《獅子女巫與魔衣櫥》第13章:遠古時代的高深魔法
"Yes! and have him rescued," said the Witch scornfully.
"Then," said the dwarf, "we had better do what we have to do at once."
"I would like to have it done on the Stone Table itself," said the Witch. "That is the proper place. That is where it has always been done before."
"It will be a long time now before the Stone Table can again be put to its proper use," said the dwarf.
"True," said the Witch; and then, "Well, I will begin."
At that moment with a rush and a snarl a Wolf rushed up to them.
"I have seen them. They are all at the Stone Table, with Him. They have killed my captain, Maugrim. I was hidden in the thickets and saw it all. One of the Sons of Adam killed him. Fly! Fly!"
"No," said the Witch. "There need be no flying. Go quickly. Summon all our people to meet me here as speedily as they can. Call out the giants and the werewolves and the spirits of those trees who are on our side. Call the Ghouls, and the Boggles, the Ogres and the Minotaurs. Call the Cruels, the Hags, the Spectres, and the people of the Toadstools. We will fight. What? Have I not still my wand? Will not their ranks turn into stone even as they come on? Be off quickly, I have a little thing to finish here while you are away."
The great brute bowed its head, turned, and galloped away.
"Now!" she said, "we have no table - let me see. We had better put it against the trunk of a tree."
Edmund found himself being roughly forced to his feet. Then the dwarf set him with his back against a tree and bound him fast. He saw the Witch take off her outer mantle. Her arms were bare underneath it and terribly white. Because they were so very white he could see them, but he could not see much else, it was so dark in this valley under the dark trees.
"Prepare the victim,", said the Witch. And the dwarf undid Edmund's collar and folded back his shirt at the neck. Then he took Edmund's hair and pulled his head back so that he had to raise his chin. After that Edmund heard a strange noise - whizz whizz - whizz. For a moment he couldn't think what it was. Then he realized. It was the sound of a knife being sharpened.
At that very moment he heard loud shouts from every direction - a drumming of hoofs and a beating of wings - a scream from the Witch - confusion all round him. And then he found he was being untied. Strong arms were round him and he heard big, kind voices saying things like -
"Let him lie down - give him some wine - drink this - steady now - you'll be all right in a minute."
Then he heard the voices of people who were not talking to him but to one another. And they were saying things like "Who's got the Witch?" "I thought you had her." "I didn't see her after I knocked the knife out of her hand - I was after the dwarf - do you mean to say she's escaped?" "- A chap can't mind everything at once - what's that? Oh, sorry, it's only an old stump!" But just at this point Edmund went off in a dead faint.
Presently the centaurs and unicorns and deer and birds (they were of course the rescue party which Aslan had sent in the last chapter) all set off to go back to the Stone Table, carrying Edmund with them. But if they could have seen what happened in that valley after they had gone, I think they might have been surprised.
It was perfectly still and presently the moon grew bright; if you had been there you would have seen the moonlight shining on an old tree-stump and on a fairsized boulder. But if you had gone on looking you would gradually have begun to think there was something odd about both the stump and the boulder. And next you would have thought that the stump did look really remarkably like a little fat man crouching on the ground. And if you had watched long enough you would have seen the stump walk across to the boulder and the boulder sit up and begin talking to the stump; for in reality the stump and the boulder were simply the Witch and the dwarf. For it was part of her magic that she could make things look like what they aren't, and she had the presence of mind to do so at the very moment when the knife was knocked out of her hand. She had kept hold of her wand, so it had been kept safe, too.
When the other children woke up next morning (they had been sleeping on piles of cushions in the pavilion) the first thing they heard -from Mrs Beaver - was that their brother had been rescued and brought into camp late last night; and was at that moment with Aslan. As soon as they had breakfasted4 they all went out, and there they saw Aslan and Edmund walking together in the dewy grass, apart from the rest of the court. There is no need to tell you (and no one ever heard) what Aslan was saying, but it was a conversation which Edmund never forgot. As the others drew nearer Aslan turned to meet them, bringing Edmund with him.
"Here is your brother," he said, "and - there is no need to talk to him about what is past."
