Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [65]
“We must find Leetu,” Kale said.
“Yes,” Dar agreed. “We’ll find Leetu, and while you and Gymn tend to her, Shimeran and I will come up with a plan.”
Kale closed her eyes against the sight of so many hurting souls, but her ears still heard their murmurings, their pleas for mercy.
Leetu, I must find Leetu Bends.
She opened her eyes and trudged back the way they had come, past those she could not help. Following that unseen pull that told her where she would find her comrade, Kale tried to ignore the sights and sounds of misery. She offered the captives words of encouragement, saying they would soon be free. For now, Kale had nothing to give them but hope.
She passed through several tunnels and caverns. None were vacant as they had appeared earlier. Cats, rats, and druddums slunk and scuttled along the passages. Each room held a despairing group of captives. Kale saw mariones, doneels, kimens, urohms, emerlindians, and tumanhofers. With a start, she realized some of the prisoners were o’rants. She had never met another of her race.
Dar urged her forward when she stopped beside an old o’rant man. “I know, Kale, but now is not the time. Tend to Leetu first.”
In the corner of the next dungeon, they found Leetu’s form rolled against a cold stone wall. Moisture oozed from the rocks and flowed down on the emerlindian. Leetu slept in damp clothing and a shallow puddle that smelled heavily of rusty iron.
Shimeran put his fists to his hips and glowered at the tenants of the dungeon. “Where is the kimen who stands by her friend at this hour?”
The wretched prisoners shook their heads, cowering away from the angry, two-foot-tall kimen.
Dar moved to stand by Shimeran and spoke quietly. “Do you think they even saw Leetu’s kimen companion?”
Shimeran shrugged off the question. “I will know why the emerlindian was left alone.” He knelt beside Leetu. He felt her forehead and shook his head. “Her skin is hot, yet she shivers. Let us see what we can do for her.”
Dar, Kale, and Shimeran moved Leetu’s body, limp and feverish, to a drier spot.
“This one is near death,” announced Shimeran in a solemn voice.
A fierce denial rose to Kale’s lips, but she bit it back. It had taken them a long time to reach their comrade.
I don’t really know if Gymn can cure someone so weak.
With help from Dar and Shimeran, Kale laid her cape on the dirty floor and moved Leetu onto the woven moonbeam material. Kale sat down next to her and tenderly pulled Gymn from his pocket-den at the edge of the cape. She held him close to her chest, nestled in her folded arms.
“Wake up, little one,” she cooed to the dragon. “We have work to do.”
Gymn wrinkled his nose against the putrid smells of the dungeon and tucked his head against Kale’s sleeve. With a forefinger, she lifted his scaly chin. The young beast blinked his eyes in the kimen’s light. She remembered Shimeran had called the golden glow “hope.”
“We must try,” she told Gymn. She peeled him off her arm and laid him against Leetu’s pallid cheek. The emerlindian did not stir. Kale left one hand on the healing dragon and placed the other on Leetu’s soiled arm.
A sparkling voice called to them. “You’ve come to rescue the emerlindian. What’s happened here? Only an hour ago this place was like a tomb. Nothing living but me and the Paladin warrior.”
“Seezle!” Shimeran’s voice rang with displeasure. “I should have known. Where have you been?”
“Easy, big brother. I went to get fresh water, a blanket, and some food.”
Kale looked quickly at the small female kimen. From under the folds of her garment, Seezle produced a loaf of bread, a flask, and a heavy, folded cloth.
Shimeran grunted. “The emerlindian cannot eat. We will dribble some water into her mouth. These comrades will eat the food. I know not when they last ate, but their journey has been long and ’tis not over yet.”
Kale gladly accepted the drink and bread. Although they still had some provisions in