Talking to Dragons (24 page)

“They wound up in a full-fledged battle, and while we were all fighting, the sword got stolen again. A few wizards managed to get inside the castle, but without the sword they couldn't actually kill the King. So they found some way of keeping him out of action while they hunted for the sword.”

“They put the King to sleep?” I said doubtfully. It sounded a bit unlikely. Sleeping spells are very effective on guards and princesses, and even a kingdom now and then, but they can't usually do much against a good magician. And whatever else he was, the King of the Enchanted Forest had to be a master magician.

“We don't know exactly what they did,” Kazul admitted. “We know the King isn't dead, because the Enchanted Forest reacts very strongly when a King dies. We know they did something, though, because the seal they have around the castle wouldn't hold the King in by itself.”

“You mean those shimmerings around the castle?” I said.

“The outer one is ours,” Kazul said with a grim smile. “The wizards put up a spell to keep everyone but themselves out of the castle, so we put up one to keep the wizards out. Without the sword, there wasn't anything more we could do.”

“Then how did Daystar's mother get hold of the sword?” Shiara asked.

Kazul smiled again. “Cimorene was the one who stole it back from the wizards in the first place. They've been trying to get hold of it again ever since. They'll show up as soon as we break through their barrier tomorrow, but by then we should be ready for them.”

“Uh, you expect Shiara and me to help you fight wizards?” I said.

“Of course not,” Kazul replied. “Shiara may help us if she wishes, but you, Daystar, will be going into the castle to break whatever spell the wizards put on the King seventeen years ago.”

T
HAT TOOK SOME EXPLANATION
. What Kazul meant was, the dragons would lower the barrier they had put up around the castle. Then I would draw the Sword of the Sleeping King and put it into the wizards' barrier, which, according to Kazul, would bring it down. The wizards would know immediately that something was happening, and they would start trying to get to the castle. The dragons and their various allies would hold off the wizards and whoever they brought to help them while I ran into the castle, found the King, and broke the spell.

I didn't like the sound of it at all, but I couldn't say much. After all, Mother had given me the sword, and I was pretty sure this was what she'd wanted me to do with it. Besides, Kazul seemed to think I was the only one who could use the sword to break the spell. And how do you tell the King of the Dragons that you won't do something she wants you to do?

Shiara, on the other hand, had a lot to say. She thought it would be stupid for me to go into the castle by myself. Kazul asked if she was volunteering, and Shiara said that she wasn't going to be left out just when things were getting interesting. Kazul pointed out that Shiara's arm was broken, and Shiara told her that being inside the castle with me sounded safer than being outside with a lot of wizards and dragons fighting.

Finally Kazul said Shiara could go with me if she wanted to. Shiara said, Good, and were the dragons going to be able to keep all of the wizards out of the castle, or were some of them going to sneak in after us? They kept on like that for quite a while. I was very glad when a middle-sized dragon arrived with dinner and interrupted. I couldn't see why Kazul was being so patient with Shiara, and I was getting worried that her patience wouldn't last much longer.

Dinner was excellent. Kazul spent most of the meal lying on the floor and watching us inscrutably. Dragons are very good at being inscrutable. I found it a bit unsettling, but it didn't seem to bother Shiara. Or Nightwitch.

After dinner we talked some more. Kazul told us about the castle and what the floor plan was. She also told us about a lot of things to watch out for. Most of them were magical items that would be dangerous only if we accidentally did something to them, but there were a few traps, too.

“This castle sounds awfully big,” Shiara said after a while. “How are we supposed to find this King, anyway?”

“You look for him,” Kazul said. “I'm afraid I can't tell you exactly where. The only people who knew where the King was were the wizards who went in and put the spell on him, and as far as I know they're all dead.”

“As far as you know?” I asked.

“Some of them didn't come out of the castle.”

“But you're sure that the ones who
did
come out are dead?”

“Positive.” Kazul smiled reminiscently and licked her lips.

“So what?” said Shiara. Kazul and I looked at her. “I don't care about the wizards who came
out,
” she went on defensively. “I'm worried about the ones who might still be
in
there.”