Edmund shook hands with each of the others and said to each of them in turn, "I'm sorry," and everyone said, "That's all right." And then everyone wanted very hard to say something which would make it quite clear that they were all friends with him again -something ordinary and natural -and of course no one could think of anything in the world to say. But before they had time to feel really awkward one of the leopards approached Aslan and said,
"Sire, there is a messenger from the enemy who craves audience."
"Let him approach," said Aslan.
The leopard went away and soon returned leading the Witch's dwarf.
"What is your message, Son of Earth?" asked Aslan.
"The Queen of Narnia and Empress of the Lone Islands desires a safe conduct to come and speak with you," said the dwarf, "on a matter which is as much to your advantage as to hers."
"Queen of Narnia, indeed!" said Mr Beaver. "Of all the cheek -"
"Peace, Beaver," said Aslan. "All names will soon be restored to their proper owners. In the meantime we will not dispute about them. Tell your mistress, Son of Earth, that I grant her safe conduct on condition that she leaves her wand behind her at that great oak."
This was agreed to and two leopards went back with the dwarf to see that the conditions were properly carried out. "But supposing she turns the two leopards into stone?" whispered Lucy to Peter. I think the same idea had occurred to the leopards themselves; at any rate, as they walked off their fur was all standing up on their backs and their tails were bristling - like a cat's when it sees a strange dog.
"It'll be all right," whispered Peter in reply. "He wouldn't send them if it weren't."
A few minutes later the Witch herself walked out on to the top of the hill and came straight across and stood before Aslan. The three children who had not seen her before felt shudders running down their backs at the sight of her face; and there were low growls among all the animals present. Though it was bright sunshine everyone felt suddenly cold. The only two people present who seemed to be quite at their ease were Aslan and the Witch herself. It was the oddest thing to see those two faces - the golden face and the dead-white face so close together. Not that the Witch looked Aslan exactly in his eyes; Mrs Beaver particularly noticed this.
"You have a traitor there, Aslan," said the Witch. Of course everyone present knew that she meant Edmund. But Edmund had got past thinking about himself after all he'd been through and after the talk he'd had that morning. He just went on looking at Aslan. It didn't seem to matter what the Witch said.
"Well," said Aslan. "His offence was not against you."
"Have you forgotten the Deep Magic?" asked the Witch.
"Let us say I have forgotten it," answered Aslan gravely. "Tell us of this Deep Magic."
"Tell you?" said the Witch, her voice growing suddenly shriller. "Tell you what is written on that very Table of Stone which stands beside us? Tell you what is written in letters deep as a spear is long on the firestones on the Secret Hill? Tell you what is engraved on the sceptre of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea? You at least know the Magic which the Emperor put into Narnia at the very beginning. You know that every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and that for every treachery I have a right to a kill."
"Oh," said Mr Beaver. "So that's how you came to imagine yourself a queen - because you were the Emperor's hangman. I see."
"Peace, Beaver," said Aslan, with a very low growl. "And so," continued the Witch, "that human creature is mine. His life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property."
"Come and take it then," said the Bull with the man's head in a great bellowing voice.
"Fool," said the Witch with a savage smile that was almost a snarl, "do you really think your master can rob me of my rights by mere force? He knows the Deep Magic better than that. He knows that unless I have blood as the Law says all Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water."
"It is very true," said Aslan, "I do not deny it."
"Oh, Aslan!" whispered Susan in the Lion's ear, "can't we - I mean, you won't, will you? Can't we do something about the Deep Magic? Isn't there something you can work against it?"
"Work against the Emperor's Magic?" said Aslan, turning to her with something like a frown on his face. And nobody ever made that suggestion to him again.
Edmund was on the other side of Aslan, looking all the time at Aslan's face. He felt a choking feeling and wondered if he ought to say something; but a moment later he felt that he was not expected to do anything except to wait, and do what he was told.
"Fall back, all of you," said Aslan, "and I will talk to the Witch alone."
