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  Regidor joined in first, followed by Kale. She knew Bardon saw the pattern soon after. But he hesitated, because he didn’t quite believe he could do it.

  It’s like the beat of a drum behind the music, Bardon. Just react to the rhythm.

  He didn’t answer, but soon she felt his energy flowing in time with the others in the group. When Lyll tied off the last strand, the five let out a collective sigh. The feeling of working in harmony dissolved, but Kale felt a sense of satisfaction. She turned to see if Bardon felt the same way.

  His face had taken on the stonelike expression she hated. She almost yelled at him. Can’t you just enjoy something? The question tried to leave her tongue, but she clamped her lips over it.

  “How can that happen?” he demanded. “How can I be part of something like that?”

  “It isn’t such a mystery,” said Wizard Cam. He turned away from Bardon to ask Kale a question. “Do you have the talent of healing?”

  “No, Gymn does.”

  “Yet you assist him when he has need of your help. Your presence boosts his natural talent.”

  “Yes, I think that’s how it works.”

  “And you share in the joy, the satisfaction, after the work is completed, even though it was not your talent that achieved the end?”

  “Yes, and I feel very close to Wulder.”

  Cam nodded and refocused on the stiff lehman. “Bardon, you are to Kale as she is to Gymn in this instance. You sustain her ability. Actually, during this enterprise you supported the four of us. And nourishing the talent is just as valuable as having the talent yourself. When you and Kale fight together, it is she who is bolstering, or one might even say multiplying, your skill and ability.”

  Bardon cast a skeptical glance at Kale. Dibl chose that moment to circle his head, flying around and around Bardon’s crown like a bee deciding to land on a flower. Kale grinned.

  Bardon’s glare hardened, but Dibl plopped down on his head.

  The lehman sighed, his stiff shoulders relaxing. Kale heard his voice in her mind. “It’s difficult to stand on your dignity with a yellow dragon in your hair.”

  Maybe dignity isn’t always important.

  A smile broke Bardon’s grim expression.

  Dar signaled Kale, Bardon, and Regidor to come to him. “I’m going back to talk to Master Meiger and his friends. Cam and Lyll will continue to fortify this gateway so that the dragons can safely pass through. I want you three to go ahead. Scout the lay of the land, the location of the enemy camps, and their strength. Then return. After you report, we should be ready to begin transporting the warriors. If I’m not here waiting for you, Kale, send one of your dragons to locate me.”

  “Yes sir. Dar?”

  “Yes?”

  “Are you really a high lee general as Fenworth said?”

  Dar laughed and shook his head. “No, he was thinking of my father.”

  “Are you an ambassador?”

  “We are all ambassadors, Kale. We represent something to someone every day of our lives.”

  “Come on, Kale.” Regidor tugged at her arm. “We’ve a mission. Let’s go see where the enemy is camped.”

  51

  IN ENEMY TERRITORY

  “That felt different, didn’t it?” Kale said as soon as she passed through the gateway and faced Regidor and Bardon. They stood in a wooded area against a rise of rocks.

  Regidor nodded. “It did. I didn’t feel like the air was squeezed out of my lungs.”

  “I thought maybe I was just getting used to pushing through gateways,” said Bardon. “I didn’t feel the weight and stickiness of the light as I have before.”

  Regidor tilted his head and studied the gateway etched in the boulders. “I suppose it has something to do with the dimensions.”

  Kale took hold of the meech dragon’s sleeve. “No, Regidor! We are not going to stop and analyze the gateway.”

  Bardon chuckled. “She’s right, you know. We have a mission to perform.”

  Kale coaxed the minor dragons out of her cape. “Come on, you can help. Just be careful not to be seen.” Dibl trilled at her. “Very funny, but I don’t think it will work.”

  “What?” asked Regidor.

  “He’s going to pretend to be a bird if any bisonbecks spot him.”

  “This is serious business,” Bardon spoke firmly to the little yellow dragon as he zipped back and forth across the small clearing.

  “It’s useless to reprimand him.” Kale glared. “He knows the situation is dangerous.”

  “I don’t want him to compromise our mission.”

  “Yelling at him won’t change his temperament.”

