DragonQuest (32 page)

         
57
         

T
EST OF
F
IRE

Kale didn’t ask where the dragon saddles came from. She knew Cam and her mother were capable of fabricating what was needed out of what was there. While the two master wizards got ready, Kale spent the time apologizing to Celisse.

“I should have known you would not abandon me. I know now the desertion had to appear genuine so that no suspicion of a deception would get back to Risto, but I should have listened to the doubt in my heart and believed in you instead of what I saw.”

Soon Wizard Cam, Lady Allerion, and Kale set off on dragons, heading for the very center of Risto’s camp.

Where are we going?
Kale asked Wizard Cam.

“To Risto’s doorstep.”

Why?

“To stop him. Once he’s out of the picture, his army will disintegrate. In the long run, we will save many lives.”

She took a deep, calming breath and surveyed the land beneath them. The grawligs, ropmas, and schoergs had indeed deserted. Tracks in the snow all headed toward the Morchain Range. To the south, the two forces battled fiercely. Kale thought she saw Paladin’s distinctive black dragon on the front line of warriors in the air. Their army was successfully pushing back the bisonbecks.

With Cam in the lead, the dragons began their descent. They landed in a crowded area, knocking down tents and laundry lines, regiment banners, and a weather sock as they tried to squeeze into the pathways of the enemy encampment.

Cam and Lyll slid from their mounts and charged toward the largest, most elaborate tent. Kale jumped to the ground, pulled her sword, and followed. She burst through the doorway and skidded to a stop right behind her mother.

Risto stood on a raised platform where a table littered with maps dominated the room. The wizard’s dark hair brushed the shoulders of his well-tailored coat. His lean and muscular body tensed as he spied the visitors, but no alarm registered in his clear blue eyes. His lips curved in a smile that sent chills down Kale’s spine. She had noted once before that Risto’s face uncannily resembled Paladin’s. But the evil wizard’s sly expression annihilated the similarities.

Seated across from Wizard Risto was the woman Kale had referred to as Mother Number One.

Mother Number Two spoke. “I believe you’ve met Risto before, Kale. But let me formally introduce his companion. This is Burner Stox.”

Burner rose with a cunning smile on her lips and coldness in her eyes. “I’m so pleased to see you here.”

Kale sidled closer to the Lyll Allerion she claimed as her real mother. Burner Stox made her skin crawl.

Risto laughed. “With all your artfulness, Lyll, Cam”—he nodded at each wizard—“you still managed to play right into my hands. You see, all this”—he waved his hand over the battle plans and gestured toward the surrounding countryside—“was contrived for the sole purpose of bringing the Dragon Keeper to us. How nice to also have two annoying wizards delivered at the same time. I must admit that I’m disappointed Fenworth and the meech dragons aren’t here as well. But it’s only a matter of time before they, too, fall into my hands.”

He gave Burner Stox a wink and a sardonic grin. “Shall we, my dear?”

She nodded, and both turned evil glares upon their company.

A fire burst around Cam and Lyll. Cam merely raised his arms, and a torrent of water cascaded over the flames. He moved to stand directly in front of Risto while Lyll approached Burner in an agile, catlike prowl.

Burner sneered. “We wanted you, Lyll Allerion, and Risto’s brilliant plan worked. Once rid of Paladin’s elite inner circle, we can easily control Amara.”

“Where is Crim Cropper in all this, Burner?” asked Lyll. “Surely your husband should be here for this triumph.”

Burner’s twisted smile deepened. “He’s playing scientist in a southern region. He doesn’t care for ‘field work.’ He’ll be grateful enough when I bring him more specimens for his experiments.”

Kale’s head swiveled back and forth as she watched the male wizards fight. Bolts of lightning, balls of fire, whirlwinds, hornets’ nests, and anything else the combatants captured from nature hurled across the small space between them. The female wizards tossed words back and forth and edged closer to each other. That in itself unnerved Kale.

