Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [28]
They sharpened their wood-cutting axes to take into battle. They brought out their hunting weapons, made more arrows, and honed the edges of their small blades. Wives and daughters sewed makeshift armor out of thick leather hides. In three days they were ready to march against impossible odds.
As the men slept a final night in their homes with their families, Wulder came among them and increased the size of these valiant people to match the compassion of their hearts. They arose in the morning as warriors twelve-to fourteen-feet tall with new fighting skills breathed into their minds and souls.
Their clothing, livestock, and weapons had increased in size as well, but their homes and furnishings remained the same. Even today, the urohms build all but their beds on a smaller scale to remind themselves of the mighty gift bestowed upon them.
The legend unfolded on Leetu’s pages. Kale relished the march across the Valley of Collumna. In the air, Wizard Dayen rode a regal dragon. He and eleven other wizards under the authority of Paladin had been summoned to flank the ground warriors. Even with this unexpected reinforcement, the battle undertaken proved to be costly.
Kale anxiously awaited Leetu’s turning of the page. The hazy memory of the legend Kale had heard several years before came to life with Leetu’s reading. She saw the awakening urohms’ bewilderment and then felt their new courage as they realized Wulder had given them an extraordinary gift for battle. When the urohm leader Corne first spotted the battalion of regal dragons coming to join their forces, Kale thrilled with his expectations and rising hopes.
The images stopped. Kale opened her eyes to see Leetu had laid her book in her lap. The emerlindian glared at Kale.
I’m sorry! Shame washed over Kale. She’d been eavesdropping. Sneaky. Stealing Leetu’s pleasure. It wasn’t sharing; it was trespassing. Despicable. “I’m sorry.”
Leetu closed the book with a snap, jumped to her feet, and strode away to a large trang-a-nog tree. She slapped her hand against the smooth green bark and stood rigid, staring into the junglelike woodland.
Kale looked over to Dar and saw him watching Leetu. He turned back to Kale. “What happened?” he asked quietly.
“I have offended her. She is justly angry with me.”
Dar sat back against a tree, relaxed, and apparently examined the fabric of his linen shirt.
He doesn’t care. Why should he?
Loneliness shrouded Kale’s heart. Frustration, too. She wasn’t very good at this questing business. Not any better at being comrades.
Dar cleared his throat, looked speculatively at Leetu, and then addressed Kale in a voice that could be heard by both of the girls.
“It is hard to win back the trust of a friend. But we live by the code of Paladin, and Leetu, although young, is well versed in his way.”
What should I do?
“You’ve said you are sorry. Wait.” Kale heard his words clearly but could not take pleasure in another step of progress in her mindspeaking abilities.
Kale waited, her half-eaten sandwich forgotten in her hand. Leetu stood as a statue. Only the breeze lifting strands of her wispy white hair and pushing against the cloth of her tunic proved she had not turned to stone.
Eventually, her shoulders moved as she took several deep breaths. She turned, and Kale was relieved to see the ominous, cold expression had relaxed on the emerlindian’s face. She stood as Leetu walked purposefully across the forest glade. Kale swallowed back another hasty apology when Leetu stopped two feet in front of her.
“I owe you an apology,” Leetu began, and Kale caught her breath. She started to interrupt, but Leetu held up a hand. “Yes, it is I who must apologize, though I will wrest one from you, as well.
“Granny Noon reprimanded me on