The Sorcerer of the North- Character Reaction

22

"Your turn, Alyss." Will handed the book to his girlfriend next.

Alyss listened intently as Will recounted the events of the previous night. Max was obviously paying attention as well, he thought. When he reached the moment where the giant figure had emerged from the mist, he noticed that the musician missed several beats. Will chuckled. "I don't blame him," he said. He smiled ruefully. He didn't blame the other man. He had a distinct memory that his heart had done much the same thing-and had kept on doing it, when he had been in the dark, menacing wood.

"I don't know," Gilan mused. "I mean, you've been around Halt for how many years? That's terrifying enough."

Said Ranger turned a flat look on the younger man, and Gilan smirked. "Can you deny it?"

"I'm going to deny your right to coffee, at this rate."

As he related his tale, Alyss had jotted occasional notes in a small leather- bound journal. She studied them now, frowning slightly, her chin on her hand. Finally, she looked up at him.

"It must have been terrifying," she said.

"It was," Will said with heartfelt emotion. Malcolm smiled slightly.

"It was." Will had no hesitation about admitting his fear to her. They had known each other too long for him to try to pretend otherwise. In addition, his training and his honest nature compelled him to give a true and accurate account of events-including his reactions to them. Horace grinned. She drummed her fingers on the table for a few seconds, studying her notes once more. Then she touched her quill to one of the jotted points.

"Your dog..." she began. "What's her name, by the way?"

Will let out a long breath. "Maybe I should have let you name her," he said to Hal. "I can't think of names to save my life." The skirl laughed.

Will hesitated. He was getting tired of that question. He racked his brains for a name but inspiration deserted him. "I was thinking of calling her Blackie..." he said. Horace snorted.

"Blackie?" Alyss's tone left no doubt that she didn't think too much of his choice. Halt smirked.

"But I have a few other ideas as well," Will added hastily. She waved the matter aside. It wasn't important.

"Whatever. You said she growled when you first saw the lights moving?"

He thought back to the scene in the wood, trying to reconstruct exactly what had happened. "Yes," he said finally. "She had her head cocked-the way dogs do when they hear a strange sound."

"I really should have brought Ebony," Will mused.

"Then..." She paused and went back to the notes. "You saw the Night Warrior and then you heard him speak, correct?"
He nodded. "How long was it between the time you saw the figure and heard him speak? Was there a pause?"

He thought carefully. He knew how important small details could be and he wanted to be absolutely sure he had them correct. Halt nodded slight approval. "There was a definite pause," he said. "Perhaps twenty seconds. No less then that. It's hard to be accurate; I was a little distracted by what was going on," he added, and she nodded her sympathy.

"I don't blame you. I would have been running, screaming the place down, long before you reached that point," she said. Horace and Jenny both laughed. Then she touched on the detail that had been bothering her.

"You said when the figure spoke, the dog jumped up and growled?"

"That's right." And suddenly a light dawned in his mind, a fraction of a second before Alyss stated it.