Days of Blood and Fire - Katharine Kerr [78]
“And how do you expect me to do that?”
“By talking it round. Meer swears up and down that the great wyrms all speak Elvish.”
When he rolled his eyes heavenward in disgust, she growled again. He laughed.
“And will you be coming with me?”
“I can’t. I’ve got to stay with Carra, for one thing, and for another, there’s trouble brewing here.”
He strode back to the north side of the roof. Far away the white glimmerings of mountains danced on the horizon.
“Jill, I’ve always been a warrior, whether it’s been as an honored lord in Aberwyn or a road-filthy silver dagger. In all the battles I’ve ridden I’ve never faced a man stupid enough to call me a coward. You know that, and you know it isn’t fear that’s making me hesitate now. The thing is, what do I know of wild country? Ye gods, all my fighting’s been done in armies, with supply trains right at hand. I’m no trapper or forester, to go tramping off through the woods looking for some wild beast.”
“Now that, alas, is true spoken.”
He walked over to the wall and forced himself to look down. Far below, the stableyard lay tiny, with horses the size of cats and grooms like mice. For a moment he wondered what it would be like to swoop down, free for one glorious moment before the cobbles brought him death. He made himself look up.
“I can see why you didn’t want anyone overhearing this story.”
“For fear they’d think I’d gone mad?” Jill sounded amused. “To tell you the truth, Rhoddo, I’m rather surprised at myself for believing what Evandar says, but you see, it makes sense of a lot of things I’ve learned for myself, ties them all up. You will go fetch the dragon, won’t you?”
“How can I promise you that? I’ll certainly go try.” He grinned at her. “Try with all my heart and soul, because it seems a fine way to court my lady Death, if naught else. But to promise you that I’ll succeed would be a stain upon my honor and a waste of breath both.”
“True enough. You have my heartfelt thanks.”
She stretched, cat-lazy in the warm sun, smiling a little, human again for that brief moment—until he realized how casually she took his talk of his lady Death, as if she knew perhaps better than he did how close his suit was to a successful outcome. He hesitated on the verge of asking outright, but she turned away, her smile fading, to look across the uneven rooftop.
“There’s somewhat that I’ve got to teach you,” she said.“But I’m afraid of being overheard, no matter where we go in the dun, even up here.”
“Is it as secret as all that?”
“Well, it is and it isn’t. Every priest in the kingdom knows how to do this, but I don’t want the wrong people knowing you know.”
“That doesn’t make much sense.”
“It aches my heart to say this, but from now on, I fear me that not much of what I say is going to make a cursed lot of sense. But for the love of every god, trust me enough to do what I say. Can you do that, Rhoddo? Will you?”
“I’m naught but a silver dagger, riding at some other man’s command. Lead away, cadvridoc, and I’ll do my best to follow.”
She smiled, but briefly.
“Well and good, then. Sit down, will you? If we had time, I’d explain everything, but we don’t, and so you’ll have to learn this by rote. Meer’s lore insists that speaking a dragon’s secret name gives you power over the beast, and Evandar swears up and down that the name Inside the ring’s absolutely correct. But you can’t just say it out like you’d say any name—oh, Jill, is that you—or suchlike. Or even like you’d say the king’s name, all proper and full of courtesy. There’s a dweomer way of pronouncing these things, and you’ve absolutely got to have it down right. If you don’t, and you do face this creature, it’s most likely going to kill you.”
“I somehow guessed that.”
“You don’t have to yell and scream, mind, but you’ve got to bring the sound up from your very heart and soul and make it vibrate like a loosed bowstring. First you breathe very deeply and slowly, to fill your lungs and steady yourself down, then you bring the sound out.” She paused, thinking hard. “I can’t describe it in words. I’ll have to show you, but ye