They all obeyed. It was a terrible time this - waiting and wondering while the Lion and the Witch talked earnestly together in low voices. Lucy said, "Oh, Edmund!" and began to cry. Peter stood with his back to the others looking out at the distant sea. The Beavers stood holding each other's paws with their heads bowed. The centaurs stamped uneasily with their hoofs. But everyone became perfectly still in the end, so that you noticed even small sounds like a bumble-bee flying past, or the birds in the forest down below them, or the wind rustling the leaves. And still the talk between Aslan and the White Witch went on.
At last they heard Aslan's voice, "You can all come back," he said. "I have settled the matter. She has renounced the claim on your brother's blood." And all over the hill there was a noise as if everyone had been holding their breath and had now begun breathing again, and then a murmur of talk.
The Witch was just turning away with a look of fierce joy on her face when she stopped and said,
"But how do I know this promise will be kept?"
"Haa-a-arrh!" roared Aslan, half rising from his throne; and his great mouth opened wider and wider and the roar grew louder and louder, and the Witch, after staring for a moment with her lips wide apart, picked up her skirts and fairly ran for her life.
“不，”小矮人說，“現在沒用了，女王啊。他們這會兒一定已經趕到石桌了。”
“也許狼會聞到我們的行蹤，給我們送信來。”妖婆說。
“如果來，也不見得是好消息。”小矮人說。
“凱爾帕拉維爾有四個寶座，”妖婆說，“如果只有三個有人坐呢？那預言就實現不了。”
“既然它在這兒，那又有什麼關係呢？”小矮人說。即使事到如今，他仍然不敢在女主人面前提阿斯蘭的名字。“也許它待不長。那時——我們就可以抓到凱爾的那三個。”8
“話說回來，還是留着這一個”——小矮人說到這兒踢了愛德蒙一下——“做交易的好。”
“是啊！饒他一條活命。”妖婆不屑一顧地說。
“那麼，”小矮人說，“我們最好馬上就幹我們該乾的事。”
“我寧願在石桌那兒幹，”妖婆說，“那是最合適的地方。以前幹這種事總在那兒。”
