DragonKnight - Donita K. Paul [145]
The group climbed the right side of the curving steps. Each one moved with great stealth. The only noise came from Fenworth’s occasional snore. Toopka jumped each time a snort broke the silence.
They passed down a hall with family portraits hanging on both sides, then up another stairway, this one only six feet wide and straight. Regidor and Bardon continued to lead the way. They listened at each passage that branched off from the main corridor.
At the first of these junctions, Bardon glanced at Kale. She met his eye and, by giving a small shake of her head, confirmed she did not feel the presence of another being outside their own little group. No one lurked down the hall.
Are you ready? he asked.
“Yes, I feel our connection as if we hadn’t been apart these three years.”
Bardon relaxed some, knowing he and Kale had entered into a state that, as far as they knew, only the two of them had ever experienced. Both alert. Both thinking along the same lines. They knew from past experience that if a fight broke out, they would react as if their movements were synchronized, thought out by one mind instead of two.
The group climbed another set of stairs and came to a third-floor hallway. Regidor mindspoke to each of them, saying they sought the room at the end of this corridor.
Light poured from the open door and made a bright patch on the dusty hall runner. The carpet’s colors of burgundy red and deep green struggled to show through a layer of fine dirt. The thick pile muffled their almost silent footsteps. Bardon signaled the men and women behind to stop. With a nod of his head, he indicated that Regidor and Kale should go with him.
They crept to the edge of the door, all three tensing.
“Bardon.”
The squire cocked an eyebrow, hearing Kale’s voice as clearly as if she had spoken aloud.
“There’s a woman in the room. She’s filled with sorrow. I don’t think she’s dangerous.”
Regidor tilted his head and suddenly relaxed. He shoved his sword into its sheath. “Granny Kye.”
Bardon put away his weapon and signaled the rest to come.
He stepped into the room so as not to startle the old emerlindian. She sat at her easel and concentrated on the picture she drew. He spoke softly, “Granny Kye?”
She frowned but did not look up.
He moved closer and touched her shoulder. “Granny Kye.”
She glanced at him. “There you are. I’ve found him. My son.” She raised a handkerchief to her trembling lips. “And my other son. The one I’ve thought dead. Twins.” She nodded toward one stonelike knight and then another. “If we don’t wake them soon, they will surely be gone forever.”
He knelt beside her and put his arms around her thin shoulders. “There is hope, Granny Kye. I’ve brought four more wizards besides Regidor, and a learned gentleman who will search this castle’s library.”
She nodded and rested her forehead against his chest. A little sob broke from her throat. “We’re so close to saving them. We must not fail.”
“How did you get here?”
“Captain Anton said it was time for us to return to Dormenae. The moonbird brought Regidor’s message, but another full day had passed. The captain said we would leave in the morning, but during the night, the voices spoke to Sittiponder. He said they were most urgent. We must follow you and Regidor into the warren. Captain Anton was reluctant, but the boy convinced him. Sittiponder led the way.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Three days.”
His breath caught in his throat, but Bardon merely nodded. Obviously, his and Regidor’s accounting of time had been influenced by the enchantment of the castle and the surrounding area.
Bardon looked at the painting of Granny Kye’s two sons. Although the knights stood as they did in actuality, and their clothing represented what he could see with his eyes, the portraits revealed vibrant life. In reality the figures slumped with their chins resting on their chests. In the portrait, they were pictured as awake. Each man’s eyes looked out from the canvas instead of being shut in perpetual slumber. Their expressions showed an eagerness to spring from the two-dimensional