CHAPTER THIRTEEN DEEP MAGIC FROM THE DAWN OF TIME（第3/3頁）

“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．