Dragonquest - Donita K. Paul [4]
The captain eyed the calm doneel and the red-faced tumanhofer. He nodded toward his companions. “We will escort these two to The Goose and The Gander. Hamwell! Off to The Hall. Get someone to come vouch for them.”
2
THE GOOSE AND THE GANDER
Three doors stood open at the front of the bustling inn. Above the left one, a sign read, “The Goose,” and a white bird wearing a bonnet looked down with beady eyes on the entryway. Above the right door, a similar sign, “The Gander,” pictured a large goose with his mouth wide open as if he squawked a greeting.
The middle door led into a hallway dividing the inn into two parts. Through this entry, Kale could see to the back of the building and into a garden. She followed the captain and Dar through the arch and down the dim passage.
The light weight on her leg shifted, and Kale felt the doneel urchin crawl higher, past her knee. Toopka grasped Kale’s tunic. Kale clutched one edge of her open cape and pulled it closer to the other side. She looked around. No one had noticed the small bulge moving up the side of her body under the moonbeam cloth.
What are you doing? she asked Toopka.
“Looking in all these pockets.”
Stop.
“There’s no harm in looking around.” The child moved across Kale’s back, hanging on to the sturdy material of the leecent uniform. “Did you know it’s kinda light in here? Lots of pockets, too, some big, some small. I could sure use a cape like this. When I first reached in, the cape nearly snapped my hand off, like it was alive.”
It’s not alive.
“Here’s a bigger pocket.”
Don’t! The bulge disappeared from Kale’s side, and she could no longer feel the little girl’s hands and feet digging into her. Toopka!
Kale stopped in the hall and closed her eyes, willing her thoughts to reach the little doneel’s mind.
The marione guard bumped into Kale. She ignored the man’s impatient words. Her eyes flew open.
Nothing! Oh no! Kale’s hands searched around her waist, trying to locate Toopka. She must have gone into a hollow pocket. Is that safe?
The guard prodded her back. Kale marched on. Four more steps and she emerged into the courtyard of the inn. Tables and chairs sat under shade trees, and a wild array of scarlet, gentian, and cobalt flowers bloomed in scattered beds. People relaxed with trays of fruit and tiny sandwiches set before them. Mugs of drink and delicate cups of tea also graced the tables. Serving maids scurried to and fro, providing for the customers’ comfort.
Again Kale patted the side of her tunic, hoping she would feel the small form of the child. The fabric lay flat against her hip.
Dar! I’ve got to talk to you.
“I’m listening.” He stood looking up at the captain of the guard and seemed engaged by what the man was saying.
Toopka went into a hollow inside my cape.
“I take it Toopka is the name of the pickpocket.”
She took a pickle, and I doubt she found it in someone’s pocket. What’s going to happen to her inside the hollow?
“I don’t know. I’ve never been in one myself, and right offhand, I can’t think of anyone who has.”
Gymn has.
“Ask him.”
Kale looked back at the two guards and the sour-faced, grumbling merchant. She almost stomped her foot in exasperation. What could she do with them looking on?
Dar, the little girl could be in trouble.
“And then again, she might not. Probably not, I would think, if Gymn has been in and out of those hollow pockets.”
But he’s a dragon, and she’s a—
The memory of the doneel child’s frightened eyes sprang up to accuse her. What in Amara would the little girl encounter in that mysterious hollow?
Untying the top of the cape from around her neck, she stepped over to the nearest empty table. She swung the cape off her shoulders and laid it inside out on the bare tabletop.
“Here now!” the tumanhofer merchant objected. “Whatta you doing?” He and the guard moved closer.
At the sound of his bellow, Dar and the captain turned to watch, as did every other person in the garden.
Two minor dragons, neither one bigger than a kitten, popped out of the cape and ran around the tabletop. One sparkled