Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [77]
Kale quickly put Gymn back in his pocket-den. Dar bent to pick up Leetu’s feet. Kale hoisted up Leetu’s shoulders. The five kimens crowded underneath.
“Do you hear me, Kale?”
Yes, Seezle.
“The Trio family members are always flamboyant, but they do their jobs well. Don’t worry. Paladin trusts them.”
Do you think it’s true?
“What?”
That Paladin said those nice things about me.
“Why, of course. I also heard him praise you.”
But he doesn’t know me.
“Wulder knows you, and Paladin knows what Wulder knows. They think like one person, because they know each other so well.”
A glow of well-being spread through Kale. Gymn had taken the soreness from her muscles. The Trio kimens had lifted her spirits with their silly disagreement and their enthusiasm. Leetu felt extremely light. Kale felt she was doing little more than holding her friend’s head while the others carried most of the weight.
As the kimens marched, the colored lights of their garments shifted continuously. Did this reflect their moods? Did they play with the lights on purpose, perhaps to keep boredom at bay? Kale watched with fascination, and the end of the river cavern came quickly.
The sight took Kale’s breath away. Beside them, the water plummeted off the cliff edge in a roaring cascade. In front of them, the valley shadows stretched for miles in velvety dark shades of green, blue, purple, and black. Above them, the stars pierced the darkness with tiny pricks of white sparkle. The moon lit the few wisps of clouds with luminous light.
Kale let go of Leetu and pressed her back against the solid rock wall of the cliff. Seezle smoothly moved enough to support the emerlindian’s head. Kale breathed heavily. Nothing had prepared her for the immensity of the open space confronting her after the closed-in feeling of the cavern.
The river cascading over the edge made it impossible to converse. They laid Leetu on the ledge, and, to Kale’s horror, the four Trio kimens promptly sat down on her as if she were a log.
Kale heard Seezle’s light laughter in her mind. “They are keeping her warm. It is cool out here.”
We should wrap her in the moonbeam cape. Kale started unbuttoning her cloak.
“No, the kimens need to be able to hold her securely when they jump with her to Celisse’s back. Keep your cape.”
I hear Celisse. She’s coming.
“Tell the others.”
Kale mindspoke to Dar and the four kimens at once. A flurry of activity followed. Everyone seemed to know how to help except her. She watched them lift Leetu and carry her away from the waterfall along a shelf to a place where it narrowed into nothing more than a thin lip jutting from the rock face. The five kimens lined up on the narrow ledge of granite and held their burden like a long sack of potatoes across their shoulders.
Seezle gave last-minute instructions to Kale.
“Celisse will carry Leetu and the kimens to Paladin, and then we’ll return for you.”
Kale felt a moment of panic.
“Wait here with Dar. Shimeran and I will return for you as soon as we can.”
In the distance, a black shape approached from high over the valley. Kale could see Celisse’s huge wings beating slowly. Kale felt the tension in the dragon’s desire to make the pass close to the wall, pick up her passengers, and veer away before hitting the wall of water. From the kimens, Kale picked up an air of excitement that trembled through her as if she would be jumping as well. But Kale couldn’t block the horror that clenched her heart with the thought of stepping off the cliff and hoping to land on Celisse’s back.
One moment the kimens stood on the shelf, and the next they were gone. Kale fell face forward and looked over the edge. In place of the usual saddle, a netting of white ropes covered Celisse’s entire torso. Kale breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized small, lighted shapes clinging to the apparatus. The kimens dotted the dragon’s back with a large dark shape pinned in their midst. Celisse made the turn and glided