Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [21]
“Now, dear, that’s truth, pure and lovely.”
The gentle hum of the spinning wheel accented the silence that fell over the room. Kale rested in the aura of peace radiating from the old woman.
Granny Noon’s sigh swept through Kale’s contentment. Her sweet serenity swayed, buffeted by a hint of warning. The vague disturbance didn’t destroy the pleasure the young o’rant felt, being alone and cosseted by the old emerlindian. Kale couldn’t tell if the disquieting sound had come to her through her ears or through her mind.
“Child, Pretender will also be more active in your life.”
Kale shivered. Pretender? No one in River Away had talked much of either Wulder or Pretender. The very name Pretender had always made Kale feel he was make-believe, not a real source of evil. But it seemed, like gateways, Pretender was real and not just part of tales told in the evening around the fireplace.
What have I got myself into, Granny Noon?
The answering laugh, soft and reassuring, echoed gently in Kale’s mind.
“Nothing you have to face alone, child.” The quiet room felt like a sanctuary until Granny Noon’s voice returned to Kale’s thoughts with a solemn message. “This quest you go on is nothing you would have chosen of your own free will.”
Dangerous?
“And then some.”
Why me?
“Because you’ve been given a gift, and those that get a gift must use it.”
Must?
“Must!”
9
NEITHER HERE NOR THERE
Kale puzzled over the fine cape Granny Noon had given her. Draped around her shoulders, it fell to the floor and swayed gently as she moved. Something odd happened to the color every time she glimpsed it out of the corner of her eye.
I’m not used to such elegant clothing, that’s all.
That could be the explanation, but still something about the cape made her vision kind of muzzy.
She stood in the center of the snug sitting room, marveling at the feel of her new clothes. Everything—her undergarments, stockings, boots, skirt, blouse, and cape—smelled new. Soft colors of brown, beige, and white enveloped her small frame from shoulders to toes. Kale couldn’t help the grin on her face. She liked looking clean and neat. She’d be warm, and she’d look respectable. But the cape…
Inside the lining, Granny Noon had sewn pockets in two rows down each side of the opening. From her waist to the hem, eight pockets, four on each side, held one dragon egg each. Two deeper pockets hung in the side seams at her hips. Granny Noon called them hollows and had Kale stuff them with objects she said were essential for a quest. With all the things they’d slipped into those pockets, the cape should have bulges. It didn’t.
I may not know much, but I know pockets should look full when they’re full.
Granny Noon had explained each item, but the familiar objects had bizarre purposes. Before Granny tucked the last feather into the right side pocket, Kale knew her mind was muddled with bits and pieces of information she didn’t understand. She tried to sort out Granny Noon’s instructions as the others busied themselves with their own preparations.
Dar stood beside an ironing board, pressing out wrinkles in clothes he had washed and dried. Leetu studied the bookshelves, looking for a book to borrow. Granny Noon bustled from cabinets to the table, packing provisions for their journey.
Kale patted the smooth surface of the cape where a “hollow” pocket lay underneath. The beans will grow breakfast. The dried yellow leaves cure headache. The dried pink leaves cure stomach pain. The twigs tell which way to water. The white feather is a peace token. The black feather signals trouble. The gray feather means “follow me.” What is the little shell for?
Kale stared at the fire trying to remember. Oh yes, to summon a crow. But I don’t remember why I would want to summon a crow.
She slowly turned her head, watching the others in the room and wondering how she could ask Granny Noon without alerting Dar and Leetu Bends to her inability to remember simple instructions. She could try to speak to Granny Noon’s mind. How