Dragons of the Watch - Donita K. Paul [93]
Orli forced his mindspeaking into the conversation, interrupting Old One.
“Yes, yes! Homes, tunnels, lightrocks.” He bounced.
Ellie had never seen the minor dragon so excited. His usual calm made the other minor dragons seem exuberant. Some of them now wore befuddled expressions as they stared at Orli.
“Do we need the keys to get into the tunnels?”
Orli drooped, his previous enthusiasm zapped by the question.
Again, Bealomondore and Ellie responded with the same words. “Don’t worry. We’ll find it.”
Ellie’s head hurt. She’d been straining to get as much information as possible out of the dragons of the watch. The glimpses of their thoughts in pictures and the garbled string of words came at a rapid tempo. Bealomondore’s talent for mindspeaking shored up hers, but even with that boost, she deciphered little.
The colorful dragons perched in no particular order all around the rotunda—some in trees, some on shelves, one on a cushion on the floor, and the rest on tables. Not only did they all mindspeak at once, but they also battered her from many different directions.
Old One snored softly from his chair, a book open in his lap. Tak, too, ignored the fuss.
Ellie would have liked a nap, a rest, anything to get away from this mental bombardment. She glanced at her tumanhofer friend. Lines marred his forehead, showing concentration. He looked up, and an idea formed between them. They needed a break.
Bealomondore held up a hand and stood. “We need to meet some children who were hurt yesterday.”
The clamor in Ellie’s mind abruptly ceased. Most of the dragons tilted their heads, waiting for more explanation.
Ellie eagerly reported the progress they’d made. “We were able to talk with three children yesterday. Soo-tie, Cinder, and Porky went with us to the apothecary shop. Laddin, would you go with us to heal their scrapes and bruises? I kept a few daggarts for our tea, but I promised the children I would bring them more. We’ll deliver those too.”
Bealomondore put a hand on her shoulder.
“Before we go, we should ask some questions of the watch and see if we can figure out a system whereby we can communicate during a crisis.”
Ellie beamed at Bealomondore. He’d remembered when she’d forgotten.
She turned a serious face to the gathering of the watch. “Several times we’ve needed you. Would one of you be able to locate the others in an emergency?” She felt the consensus among the dragons. They were capable of the task but hesitant for some reason. She plowed on. “Could you arrange for at least one of you to be with us at all times?
Silent tension spread across the rotunda. Ellie turned to Bealomondore. What’s wrong?
“I’m not sure.” He studied the eight dragons for a moment. “I think they’re having a conference, deciding what to do.”
Do you hear them?
“Not really, just a hum.”
Can’t you ask Det or Laddin what’s going on?
“They aren’t open to my mindspeaking. It would seem that there is some watch protocol that we have abused.”
Old One snorted, and Ellie jumped. Still sound asleep, he wagged his head back and forth, mumbled, then settled down again.
At that moment the giant of a man reminded her of her somewhat scrawny Gramps. “I don’t like leaving him alone with those wusstbunters showing up.”
The minor dragons flew into the air, circled the huge round skylight, then came to rest in a line across one table.
Orli addressed them, and Ellie knew Bealomondore heard the same words and received the same pictures.
As newly appointed leader, he would negotiate the duties. The others had chosen him because he was the oldest, and if they were to go somewhere dark, he would already be in the lead since he was the only one who glowed.
Both Bealomondore and Ellie thought the reasoning behind the choice amusing, but they refrained from laughing. Ellie refused to look at her friend lest she giggle.
Orli stated that the number of the