Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [22]
Her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror, and she snapped to attention. For just an instant, she had seen only her head…
The cape! There was something odd about the cape. The light gray fabric shimmered in the light—rippled, really—catching the colors of other things as if the material reflected images like the old mirror on the wall.
Dar broke the comfortable silence of the room. “Granny Noon spun the cloth from moonbeams.”
“Moonbeams!” Kale cried out. “Cloth made from light?” She stroked the smooth, warm fabric, tilting her head to examine it even more closely.
“Dar, you’re incorrigible,” said Granny Noon. She cast a frown in his direction and then looked over her basket at Kale. “It’s a type of bush with round white flowers. Thus the name, moonbeam plant.”
“Why does it look so strange?” She moved her arms to hold the cape away from her body. Squinting, she tried to see what she had seen just a moment before. She sighed, shaking her head in bewilderment. “And then it looks normal.”
“When you move, the material looks like any other cloth,” explained Granny Noon as she went back to wrapping small bundles with gauzy white cloth. “But when you stand still, you blend into your surroundings.”
“I’m invisible?”
“No, not invisible. More like a chameleon, well hidden. And you would need to put up the hood to keep your head and face out of sight.”
Kale reached over her shoulder and pulled up the soft material that lay like a rumpled collar around her neck. The hood surprised her by dropping over her face as well as her head. She peered through the loosely woven fabric.
“That’s it,” said Dar. “Now tuck your hands under and keep still.” Kale heard him clap his hands together. “That’s it! You’re gone.”
“Really?” The folds around her face muffled her voice. Her warm breath came back to tickle her cheeks.
“No,” said Leetu. “Dar, you’re going to give her too much confidence in that cape, and then she’ll get into trouble.” Leetu carried three books in her hands as she crossed the room to stand in front of Kale. “The cape is more effective in shadows or at night. In the blazing sun, your outline will be clearly visible. Never risk your life, thinking the cape will save you. It’s one of the first rules of service to Paladin. Trust in what is real, not illusion.”
“Finally!” Granny Noon came over to hug Leetu. “I was beginning to think we were mistaken to send you as mentor to this o’rant child.”
Leetu’s face clouded over as she shrugged out of Granny Noon’s embrace. The young emerlindian handed the three books to Kale. “Here, stick these in your cape hollow.”
“My pockets are full,” said Kale, looking at the titles: The Care and Feeding of Minor Dragons; Training for Performance—An Overall Guide to Dragonkeeping; and Pitfalls of Magic.
“Your hollow isn’t. They’ll fit,” said Leetu. She crossed the room with a few graceful steps. Even when irritated, she moved like a leaf floating on a gentle breeze.
“Don’t mind her.” Dar approached, speaking too softly for Leetu to hear. He handed Kale her own blue scarf, laundered and ironed. “She’s miffed because Lee Ark sent her with us instead of taking her to defend the southern border from an invasion of quiss.”
“Quiss? Sea creatures?”
“Nothing but rumors,” said Dar. “The quiss migration isn’t due for another year. Leetu will likely see more adventure with us than patrolling a remote seashore.”
Kale looked at her scarf folded in a neat square. Why had Dar done this kindness for her? He was not a slave or a servant. Why?
Grawligs and gateways, mindspeakers and grannies, Pretender and quiss. All of this is more than I bargained for when I left River Away. Is anything normal out here?
She felt the smooth cloth Mistress Meiger had given her. The beautiful blue scarf had been in a sad state last time she saw it. She looked at the doneel’s friendly face. He stood next to her, eyeing her expectantly.
“You washed my scarf?” she asked, still not quite believing that someone would do this menial task for her.
Dar looked away, apparently