Sojourner in an ancient land by Lisande
Part 3
THE
HOLY STONE
When Robeira stood, icy cold, before the great marble obelisk, she remembered the last time she had stood there. She never thought she would stand there again. Twice was more than most people cared to, for its power was formidable, and best avoided if you cared for your sanity. The first time was her own third job advance, and the second had been her initiation, years later, to instructorhood.
She could feel the Stone calling to her in words she did not understand. Nevertheless convinced, Robeira took out Arec's dagger. She traced her name, inscribed in tiny letters on its hilt. Her fingers, semi-paralysed with cold, moved upward, caressing the edge of the blade.
Her forefinger came away, blood blooming from the incision as if by magic. She stopped, as if in a dream, to look at it wonderingly. Perhaps that was beautiful too.
"Robie?"
She did not hear Arec's voice in a place she had never heard it before, as it called to her through the cold air. The mists surrounding the Holy Stone deepened, and she lifted the dagger.
"Robie!"
She turned, annoyed that her moment had been disturbed. Who was calling her? Arec's face appeared, first dim in the shadows, and then pale when he stepped into the moonlight.
The mists parted, and the shock of recognition and realisation of what she was about to do struck them both. The blood, still fresh from her finger, pooled on the snow. There was utter silence as they stared at each other across the snow for what seemed an eternity frozen in time.
Arec spoke at last. "I won't ask, and I'm not going to stop you."
The silence hung between them again. Struggling to think, Robeira could only remember how he had always given her distance, if she wanted it. He had never forced anything on her.
Robeira's tongue suddenly found itself. For the second time that night she collapsed to the ground. The dagger clattered to the snow-powdered ground.
"You found me," she said brokenly.
He embraced her.
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