Page 80 of Under Gorse and Stone

“Will you let her do that?” Marin asks.

She considers the question for a few seconds and then shakes her head. “I have no love for my daughter’s husband or the human race, but the dragon has done me many favours over the years, and I like his little human. I have a mind to help.”

“Thank you,” Sigurd breathes.

“Yes, thank you so much,” I echo.

“Some humans have such pretty manners.” She looks at Sigurd. “I know your mind, dragon, and I would urge caution. Free will is a charming prospect, but years of loneliness and cold decline are less so. Think carefully.”

What is she on about? I look at Sigurd, but his face is blank, his eyes glowing golden in the dim room.

“I thank you for your advice, ma’am,” he says steadily.

She pouts. “Which I suppose you will disregard. You might be a dragon, but sometimes you are very much a man. Go yourown way, then, and damn the consequences.” He bows, and she waves her hand at him. “You may use the glass, Sigurd.”

He blinks. “Ma’am, you do me great honour.”

“Away with you, charmer. Marin will help you while I talk to your human.”

His eyes flicker, but he doesn’t reply.

I watch as she reaches into a drawer of a table. She removes a huge box made of coral the colour of a pink morning sky in winter. It glows cold and bright in the room. She waves a hand. “Cover your eyes for a moment, human.”

I obey and hear rustling. When she says, “Open them now,” I blink and stare at the sight in front of me. On the table is a huge piece of pink glass. It glows, and even as I watch, milky shadows form within it, twirling slowly and almost hypnotically. I hear a low rustling, as if a thousand voices have started to whisper together.

“Look then, Sigurd,” she commands. “But remember the rule and do not look too long. The past is best viewed in short bursts. Anything more and you will be captured.”

I look anxiously at Sigurd, but he seems as relaxed as ever and bows. “Thank you, ma’am.”

She gets up from her chair. “Come, Cary. You shall walk with me while these two look for answers.”

Sigurd smiles at me reassuringly. “I will be just here.”

I nod and fall in at her side as we pace along the room. At first sight it seemed small, but as we walk, the shadows lift, and I can see that there’s no end to it.

“Did you think the glass was pretty?” she asks, sliding her arm through mine. Her head comes to my shoulder, and her hand is warm.

“Pretty?” I consider the question. “I would say beautiful.” Then I think of that low rustling sound that had accompanied its appearance. “But in the way of a shark.”

She nods. “You are a wise one, Cary, and you will need to be so. Keep your own counsel with other magical creatures and trust Sigurd. He is a rare one. Kind and loyal as a dog but with a dragon’s heart that’s all-encompassing and endless.”

I hesitate. “I’m only here for another day,” I whisper, the thought sending a shudder of despair running through me.

She directs a sparkling glance at me. “Are you? How very strange.”

Silence falls for a few beats. “Why strange?”

“Do you know what that glass is?” she says, evading my question very neatly. It’s a gift that most magical creatures seem to possess, and I shoot her a wry glance that makes her chuckle.

“I don’t.”

“Well, it is the last remnant of my crystal ball.”

“But the shard was huge.”

“As was the crystal ball. It was smashed many ages ago by a jealous lover. He flung the pieces into the sea. I managed to keep that one shard, but a billion others drifted far on the tide. Now they wash up on shores in this world and others. You humans call it sea glass, but if someone who possesses magic picks a piece up, they will hear the sea and even see me if I so wish. The biggest shard remains with me, and that is what Sigurd and my grandson consult because it can see into both the past and the future.”

“What happened to your lover?”