Dragonquest - Donita K. Paul [126]
She trekked confidently through the woods, but still tried to be as silent as she could, hushing Metta when she hummed a marching song. The thought of running into an enemy patrol prompted her caution.
She heard Regidor speaking before she saw him. She urged the dragons to return to her, and together they crept up on the situation, not knowing to whom the meech dragon could be speaking.
She hid behind a boulder and peeked at Regidor.
He sat on the ground with the clay bottle between his knees. Hovering above him, Gilda appeared as a translucent, cloudlike figure. She was dressed in a white, gauzy flowing gown. Her profile showed the squarish nose and jaw like Regidor’s. But all her meech features held finer lines than the male dragon. Kale thought her strikingly beautiful.
“You say I was born into a bad situation, Regidor.” Gilda’s voice dripped with honey. “How do you know you are not the one being deceived? You and I are meech dragons. We shouldn’t be fighting each other. We have a kindred spirit. I can be your true friend. I can understand you like none of them. Their brotherhood is a pretense.”
“You’re wrong again. And you’ve pinpointed what makes the ‘brotherhood’ unique. It has nothing to do with being of similar lineage. The quality of relationships among this band is the key, Gilda. I am trusted, respected, and even cherished by those I associate with.”
“Risto trusts me.”
“He does?” Regidor shook his head. “He trusts you so much that he put a spell on you. Should you waver in service to him, you become a vapor in a jug. That doesn’t sound like trust to me.”
“The spell is to protect me from the likes of you.”
“And what horrible thing am I supposed to do to you?”
“Destroy me.”
“Well, if you want to know the truth, I’ve figured out how to do away with you in this form, but I don’t plan on doing it.”
“You twist things, meech dragon. Come with me to meet Risto.” She hitched a shoulder and looked down on Regidor with an expression of disdain. “You don’t dare see him face to face, do you? You know he could prove you’re wrong.”
“I know he’s wicked and very clever. I’d rather not deal with him at all.”
“Aha! You’re afraid.”
“I’m intelligent, Gilda. Only a fool would throw himself into Risto’s clutches.”
“I don’t have any more time for this ridiculous discussion. And since you know my weakness, I’ll admit I’m beginning to dissipate. I must return to the bottle.”
Regidor pulled the cork from the top. Gilda drifted toward the opening.
“Think of what I’ve said, Regidor. You and I could be an invincible team under Risto. Your friends offer you nothing but hardship ahead.” She detoured from her descent into the bottle to curl around her male counterpart. Her mist draped around his shoulders and slid toward the bottle. The sultry quality of her voice deepened. “Perhaps if we joined forces under Risto, we could one day surpass even him. Perhaps this is the only way for you to defeat him. With me, Regidor. With one of your own kind.” Her cloudlike image condensed and swirled into the bottle. Regidor firmly pushed the cork into the top.
“You can come out now, Kale,” he said.
She straightened and walked around the rock. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
She waited awkwardly while Regidor stood and tucked the bottle inside his clerical robe.
“You think I shouldn’t be talking to her,” he said.
“I didn’t know you could talk to her, so I hadn’t formed an opinion on whether it’s wise or not.”
“Do you have an opinion now?”
“I think it’s dangerous for the same reasons you’re reluctant to casually visit Risto.”
Regidor’s lips twitched into a smile.
“So you give me my own advice—stay away from evil.”
“It does sound like a good plan.”
Regidor shrugged. “Let’s go join Bardon.”
“Certainly.”
Kale followed the surefooted dragon over the choppy terrain. The rough rocks provided traction beneath their boots. Slipping resulted from crumbling flint, not from a smooth surface. They reached more even ground,