No Place for Magic (5 page)

"Eadric," I whispered. He dipped his hands in the water offered by a little boy with damp hair and a missing front tooth.

"Eadric," I said a little more loudly while he dried his hands and eyed a roasted goose on the platter closest to his plate.

"Eadric!" I said again, jabbing him with my elbow as inconspicuously as I could when he leaned across me to reach for the bread.

"What?" he said, nearly dropping,it.

"I think they want you to say something," I whispered, nodding toward the townspeople.

"Hmm?" Eadric's mouth was already full. He looked up and saw everyone watching him. Swallowing hastily, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stood. "Good folk of Chancewold, it is wonderful to be back in Upper Montevista among my own people. It is even better that you invited my beloved, Princess Emeralda of Greater Greensward, and myself to eat with you tonight. Thank you for offering us your gracious hospitality and all of this marvelous food. Now, since I'm sure you are all hungry, and I know I am, let's dispense with any more formality and enjoy this delightful meal!"

While Eadric spoke, the townspeople smiled and nodded, studying me with interest when he called me his beloved and laughing when he said that he was hungry, as if indulging a favorite son or nephew. Apparently, Eadric's habits were as well known in Chancewold as they'd become at my castle.

The meal was a feast with roast poultry and game, a full side of beef, and a stew made of fish cut into chunks in a peppery sauce. Even the vegetables were hotter than I was used to, but only a few things were so spicy that I couldn't eat them.

Eadric, however, ate everything, no matter how hot. He smacked his lips and groaned with pleasure more than once, although he did reach for his flagon of ale to wash down each bite of the fish. We were nearly through the meal when five young couples dressed in brightly colored clothes filed into the center of the square and a musician strummed his first note. A drum and a pipe soon joined in as the couples began to dance. Having nearly eaten his fill, Eadric looked up to watch the dancers whirl past.

"That's marvelous!" I said as a male dancer tossed his partner into the air and caught her.

"It's a traditional folk dance," said Eadric. "Every movement, every color, every note has a special meaning."

"So tell me, what do they mean?" I asked.

Eadric shrugged. "Don't ask me. I never can remember all that stuff."

"They certainly seem to like you here," I said as yet another maiden flashed him a very warm smile.

Eadric shrugged again. "I killed a dragon for them when it came down out of the mountains to eat the farmers' cattle."

"A dragon!" I said, horrified. We'd come to know quite a few dragons, some of whom had become very close friends.

Eadric patted my hand. "That was before I knew how to talk to them. Before I knew any personally."

"You wouldn't kill one now, would you?" I asked, shivering.

"Of course not," he said, giving me a half smile. "I'd have you talk to him until he flew away."

The dancing wasn't the only entertainment we had that night. After the young couples left the square, a score of older men and women took their places and engaged in a contest of high-pitched warbling that they said was the way mountain folk talked to their neighbors. When an older man with a barrel chest won the contest, a tiny redheaded woman came out to demonstrate local birdcalls. She started with a few songbirds, then moved on to the calls of bigger birds such as the eagle, the phoenix, and the roc, the biggest bird of all. Each time she paused to take a breath between roc screeches, we could hear horses screaming in terror just outside the town square. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who was relieved when she sat down.

The tables had been cleared, the last of the ale poured when a maiden with silvery braids (and probably more than a little fairy blood) approached our table and flashed a smug grin at me, then gave Eadric a saucy wink. "When you were here before, Prince Eadric, we had a different sort of contest," she said. "My friends and I were wondering if you'd like to do it again."

"Yes," called a maiden from one of the tables. "Let's have another kissing contest!"

Eadric turned a deep red and his eyes flicked nervously toward me. "I don't think that's such a good idea," he said, and then he very pointedly gazed up at the stars. "Look at that—it's gotten very late. I think it's time we go to our tents. You wanted an early start in the morning, didn't you, Emma?"

"Of course," I said, and then I turned to the girl leaning against the table. "Prince Eadric doesn't need a contest. He already knows who the best kisser is."

"I do indeed," he said, sounding relieved. Taking my hand, he leaned toward me for a kiss. It wasn't long, but it was warm and tender.

