Dragonquest - Donita K. Paul [112]
“But why did you have to stay there?” Sympathy crumpled Toopka’s face.
“Because, as wonderful as Paladin’s army is, they’re woefully inadequate in communication. But then Risto’s forces have the same problem.”
“Why did you get out?” asked Toopka.
“Because Crim Cropper is brilliant, but not very focused. His wife, Burner Stox, is not quite as smart, but more practical. The last time she visited the southern castle, she noticed me. That was the end of my usefulness.”
“And the last job you had to do before you could be rescued?” Regidor tilted his head.
“Arrange for my replacement to be accepted by my network of contacts.”
A thought invaded Kale’s mind, and she tried to shake it off. She looked to her mother and saw the woman watched her closely.
“Leetu Bends?” Kale whispered.
Lyll nodded.
Kale shivered. She rose to her feet and pulled the moonbeam cape closer.
“Ugh!” said Toopka. She pointed to the reeds growing at the edge of the pond. “I saw something ugly in there.”
Everyone turned to look. The water on this side of the pond glinted black like a sheet of rippled ebony. The water on the other side sparkled blue under the sun’s rays.
The entire pond was dark before, but not as black as it is here.
Metta, from the nearest bentleaf tree, called out a shrill warning. Gymn echoed the alarm.
Lyll rose from her seat. “Mordakleeps.”
Regidor shed his clerical robe and drew his sword. Kale and Bardon also unsheathed their weapons. Lyll took two steps forward, twirling as she did. Her dress transformed into formfitting leggings, tunic, and shirt. Oddly, these garments suited for fighting were still the blushing pink color.
Kale stared at her mother. Lyll held out her arm as if ready to wield a sword, but her hand held nothing.
Three creatures sprang out of the water. Black, huge, and menacing, they covered the few feet of grassy bank in a bound.
“Cut off their tails,” shrieked Toopka as she dove over the back of the bench.
Regidor and Lyll each fought a monster. The third rushed at Bardon. Kale and Bardon fell into a pattern of synchronized attack. Bardon attracted the mordakleep’s attention and angled it around so that Kale could wield a savage blow to sever its tail. The huge body dissolved into a puddle and disappeared into the ground.
Another monster loomed out of the pond. Kale ran to confront it. This time, she managed to maneuver the creature so that Bardon had a clear swipe at its tail.
Regidor danced around his opponent. He flipped into the air, landed behind the monster, and severed its tail. The mordakleep melted away.
With the stance of a fencer, Lyll approached a mordakleep intent on the o’rant woman’s demise. The lack of a sword diminished her credibility as a warrior. Kale tensed, ready to rush to her mother’s side.
Lyll leapt forward and swung her arm. A gash appeared on the mordakleep’s hand. Its mouth opened in a soundless roar. Lyll skipped back and circled to the left. She plunged the invisible sword into the monster’s side, then withdrew and circled to the left again. The nightmarish creature turned with her, keeping its tail away from the swift and deadly blade it could not see. Lyll twirled with blurring speed to the right. Her arm swept downward over the snakelike tail. It fell away from the mordakleep’s body. Both the deadly creature and its separated tail oozed into the earth.
Two more mordakleeps surged out of the watery reeds.
Kale and Bardon took on one, and by the same method of distraction, killed it. Lyll and Regidor dispatched the other. The four warriors moved to form a group. For a moment they stood alert and ready.
Toopka peeked out from behind the bench. “Are they gone?”
Lyll answered, “For now.” She took out a cloth from a small satchel attached to her belt and made the motions of wiping a blade. It looked