Chapters (15)
Ciri doesn’t understand, but she fights to. She tries hard to understand, she focuses, she focuses so hard that the blood buzzes and pulses in her ears…
Lightning. And after it a sudden darkness, darkness soft and black, black darkness that nothing can lighten.
A buzzing in her ears.
The wind on her face. A cool wind. Drops of rain. The scent of pine in her nostrils.
Kelpie prances, snorts and stamps. Her neck is hot and wet.
Lightning. Soon after it thunder. In the light Ciri sees Ihuarraquax shaking his head and horn, powerfully pawing the ground with his hoof.
‘Little Horse?’
I’m here, Star-Eye.
The sky is full of stars. Full of constellations. The Dragon. The Winter Maiden. The Seven Goats. The Pitcher.
And almost just above the horizon–the Eye.
‘We did it,’ she gasped. ‘We made it, Little Horse. This is my world!’
His signal is so clear that Ciri understands everything.
No, Star-Eye. We’ve fled from one world. But it still isn’t your place, not your time. There are still many worlds ahead of us.
‘Don’t leave me alone.’
I will not. I am in debt to you. I must pay it off. Entirely.
Along with the growing wind, the sky darkens from the west. The clouds, coming in waves, extinguish the constellations in turn. The Dragon goes out, the Winter Maiden goes out, then the Seven Goats and the Pitcher. The Eye, which shines brightest and longest, goes out.
The line of the horizon is lit up by the short-lived brightness of lightning. Thunder rolls with a dull rumble. The wind abruptly intensifies, blowing dust and dry leaves into their eyes.
The unicorn neighs and sends a mental signal.
There’s no time to lose. Our only hope is in a quick escape. To the right place, and the right time. We must hurry, Star-Eye.
I am the Master of Worlds. I am the Elder Blood.
I am of the blood of Lara Dorren, the daughter of Shiadhal.
Ihuarraquax neighs, urges them on. Kelpie echoes it with a long-drawn-out snort. Ciri puts on her gloves.
‘I’m ready,’ she says.
A buzzing in her ears. A flash and brightness. And then darkness.