The Shadow Dragons - James A. Owen [85]
“That’s just asking for trouble,” said the second witch. “The rest will burn us out if you do that!”
“Hey,” said the third witch, who had flown around to look at the wicker basket. “What have you got here?”
“It’s, ah, my dog,” said Charles.
“Woof,” Fred said helpfully.
“It’s the ugliest dog I’ve ever seen,” said the witch. “It looks more like a badger.”
“That’s very rude,” said Fred.
“Oh dear,” Charles said before the witches could react. “Hold on tight, Fred!”
Pedaling as if the devil himself were at his heels, Charles put the bicycle into a steep dive and aimed for the eastern gate. He had almost reached the tattooed man when Fred pointed out that the witches were right behind them.
Charles grimaced. Of course they were. The witches were better bicyclists than he was—or at least they were much more experienced—and they weren’t carrying a badger with lousy self-control and a Green Knight made of wood.
The bicycle careened past the gate, and they could finally see the portal, hanging in the air just ahead.
“Hang on,” he said again. “We’re going to come in hot!”
Without slowing, Charles aimed the bicycle straight for the portal and went screaming through, crashing hard against the opposite wall of the gallery in Tamerlane House.
He staggered to his feet. “Ransom! Somebody! Close the Trump, quickly!”
Ransom ran in from the anteroom and took hold of the Trump just as the witches were coming into view. Rapidly the illustration began to shrink; in moments it was the size of a card again, and Ransom placed it in the pages of a book.
All the Caretakers were summoned, along with Aven and Artus. The still shaken Charles hurriedly explained what he and Fred had been doing, and why the Green Knight was bound and gagged.
Jack and Dickens dragged Magwich off to lock him in a closet, and John brought a kettle of hot tea for Charles and Fred as the other Caretakers arrived in the gallery.
Once they had regained their breath, Fred and Charles took turns relating what they’d seen in Abaton, giving special emphasis to the tower of doors.
“What are they doing with it?” John exclaimed. “What can they be using the doors to do?”
“That’s the worst part,” said Fred. “The Chancellor’s using them to find the dragons one by one.”
“Good luck with that,” said Jack. “What’s he going to do? Poke them with the spear?”
“He’s discovered a use for the spear that no one ever anticipated, no one ever dreamed . . . ,” Charles said, his voice trailing off. “There’s just . . . there’s no way to . . .”
“What is it, Charles?” demanded Jack. “What is he doing with the spear?”
“He’s using it to sever shadows,” said Fred. “Anyone’s shadow.”
“So he’s creating another army of Shadow-Born, then?” asked Jack. “We’ve dealt with that before.”
“Not like this, Jack,” said Charles. “Any shadow. From any creature, whether it walks—or flies.”
It took a moment for Jack to realize what he was being told, and when he did, his eyes widened in disbelief. “You can’t mean . . . How? How is that even possible?”
“We don’t know how he’s doing it,” Charles said, rising and pacing. “We just know that he is. He’s using the Spear of Destiny. Somehow, Chancellor Murdoch is severing the shadows from the Dragons themselves. And the army he is building with them will be unstoppable.”
. . . an apparition . . . her gown floating in the water . . .
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The Broken Sword
“There is a Ring of Power here, in the Nameless Isles,” said Bert. “It’s not made of massive standing stones, as the others are. This one is closer to a fairy ring, in that it can be used only to summon a single entity—the Lady of the Lake.
“You have the authority to use the ring,” he told Rose, “and Quixote has the right to request a boon. So only the two of you should go, if she’s to appear at all.”
“One more thing,” said Chaucer. “There is a guardian. He may or may not let you pass. It’s our hope that he will. But tell him your request, simply and honestly, and I believe that he will see you through to the Lady.”
“It’s low tide,” Bert