DragonKnight - Donita K. Paul [127]
“Let’s fix this, Pat. Maybe while we’re weaving, we can determine the location of the other side.”
The little brown dragon dropped the collection of tiny beetles he had in his forefeet and flew to Kale’s shoulder. With the help of the fix-it dragon, she used her knowledge of wizardry to gather together the broken strands, form new matching strands, and work them into a smooth frame for the gateway.
“My,” she said as she finished and let out a heavy sigh. “That covered quite a distance. All the way up to the Northern Reach. And the exit at the other end was most peculiar. Where’s Filia?”
Almost immediately, a small, rosy pink dragon appeared from within the foliage. The creature looked far more delicate than Pat. Her pale wings, filigreed with silver and gold lines, were almost transparent. “Filia, do you remember anything about the Wizard Strot?…A mountain wizard. Yes, I remember that too…Murdered by Risto? Oh no, I don’t think I knew that.”
Kale again studied the gateway. “Two things I detect about this gateway, friends. The first is that it proceeds vertically instead of horizontally. Second, there is a device at the other side that literally pulls in anything that comes too close to the entrance.” She tapped her pen again on her chin. “To what purpose would that be?”
She closed the book, stuck the pen in a pocket along its spine, and shoved them into a hollow in her cape.
“Now, where is everybody? It’s time to go home. I’ll ask Librettowit what he knows of this gateway and Strot.”
Pat had again gathered a meal. He reluctantly released the drummerbug he’d been about to devour and followed Kale.
“Metta? Ardeo?” she called.
A purple and a gray dragon came through the planking from the cygnot floor below.
“Dibl? Dibl! Wouldn’t you know he’d be the last to come?” She walked to the tree trunk, gave a little jump, latched on to the hole in the flooring above, and pulled herself onto the next layer. Her stylish pants caught on a twig. Annoyed, she carefully unhooked the cloth so it would not tear, and stood up.
“Dibl, where are you?”
The yellow and orange dragon swooped down from the branches above and ruffled her short curly hair. “Oh, cease your antics, you naughty little beast.” She laughed but stopped short when she heard a thump from the landing below.
Dropping to her knees, she peered through the hole. In front of the gateway, a halfling stretched out on his stomach. She knew those pointed ears and coal black hair.
“Bardon, what are you doing here?”
44
JOINING FORCES
Bardon pulled his face out of the planking and looked up, trying to locate Kale. “Where are you?”
“Up here.”
He rolled over on his side and peered into the woven branches above him.
Kale giggled. “Here.”
He shifted his gaze, following the bright sound of her voice, and spotted her face upside down with curls bouncing around her ears.
“Are you all right?” she asked. “You look kind of stunned. Did you whack your head coming through that crazy gateway?”
She disappeared for a moment, then her legs came through the opening. The colorful material of a wild pair of bloomers fluttered as she swung for a second and then dropped to the floor. A stream of dragons followed her, all small, all chittering wildly in their excitement.
Bardon pushed himself to a sitting position as Kale sprang across the planking to his side.
“Are you hurt?” she asked. She crouched next to him and touched his arm.
“No.”
“Where did you come from?”
“A castle in the Northern Reach.”
“Strot’s castle.” Kale nodded vigorously and then looked to one of the dragons, a pink one. “Filia agrees that’s the most probable conclusion.”
Bardon sat up straighter and inched away from Kale’s hovering presence. “Filia, what does that mean?”
“She loves life and is interested in everything, therefore she collects tidbits of information. Her knowledge comes in very handy.”
Kale noticed Bardon was staring at her and frowned at him. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“You’re different.”
“I’m three years older.”
“What are you wearing?”