Dragons of the Watch - Donita K. Paul [61]
The breeze shook the leaves of the tree. Both tumanhofers leaned back and enjoyed the beautiful day. They talked about the different cultures within Chiril. She regretted the intellectual loss to children when country tumanhofers did not educate their children except in animal lore, farming, wild plants and their uses, and homespun skills. Bealomondore agreed and championed expanding the arts among all strata of Chiril.
Bealomondore rose. “We’d best move on. Are you rested enough?”
She took his extended hand. “Yes.” She went to Tak’s head and stroked his favorite spot between his ears. “How about you, friend? Ready to go?”
“Maa.”
Their conversation restarted as they walked. Bealomondore had many ideas for the development of Chiril under Paladin and Queen Tipper. He would propose more communication between different slices of their culture. The countryfolk could teach the city dwellers a lot about homemade instruments and lively dance music. Society from the upper ranks could introduce complicated instruments and printed music. Ellie thought his ideas to be grand and practical.
“It’s like us, Bealomondore.” She shoved an errant lock of hair behind her ear. “You have so much knowledge of the world that I want to learn. And I could show you tiny bits of beauty in the countryside that most people walk right past. Some of the things the animals do are beyond fascinating. Watching a butterfly emerge from a chrysalis is too wonderful to explain.”
Bealomondore put his hand on Tak’s harness and tugged to bring the goat to a stop. He stood looking up at the buildings.
“What’s wrong?” asked Ellie.
“We must have been walking faster than we needed to. We’ve reached the center of town too early.”
“Too …” A chill went up Ellie’s spine. “Oh.”
“The callous masses have not tucked themselves into their beds for the night.”
“Perhaps we should seek a nice place to hole up while we wait for dark.”
Bealomondore’s mind was obviously elsewhere. He turned a complete circle, studying the street and structures on it. “I’m not familiar with this part of Rumbard. We’ll have to look for an entrance to one of these buildings.”
He scanned the windows up and down both sides of the street. “This would be a convenient time for the dragons of the watch to come by. We could ask them to scout.”
Ellie searched the shadows. Did some of the children lurk nearby, ready to pounce?
Bealomondore went to the goat’s head and spoke quietly. “This way, Tak.”
Ellie followed them into an alley. Since they’d quit talking, even the breeze seemed to have stilled. In this late afternoon, the birds were scarce in the center of Rumbard. Ellie wanted to know why. She missed the flap of a bird’s wing or a trilling chirp. A bird’s tweet while fluttering in a dust bath would have eased the tension.
She heard the bells on Tak’s harness and nothing else.
“Bealomondore,” she whispered.
He turned his head her way. She made a ringing motion with her hand and mouthed the word, “Bells.”
“Hold up, Tak,” he said and began to search his pockets. He pulled out a slender blue object, unfolded a blade from the side, and cut through the leather cords holding the bells. Ellie held each bell taut so the knife would sever the ties easily. She also kept her hand wrapped snugly against the metal to lessen the jingles.
“Where should I put them?” she whispered.
“On the pavement. Put them down gently, and make sure they aren’t going to roll.”
She followed his directions with one hand while she held the next bell with the other. When she straightened, she thought she saw motion out of the corner of her eye. She jerked her head, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever it was. Nothing in sight. She put another bell down and surreptitiously glanced toward the place where movement had been.
When she stood up, she whispered, “I can’t shake the feeling that we are being watched.”
Bealomondore continued working. Only three bells left on that side. “Could be nerves. At night, after a battle, I always felt as if someone