Instinct told her that Burner Stox must not lay a finger on her mother. She edged around the side of the tent. When she managed to get to a flank position, she screeched out a warning.

“There’s two Ristos and two Burner Stoxes. You’re looking at a reflection. The real Risto—” She didn’t get to finish.

Simultaneously, Risto and Burner Stox grabbed their opponents. Cam and Lyll stiffened. The color drained from their flesh and clothing. When the evil wizards withdrew their hands, only statues remained.

Kale screamed.

Risto turned to her. “Dealing with you should be a lot simpler. But first I want my troops to see I have you in my power. It should do wonders for their morale.”

Kale raised her small sword, only to have it jump from her hand at Risto’s command.

He grabbed her by the arm. “Burner, keep that dragon of hers from following us.”

He dragged Kale out of the tent. Celisse let out a cry, and her huge head swung toward them. A light flashed, and Celisse wailed. Again the dragon stretched out her neck to intercept Risto’s departure. The light flashed, and Celisse fell.

Kale kicked at her captor, to no avail. Once on the back of a dragon and in the air, she dared not pull away from him. But she vowed she would flee at the first opportunity.

They landed on a hillside overlooking a heated battle of ground troops. Burner Stox followed. When she dismounted, she took hold of Kale’s arms in a viselike grip.

From the vantage point of the hill, Risto shouted encouragement to his men, pointing out the capture of the Dragon Keeper. He muttered spells, and his men fought with renewed vigor. He leveled his evil eye at a line of marione warriors, and they collapsed, to be slain by the brutal bisonbecks.

“No, no!” cried Kale.
Oh, where is Paladin? What is it I should do?

“You? Ha!” Risto smiled in her direction, and she stiffened. “You can do nothing. You’re an apprentice wizard. What resistance can you muster? You’re untrained and have gained no power since we last met, especially under the tutelage of a decrepit old has-been like Fenworth! What could you learn from a wizard who’s more often a tree stump than a man?”

“I’ve never liked him, Thorp.” Fenworth stood on the hill behind them, staff in his hand, leaves clinging to his clothing, Thorpendipity on his shoulder, and a mouse climbing up his sleeve.

Risto laughed, sinking onto a boulder and leaning back as if Fenworth offered not a threat but only a great deal of amusement.

Burner’s harsh laugh rent the air in a series of hard-edged slashes. “May we offer you refreshment, old man? A cup of tea? A daggart?”

Fenworth turned a baleful glare on her. “Silence!” he commanded. Burner Stox stopped, gasped, and disappeared. A smell of sulfur lingered in the air.

Kale gasped. “Is she dead?”

“No,” said Fenworth with a grimace. “Just silent. In a room full of quacking ducks. She won’t like that.”

Risto bellowed. “You’re a fool. More of a clown than a wizard.”

Fenworth shook his head. “Now, Risto, just because I prefer not to be nasty about things.”

Rage transformed the evil wizard’s countenance, and Kale shrank from his fury. She collapsed on the ground, clenching her hands into fists. She wanted to disappear to a place of safety, as Burner had, but knew there just might be a chance for her to help.

Risto thinks I’m no threat. He doesn’t even remember I’m here. That’s good. Perhaps that will give me an opening.

Risto sprang to his feet at the same time the top of Fenworth’s staff burst into flame. Thorpendipity squawked and flew to perch in the bare limbs of a tree. Wizard Fenworth stormed across the space between him and the evil wizard. The old man threw his arms around the younger wizard, gripping him with sinewy arms.

“I know you think I am too old to be any real danger to you, Risto. But you have not considered this—I would rather die with you than let you live.”

Risto struggled, knocking the staff from Fenworth’s hand. Fenworth’s arms wrapped around the younger wizard in a grip that proved hard to break. Kale bounced to her feet and raced forward to snatch up the crooked branch that served as Fenworth’s walking stick.

