest at all.
That meant there would be no real activity while he spied. He could not learn why these goblins were
following him. Surely they had better reason than just keeping track of his whereabouts, that the Adepts
could do more efficiently from a distance!
He considered a moment, then decided to go for double or nothing. The Adepts were taking an
extraordinary step, having a physical presence near him, protected by their magic, so it had to be worth
his trouble to find out why. Maybe they just wanted to protect Mach and Fleta from possible harm but
maybe they had some treachery on their minds.
He returned to Fleta. She was still working over his inert body. Well, almost inert; it seemed that certain
reactions could occur even in the absence of consciousness, and she was evoking one of those.
"Fleta!" he said.
She did not hear: he had no voice in this state. But if he returned to his body to talk to her, he would lose
the rest of his spell, which would be a waste of onetime magic.
He drew close and overlapped her head. "Fleta!" he said.
She jumped, looking wildly around.
"It's me, Bane," he said. "In spirit. I need thy help."
She stilled. "Bane," she whispered. "I hear thee."
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"A party of goblins is tracking us. I need to know why. Canst get up and cause them to react while I
listen? Mayhap they will utter what I would hear."
"Aye," she whispered. "This body be not much fun, anyway."
"Good thing, tease! Thou dost not want me in love with thee too."
She looked thoughtful, and he feared he had said too much. Then she drew herself up, picking up her
cloak. "Do thou wait here, beloved," she said aloud. "Must needs I go do what none can do for me." She
became the unicorn.
"That way," Bane said, overlapping her head again. "I think they mean us not harm, but push not thy
luck. If thou canst make them stir, to avoid discovery "
She made a nicker of acquiescence and set out for the goblin camp.
Bane hurried back to the camp ahead of her. In spirit form he could fly, for his spirit weighed nothing;
whether he could travel more swiftly yet, but imagining himself there, he wasn't sure, and wasn't
inclined to experiment at the moment. This was magic his father had devised: he did not grasp all its
aspects.
He entered the chief goblin's tent and hovered. Suddenly he wondered: could he overlap the goblin's
head, as he had Fleta's, and read its thoughts? Probably not; he had not read Fleta's. All he might do was
give away his presence.
A goblin sentry burst into the tent. "Kinkear!" the sentry exclaimed. "The 'corn be coming toward us!"
Kinkear roused himself with a start. "Why?"
"She has a load to drop."
"And she's going to drop it here?" Kinkear cried. "What a mess, an she blunder across us by sheer
chance! Our whole plan could be discovered! The spell be not effective an a 'corn step straight into it!"
"Aye. What must we do?"
"Alert the others. Break camp instantly. Stay clear o' her!"
The sentry disappeared. Kinkear hastily rolled up his bed and hauled down his tent. "Just my luck," he
muttered to himself. "She drops dung, and my mission be in deep manure! Tan'll tan my hide, an I
bungle his trap!"
So the Tan Adept was behind this! Already this device was paying off. But why should Tan be after [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]