The House of Yeel - By Michael McCloskey Page 0,13

white of these terms merges into ambiguity under circumstances such as this, so I must say that I cannot express myself any more clearly in this very special and restricted case. So you see, you have it exactly, my friend.”

“Uh…yes, my lord,” Jymoor said. Jymoor had been struggling to understand everything, but she found that most of the time Yeel’s meaning eluded her. Was the mighty wizard purposefully being vague, or did he simply work in spheres so complex that Jymoor couldn’t follow his most basic thoughts?

“There’s no problem, I assure you,” Yeel said. He took another breath to continue speaking, but Jymoor jumped in, fearing another lengthy repetition of the sentiment.

“Who was he?” Jymoor asked. “If I may be so bold as to inquire, my lord? You seemed to know him well, despite your…selective memorization habits.”

“He was no one. Inconsequential. Irrelevant. A mere brigand. A passerby of ill intent.”

Jymoor’s eyebrows jumped. She turned away from Yeel and kept moving down the trail. That had certainly been someone of import…Yeel had addressed him as being of some group or order. The Meridalae. “Of the Meridalae?” Jymoor said. She bit her tongue. If Yeel felt that she was questioning his word…

“Oh, well, yes. The Meridalae. Uncanny how you remember these things so perfectly. Simply a group of criminals. Think nothing more of it, my friend.”

Jymoor’s eyebrows rose again. For once she had stumbled upon a subject that the loquacious Yeel didn’t want to talk about at length. Jymoor stifled another yawn and pried herself up from the stony ground. She felt around her body to make sure that she still possessed her travel pack, filled with food, and her meager pouch of copper and silver.

“Yes, we may resume our journey, my lord,” Jymoor said. She took a few unsteady steps, feeling the strength slowly returning to her legs.

“That would be a fine way to proceed, but I have a superior option. Surely we can delay our departure by a few more scant minutes. You see, I had hoped to avoid Faverhind as I thought him to be a more formidable opponent than he turned out to be this time. Thanks to a couple of firkir serpents, it seems. In any case, now that he’s been dealt with, there is the matter of his lair in this very aerie behind us. I think that a raid is in order.”

“If you think it wise, my lord. Which way is the lair?”

“We shall reverse our roles. You, to that of follower, and I, to that of the guide. Accompany me, if you will.”

Yeel moved sharply to the left and down into a rocky cleft. Jymoor hesitated, peering ahead. It looked as if the divide emptied straight down toward the ocean, and she feared the way might be dangerous. As she took a few more steps after Yeel, however, she saw that a ledge had been formed along the side of the rocky hillock that led to the amazing palace above.

The two moved along the trail for several minutes. The sound of the ocean crashed in every few moments, reminding Jymoor of her proximity to the waves. The rock felt slimy, as if covered with the secretions of unknown sea creatures. Yeel came to the end of the ledge, a spot where he could see out over the sharp rocks and the sea below.

“It is here,” Yeel said, pointing a thin hand toward a recessed hollow in the cliffside. Jymoor stepped into the niche, shielding her eyes from the sun. She saw a weathered wooden door set into the rock, hidden by the shadow cast from the overhang. The scout tried to peer in through a knothole but her eyes were used to the bright sunlight behind.

“I will gain entrance, if you would kindly step back,” Yeel said.

Jymoor heeded Yeel’s wishes, stepping away from the door. The man stepped forward and produced a weapon from his belt. Jymoor saw three silver balls attached by cord to a handle in Yeel’s hand. Yeel began to spin the orbs with great speed, until Jymoor could barely follow them and then the door erupted into fragments of shattered wood. Jymoor hadn’t even seen the strike.

“I continue to underestimate you,” Jymoor said. “I had finally come to understand your immense mystical powers, but I had no idea that you possessed such physical prowess.”

“Oh…I apologize if I have misled you, my friend. It is simply the power of my weapon that allows me to deliver such blows. The malinthander lends