As soon as she lifted it from the snow, the flame flared from the top of the staff. Instead of surging upward, it spurted out toward the heads of both wizards and cascaded down to engulf Risto and Fenworth. Kale shrieked and tried to drop the staff, but her fingers would not release the old wood.

Risto writhed within the blaze, and Fenworth released him, stepping back. But the inferno still clung to the old man’s clothing. The fire consumed Risto but danced around Fenworth.

Kale shook her hand and threw the staff down on the ground, then raised her arms to cover her eyes. She heard Risto’s piercing scream. The heat from the ball of fire grew, snapping and crackling. She stumbled backward and fell, then peeked over her arm and saw Fenworth reach out his hand. The staff leapt from the ground to his outstretched fingers. In another moment, Fenworth was gone. His staff stood for a second and then toppled.

Risto fell as the flames gathered into a tight ball around him. The sphere of flames dwindled until only a small flicker at the end of the fallen staff remained.

Sobbing, Kale ran to snatch up the unburned rod. The fire went out as soon as her fingers wrapped around the wood.

Holding all that was left of the old wizard, she looked around for help. A short distance away, men continued to battle.

Her knees buckled. She sat on the trampled snow, rocking the staff in her arms and sobbing.

“The trick is to pop inside the safety of the rod at the last possible moment.” Fenworth’s voice broke through her lament.

She looked at the staff in her hands. It thickened and grew heavier. She rested the end on the ground, and it bent in two places while she cradled the top in her arms.

“Can’t believe I’m stuck. No, I’ll just rest a moment and try again.” The voice came from the swelling stick.

She giggled and wiped tears from her eyes. She heard the staff take a deep breath, felt it expand, and watched as it turned into a familiar treelike figure.

“Metta, Gymn, Ardeo, Dibl, come out,” Kale called. The minor dragons cautiously crept out of the cape. “Help Fenworth.”

Gymn, Metta, and Dibl sat in Fenworth’s branches. Ardeo nestled on Kale’s shoulder, glowing faintly in the muted light of an overcast winter day. Metta sang softly. Gymn wrapped himself around what might be an old man’s arm. The tree lost its wooden stiffness and grew warm as Fenworth reclaimed his body. He sat beside her on the cold, wet ground with his upper body and head resting in her lap.

He opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Ah, sweet girl, I think I shall retire. I wouldn’t want this to be known, but I believe I may be getting too old for this adventuring business.”

He looked around. “Where are Cam and Lyll?”

“At present they are statues in Risto’s headquarters.”

“Tut-tut. Oh dear, I shall have to put off retiring for a day or two, I see. We’ve a few problems to take care of.”

“You can take care of them, Wizard Fenworth,” she said, giving him a hug. “You are a great and powerful wizard.”

“Oh dear, tut-tut, I must get around to giving you a few more lessons before I retire. First, hugging wizards is not at all the thing to do. Second, I am not a great and powerful wizard. There is no strength in that. I am a devoted and trustworthy servant, as you shall be someday.”

         
58
         

W
HERE
I
S
H
OME?

Wizard Cam had no servants at his castle, so they all made dinner, served it, and washed up. Taylaminkadot fussed about people who didn’t know their place. She would’ve done all the work if the others had let her. When she learned the extra guest for the meal was Paladin, she threw her apron over her head and sat in the corner until Librettowit coaxed her out.

Kale moved sluggishly with Gymn draped around her shoulders like a scarf. They had spent most of two days giving aid to wounded soldiers, most of whom were marione farmers who had valiantly traveled the distance to meet evil head-on. All who were able helped the wounded. Of course, Kale and Gymn were greatly needed. They treated the wounds of injured dragons as well. The dragons sometimes embarrassed her with their obvious adoration and their pleas for forgiveness.

“Just do what’s right from now on,” she said over and over. “You need to deal with Wulder. Show Him you’re sorry by doing right by your families.”

She returned to the wizard’s lake castle with a sigh of relief.