  “All right,” interrupted Regidor. “The two of you bickering won’t help our attempt to scout the area either.”

  Both Kale and Bardon clenched their teeth and answered, “Right.” Realizing the synchronization of their response, they stared at each other with widened eyes.

  Dibl did two backflips in the air and then buzzed around Bardon’s head. The lehman didn’t even bother to wave him off. He looked at the western horizon. “We have about an hour of sunlight left. Shall we split up and meet back here?”

  “Fine,” said Regidor. “I’ll take this mountainous terrain since I’m the most surefooted.”

  Kale squared her shoulders. She didn’t want her two companions to know how much she disliked the idea of going alone. “I’ll go due north.”

  “And I’ll take the east,” said Bardon. “We’ll travel until sunset and then retrace our steps. There should be moonlight tonight, enough to navigate by. Kale, watch where the moon comes up, and use that to keep your bearings on your return.”

  “I know that.” She signaled the dragons to come and started into the woods before she unintentionally revealed her fears to Bardon.

  “Be careful.” Regidor’s voice gave her a measure of comfort.

  “Don’t do anything foolish.” Bardon’s voice made her jaw ache as she ground her teeth together.

  She carefully guarded her thoughts as she stormed away.

  Why is he so bossy all of a sudden? By now he should know I am at least competent.

  To refocus her mind on the task at hand, Kale planned her next moves. She sent the dragons ahead of her, telling them to look for bisonbecks and grawligs and renegade dragons. Gymn came back first with a report she could hardly believe.

  She veered off to the left and followed him. She smelled wood smoke before they came to a ridge where Gymn urged caution. Lying on her stomach, she inched into a position to peer over the top. Her stomach knotted as she surveyed the wide valley below. Campfires dotted the darkening landscape. Thousands of bisonbeck warriors crowded the eastern side, clearly organized in military units. A river marked a dividing line. On the western banks and all the way to the hills below the Morchain Range, grawligs camped in their typical helter-skelter manner. Kale examined the chaotic scene and located knots of ropmas and schoergs here and there amid the grawlig encampment.

  Gymn grumbled deep in his throat.

  “Yes, I see them,” she answered.

  At the other end of the valley, dragons roved over a hilly landscape.

  Kale gulped. “How many warriors are there? How many dragons? How do we determine where the leaders are?”

  Metta landed on her shoulder. She had come across the same scene and traveled along the top of the ridge to rejoin Kale. Soon Dibl and Ardeo skimmed over the rocks and bushes to land on her as well.

  To the west, the sun dipped below the peaks of the Morchain Range. A blood red streak of clouds announced the end of the day. A grawlig chant rose from the valley, making Kale’s skin crawl. Even though she could not distinguish the words, the beat of the tuneless mantra sounded like a war cry.

  “Well, we’ve got something to report. We might as well go back.”

  Kale pushed herself away from the edge and slid down the slope. Standing, she brushed debris from her cape and trousers.

  This is so much bigger than I im
agined. How can a small, untrained army of farmers stand up to that gigantic army? I hope Wizard Fenworth and Librettowit find Brunstetter and Lee Ark.

  She started back through the woods. Ardeo flew just ahead, lighting the way. Metta, Gymn, and Dibl sat on Kale. Not even Dibl found any humor in the situation.

  Kale’s thoughts were on how to phrase the enormity of what she had seen.

  I’m sure Bardon and Regidor saw the same thing from their positions. I wonder if they went closer to the enemy.

  She tripped over a half-buried, rotten log. As she stumbled a few feet, the underbrush caught at her legs.

  “I don’t remember the forest being this overgrown.”

  She peered upward but could not see the sky. “Well, that eliminates using the moon as a guide.”

  Kale reached with her mind to find Regidor or Bardon, but found her emotions and the nearness of so many of the enemy hampered her ability.

  Or maybe Risto knows we’re here and has done something. The minor dragons found me easily. Maybe they’ll lead me to Regidor or Bardon.

  Kale made the suggestion, and each of the dragons agreed they could find Regidor. When they started off at a southwest angle, Kale got an impression of the meech dragon’s location and breathed a sigh of relief. She didn’t want to spend the night alone and lost in the forest, especially if Risto knew she and the others had infiltrated his territory.