“They have to be either dead or enchanted,” Kazul said. “Even a wizard can't live seventeen years without food.”

Shiara relaxed a little. “I suppose not. All right, then, what does this King look like?”

“You'll know him when you see him. Besides, he's the only other person in there.”

“Oh, great.” Shiara wrinkled her nose disgustedly. “We have to hunt through an empty castle for someone we don't even know while a bunch of wizards try to get in and stop us.”

“It shouldn't be that bad,” Kazul said. “The sword and the key should both help considerably.”

“The key?” I said.

“Of course, the key!” Kazul said impatiently. “It can open any door in the castle; that's what it was made for. You could have managed with the sword alone, but it will be much faster with the key as well.”

“Are you saying I just picked up the key to the castle by
accident?
”

“Accidents like that happen all the time in the Caves of Chance,” Kazul said dryly. “Where do you think they got their name?”

“How do you know it's the right key?” Shiara demanded. “The quozzel said some wizard put it there.”

Kazul shrugged. “That's what makes it likely that it's the Key to the Castle. We caught one of the wizards coming out of the caves near the end of the battle, and he'd been inside the castle more than long enough to take the key. But if it will make you more comfortable, I can look at it.”

I dug the key out of my pocket and held it out to Kazul. Kazul glanced at it and started to nod, then stopped suddenly and stared at the key very intently.

“It's the Key to the Castle, all right, but that wizard's
done
something to it.” She sounded outraged.

“Wonderful,” said Shiara disgustedly. “All we need is another wizard to get mixed up in this.”

“He isn't
another
wizard,” Kazul said. “He's the same one who stole the sword in the first place. And he's dead.”

“You're sure he's not one of the wizards who didn't come out of the castle?” Shiara asked.

“I ate him myself.”

“Oh.” Shiara frowned. “Can you tell what he did?”

Kazul didn't answer. She stared at the key instead, and her eyes started glowing. The key began getting warmer and warmer in my hands. Just before it got too hot for me to hold, the key jerked in the direction of the castle outside. A second later, I dropped it. I stood shaking my fingers, while Kazul and Shiara stared down at the key, and Nightwitch walked over and sniffed at it.

“Nightwitch!” said Shiara. “Stop that. You'll get enchanted or something.” She bent over and grabbed awkwardly for Nightwitch with her left hand. The kitten jumped away, and Shiara's fingers brushed the key. A look of surprise came over her face, and she picked the key up. “It feels like fire,” she said.

“I know,” I said. “It burned my fingers.”

“No, I don't mean it's hot,” Shiara said. “It just feels like fire.”

“It shouldn't,” Kazul said, sounding interested. “Bring it over here.”

Shiara took the key to Kazul, who looked at it for a few minutes and handed it back. “I thought so. It's part of what that wizard did.”

“But what's it for?” Shiara said.

“I don't know,” Kazul admitted. “The fire spell is connected to something inside the castle, but I can't tell what with the barriers around the outside. He may have set a trap with it.”

“May I have my key back, please?” I said. Kazul and Shiara both looked at me, and Shiara handed me the key. “Thank you,” I said, and put it in my pocket. I wasn't quite sure why I wanted it; I only knew that keeping it felt right, somehow.

“Is there anything else we need to know?” I asked. “I mean, we've walked a long way today and we've been in a cave-in, and Shiara has a broken arm, and if we're going to do all these things tomorrow, I would sort of like to get some rest.”

“Mrrrroww!” said Nightwitch emphatically.

Kazul chuckled. “It seems you aren't the only one who would like rest. Very well. Marchak!”

The middle-sized dragon who had brought us dinner appeared, and Kazul had him show us to our rooms. They turned out to be normal, human-sized rooms and quite comfortable. I was surprised until it occurred to me that the King of the Dragons would probably have occasional human visitors who would need a place to stay. Then I wondered how many human magicians kept special places for visiting dragons in their castles and towers and things, and right in the middle of wondering, I fell asleep.

