DragonKnight - Donita K. Paul [154]
“What is the line of discernment?” asked Granny Kye.
“A perpendicular line from the star to the horizon.”
“There are still a lot of variables,” said Regidor.
Librettowit patted the page beneath his hand. “Yes, but I have enough to give us a date.”
The room went quiet. The librarian looked around and saw the eyes of Lyll, Cam, Regidor, Kale, and Granny Kye trained on him. His chin dropped down to his chest, and he focused on the page. Bardon heard him mutter as he calculated.
Librettowit’s head lifted, and he looked with a serious frown at those around him. “Six days.”
With renewed hope and a dread of time passing too quickly, the researchers went back to work. Two days later, Regidor came into the room waving a book above his head. “Here’s good news and bad.”
“What is it?” asked Cam, sharply.
The frown on the usually relaxed lake wizard worried Bardon more than the librarian’s outbursts of temper. The time was growing short before the wizards must cast a renewal spell or instigate the process to restore the men to their natural selves.
Regidor placed the book on the table in front of Lyll and Cam, who immediately opened it.
The meech dragon smiled with satisfaction. “This is a translation guide for Strot’s Book of Anatomical Spells. From what I gather from the words written in here, there has to be a book with the key to reversing the sleeping invocation.”
Bardon rubbed his hand through his hair. “And the bad news is we still don’t have that book.”
The meech dragon put his hand on the opened translation guide. “I’ve enjoyed the brilliance Wulder has given me. Perhaps this time it will be of monumental significance. I hope that by studying the random words in this volume, I will be able to piece together Strot’s method.”
Cam took hold of his arm and gave it a shake. “It’s worth a try. If anyone could decipher a procedure from this montage of words, you can.” He slapped Regidor on the shoulder. “Get to work, young Wizard.”
Regidor scooped up the book and strode across the room to sit beside Fenworth on the divan, where the old wizard had planted himself when they first arrived.
Another day passed without any measurable progress toward freeing the knights. The morning of the fourth day, after Librettowit had made his six-day pronouncement, Toopka wandered into the room. Bardon noticed her but gratefully let Kale handle the intrusion.
“Toopka, where are the boys?” asked her guardian.
“In the cellar. They’re always in the cellar.” The little girl plopped down on a footstool beside Granny Kye. “I don’t like the cellar. It’s dark and smelly. We didn’t find any treasure and now Sitti and Ahnek are trying to find a dungeon. There won’t be any treasure in a dungeon.”
She put her elbows on her knees and rested her chin on her fists. “Taylaminkadot is making daggarts and will not let me help because she says I snitched one time too many. N’Rae is in the library with those books. The little minneken I’m not supposed to know about won’t play. She never wants to play. The minor dragons have to go into the woods to find food because there are no bugs in this boring castle. I’m not allowed to go into the woods because it might be dangerous.”
Her gaze shifted to Granny Kye’s painting of Kale’s father. She stood up and looked at the canvas and then at the palette of many colors.
“Granny Kye, could I paint too?” she asked.
The old emerlindian actually looked up from her artwork and smiled at the child. “Not today, dear.”
Toopka sighed heavily but remained by the granny’s side. She tilted her furry head and stared at the portrait, then at the sleeping knight.
“Isn’t the picture supposed to look like the person?”
Granny Kye nodded.
“Your knight is awake, and the real knight is asleep.”
Granny Kye nodded again.
Toopka leaned closer, getting her head between the artist and her easel. Granny Kye frowned.
The little doneel pointed to the background in the painting. “You’ve got a smudge