“要過很長一段時間石桌才能再派上原有的用場呢。” 小矮人說。
“不錯，”妖婆說，接着又說，“好吧，我就要開始了。” 正在這時，一匹狼急匆匆咆哮着衝到他們面前。
“我看見他們了。他們全在石桌那兒，跟它在一起。他們把我的隊長芬瑞斯·烏爾夫殺了。我躲在灌木叢裏全看見了。是一個亞當的兒子殺了它。快逃！快逃！”
“不，”妖婆說，“不必逃。你快去，召集所有人馬儘快趕到這兒來跟我會合。動員巨人，狼人，還有站在我們這一邊的樹精。動員食屍鬼、妖怪、吃人魔鬼、牛頭怪。動員冷麪怪、母夜叉、幽靈，以及毒菌怪。我們要戰鬥。什麼？我不是還有魔杖嗎？即使他們來了，不也會變成石頭嗎？快走吧，趁你走的這段時間，我還有點小事要完成呢。”
那頭巨獸鞠個躬，轉過身就一溜煙走了。
“好了！”她說，“我們沒桌子——讓我想想。我們最好把他綁在樹幹上。”
愛德蒙只覺得自己被粗暴地拉了起來。接着小矮人讓他背靠着一棵樹，把他緊緊綁上。他看見妖婆脫下了外面的披風，露出裏面兩條光胳膊，白得嚇人。因爲胳膊那麼白，在漆黑的樹下，這個山谷裏又那麼黑，他沒法看見另外的東西。
“把祭品準備好。”妖婆說。小矮人解開愛德蒙的領子，把領口往裏折，露出脖子。隨後他抓着愛德蒙的頭髮，把頭往後拉，使他只好拾起下巴。此後愛德蒙聽見一種怪聲：颼——颼——颼——他一時想不出這是什麼聲音。後來才明白，那原來是磨刀聲！
就在這個時候，他聽見四面八方喊聲震天響——一陣陣蹄聲，一陣陣翅膀撲棱聲——妖婆一聲尖叫——周圍一片混亂。於是他發現被鬆了綁。好幾條有力的胳膊扶着他，只聽見幾個和氣的大嗓門在說，“讓他躺下——給他點酒——
喝了這個——沉住氣——你一會兒就沒事了。”
接着他又聽見好多聲音，它們不是在對他說話，是相互間在說話。它們說什麼“誰抓到妖婆了？”——“我以爲你抓到她了呢。”——“我把她手裏的刀打下了就沒見到她。”——
“我在追小矮人。”——“你意思是說她逃走了嗎？”——
“一個人不能面面俱到啊。”——“那是什麼？哦，可惜，那只是一截老樹樁！”不過聽到這兒，愛德蒙就暈了過去，什麼也不知道了。
不久，那些人頭馬、獨角獸、鹿和鳥(它們當然是上一章裏說的阿斯蘭派出去的救兵)就帶着愛德蒙一起出發回石桌那兒去。不過它們如果能看見它們走後山谷裏發生的事，我想它們準會大吃一驚的。
山谷裏一片寂靜，不久月光更明亮了，如果你在場，就會看到月亮照在一截老樹樁和一塊不大不小的鵝卵石上。但如果你繼續觀察，就會逐漸想到這樹樁和石頭有點怪。下一步你會覺得那個樹樁其實很像一個小胖子趴在地上。如果你觀察的時間夠長的話，就會看見那個樹樁走到石頭身邊，石頭坐起來，開始跟樹樁講話；因爲事實上樹樁和石頭就是妖婆和小矮人。變形術，這就是妖婆魔法中的一項伎倆，就在她的刀被打下來那一剎那，她就不慌不忙地施出了這一招。她一直是魔杖不離手，因此魔杖也還是好好的。
第二天早上，另外那三個孩子醒來以後(他們就睡在帳篷裏一堆堆墊子上)，首先就聽到海狸太太對他們說：他們的兄弟已經得救，昨天深夜已經帶回營地，這會兒正在阿斯蘭那兒。他們剛吃完早飯就一起上外面去，只見阿斯蘭和愛德蒙撇開在場的其他人，在掛滿露珠的草地上一起散步。不用告訴你阿斯蘭說了些什麼(也沒人聽說過)，不過這次談話是愛德蒙終身難忘的。三個孩子走近時，阿斯蘭帶着愛德蒙一起轉身來見他們。
“你們的兄弟來了，”它說，“過去的事就不必再跟他提了。”
愛德蒙跟大家一一握手，挨個兒說了“對不起”，大家都說了聲“沒關係”。隨後，大家都想說點什麼能表明他們大家跟他重新友好的話——說點尋常而自然的話——當然誰也想不出說什麼纔好。不過他們還沒來得及感到尷尬，一頭豹就來到阿斯蘭跟前說：
“陛下，敵方來了一個信使請求晉見。”
“讓他進來。”阿斯蘭說。
豹子走開了，不一會就領着妖婆的小矮人回來。
“你帶來什麼口信，大地的兒子？”阿斯蘭問。
“納尼亞女王兼孤獨島女皇陛下要求給予安全保證，前來跟你會談，”小矮人說，“商談雙方互利的事項。”