A loud pounding noise woke me. Someone, probably a dragon, was knocking on the door of my room. “Just a minute, please,” I called, and the pounding stopped.

I got out of the bed, which I couldn't remember having gotten into, and picked up my sword belt. I checked my pockets to make sure I had the key, started for the door, and stopped suddenly in the middle of the room. If the dragons expected me to do things with the Sword of the Sleeping King, I wasn't going to carry it under my arm like a bag of laundry. I put the sword belt on and opened the door.

“It's about time,” said the little dragon in the hall. Shiara and Nightwitch were already there.

“I'm sorry,” I said. “I didn't know you were in a hurry.”

The dragon snorted and started off down the hall. We went after it. It didn't seem to be in a particularly good mood. Shiara explained that it wanted to come into the castle with us, but Kazul wouldn't let it. I couldn't see why it wanted to come. There weren't supposed to be any wizards inside the castle, and I thought the little dragon wanted to fight wizards. I didn't say anything, though. Arguing with a grouchy dragon isn't safe, even if it's only a small dragon.

The dragon brought us back to the cave where we'd talked to Kazul the previous night. Kazul wasn't there, but breakfast was, and we sat down right away. We were just finishing when Kazul arrived to take us out to the castle.

Kazul led us out of the caves and across the hard brown ground. All around us, dragons were polishing their teeth and sharpening their claws, and some of them were muttering spells under their breath. A couple of times, I saw elves hurrying through the crowd, and once I saw a group of intense-looking, red-haired people who had to be fire-witches. Everyone was very serious and grim.

None of us said anything until we got to the castle. Kazul led us around the outside of the shimmerings until we were at the front of the castle. If I concentrated on looking through the barriers, I could see a flat wooden bridge across the moat and a large door with steps leading up to it.

Kazul stopped and turned to the little dragon. “You'd better go find your place now,” she said.

“But I want to—”

“Go!”

The little dragon went. Shiara and I looked at each other, and then at Kazul. Kazul smiled. “Are you ready?”

I nodded jerkily. Shiara bent and picked up Nightwitch. Kazul's smile widened. “When I say ‘Now,' draw your sword and run for the castle. Don't look back, and don't stop for anything.”

I nodded again because I didn't trust my voice just then. Kazul turned to the crowd of dragons, and suddenly everything was completely silent. A shiver ran down my back, and I put my hand on the hilt of the Sword of the Sleeping King.

I felt the bee-in-the-jar buzz that was Shiara's magic, and a strong humming from all the dragons, but the strongest feeling of all was the purring I'd felt from the first time the sword made my arm tingle. It came from the castle. Not from the shimmerings around the castle; they just got in the way. What I was feeling was the magic of the castle itself.

I took a tighter grip on the hilt of the sword. The tingling from the dragons got stronger and more positive, and abruptly Kazul turned and shouted, “Now!” As she spoke, the silver-and-green shimmering around the castle vanished.

I yanked the Sword of the Sleeping King out of its sheath and swung it at the golden glow that was still left between me and the castle. I felt an enormous shock as the sword hit, and then the shimmering vanished in an explosion of golden light.

I shook my head and heard Kazul shout, “Run!”

I took two steps and almost lost my balance. The ground wasn't hard and bare anymore; it was covered with slippery green fuzz. Shiara grabbed my arm just as I heard a series of explosions from behind us.

We ran. I could feel the jangling from the sword that meant there were wizards around somewhere, but I didn't stop to look for them. I was too busy trying to keep up with Shiara, hang on to the sword, and dig the key out of my pocket, all at the same time.

Shiara was standing in front of the door, panting, when I got up to it with the key. I didn't see a keyhole, but as soon as my foot touched the top step of the stairs, the door swung open.

“Daystar,” Shiara said, “are you sure—”

Something hit the stone of the castle next to the door and exploded, showering us with little chips of rock. Shiara and I dove through the door and landed on the floor inside with Nightwitch on top of us. I sat up just as the door closed silently behind us.