Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [124]
“Surely it is not the one Risto seeks.”
“You fool, who else would it be?”
“One of the peasants.”
“A drudge. Look at the burden it carries.”
“They are all at evening discourse. None would be brave enough to forgo the instruction.”
“Let’s see what it carries.”
Kale twisted in the bisonbeck’s hard hold and kicked out. He grunted but did not loosen his grip.
“Aargh!” cried another. “My eyes!”
Kale spotted an irate soldier wiping purple dye from his face. He pawed at his eyes. “I can’t see!”
“Minor dragons! It is the mighty Dragon Keeper. Hold fast, Deemer. It will be your head if it escapes.”
Kale squirmed against the iron grasp. Both Metta and Gymn flew around the bisonbecks’ heads, spitting into their faces. When a spew of green or purple liquid landed directly in a soldier’s eyes, he doubled over in pain, clawing at his face, trying to wipe away the thick spittle.
The last one to get sprayed was the one holding Kale. His hands jerked away from her shoulders. She ran. The little dragons zoomed beside her. Their wingtips brushed her hair and cheeks. The outraged cries of the blinded men echoed in the stone corridor.
The meech egg bounced against her back, reminding her that she could only duck into tunnels large enough for its unwieldy bulk.
She passed several small crawlways and turned into a dark burrow she hoped would be a tight squeeze for the soldiers should they recover enough to follow. The passageway narrowed. She ducked her head out from under the blue scarf strap and dragged the egg behind her. She came to a fork.
Which way?
“You are inside my stronghold, o’rant girl. Each way leads to me.”
I stand under Wulder’s authority.
The two dragons sat before her, peering down the small dingy tunnels.
“Do you know which way to go?”
Metta and Gymn looked at each other and exchanged a few words Kale couldn’t understand. But she understood their thoughts. Each would take a tunnel and explore. Kale was to rest.
Kale almost laughed when Metta’s motherly suggestion to eat something and take a little nap settled in her mind. But the idea of their leaving her, if only for a few minutes, struck her heart with terror.
What if Gymn runs into something scary and faints?
The little green dragon gave her a disgusted look.
Yes, I did notice you fought that last bunch of bisonbecks. She answered his prodding question, even though, until that moment, she hadn’t realized what an accomplishment the skirmish had been for her dragon friend. I’m proud of you.
Gymn nodded his satisfaction with her praise and zoomed into one of the tunnels. Metta disappeared into the other.
Eat? I guess I have to.
She took out a package from inside her cape and nibbled on tasty cheese sticks made by Lee Ark’s wife.
In a moment, Metta came back. The tunnel had ended in a pile of rubble. She sat in Kale’s lap and shared the cheese, turning her nose up at the bread. When they finished, the purple dragon curled up on Kale’s knee and hummed one of Dar’s “digestion” songs.
Kale squeezed her eyes shut against sudden tears.
“Most of my people are settled in their homes for the night. A hearth glowing with a warm fire. The smell of stew and fresh baked bread left over from dinner with their families. You don’t have to be alone.”
Kale sighed, weary from a long day filled with troubles. I stand under Wulder’s authority. She heard Risto’s mocking laugh and then welcomed the silence. Her chin dropped against her chest, and she dozed.
The dungeon! The dungeon! A hole. Leetu, Dar, Fenworth!
Kale awoke to Gymn’s frantic explanation of what he had found. Kale reached for the blue scarf and followed the excited dragon. After a long crawl, Kale stopped behind Metta and Gymn as they hovered next to a natural slit in the stone wall. She heard Wizard Fenworth’s scratchy voice.
“Uncomfortable things, quests. Not always predictable. A bit boring when nothing is going on. But then dungeons are always boring. Quests! What a bother. Lose things, find things. Meet the most unpleasant people. Present company excepted, of