Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [23]
“Thank you,” said Kale.
He nodded with a smile quirking the corner of his mouth, gave a courtly bow, and then returned to his ironing.
Granny Noon put her hand on Kale’s shoulder.
“To a doneel, clothing is symbolic. He saw me throwing away your old clothes and salvaged the scarf. It would be important to him to carry or wear something from his home.”
Kale looked from Leetu’s rigid back to Dar’s small figure. The emerlindian again examined the bookshelves as the doneel meticulously pressed a crease in a pair of trousers. Leetu might be worthy of wearing the colors of The Hall and heading their expedition, but Kale was very glad Dar would be along.
10
THROUGH THE GATEWAY
Kale’s foot hit a loose rock in the shadowy tunnel as she followed the others into the depths of the mountain. The stone rattled and clattered as it bounced against the rough surface of the path ahead. It bumped off Dar’s polished boot and rolled to the side.
Dar’s back kept a steady distance ahead of her. His yellow jacket glowed green in the pale blue light. She only rarely caught a glimpse of Leetu farther ahead. And she hadn’t seen Granny Noon in quite a long time. The elder emerlindian headed the small procession.
Kale’s skirt felt cumbersome. She had never worn anything but short trousers that hit just below her knee. Granny Noon had given her a long skirt and soft leather boots that came up her calves. Her legs tangled in all these trappings. She constantly tripped. And it seemed she was always clumsiest when Leetu watched.
Then there was the cape. Kale liked the way the material flowed around her. But she constantly felt the need to gather it close, keeping it away from the dirt and rock walls in the narrower passages. Never before had she been concerned about her clothing getting soiled.
She didn’t like wearing the new clothes in these awful underground passages. She didn’t like the clammy dirt, the musty smell, and the shadows. She didn’t like not being able to see all the time, and she didn’t like not knowing where they were going.
To the gateway. But where is this gateway, and how long will it take us to get there? I don’t like being so deep in the mountain at all.
The bright burrow leading down to Granny Noon’s rooms had been clean and comfortable. Someone had placed large, glistening lightrocks on convenient, man-made shelves. But in these tunnels, light shimmered in uneven intervals along the walls. Embedded lightrocks glimmered in a natural scattering. Some parts of the passage shone brightly where the rocks clustered. Sometimes the travelers walked in deep shadows with only small, faint lightrocks marking the way.
At first the tunnel had been cool and fresh. Now the hot, moist air stung Kale’s nose and left a metallic taste in her mouth. She thought they might end up clear on the other side of the world if they kept going, down and down, always marching down, deeper into the mountain.
Dar entered a darker section of the passage, and Kale walked a little faster. She didn’t want to be left behind. Something smacked against her ankle. She whirled around. Snarling teeth flashed close to the ground. She jumped back. A dark animal, no bigger than a rat, skittered into the shadows. She pivoted on one foot and ran after Dar.
“What is it?” he asked as she came up behind him.
“An animal.” She panted, not from the short run, but from fear.
“Dark, quick, ugly teeth.”
“A druddum.” Dar kept walking, no faster than before. “They won’t hurt you as long as you’re with someone.”
She pushed her nervousness aside and concentrated on Dar’s thoughts. She didn’t pick up any words, but she got the impression of the doneel chortling.
He’s teasing me again.
“Tell me the truth,” she insisted.
Dar gave her a quick look of mischief over his shoulder. His shaggy eyebrows waggled, his ears perked up and twitched, and his mouth opened in his extra-wide grin. Then he shrugged and turned back down the tunnel, walking steadily on.
“They don’t hurt anybody,” he said over his shoulder. “However, they do steal things. Food, naturally.