Dragonquest - Donita K. Paul [15]
Bardon reached into a pouch hanging by a leather strap over his shoulder. With two steps, he crossed to the tiny child and handed her a packet.
Toopka grinned as she unfolded the layers. “Thank you. Ooh! Daggarts!” She took a big bite and then broke off a piece for each of the dragons.
Bardon straightened and looked at Kale. “You didn’t bring any food for the journey?”
“No.”
“We may have some distance to go once we exit the other side of the gateway.”
“Librettowit said we would be at Fenworth’s castle this afternoon.” Kale shrugged. “I didn’t think about food.”
“You are honest.”
She didn’t know how to answer. She turned away from Bardon’s steady gaze.
Hoping Librettowit would rescue her from this uncomfortable situation, she searched the pathway from The Hall. If the tumanhofer would just hurry so they could go to the gateway and leave.
“I noticed when you spoke to Magistrate Hyd.”
She looked back at Bardon with her brow furrowed. “Noticed what?”
“That you’re honest.”
“Well, honesty is good, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. Article six—‘Truth upholds the community of Paladin.’”
Metta landed on Kale’s right shoulder and Gymn on her left.
“Trouble,” she said as the dragons’ anxiety penetrated her thoughts. She glanced around the peaceful garden. Toopka stood in the middle of a flower bed, clutching a fistful of prize blossoms. “Oh no!” Kale took two steps forward, then stopped. Gymn’s agitation had nothing to do with the child. The minor dragon pinched Kale’s shoulder with his rear claws. His sense of danger raged through her mind.
Kale glanced at Bardon to see his eyes riveted upward. Following his gaze, she saw the transparent sphere floating above them, the surface skittered with tiny bursts of lightninglike energy. The air crackled, and the hair on her arms stood up. Trumpets resounded around the perimeter of The Hall compound.
“What is it?” she asked Bardon.
“A threat to the city.”
“What?”
“Watch the sphere.”
She squinted, keeping her eyes trained on the globe above them. A haze appeared in the center, then cleared. A three-dimensional image formed, showing a formation of dragons in a cloudless sky. This picture disappeared, replaced by an image of an ugly creature. Large black wings canopied over a small body. A myriad of tentacles writhed snakelike out the sides. Clawed legs hung beneath. The beast floated more than flew.
“Attack by air,” said Bardon. “Creemoor spiders.”
From a distance, she heard troops of Paladin’s warriors gathering in their squads. Boots pounded on the walkways. Men shouted orders. House servants scurried past them in a sudden frenzy of activity. A young man dressed in a lehman’s uniform rushed up to Bardon, delivered a brief message in a low voice, and darted off.
“We must go.” Bardon took her arm and pulled her toward the tower door. “Toopka, come.”
The child scurried across the courtyard and flung herself on Bardon’s back.
Bardon’s hold on Kale’s arm tightened. He dragged her through the wooden door. “My orders are to see you to safety.”
Dark dragons dotted the sky. Bundles dropped from their backs as they passed over the city. The objects plummeted a distance, then wings opened. The spiders glided in spirals toward the ground.
Kale leaned out the door and looked up. Directly above, a score of Creemoor spiders floated toward The Hall.
“Librettowit!” she protested.
“He’s coming. You must get out of the open.”
“If there’s to be an attack, I can help. Gymn’s a healing dragon. We may be needed.”
She struggled, but Bardon’s strength far outmatched hers. Toopka screamed and pointed out the door.
A spider landed in the gravel pathway to the kitchen gardens. The small stones scattered under the impact of eight shell-hard legs. The spider scuttled forward with almost delicate steps, making a critch-critch noise as the pointed claws kicked gravel. It stood for a moment as if on tiptoes and let out an eerie wheeze. Tentacles waved out from its round body, looking like skinny tongues