Dragons of the Watch - Donita K. Paul [62]
She put another bell on the street. Now she had a line of them following a crack.
Bealomondore worked on the next cord. “Your nerves are in a heightened state. Fear does that, and in most cases it’s a wonderful thing. As an extra alert soldier, you might save your life and the lives of your friends.”
“Did you save many lives in the war?”
“Oh yes.” He moved to the last bell on that side. “And my life was saved many times by the soldiers around me.” He paused and looked into her face. “Ellie, the war is something I don’t like to talk about. I’d rather certain memories did not surface, and the only way I can keep that from happening is to look the other direction. Instead of back, I try to look forward, to keep my mind settled on the future. It’s been hard.”
He switched sides, giving Tak’s forehead a rub as he passed in front of the goat. Ellie held the next bell, and he sawed at the thong.
“The reason it’s been so hard,” he continued, “is that I couldn’t latch on to what I wanted that future to be.”
“And now you have?”
“I think the choice is being sorted out. I only need to be a little more patient.”
“What are your choices?”
“I could continue on in the service of my queen and Paladin. I could return to Greeston and go into the family business. My father would be amazed at that. And the ironic thing is that now that he is willing to let me be who I am and do the things I think are important, I’m actually considering the Bealomondore Mines as a reasonable choice.”
“You said you have a brother who enjoys business.”
“Yes, but he is a little cold-hearted, like my father. Neither of them considers the hardships of the workers. And he took an extended holiday during the war. Last I heard, he had not returned.”
“What about your portrait painting?”
“Now that is an attractive notion. Portraits are my least favorite type of art to create. But it pays well. It would be nice to be independently situated so I could delve into all the expression of my craft without worrying about what to eat. And to have the money to buy supplies. That’s been a problem from time to time in the past.” He stood and looked in her eyes. “So you see I am a man without a destination, and that is not a good thing to be.”
He tilted his head and smiled in such a way that she lost her train of thought. She’d never met anyone who had so many openings before him. Most were farmers or merchants and would remain farmers and merchants.
“So what is your destination, Ellie?”
She blinked hard. Did he mean the library? They were trying to get to the library, weren’t they? No, he didn’t mean right now. He meant outside of today, the bottle city, and their present predicament.
“Ragar.” She knew her answer was a little short of his meaning, but that was where she had her heart set on going, and afterward, she would probably end up in the village, looking for a husband. Somehow that sounded pathetic, and she didn’t want to see a look of pity in his eye.
Did she deliberately avoid his question? Probably not. Ellie did not know how to dissemble. Before turning his attention to the last row of bells, Bealomondore made a quick survey of their surroundings. Often the hushed streets of Rumbard City emphasized the isolation of their dilemma. Whoever heard of a city of this size—meaning the ability to accommodate many residents, not the size of the structures—being so eerily quiet?
He sliced through the leather cords quickly. He too felt as if eyes behind the dark windows tracked their every motion.
“Shall we go?” he asked his companion.
“Maa!”
“I wasn’t speaking to you, Tak, but yes, you must come as well. I think we’re close to the center of town. In a few blocks, we may be able to hear the water splashing in the fountain.”
Just as he patted Tak on the rump, a war whoop pierced the air, followed by the tromping of dozens of little feet on the road.
“Run!” he commanded Ellie and drew his sword.
Tak spontaneously jumped into action, tearing down the street, away from the screaming pack of wild animals Ellie called