Talking to Dragons (27 page)

“Didn't he disappear already?”

“No, he didn't. I was watching,” I said. Shiara and I looked at each other for an instant, then headed for the doorway.

No one tried to stop us. One of the elves gave us an odd look, but another elf grabbed his arm and whispered something to him, and he only bowed deeply as we passed. It made me feel almost as uncomfortable as I felt when the dwarves bowed to me.

Outside in the hallway we found Morwen kneeling on the floor beside Telemain and wrapping long strips of black cloth around his right shoulder. Pieces of odd-looking plants littered the floor, and a little way down the hall was a puddle of something dark and slimy. The puddle had a wizard's staff lying across it, and a wizard's robe was sort of crumpled up under the staff.

“Morwen!” Shiara said. “What happened? Can I help?”

“What happened was a battle,” Morwen said. “I should think that would be obvious enough.”

“But how did—” Shiara stopped because Telemain was stirring. A moment later he opened his eyes and looked up at all of us.

“What was that?” he asked rather hazily.

“That,” said Morwen, “was a sword. They are long, pointed, and very sharp. You're lucky it didn't take your head off.”

Telemain started to shake his head, then winced. “A plain sword. No wonder I couldn't block it. I thought it was a spell.”

Morwen snorted. “You may be one of the greatest magical theoreticians in the world, but you don't have a particle of common sense,” she said acidly. “Why, in heaven's name, didn't you duck?”

“I
did
duck!” Telemain said, looking startled and indignant. “He was aiming for my chest, not my shoulder. And if you think I'm going to put up with you and your—”

“You,” Morwen said firmly, “are going to put up with me until that shoulder is healed. Which, may I remind you, means that I will have to put up with you for the same period of time. Fortunately, it shouldn't take very long—a few days, at most.”

“A few days!” Telemain said. “Are you mad? It'll take at least a week!”

“Not if I change the herbs twice a day,” Morwen said in an irritated tone. “I should know. It's my field.”

“Well, it's
my
shoulder!”

“I'm so glad you noticed,” Morwen said. “Stop fussing, or you'll make things worse and I
will
have to put up with you for a week.”

“If I have to continue lying on this floor—which is cold, hard, and extremely uncomfortable—you'll have to put up with me a lot longer than that!”

Morwen got a peculiar look on her face. “I'll consider the idea carefully. Meanwhile”—she looked past Shiara and me—“Mendanbar, can you provide a room for this stubborn . . . magician?”

“Easily,” said the King of the Enchanted Forest, from the doorway behind us. “Which room do you want?”

“The brown one,” Morwen said before Telemain could answer. “He'll need a firm bed to support that shoulder.”

Father laughed. “Of course.” He started to lift his hand, and I cleared my throat.

“I would like to ask them something before they go,” I said when Father turned toward me. He nodded, and I looked at Morwen. “Did you notice what happened to the wizard who was halfway around the brazier when you came in? I didn't see him afterward.”

“You mean Antorell? Yes, I thought I saw him,” Morwen said. “I'm afraid I don't recall. He wasn't the one I melted, if that's what you're asking.”

“Could he have gotten away?” Shiara asked.

Morwen glanced at the King. “If you will allow me, I can find out fairly quickly.” Father nodded, and Morwen made a chuckling sort of sound. Two of the cats poked their heads around the corner of the door frame.

“Daystar wants to know what's become of one of the wizards,” Morwen said to the cats. “The one named Antorell.”

The cats looked at each other, and one of them twitched its tail. The other one looked back at Morwen and said, “Rroowww!” and they both pulled their heads back out of sight.

“He got away,” Morwen said, turning back to the King. “Scorn says he ducked down the hall while Telemain and I were busy with the rest of them.”

Father frowned. “I'd better find him before he causes any more trouble.” He looked back at Morwen. “The brown room, I think you said?”

Morwen nodded, and Father waved his hand. Morwen and Telemain disappeared. Father raised his hand to make another gesture, then paused and looked at Shiara and me. “I suppose you want to come, too?”

