|
Vergot carefully watches the stranger who has quickly wrenched from him
such secrets. He seems as hard as smoked leather and heavy steel, yet his voice, the
rhythm of his speech, the soft rolling of the syllables, betrays his true nature. Vergot
smiles and allows his defenses to fall a little, just enough to ask another question. |
|
"How long ago since you left the desert?" |
"It's been a while since I was able to keep
track of time... last thing I remember from that other world was the twisting of Diana's
robe in the wind, her hands drawing circles in the sky... and then it turns into a mirage,
a vision so soft it might fade if I concentrate too hard..." |
|
| Vergot shakes inwardly with the bittersweet pain of distant recognition.
His memories are the same... the castle in the hills, the woman of the bright shining
hair, the snake... |
| Bruto smiles and passes him the tube of Hasmas. Vergot takes it and inhales broadly. |
|
"What do you need to find... for this sick woman of
yours?" |
|
Bruto shakes his head, with a kind of gentle sadness.
"That memory is so faded as to be unreadable... I know I'm looking for something
but I don't know what it is..." |
| The words ring a loud bell within Vergot's thin frame, a rapid sequence of
images rushing through his inner eyes: the many ports he has visited in the islands, the
many houses he has stayed in, the many people he had almost considered friends... |
|
