Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [14]
“Why? What’s in Bedderman’s Bog?”
“It’s best you wait and see, Kale.”
Kale didn’t like the vague answer this time any more than she had the last. What about the promise to answer all her questions? She would try once more to get a straight answer.
“Are we going to walk to The Bogs?” she asked, looking toward the doneel, hoping he would blurt out his thoughts. He seemed more willing to impart usable bits of information than Leetu.
Dar, fretting over his bundles, didn’t interject an answer.
“Yes, we’ll walk,” said Leetu. “But we’ll go through a gateway.”
Kale’s mouth dropped open. Gateways were part of fairy tales. Heroes escaped through gateways or sprang upon unsuspecting foes from gateways. Gateways went hand in hand with talking animals and magic amulets.
Gateways are real?
Kale closed her mouth and slowly shook her head from side to side. Councilman Meiger was right. She didn’t know anything.
“I’m ready,” announced Dar. He gave Merlander a pat on her neck, and the dragon rose to her feet. The doneel stepped back to avoid being struck by her wings. She lifted into the air with his extra packs lashed firmly to her saddle. Dar watched her climb high into the cloudless blue sky and set off toward Vendela. He turned a grumpy face to Leetu Bends and Kale.
The emerlindian sprang to her feet and hoisted a pack into the air. She pitched it to Kale, who caught it with a grunt. Without a word, Leetu grabbed two more bundles and swung them over her shoulder. She started down a path beside the stream. Kale scrambled to her feet just in time to follow Dar as he plodded down the trail.
They trekked on, the sun warming their backs, birds singing in the towering trees, and the brook babbling among the round rocks. Occasionally, the knotted roots of giant evergreens extended into the stream. Here the water frothed and churned through the bare, brown footing of the mighty trees.
Soon Dar began to hum and then sing softly under his breath. He’d regained his good humor. He sang louder, and his songs grew livelier as they marched along. Kale’s spirits responded to the happy tunes of the legendary heroes among the seven high races. Dar also sang of farmers and other ordinary folk caught in funny circumstances. She laughed and gasped at all the trials that could befall a traveler.
They rambled down the mountain, then across a valley, and started climbing again. Dar ran out of breath as the path grew steeper. They could no longer step lively to his cheerful beat. Kale, though used to working hard, was not accustomed to long treks. Her legs protested. She very much wanted to rest.
Dar stopped suddenly, and for a moment Kale thought she’d get her wish. But the doneel lifted his nose to the breeze and closed his eyes. Leetu stopped and turned.
“Grawligs,” she said, obviously reading his mind. “How far do you think?” She looked at Dar.
“Half a mile.”
“Which direction?”
Dar puzzled over that a moment, sniffing the air. “We’re surrounded.”
Kale thought she’d been too tired to go much farther, but now a shiver of fear energized her muscles. She was ready to run as soon as Leetu gave the order.
The emerlindian examined the trees and bushes surrounding the small clearing.
“We’ll make our stand here.”
Surely they should run. Kale opened her mouth to protest. Nothing but a croak came out.
Impatient, Leetu beckoned with a brusque gesture, and Kale hurried to the emerlindian’s side. Leetu threw her own burden into the bushes, then snatched Kale’s bundle from her back and hurled it into the undergrowth as well.
“Dar, you take the center of the clearing,” Leetu ordered. “Kale, climb this tree.”
Kale looked at the thick trunk of a towering evergreen. She’d seen several of these imposing trees on the trail she’d taken through mountain passes. None like it grew around River Away.
“This is a rock pine,” explained Leetu, again demonstrating she knew Kale’s thoughts. “Its name doesn’t come from growing in rocks. Those prickly pine cones are as heavy as stones. Climb as high as you can. Take