Besides the fish, there was a beautiful shell just sitting on the edge of the pool. Julia picked it up and put it to her ear, and was surprised to hear the whisper of harp strings and muffled drums instead of the roar of the sea.
She turned to race after Lyssa and show her, but the others were already out of sight. Instead, there was an old man in a robe of shifting stars and light, with a paper crown rustling on his head. He smiled, and held out his hand.
“I’m home…” Paul whispered to himself, crouching down to curl up into a tight little ball. “The Ragwitch defeated, the King saved…and Julia lost.”
Then he felt a touch on his arm, lighter than the Patchwork King’s—a familiar touch, followed by a familiar pinch. He leapt to his feet, and there was Julia, looking exactly as normal, except for a mark on her wrist.
“You’re safe!” cried Paul happily, throwing his arms around her, and then, in pure brotherly love, punching her on the arm.
“Yes,” said Julia. “Thanks to you…and Lyssa, and Anhyvar, and Mirran.”
“Who?” asked Paul.
“People who helped me,” said Julia, sitting down to gaze out at the sea.
“I’m glad there was someone,” said Paul, quietly. “I had lots of people to help me. Aleyne and Tanboule, Quigin and Leasel, Deamus, Oel and Sevaun…Cagael…the Elementals…”
“You must have lots to tell,” said Julia. “I certainly do. I wonder if we’ll remember?”
“If you want to,” interrupted the Patchwork King, who seemed to have been there all the time, though Paul knew he hadn’t. “I can make you forget, if you wish.”
Paul looked at Julia, and both of them thought back over the past few weeks.
“I think I’d like to remember,” said Julia slowly, still staring out into the ocean, remembering another sea, and another midden.
“So would I,” said Paul, thinking of what he’d said to Quigin.
“As you wish,” said the Patchwork King. “You’ll forget the worst anyway, and I shall take it from your dreams. Goodbye.”
With that, he was gone, and a wind from the sea sprang up, cold against the children’s faces. Something fluttered down in the breeze, and caught in Julia’s hair. Paul pulled it out, and gave it to her, noticing that the Fire Queen’s brand on his palm pulsed twice as he touched it.
“A rowan leaf,” said Julia. She smiled, and put it in her top pocket, making sure it wouldn’t blow away.
“Come on,” said Paul. “I’ll race you home.”
“No,” replied Julia. “Let’s just walk. There’s plenty of time.”
About the Author
GARTH NIX grew up in Canberra, Australia. Besides being a full-time writer, he has worked as a sales rep, publicist, editor, marketing communications consultant, and as a part-time literary agent. He is the New York Times best-selling author of SABRIEL, LIRAEL, ABHORSEN, and SHADE’S CHILDREN. Mr. Nix now lives in Sydney, a five-minute walk from Coogee Beach, with his wife, Anna, son, Thomas, and lots of books.
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Praise for Garth Nix
SABRIEL:
“Rich, complex, involving, hard to put down, this first novel is excellent high fantasy.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“SABRIEL is a winner.”
—Philip Pullman
“The action charges along at a gallop. A page-turner for sure.”
—ALA Booklist (starred review)
LIRAEL:
“Readers who like their fantasy intense in action, magisterial in scope, and apocalyptic in consequences will revel in every word.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“What makes LIRAEL a delight is the magic that Nix brings to his story and to his characters. It is filled with twists and turns, playful inventiveness and dark magic, and is sure to satisfy his many readers.”
—Locus
ABHORSEN:
“Riveting, thought-provoking fantasy.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Terror, courage, bitterness, love, desperation, and sacrifice all swirl together in an apocalyptic climax that pits both Life and Death together against the destruction of everything. Breathtaking, bittersweet, and utterly unforgettable.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
SHADE’S CHILDREN:
“A dynamic page-turner. Fast-paced action and the intensity of the entire situation make for exciting reading.”
—ALA Booklist
Also by Garth Nix
Shade’s Children
THE ABHORSEN TRILOGY
Sabriel
Lirael
Abhorsen
Credits
Cover art © 2004 by Douglas Mullen
Cover design by Hilary Zarycky
Cover © 2004 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
Copyright
THE RAGWITCH. Copyright © 1990 by Garth Nix. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nix, Garth.
The Ragwitch /Garth Nix.—1st Eos ed.
p. cm.
Summary: When his sister Julia falls under the spell of the evil Ragwitch and her minions, Paul must journey across time to a distant dimension and rally the forces of good to rescue Julia and save the magical kingdom of Yendre.
ISBN 0-06-050807-8
[1. Fantasy.] I. Title.
PZ7.N647Rag 2003 2002192801
[Fic]—dc21 CIP
AC
EPub Edition © January 2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-200314-0
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
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United States
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Garth Nix, The Ragwitch
(Series: # )
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