“納尼亞女王，豈有此理！”海狸先生說，“竟有這樣的厚臉皮——”
“安靜，海狸，”阿斯蘭說，“惡有惡名，善有善名，不久個個都將正名。現在我們也不要爭吵。告訴你的女主人，我，大地的兒子，保證她的安全，條件是她得將魔杖留在那棵大橡樹下。”
小矮人同意了這—點，兩頭豹跟小矮人一起回去監視對方是否履行條件。“但假如她把兩頭豹變成石頭可怎麼辦呢？”露茜悄聲對彼得說。我認爲豹子自己也有同樣的想法；總之，它們走去時背上的毛一根根全都豎起，尾巴也翹得筆直——像貓見到陌生的狗那樣。
“沒事兒，”彼得悄聲回答說。“如果有事兒它就不會派它們去。”
幾分鐘以後，妖婆本人走上小山頂，一直走過去，站在阿斯蘭面前。三個孩子以前都沒見過她，一看她那張臉就覺得背上一陣發毛；在場的所有動物也都低聲咆哮。雖然這時陽光明媚，可每個人都突然感到一陣寒意。現場只有阿斯蘭和妖婆兩個看來仍然從容自若。看見一張金黃色的臉和一張慘白的臉，兩張臉湊得這麼近，真是件天大的怪事。怪的倒不是妖婆竟然正視阿斯蘭的眼睛，海狸太太特別留心到這一點。
“你身邊有一個叛徒，阿斯蘭。”妖婆說。當然在場的人都知道她指的是愛德蒙。但愛德蒙經過了這一場事件，早上又談了一次話，已經不再只考慮自己了。此刻他只是一直望着阿斯蘭。妖婆說什麼他似乎並不在意。"
“得了，”阿斯蘭說，“他又不是跟你過不去。”
“難道你忘了高深魔法呢？”妖婆問道。
“就算我已經忘了，”阿斯蘭莊重地回答說，“給我們講講這高深的魔法吧。”
“講給你聽？”妖婆說，她的聲音突然變得更尖厲了，“講給你聽我們身邊那張石桌上寫了些什麼？講給你聽在木岑樹王的樹幹上早就深深鐫刻着什麼嗎？講給你聽海外皇帝的寶杖上刻着什麼？至少你知道皇帝最初在納尼亞施展的魔法吧。你知道每個叛徒都歸我，當作合法的祭品，凡是有誰背叛，我都有權殺了他。”
“哦，”海狸先生說，“原來你就這樣自以爲是個女王——因爲你是皇帝的劊子手。我懂了。”
“安靜，海狸。”阿斯蘭說着低低咆哮了一聲。
“所以說，”妖婆繼續說，“那個人歸我。他的生命全在我手裏，他的血也歸我所有。”
“那你來拿拿看吧。”人頭馬大聲怒吼着說。
“笨蛋，”妖婆兇殘地笑着說，幾乎是在吼叫，“你當真認爲你的主人單用武力就可以搶走我的權利嗎？它懂得高深魔法，決不會這麼糊塗。它知道除非我依法得到血，否則納尼亞就將在烈火洪水之中覆滅。”
“一點不錯，”阿斯蘭說，“我不否認這一點。”
“哦，阿斯蘭！”蘇珊悄悄在獅王耳邊說，“我們能不能——我的意思是，行不行——我們能不能在高深魔法上想點什麼辦法？你有辦法對付高深魔法嗎？”
“對付皇帝的魔法？”阿斯蘭說着臉上露出不大高興的樣子。於是再也沒人向它提出那種建議了。
愛德蒙站在阿斯蘭的另一邊，一直望着阿斯蘭的臉。他有一種透不過氣來的感覺，不知道自己該不該說點什麼；但過了一會兒，他覺得自己除了等待，按照人家的吩咐去做之外，什麼也幹不了。
“你們大家全都退下，”阿斯蘭說，“我要跟妖婆單獨談談。”
大家全都遵命。這段時間可真難熬——當獅王和妖婆低聲誠懇會談時，大家就等啊等的，滿心疑慮。露茜說了聲
“哦，愛德蒙”就哭了起來。彼得背對着大家，看着遠處的大海。海狸夫婦相互拉着爪子，低頭站着。人頭馬不安地直跺腳。不過大家最後都寂靜無聲，靜得連野蜂飛過的細微聲音，或是山下林子裏小鳥的動靜，或是風吹樹葉沙沙響的聲音都能聽見。阿斯蘭和白妖婆仍在繼續會談。
最後他們聽見了阿斯蘭的聲音。“你們大家可以回來了，”他說，“我把這事解決了。她放棄了要你們兄弟的血的權利。”這時整個山頭都有了聲音，彷彿大家剛纔一直屏息以待，現在才又開始呼吸了；隨後就是一陣喃喃的說話聲。他們都開始回到阿斯蘭的寶座邊來。
妖婆臉上露出一股狂喜的神情，正要轉過身去，卻又停下來說：
“但我怎麼知道你能守信呢？”
“啊嗚！”阿斯蘭半身離開寶座怒吼起來，只見它那張大嘴越來越大，吼聲也越來越響，而妖婆呢，也張大了嘴巴，盯着獅王看了一會兒以後，就拉起裙子，老老實實逃命去了。;
