Dragonspell - Donita K. Paul [89]
“I seem to remember a conversation we had about allowing Wulder to take care of the impossible. Wulder and I will be keeping an eye on you, Kale.”
He was moving away, talking to various people as he left. Kale went to the door and stood, leaning against the side. She watched him walk down the hillside, then in front of the barn and fenced pasture. He passed most of the crowd, and his stride lengthened as he headed for his shining white mount, saddled and waiting. It was not the same dragon he had ridden into battle. Even in the morning sunlight, this dragon looked as if he had been carved out of the glowing moon.
“I’m not leaving you, Kale. Talk to me when you need to.”
Will you answer?
“Always. But not always with words.”
But it would be so much easier if you just spoke to me.
His words were kind and patient as he mounted the regal dragon and waved once more to the people nearby. “We’ve had this conversation before, as well. Take care of what is put before you, Kale. I will see you again.”
Her own questing party departed soon after.
Dar rode Merlander. The kimens with Leetu rode Celisse. Brunstetter, riding point, directed his dragon, Foremoore, toward Bedderman’s Bog. The other, smaller dragons followed side by side. Kale’s stomach was full, her body was warm, and she had a comfortable seat with nothing to do but play with Gymn. She wondered if the tiny trickle of excitement along her skin was a thrill of adventure.
They left the valley behind them, soared over a heavily wooded area, and soon viewed a vast, fertile plain. It had taken Dar and Kale a lot of walking to cover the same distance. Kale enjoyed making the trip back on the huge white dragon Foremoore. She gazed at the scenes below and projected them to Leetu’s silent mind.
A recent rain had swollen the brooks. The waters danced along the banks, hurrying to the rivers. Sunlight glistened off the trees, and a breeze ruffled their limbs, making the green leaves flicker from dark to emerald. Fall had brushed some of the landscape. Kale happily relayed all this to the unconscious emerlindian until she noticed a few farmhouses burnt to the ground, then a few more, then a village completely destroyed.
Risto.
Paladin had stopped him for now. What plan did Wulder have for the wicked wizard? How would their quest to rescue the meech egg turn out?
Well, it’s impossible to know that, and I’m supposed to leave the impossible to Wulder.
Still, the sight of the bisonbeck army’s destruction distressed Kale. She deliberately turned her attention to the leaves turning brilliant colors. She projected the lovely image to Leetu’s mind. Rich green blanketed most of the landscape, but vivid orange and yellow splashed trees at the crest of a few hills. Radiant red mingled with the almost purple-blue leaves of the common armagot trees.
If Kale had been back in River Away, she would be taking the younger children out in the woods to collect armagotnuts. Mmm! One of Mistress Meiger’s armagotnut pies would be wonderful.
They flew over another forest. She passed along to Leetu the image of dazzling birds flitting among the foliage. Carefully, she noted the beauty and wonder below them. She didn’t want to miss one single picture that might aid in the emerlindian’s recovery.
Immediately after noon, when the sun shone directly overhead and their shadows kept pace right below them, Brunstetter signaled for them to descend. They landed in The Midways. Bedderman’s Bog with cygnot trees and marshy pathways lay within sight.
The kimens put up a tent for Leetu. Dar unpacked his cookstove. Brunstetter efficiently removed the burdens and saddles from all three dragons, fed them, watered them, and sang rumbly songs in a deep bass that they evidently liked. All three were humming along with their eyes half closed, swaying their heads in the peculiar way dragons do when they are content.
Kale sat beside Leetu, sending the image of the tent. The fabric was not made of light but of threads so fine that Kale wondered if they’d come from kimens’ heads. The