"Play it, then, little woman," Angus said. "The magic will manifest-or it will not. Then we shall know."
Nona took her two delicate hammers, which looked like oversized needles, being no more than delicate little pieces of wood and felt with needle-eye circles on the ends, and she addressed the dulcimer. She touched the strings, and the music began.
Darius had heard and enjoyed music many times, and was familiar with the sound of many instruments. But he was surprised by the finesse with which Nona played. Her little hammers touched the strings so rapidly that it seemed she was striking randomly, but the tune indicated otherwise. This was a divine melody. It was so delicate it seemed faint, yet it also seemed to fill the universe. It touched his heart and shook the mighty planet with the
