Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [112]
Finally the visiting travelers were escorted into the house. Kale sank onto a soft cushion next to the wall. Dar lowered himself beside her.
“Would it be rude to take off my boots?” she asked the doneel. “My feet ache.”
“Not a bit. You’ve been accepted as an honored guest.”
“Honored guests can take their boots off?”
“Most definitely.”
Kale pushed the cape off her shoulders and let it fall behind her, then went to work on her boots. With double socks beneath, they seemed determined to remain on her feet.
Dar braced himself and helped her tug. Then Kale returned the favor and marveled at how comfortable she felt with the doneel after all this time together. In River Away, no one would have helped her remove her boots, not that she’d ever had any. She would have been ordered to assist Dar. As they settled down again, she grinned at him just because it was good to have a friend.
Wizard Fenworth had been given the biggest, most comfortable chair next to a cozy fireplace. Brunstetter sat on the steps of a stairwell. Lee Ark and Leetu Bends sat at the table with Librettowit and his father. The kimens had found a corner where they wouldn’t be stepped on as Mistress Librettowit and her daughters bustled around making supper.
“Librettowit is happy here,” said Kale.
“Tumanhofers enjoy family.”
“Do you have family, Dar?”
He nodded, then closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall.
“Lots.”
Kale thought about Fenworth’s comment about her mother. Could it be true her mother was alive? Could the old wizard know where she was? She almost asked Dar’s opinion when she remembered Fenworth also said that talking about her mother would put her life in danger.
I want my mother to be alive. I would like to find her. She let her eyes roam over the room watching the tumanhofers exchange smiles and affectionate pats as they passed. Librettowit’s mother kissed his cheek as she set a basket of bread on the table. His father gave his wife a hug around the waist. I wonder what it feels like to be part of a family. I think it would be nice.
“You belong, Kale.” Dar’s soft voice interrupted her thoughts. “You are part of Paladin’s legion. We are your family.”
Kale gave him a hard look. He still leaned with his head against the wall, his eyes closed. He looked tired and innocent of any mischief.
“Are you sure you don’t read my mind?”
“Positive. You are altogether too predictable to even have to bother.”
“Could you read my mind if you wanted to?”
“Nope. Haven’t got the talent. I can only converse with you if you initiate the mindspeaking.”
Librettowit’s sisters brought around bowls of warm, soapy water and towels. They washed for dinner there in the parlor of Librettowit’s home. Kale thought that was a quaint custom. Another sister soon provided each guest with bread on a platter, a steaming bowl, and a spoon. Dar sat up and smiled his most charming as he thanked her.
“Don’t eat yet,” he whispered to Kale as the tumanhofer woman walked away. “Grundtrieg will say a blessing on the meal first.”
When everyone was served, the father bowed his head and repeated a simple grace. Then he thanked Wulder for the company and the pleasure of seeing their son. He added that he and his family were honored to assist in Paladin’s plan in any way put before them.
Kale looked down at her bowl. In the dim light, she could not tell what was in it, although it did smell delicious.
“What is this?” she asked Dar.
“Tumanhofers live underground, so it could be roots or mole stew or grubs.”
He lifted the spoon to his lips and took a slurping sip. Across the room, Leetu’s head jerked up, and she frowned at the doneel.
Dar ignored her. “It’s good, Kale. Now it would be rude not to eat what they have put before you. Just enjoy it.”
“What is it?”
Dar heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Flatworm soup.”
Kale bit her lip and looked around the room. No one noticed she wasn’t eating. Metta and Gymn scurried around the base