They sat around a plank table in the castle’s kitchen. A fire blazed in the hearth, fish jumped in the stream flowing through the room, and Dar had placed mugs of hot mallow on a tray with plenty of daggarts.

He leaned back in his chair, pulled out his harmonica, and provided restful music for their digestion.

“You’ve done well,” said Paladin as he looked around the company of his servants. Candlelight highlighted the reddish tints in his dark brown hair. His smile eased the hardness of his strong features. Kale felt the friendly warmth of his gaze and knew this important man actually liked her.

He set his mug down on the table and addressed those relaxing around the room. “What do you wish to do now that the threat to Amara has been crushed?”

“I want to go home,” said Librettowit. “The shelves will need dusting. And the books I bought in Prushing will have arrived by now.”

Paladin nodded. “Wizard Fenworth, Librettowit, Kale, her dragons, Taylaminkadot, Toopka, and Regidor shall go back to Bedderman’s Bog.”

He smiled at Kale. “I’ve seen that Bardon has shown you how to defend yourself. I suspect you both learned from Regidor as well. You must concentrate on your skills as a wizard now.”

Wizard Fenworth twitched, sending a scurry of beetles out of one sleeve. “I’m retired, you know.”

“Yes, I had heard that. Who will teach wizardry skills to Kale and Regidor?”

Cam raised a finger. “I’m not overly occupied at present.”

Paladin winked at the wizard. “Do you wish to stay in your castle or at Fenworth’s?”

“Here now!” exclaimed Fen. “Pesky cousin. A distant cousin. Ninth cousin, twenty-two times removed, at least. He hasn’t been invited.”

“Yes,” said Paladin in a reasonable tone, “but if he were there to handle the small things that come up, you could enjoy your retirement more fully.”

Fenworth harrumphed but did not voice any further objections.

Cam smiled at his cousin. “I’ll spend some time with Fenworth in The Bogs. I’m sure he’d miss the hubbub if he found himself alone with only Librettowit and Thorpendipity. But I will take the students on field trips. Nothing like on-the-spot instruction.”

Paladin nodded and raised an eyebrow in Regidor’s direction. “I haven’t forgotten Gilda.”

Regidor’s hand dropped to cover a spot on the side of his robe. “She’s safe.”

Paladin’s eyebrow rose a notch. “Do you mean she’s safe to be around, or she’s safe from harm in your pocket?”

Regidor’s thin lips puckered. He looked Paladin in the eye. “I would like to be responsible for her. She bonded to Risto, and now Risto is dead. I feel I can help her.”

“So be it,” Paladin said and turned to address Kale’s mother. “Lady Allerion?”

“I should like to travel. I didn’t really enjoy being restricted to that dungeon. And I might just uncover a way to free Kemry.” She laid a hand on Fenworth’s arm. “I do hope you will allow me to visit often, Fen. I would like to get to know my daughter.”

Fenworth arched an eyebrow at her but did not answer.

“Thank you.” Lyll leaned forward and kissed the old man’s brow as if he had graciously invited her to come at any time.

“Harrumph! Seems I neglected that lesson for you as well. Your daughter hugs me. You kiss me. Not at all the thing. Wizards must be held in great respect. Unapproachable. Awe-inspiring.”

A mouse slid out from under his hat and scrambled down his sleeve, across his lap, and down to the floor.

“Nothing,” said Fenworth, “should detract from a wizard’s dignity.”

Paladin stroked his chin with his long fingers as he nodded solemnly. “I couldn’t agree more, Wizard Fenworth.”

He turned to the warriors. “Lee Ark and Lord Brunstetter, where do you wish to go?”

“Home,” they said in unison.

“So be it.” Paladin’s eyes held sympathy. “Dar?”

The doneel took the harmonica from his mouth long enough to answer. “Home, Wittoom.”

“And Bardon?”

Kale held her breath and looked down at the daggart in her hand. Where could Bardon go? He didn’t answer, and she peeked across the table in time to see him shrug.

