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.A terribly frightening world, but one that was full of stark beauty.Everything was angles, as if she'd fallen into the heart of a giant crystal.Everything glittered, cold and clear and sharp.There were flashes of color as light shimmered and reflected, but for the most part it was dazzling transparency in every direction.Like the fractured ice of a glacier.Really dangerous, Maggie thought.The spikes of crystal around her had edges like swords.The place looked as if it had never known warmth or soft color.And you live here? she thought to Delos.Go away.Delos's answering thought came to her.on a wave of cold wind.Get out!No, Maggie said.You can't scare me.I've climbed glaciers before.It was then that she realized what this place reminded her of.A summit.The bare and icy top of a mountain where no plants-and certainly no people-could survive.But didn't anything good ever happen to you? she wondered.Didn't you ever have a friend.or a pet.or something?No friends, he said shortly.No pets.Get out of here before I hurt you.Maggie didn't answer, because even as he said it things were changing around her.It was as if the glinting surfaces of the nearby crystals were suddenly reflecting scenes, perfect little pictures with people moving in them.As soon as Maggie looked at one, it swelled up and seemed to surround her.They were his memories.She was seeing bits of his childhood.She saw a child who had been treated as a weapon from the time he was born.It was all about some prophecy.She saw men and women gathered around a little boy, four years old, whose blacklashed golden eyes were wide and frightened."No question about it," the oldest man was saying.Delos's teacher, Maggie realized, the knowledge flowing to her because Delos knew it, and she was in Delos's mind."This child is one of the Wild Powers," the teacher said, and his voice was full of awe and fear.His trembling hands smoothed out a brittle piece of scroll.As soon as Maggie saw it she knew that the scroll was terribly old and had been kept in the DarkKingdom for centuries, preserved here even when it was lost to the outside world."Four Wild Powers," the old man said, "who will be needed at the millennium to save the world-or-to destroy it.The prophecy tells where they will come from." And he read:"One from the land of kings long forgotten; One from the hearth which still holds the spark;One from the Day World where two eyes are watching; One from the twilight to be one with the dark.",The child Delos looked around the circle of grim faces, hearing the words but not understanding them."'The land of kings, long forgotten,"' a woman was saying."That must be the DarkKingdom.""Besides, we've seen what he can do," a big man said roughly."He's a Wild Power, all right.The blue fire is in his blood.He's learned to use it too early, though; he can't control it.See?"He grabbed a small arm-the left one-and held it up.It was twisted somehow, the fingers clawed and stiff, immobile.The little boy tried to pull his hand away, but he was too weak.The adults ignored him."The king wants us to find spells to hold the power in," the woman said."Or he'll damage himself permanently.""Not to mention damaging us," the rough man said, and laughed harshly.The little boy sat stiff and motionless as they handled him like a doll.His golden eyes were dry and his small jaw was clenched with the effort not to give in to tears.That's awful, Maggie said indignantly, aiming her thought at the Delos of the present.It's a terrible way to grow up.Wasn't there anybody who cared about you? Your father?Go away, he said.I don't need your sympathy.And your arm, Maggie said, ignoring the cold emptiness of his thought.Is that what happens to it when you use the blue fire?He didn't answer, not in a thought directed at her.But another memory flashed in the facets of a crystal, and Maggie found herself drawn into it.She saw a five-year-old Delos with his arm wrapped in what looked like splints or a brace.As she looked at it, she knew it wasn't just a brace.It was made of spells and wards to confine the blue fire."This is it," the woman who had spoken before was saying to the circle of men."We can control him completely.""Are you sure? You witches are careless sometimes.You're sure he can't use it at all now?" The man who said it was tall, with a chilly, austere face-and yellow eyes like Delos's.Your father, Maggie said wonderingly to Delos.And his name was.Tormentil? But.She couldn't go on, but she was thinking that he didn't look much like a loving father.He seemed just like the others."Until I remove the wards, he can't use it at all.I'm sure, majesty." The woman said the last word in an everyday tone, but Maggie felt a little shock.Hearing somebody get called majesty-it made him more of a king, somehow."The longer they're left on, the weaker he'll be,"the woman continued."And he can't take them off himself.But I can, at any time--""And then he'll still be useful as a weapon?" "Yes.But blood has to run before he can use the blue fire."The king said brusquely, "Show me."The woman murmured a few words and stripped the brace off the boy's arm.She took a knife from her belt and with a quick, casual motion, like Maggie's grandmother gutting a salmon, opened a gash on his wrist.Five-year-old Delos didn't flinch or make a sound.His golden eyes were fixed on his father's face as blood dripped onto the floor."I don't think this is a good idea," the old teacher said."The blue fire isn't meant to be used like this, and it damages his arm every time he does it="Now," the king interrupted, ignoring him and speaking to the child for the first time."Show me how strong you are, son.Turn the blue fire on." He glanced up deliberately at the teacher."Let's say-him.""Majesty!" The old man gasped, backing against the wall.The golden eyes were wide and afraid."Do it!" the king said sharply, and when the little boy shook his head mutely, he closed his hand on one small shoulder.Maggie could see his fingers tighten painfully."Do what I tell you.Now!"Delos turned his wide golden eyes on the old man, who was now shrinking and babbling, his trembling hands held up as if to ward off a blow.The king changed his grip, lifted the boy's arm."Now, brat! Now!"Blue fire erupted.It poured in a continuous stream like the water from a high-power fire hose.It struck the old man and spreadeagled him against the wall, his eyes and mouth open with horror.And then there was no old man.There was only a shadowy silhouette made of ashes."Interesting," the king said, dropping the boy's arm.His anger had disappeared as quickly as it had come."Actually, I thought there would be more power.I thought it might take out the wall.""Give him time." The woman's voice was slightly thick, and she was swallowing over and over."Well, no matter what, hell be useful." The king turned to look at the others in the room."Remember-all of you.A time of darkness is coming.The end of the millennium means the end of the world.But whatever happens outside, this kingdom is going to survive."Throughout all of this, the little boy sat and stared at the place where the old man had been.His eyes were wide, the pupils huge and fixed.His face was white, but without expression.Maggie struggled to breathe.That's-that's the most terrible thing I've ever seen.She could hardly get the words of her thought out.They made you kill your teacher-he made you do it.Your father.She didn't know what to say.She turned blindly, trying to find Delos himself in this strange landscape, trying to talk to him directly
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