The silver-haired girl turned on her heel and flounced off to her seat while the other maidens glared at me.

When Eadric had eaten his last bite and taken his last sip, Broadnik said, "We'll escort you to your tents. Your men have pitched them farther away from the river in a level spot nestled between the hills. We'll have to pass a bend in the river to get to it, so stay close together. It isn't safe by the river at night." Clearing his throat, he glanced at the men seated nearby before turning back to Eadric. "That's something we wanted to talk to you about, but we wanted you to have the chance to enjoy your dinner first. We've been having a problem with sea monsters the last year or so. It's why we built the wall. We were hoping you might be able to help us."

Eadric stood and patted Ferdy, whom he rarely took off anymore. "Don't worry," he said. "A sea monster that could make it this far upriver won't be any problem for my singing sword."

"You have a singing sword?" asked the boy who was missing a tooth. "Can I see it?"

While an admiring crowd of men and boys gathered around Eadric and Ferdy to escort them to the river, I was left to follow with my ladies-in-waiting. Some of the local maidens stayed behind to help clear the square; the rest tagged along as we filed through the streets. From the venomous glances they gave me, I was sure they were hoping that I'd trip and fall into the river headfirst, leaving Eadric available again.

Although enough townsfolk carried torches to fend off the darkness, they couldn't block the night's sounds as we entered the rugged terrain surrounding the town. Unseen birds called warnings at our approach, and deep-throated insects thrummed in the rocks nearby. A howling in the distance was plaintive, with an oddly human quality. Eadric had told me that werewolves plagued his kingdom off and on; they must have come back.

As we passed the end of the wall and drew closer to the river, the rushing water nearly drowned out the cries of the birds, and I could smell the pungent odor of freshwater and dead fish. The women from town who had gone this far left us, some of the torch-bearing men hurrying them back. The rest of the men became more vigilant, breaking off their conversation with Eadric to study the river. I noticed that the men around me were armed with pitchforks and stout sticks, as if they could be of any use against a sea monster.

"The river looks so peaceful," I said to the young man closest to me.

"It looks peaceful because it's deep," he said, holding his torch high. "This is the Yaloo River. Its headwaters are in the mountains north of here. By the time it gets this far, it's very deep and stays that way as far as the sea. You wouldn't believe what we've seen in these waters this past year. Some monsters have started going upriver to spawn, but the real horrors are the ones that come here to eat them. We used to enjoy walking by the river, but now it isn't safe for man nor b—"

Something enormous splashed in the middle of the river, sending wavelets over the bank almost to our feet. Torches were held higher, their light reflecting off the water where ripples continued to arrow in our direction. Whatever was out there was coming our way. Their swords drawn, my knights ran to join Eadric on the riverbank.

"Get back, Your Highness!" said the young man as others hustled me behind an outcropping of rock. I could hear the cries of the ladies-in-waiting as they huddled together close by. The men hovered around me for a moment, but when one of the villagers near the water called out, they ran back to join their companions, shouting, "Stay there!" to me and taking their torches with them. I tried to follow them, only to have the one man who had been left to guard me block my way. Retracing my steps, I strained to hear what was going on while trying to think of how I could help without it being obvious that I was using magic.

I heard running feet, the slap of something large and wet on stone, a man crying out, then Ferdy's familiar voice. "Slash, hack, chop and whack . . .," he sang, which meant that Eadric was fighting the sea monster.

Hiking up the hem of my gown, I was trying to climb the rock to see if I could help when there was a high-pitched keening and the rush of wings, and something hit me in the chest, knocking me back the few feet I had climbed. I landed on the ground with an
Oof!
then struggled to sit up, realizing when I couldn't that something heavy was weighing me down and had started to lick my face. My hands met scales when I tried to push it off.

"Emma," said the voice of an adolescent dragon, "I've been looking all over for you. See what I won!"

I rubbed my eyes and tried to see my assailant in the near dark. From the sound of his voice I knew it was my friend Ralf, but I couldn't make out what he was doing. "Ralfie," I said, "you shouldn't be here!"