“Yes, we do. That is, if it isn't going to cause problems,” I said.

I hadn't quite finished my sentence when the castle dissolved into mist around us. The mist cleared immediately, and we were standing on springy green moss with the trees of the Enchanted Forest all around us. At first I thought Father had taken us to a place a long way from the castle, but then I saw dragons and elves among the trees. I looked back over my shoulder, and there was the castle right behind us.

Shiara looked around. “Hey, where did all the trees come from?”

“They came from the wizards' magic,” Father said. “When Daystar released the magic they had stored in their staffs, it went back into the forest, and things got back to normal in a hurry.”

“When Daystar did
what?
”

“It was part of the sword and the fire and the brazier,” I said hastily. “I think you were busy ducking.”

“Oh,” said Shiara.

By that time the dragons and elves had seen us, and everyone started cheering and bowing. In the middle of the cheering, one of the elves came over and bowed deeply. “It is good to see Your Majesty again,” he said.

“It is good to be here again, Willin,” the King replied. “How goes the battle?”

“I believe the dragons are the proper persons to provide that information,” the elf said, sounding more and more pompous with every word. “If Your Majesty will wait here, I will arrange—”

“Mendanbar!” shouted one of the dragons. “So it worked!” As she made her way through the crowd toward us, the elf frowned ferociously.

“Your Majesty,” he said in a low tone, “if you would prefer a more formal audience—”

“I haven't time for that, Willin,” said the King. “Besides, I need you inside the castle, not out here. Someone has to look the place over, and arrange dinner for all these people, and see about getting some of the housekeeping staff back.”

“Yes, yes, of course! At once, Your Majesty!” Willin bustled away, looking much happier now that he had a suitable job.

“How's the battle?” the King asked again as the dragon reached us.

“Quite finished,” the dragon said. “There are a few still out herding prisoners together, but that's about all.”

“Excellent!” the King said, but he was watching the trees out of the corners of his eyes, and there was a tiny crease between his eyebrows. “If King Kazul is about, I would like to speak with her.”

The dragon smiled, and her eyes glittered as if she were enjoying a private joke. “Kazul will be here in a moment.”

Father nodded, managing to look impatient and polite at the same time. Suddenly the cheering got much louder, and then the dragons drew apart and Kazul came through the trees toward us. She was smiling, and she looked very large and green and shining. She was so magnificent that none of us saw the figure with her until they were both quite close to us.

I was the first to notice that Kazul had someone with her. When I saw who it was, I blinked and swallowed hard. “
Mother?
”

“Cimorene!” shouted Father. He took three strides forward and took her in his arms. Kazul smiled and sat back, looking smug.

Mother was laughing and crying at the same time; I'd never seen her do that before. Not ever. I was still staring when Shiara poked me.

“Don't stare,” she whispered when I turned. “It's not polite.”

I looked at Shiara for a minute, and my face got hot. I couldn't really say anything, though, because she was right. I felt very peculiar, but fortunately Mother and the King stopped hugging each other just then and started paying attention to the rest of us.

Father went to talk to Kazul, and Mother came over to us. She gave me a quick hug and said, “Well done, Daystar.”

“Thank you, Mother,” I said. Shiara shifted uncomfortably, and I remembered that I still hadn't introduced her. “Oh, and this is my friend Shiara. She's a fire-witch.”

“I can tell that by looking at her.” Mother smiled at Shiara. “You'll stay with us for a few days, won't you?”

Shiara nodded.

“Good,” Mother said. “Now, if you will excuse me, there are still a few things I have to attend to.”

“Mother,” I said, and she turned. “That wizard, Antorell. He was in the castle, but he got away. I thought you should know.”

“He did not get away!” said a familiar voice behind me. “I caught him myself. Do you want him for anything, or can I eat him?”

