Dragonquest - Donita K. Paul [124]
“No, Gymn does.”
“Yet you assist him when he has need of your help. Your presence boosts his natural talent.”
“Yes, I think that’s how it works.”
“And you share in the joy, the satisfaction, after the work is completed, even though it was not your talent that achieved the end?”
“Yes, and I feel very close to Wulder.”
Cam nodded and refocused on the stiff lehman. “Bardon, you are to Kale as she is to Gymn in this instance. You sustain her ability. Actually, during this enterprise you supported the four of us. And nourishing the talent is just as valuable as having the talent yourself. When you and Kale fight together, it is she who is bolstering, or one might even say multiplying, your skill and ability.”
Bardon cast a skeptical glance at Kale. Dibl chose that moment to circle his head, flying around and around Bardon’s crown like a bee deciding to land on a flower. Kale grinned.
Bardon’s glare hardened, but Dibl plopped down on his head.
The lehman sighed, his stiff shoulders relaxing. Kale heard his voice in her mind. “It’s difficult to stand on your dignity with a yellow dragon in your hair.”
Maybe dignity isn’t always important.
A smile broke Bardon’s grim expression.
Dar signaled Kale, Bardon, and Regidor to come to him. “I’m going back to talk to Master Meiger and his friends. Cam and Lyll will continue to fortify this gateway so that the dragons can safely pass through. I want you three to go ahead. Scout the lay of the land, the location of the enemy camps, and their strength. Then return. After you report, we should be ready to begin transporting the warriors. If I’m not here waiting for you, Kale, send one of your dragons to locate me.”
“Yes sir. Dar?”
“Yes?”
“Are you really a high lee general as Fenworth said?”
Dar laughed and shook his head. “No, he was thinking of my father.”
“Are you an ambassador?”
“We are all ambassadors, Kale. We represent something to someone every day of our lives.”
“Come on, Kale.” Regidor tugged at her arm. “We’ve a mission. Let’s go see where the enemy is camped.”
51
IN ENEMY TERRITORY
“That felt different, didn’t it?” Kale said as soon as she passed through the gateway and faced Regidor and Bardon. They stood in a wooded area against a rise of rocks.
Regidor nodded. “It did. I didn’t feel like the air was squeezed out of my lungs.”
“I thought maybe I was just getting used to pushing through gateways,” said Bardon. “I didn’t feel the weight and stickiness of the light as I have before.”
Regidor tilted his head and studied the gateway etched in the boulders. “I suppose it has something to do with the dimensions.”
Kale took hold of the meech dragon’s sleeve. “No, Regidor! We are not going to stop and analyze the gateway.”
Bardon chuckled. “She’s right, you know. We have a mission to perform.”
Kale coaxed the minor dragons out of her cape. “Come on, you can help. Just be careful not to be seen.” Dibl trilled at her. “Very funny, but I don’t think it will work.”
“What?” asked Regidor.
“He’s going to pretend to be a bird if any bisonbecks spot him.”
“This is serious business,” Bardon spoke firmly to the little yellow dragon as he zipped back and forth across the small clearing.
“It’s useless to reprimand him.” Kale glared. “He knows the situation is dangerous.”
“I don’t want him to compromise our mission.”
“Yelling at him won’t change his temperament.”
“All right,” interrupted Regidor. “The two of you bickering won’t help our attempt to scout the area either.”
Both Kale and Bardon clenched their teeth and answered, “Right.” Realizing the synchronization of their response, they stared at each other with widened eyes.
Dibl did two backflips in the air and then buzzed around Bardon’s head. The lehman didn’t even bother to wave him off. He looked at the western horizon. “We have about an hour of sunlight left. Shall we split up and meet back here?”
“Fine,” said Regidor. “I’ll take this mountainous terrain since I’m the most surefooted.”
Kale squared her shoulders.