The Farseekers (35 page)

I stared at him, wondering if he was right about the Herder Faction, and about Ariel.

'We have come far, but the road is not yet ended,' Rushton said.

I sighed. 'Don't you think of anything but fighting battles and winning? There must be more to life than that.'

'More? Perhaps,' Rushton said. 'But life is a fight just the same, whether you fight it with weapons, or with words. You have to fight for what you believe in, and for the things you want.'

Abruptly he held out a hand. 'Dance with me.'

I stared at him, astonished. I had never seen Rushton dance, and I did not dance. I opened my mouth to say so, but the words died on my lips.

His arms went about me, lightly and impersonally as one might hold a piece of soap.

'I have always fought for what I want,' Rushton said with calm determination.

It was raining.

'Soon the coldwhite will come again,' Maruman sent.

I looked down at him, marvelling at his recovery. His appearance was as disreputable as ever but his eyes shone with their old stringent light. We were in the Futuretell tower room, waiting for Maryon.

'The time of cold is the time when Obernewtyn is safest, secure behind a barrier of snow and ice,' I sent.

'There are some things no barrier can hold away,' Maruman sent.

I stared at him, suddenly uneasy. 'What do you mean?'

'When the others come, it will be time to make the dark journey,' he sent.

I shivered, knowing at once what he meant, though we had barely spoken of it since the day I returned with Gahltha. 'What others?' I sent.

'You will not go alone,' Maruman responded. 'The old ones have promised.' I received a vague mental picture from Maruman of what looked like many dogs. One, I knew.

'Darga?' I whispered, wondering if it were really possible Darga had survived and, if so, where he was. And what did he have to do with my quest?

'He will come, and when he returns, it will be time. Best to forget until then,' Maruman sent.

I dared not ask him to explain. Maruman had only ever told what he wanted and no more. Besides, I thought morosely, I would know soon enough if what Maruman said was true.

If Darga returned . . .

I wondered suddenly if this had anything to do with Maryon's request for me to call on her. I was aware she was more likely than anyone else to see what lay ahead in her futuretell dreaming. Already I had appeared in her dreams, but as yet she had not fathomed the meaning.

Abruptly, I felt cold with Premonition. Unlike Maryon and those of the Futuretell Guild, my ability to see the future was restricted and infrequent. Most often, my premonitions were no more than a strong feeling of danger, but I had become accustomed to trusting them.

Sensing my mood, Maruman looked at me, yellow eyes gleaming in the dull evening light. 'Fear or no, you must do what must be done. You are the Seeker.'

'That's what scares me most,' I sent. 'If I fail. . .'

Strangely, Rushton's face came into my thoughts, and his words on the day of our Moon Fair.

'Life is a battle. You have to fight for the things you care about and believe in . . .'

'Even the funaga have their times of wisdom, rare though these come . . .' Maruman said with oblique humour.

I laughed.

Isobelle Carmody was born in Wangaratta in 1958. After completing her Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in literature and philosophy, she worked in public relations as a journalist.

Her first novel,
Obernewtyn,
the first book in the five-volume
Obernewtyn Chronicles,
was shortlisted in the 1988 Children's Book Council of Australia (CBC) Book of the Year Awards for older readers.
The Farseekers,
Book Two in the
Obernewtyn
Chronicles,
was named an Honour Book in the 1991 CBC Awards.
Ashling,
the third book in the
Obernewtyn Chronicles,
has now been published to much acclaim.

Other novels by Isobelle Carmody are
Scatterlings
(1991), and
The Gathering,
joint winner of the thirtieth Children's Peace Literature Prize and of the 1994 CBC Book of the Year Award for older readers.
The Gathering
will soon be made into a feature film. Her most recent book is
Green Monkey Dreams,
a collection of short stories.

Isobelle divides her time between her home on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, and travelling abroad. She is currently working on the fourth book in the
Obernewtyn
series,
The Keeping Place.