We all turned. The little dragon was sitting on the other side of the bridge, holding on to one of Antorell's arms. Antorell's robe was dirty and he didn't have his staff anymore. He looked tattered and very unhappy, and the dragon looked extremely pleased with itself. “Well?” it said. “Can I eat him?”

I looked at Mother, and she shook her head.

“I don't think you should eat him,” I said to the dragon. “The King talked to all the other wizards, and he'll probably want to talk to this one, too.”

“Well, I want him back when the King gets finished with him,” the little dragon said. “I caught him, and I'm going to eat him.”

“He'll probably give you a stomachache,” Shiara said.

I stopped listening to the conversation, because Antorell had straightened and was glaring past me, at Mother. He looked more powerful, somehow, but no one else seemed to have noticed anything unusual. I glanced uneasily over my shoulder and saw Father still talking to Kazul. I looked back, wondering whether I really had anything to worry about. Without his staff, all Antorell had were his extra spells, and he'd probably used them up in the battle. At least, I hoped he had.

Shiara and the dragon were still arguing. Suddenly, Antorell twisted and made a throwing motion with his left hand. The dragon shrieked in pain and let go of him, and he ran toward the bridge, waving his hands and shouting. I felt a sudden, intense surge of magic around him, and an instant later a demon appeared.

It materialized right in front of us, all purple scales and orange claws and silver-green teeth. Antorell shouted again, in a language I didn't understand, and pointed at Mother. The demon nodded, and one arm darted out.

I grabbed something I couldn't see out of the air in front of me and pulled. The demon vanished, and Antorell cried out in surprise. I yanked at the something again and sent Antorell along with the demon. After what he'd been trying to do, I didn't care whether the King wanted to talk to him or not. Then I saw that the little dragon was turning pink around the edges again. I let go of whatever it was, grabbed a different one, and twisted. The dragon gave a surprised-sounding squeak and turned green again, all at once.

I dropped the piece of nothing I'd been holding and turned. Mother was shaking her head. “That was a bit extreme, Daystar,” she said, but her expression was proud.

“Daystar, what on earth did you . . . I mean, how did you . . .” Shiara gave up and just stared at me.

“I don't know,” I said. I was at least as surprised as she was. “I'm not even sure what I did.”

“What happened?” the little dragon asked. It looked around suspiciously. “Is that wizard dead?”

“No, but he probably wishes he were,” Mother said. “Demons do not like surprise visitors.”

“Oh, is
that
what Daystar did with him?” said Father's voice from behind me. “I wondered.”

I jumped and turned around to see the King and Kazul standing there. The King was looking at Mother; Kazul was looking at the little dragon.

“Where have you been?” Kazul asked in a resigned voice.

“I've been catching wizards!” the little dragon said proudly. “Well, one of them, anyway. He threw dragonsbane at me again and called a demon and Daystar got rid of both of them. I didn't even get to eat him,” the dragon finished sadly.

“I see,” Kazul said, shaking her head. “I think you'd better spend the rest of the day with me. It may, just possibly, keep you out of trouble.”

“I don't understand!” Shiara burst out. “How could Antorell do any magic without his staff? And how could Daystar do any magic at all? And what did Antorell have to do with the sword and everything?”

The King smiled at Mother, then looked at Shiara and me. “As long as things seem to be quiet out here, why don't we go inside? That way, we can be comfortable while I explain.”

Shiara and I nodded. Father waved his hand, and the Enchanted Forest dissolved into mist around us.

W
E APPEARED
in one of the rooms inside the castle, a small, cozy-looking place with lots of bookshelves. It was just as dusty as all the other rooms Shiara and I had been through, but when Father waved, all the dust vanished. Mother muttered something about instant cleaning being no excuse for letting things get into such a state, and we all sat down. The King looked at us.

“I believe this should begin with you, Cimorene,” he said. Mother looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded and began.

Apparently, Mother really
was
a princess. She was the youngest daughter of the ruler of a very large kingdom on the other side of the Mountains of Morning, and she'd thought it was boring. So she ran away and became Kazul's princess.