Ralf backed out of the shadow of the rock and into the moonlight. "I had to come, Emma. I've been looking all over for you and then I heard you were here and I had to show you my award! See," he said, using his claws to hold up a ribbon that dangled from his neck. Some sort of oddly shaped stone hung suspended from the ribbon, twirling in the dim light.

"How did you win it?" I asked, peering at the stone.

"I graduated from dragon geography class with top honors," he said. "We're going to have a big feast to celebrate, and my parents and I want you to come. It's tomorrow night and . . ."

The sea monster roared and it must have been fairly close, because water splattered down on us from above, drenching us both. Then the sound receded as if the monster were moving off.

"Thank you for inviting me, Ralf, but you shouldn't be here. If those men see you, you'll be in big trouble. Please go back to your parents' cave. I'll come see you as soon as I get home."

"But Emma," Ralf whined, thrashing his tail. "I really want you to come! It won't be the same unless . . ."

"Over here!" someone shouted. "It's a dragon!" I glanced up to see the man who had been guarding me standing only a few yards away, hefting a pitchfork in his hand.

"Ralf," I whispered, "please go!"

"That man has a poky thing, Emma!" said Ralf. "I can't go; he might hurt you! Where's Eadric? Why isn't he here to keep you safe?"

"That man isn't going to hurt me, Ralf, but he will hurt you if you don't go! Please, Ralf, just. . ."

"Back away from it, Your Highness!" shouted the man. "Even the small ones are deadly." Other men had begun to gather behind him, including some of my knights.

Ralf began taking deep breaths to stoke the fire in his belly. He had only recently begun eating gunga beans and hot flami-peppers to get his fire going. Although his flame was feeble compared with what it would be someday, it was enough to injure someone. I didn't have any choice. If I didn't use my magic, someone was bound to get hurt.

The man with the pitchfork was edging around Ralf, with the little dragon turning to face him. "Prince Eadric!" called the townsman. "Here's another dragon for you to kill!"

Eadric shouted, but I couldn't make out his words. It was Ferdy's voice that rang out loud and true above the noise around me.

Take that, you monster from the deep!

It's time for your eternal sleep.

With one more slice and one more whack

I'll see that you cannot come back!

I shrieked and froze where I was, pretending to be frightened. Holding my hand over my mouth as if I were terrified, I whispered the beginning of a spell.

Hide this dragon-scale and claw,

Tooth and fiery breath

The sea monster roared, and a huge chunk of bloody flesh flew over the boulder and slammed into my legs, sending me sprawling. The rest of the spell I was about to say flew out of my head.

Ralf had built up a good flame. Nearly five feet long, it kept the men from getting too close. Unfortunately, maintaining such a big flame while dodging the jabbing pitchfork made him a little light-headed and confused. By the time I was able to sit up and saw that Ralf had began to fade from sight, he was whimpering and his flame was sputtering.

"That dragon's wearing a magic charm!" shouted another townsman when Ralf had nearly faded away. "Look, he's disappearing!"

"Get him before he's gone altogether!" yelled another voice.

I groaned when I saw that the incomplete spell hadn't been enough. Only parts of the little dragon had disappeared. Everything covered with scales had faded away, which meant that his body, wings, tail and head were gone. His claws were gone, too, as were his teeth and the last of his flame. Unfortunately, his eyes were still visible, as were the pads of his feet and the tip of his nose. His award still dangled from his invisible neck, and when he ran toward me, I could see his damp footprints in the torchlight.

"Ralf," I said under my breath. "Go home!"

"Not until I know you're safe," he told me.

The men rushed me, pushing me away from Ralf so they could form a circle around him. Happy that I'd been forgotten once again, I took the opportunity to whisper a new spell.

Murky fog, come to this place.

Of this dragon leave no trace.

Neither print nor sound nor scale.

Of this dragon leave no trail.

A thick fog rolled in off the river, enveloping everyone and everything. It was a strangely silent fog, absorbing all the sounds Ralf made and some of the men's as well. While the men floundered around, trying to find Ralf without hurting each other, I backed away and called his name. A moment later, the little dragon bumped into me. Nudging me with his nose, he pushed me away from the men. When we had gone far enough that they couldn't hear us, I bent down and wrapped my arms around Ralf's neck.