Paladin drummed his fingers on the table for a moment before he spoke. “I think you’ve learned what Grand Ebeck wanted you to know when he sent you from The Hall. Are you ready to begin training as a knight?”

Bardon jerked up straight in his chair. “Yes sir.” He bit his lips and blinked. Kale saw his hand move as if to reach up and pull the locks covering his ears, but he stilled the movement.

Was he supposed to learn something about his mother and father as I have? Was he supposed to learn to accept his roots? Because if he was, I don’t think he did!

Bardon sat a little straighter. Kale watched the familiar resolve sharpen the contours of his jaw.

“Sir, I don’t know what it was that Grand Ebeck expected me to learn.”

Paladin smiled the slow, relaxed smile that somehow made Kale trust him and his wisdom. “I’m not surprised. Often the lessons in life that are the most meaningful are the hardest for us to sort out. Wulder blessed you with a great potential. He used your parents to gift you with unique traits. Grand Ebeck saw those inherent talents bound by your rigid adherence to rules. He threw you out of the austere environment of The Hall so that you would have a chance to become more flexible.”

Paladin swung his arm around, his sweeping gesture indicating the members of the quest sitting around the stone kitchen. “In the company of this motley crew, how could you help but unbend a little?”

Kale grinned as Librettowit and Fenworth harrumphed, Dar and Cam chortled, and Toopka laughed out loud.

Bardon’s lips spread into a smile, and his body relaxed. “So I was to learn to be more yielding before I entered a discipline that is unyielding?”

Paladin clapped him on the shoulder. “Precisely! You must learn to be malleable before you’re formed into an instrument of justice. Otherwise you wield a sword with no mercy, no discernment.”

Bardon nodded thoughtfully, then glanced at Kale and winked.

You have changed, Bardon!

“And I intend to change even more. In three years I will be a knight, Kale. And if our paths do not cross again until then, I promise I will seek you out so you can marvel at the Snitch.”

Kale gasped, and then smiled. He knew the name they had all called him back at The Hall.

Paladin nodded as if he understood their exchange. “You will need something I believe our venerable Wizard Fenworth has been keeping for you.” He stretched out his open palm to the old man as if he expected Fen to hand over the object.

“Oh dear, tut-tut. Where did I put that? Tut-tut, oh dear.” The wizard sat up straight and began patting his beard and robes. Tiny creatures skittered in all directions. The minor dragons jumped on the scampering feast of bugs, ignoring lizards, birds, and rodents as they escaped.

Wizard Fenworth’s hand dug into a fold of his robe. “Aha!” He pulled out a closed fist, turned it over, and slowly uncurled his fingers. A tiny sword lay across his palm.

Bardon stood, and so did Amara’s leader.

Paladin picked it up between his thumb and forefinger.

“Fen, you constantly amaze me. I believe this would be more useful to our future knight in different proportions.”

The sword shimmered and grew at a steady, unhurried rate until the hilt became a size Paladin could wrap his hand around. The silent audience watched the shining blade stretch out to a gleaming point.

Paladin swished the sword through the air, testing its balance. “A finely crafted weapon.” He deftly reversed the blade and offered it to Bardon. The young man took it without a word.

Kale thought she would burst with pride for her friend. She started to enter his thoughts and congratulate him, but the look on his face stopped her. This moment was too important to Bardon for her to intrude upon.

Paladin laid his hand on the stunned lehman’s shoulder. “You shall go with Dar to Wittoom. Sir Dar will train you.”

Kale’s mouth dropped open, and her head whipped around to find the doneel relaxing in a chair with his legs draped over the arms. She slammed her fists against her hips. “You really are a knight?”

Dar ran his mouth over the harmonica, making a loud scale of notes trill through the cavernous kitchen.

He winked at her and grinned, his face splitting almost in two. “Yes, dear Kale, but only a very little one.”