| Seeing that Andrea looked troubled, Frederigo told her: "It is no use
going after Astra just yet. Were we to catch up with her, we might have
but a brief moment to regret our folly before our throats were ripped out.
We must wait a few days, until the moon has waned sufficiently for Astra
to return to human form." Astra supposed that made sense, but something
did not feel right. Hadn't he said yesterday that staying at Belboz's overnight
would give Astra enough of a head start to be safe? In which case, what
was the need for further delay? She considered asking why, of all the other
directions they might have taken, they were heading for the Fens, where
progress was bound to be difficult and perhaps even dangerous. However
she decided that it might be wiser to keep silent. She knew that Frederigo
was a friend of Astra and yet, whilst she trusted Astra totally, she did
not trust him.
She wondered whether she should have secreted some of the sea salt and
herbs in her pack. But a warding circle was only effective against evil
that was magical or supernatural in nature, which would apply to Belboz
but not - she presumed - to Fred, so there had seemed to be no point.
|
After travelling much of the day,
they reached the edge of the fens. 