The Shadow Isle - Katharine Kerr [79]
“Is that what makes the blade glow?”
“It is. Eventually it would kill one of us, if we held it long enough, or so I think. I don’t care to actually try it to see.”
“I should think not.” He turned his head to contemplate the pink stripe of wound. “Can you do anything to heal it?”
“I don’t know, but I’m willing to try. The roof’s not much of a place to do a working.”
“And you shouldn’t tire yourself.” Rori fell silent, looking down over the dun wall to the green country beyond. “Dar and Cal are waiting for me down in the meadow. Branna told me that they want to discuss the Horsekin threat.”
“I could go down later—”
“I’ve seen you work dweomer. It saps your strength, and you need to rest. At least now I know what’s wrong. Let me go off and scout for Horsekin, and by the time I return, you’ll be stronger.”
“That might be best. I’ll admit to being surprised that you’d offer to wait.”
“Some dragons have good hearts.” His voice rumbled in amusement. “Besides, I want to make sure the spell or whatever it is you’ll do works.”
Dallandra laughed with him. “Very well,” she said. “I’ll go down now, and you can go off to talk with Cal and Dar. May you not find any Horsekin anywhere nearby!”
“So we may hope,” the dragon said. “You’d best go down that ladder before I fly.”
Dallandra climbed down and watched from the safety of the landing as he flung himself into the air with a rush of wings.
The sun had almost set by the time that Calonderiel returned to their chamber. When he walked in, he gave her a bright, cheerful smile.
“What’s wrong?” Dallandra said.
“Trying to hide things from you is a waste of time.” Calonderiel sat down on the chair next to the bed. “Do you truly think you can turn Rori back into a man again?”
“I don’t know yet. I won’t until we find that wretched book. If Evandar didn’t leave us some sort of guide, then no, I can’t. I don’t have the slightest idea of how to work such a powerful dweomer.”
“Good.”
“Good? What do you mean by that?”
“Hasn’t it occurred to you that Rori’s the best weapon we have against the Horsekin?”
Dallandra leaned back against the pillows with a sigh. “No, it hadn’t.”
“Not so much for the fighting itself,” Calonderiel went on. “The Gel da’Thae aren’t stupid. It won’t be long before they have archers of their own. They’ll learn to fight unhorsed, too. He won’t have much effect on ranks of spearmen, once they get used to him. Oh, it sounds fearsome, the terrible dragon of the skies! The Horsekin don’t fight in the sky.”
“That’s true.”
“But the scouting!” Cal got up and paced over to the window. “By the Black Sun Herself, he can range so far and so fast! I know that dweomerfolk can give themselves wings, but how long and how far dare you fly?”
“Not very, not without a terrible risk. I’ve no desire to spend the rest of my life as a linnet.”
“Just so.” Cal leaned back against the windowsill. “Rori brought up the question of the dweomer spell.”
“And?”
“He knows that it killed Evandar. He told me that he has no intention of allowing it to kill you.”
“How very kind of him! Neither do I.”
He smiled in genuine relief. “But if you don’t even know what it entails—” he began.
“I can’t tell you all will be well, no. That’s not the real issue, anyway. Rori doesn’t know if he wants to become a man again or not. He’s searching for excuses.”
“Oh.” Cal considered this for several moments. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“I thought maybe you hadn’t.”
He came back to the chair beside the bed and sat down again.
“Still,” Cal said. “I don’t want you working that dweomer if it’s going to hurt you. I’ll burn the cursed book myself if it comes to that.”
“Since we don’t know if the book still exists, or where it is if it does exist, or if we could find it even if we knew where, or what’s in the thing, for that matter, I’d suggest you stop worrying about it.”
Cal opened his mouth and shut it again. Through her east-facing window, Dallandra could see the sky darkening to a velvet blue. The chamber filled with shadow. With an irritable wave of her hand she sent a golden dweomer