  “No!” She giggled as the minor dragons bombarded her with objections. “Of course I know I’m never alone when I have you around. And remember, Granny Noon said Wulder is always with us too.”

  She trekked confidently through the woods, but still tried to be as silent as she could, hushing Metta when she hummed a marching song. The thought of running into an enemy patrol prompted her caution.

  She heard Regidor speaking before she saw him. She urged the dragons to return to her, and together they crept up on the situation, not knowing to whom the meech dragon could be speaking.

  She hid behind a boulder and peeked at Regidor.

  He sat on the ground with the clay bottle between his knees. Hovering above him, Gilda appeared as a translucent, cloudlike figure. She was dressed in a white, gauzy flowing gown. Her profile showed the squarish nose and jaw like Regidor’s. But all her meech features held finer lines than the male dragon. Kale thought her strikingly beautiful.

  “You say I was born into a bad situation, Regidor.” Gilda’s voice dripped with honey. “How do you know you are not the one being deceived? You and I are meech dragons. We shouldn’t be fighting each other. We have a kindred spirit. I can be your true friend. I can understand you like none of them. Their brotherhood is a pretense.”

  “You’re wrong again. And you’ve pinpointed what makes the ‘brotherhood’ unique. It has nothing to do with being of similar lineage. The quality of relationships among this band is the key, Gilda. I am trusted, respected, and even cherished by those I associate with.”

  “Risto trusts me.”

  “He does?” Regidor shook his head. “He trusts you so much that he put a spell on you. Should you waver in service to him, you become a vapor in a jug. That doesn’t sound like trust to me.”

  “The spell is to protect me from the likes of you.”

  “And what horrible thing am I supposed to do to you?”

  “Destroy me.”

  “Well, if you want to know the truth, I’ve figured out how to do away with you in this form, but I don’t plan on doing it.”

  “You twist things, meech dragon. Come with me to meet Risto.” She hitched a shoulder and looked down on Regidor with an expression of disdain. “You don’t dare see him face to face, do you? You know he could prove you’re wrong.”

  “I know he’s wicked and very clever. I’d rather not deal with him at all.”

  “Aha! You’re afraid.”

  “I’m intelligent, Gilda. Only a fool would throw himself into Risto’s clutches.”

  “I don’t have any more time for this ridiculous discussion. And since you know my weakness, I’ll admit I’m beginning to dissipate. I must return to the bottle.”

  Regidor pulled the cork from the top. Gilda drifted toward the opening.

  “Think of what I’ve said, Regidor. You and I could be an invincible team under Risto. Your friends offer you nothing but hardship ahead.” She detoured from her descent into the bottle to curl around her male counterpart. Her mist draped around his shoulders and slid toward the bottle. The sultry quality of her voice deepened. “Perhaps if we joined forces under Risto, we could one day surpass even him. Perhaps this is the only way for you to defeat him. With me, Regidor. With one of your own kind.” Her cloudlike image condensed and swirled into the bottle. Regidor firmly pushed the cork into the top.

  “You can come out now, Kale,” he said.

  She straightened and walked around the rock. “Hi.”

  “Hi.”

  She waited awkwardly while Regidor stood and tucked the bottle inside his clerical robe.

  “You think I shouldn’t be talking to her,” he said.

  “I didn’t know you could talk to her, so I hadn’t formed an opinion on whether it’s wise or not.”

  “Do you have an opinion now?”

  “I think it’s dangerous for the same reasons you’re reluctant to casually visit Risto.”

  Regidor’s lips twitched into a smile.

  “So you give me my own advice—stay away from evil.”

  “It does sound like a good plan.”

  Regidor shrugged. “Let’s go join Bardon.”

  “Certainly.”

  Kale followed the surefooted dragon over the choppy terrain. The rough rocks provided traction beneath their boots. Slipping resulted from crumbling flint, not from a smooth surface. They reached more even ground, and she allowed herself to think about what she had just seen. Regidor might be tempted to follow Gilda to Risto, just to prove her wrong. Regidor would never succumb to Risto’s convoluted reasoning, but he might be captivated by Gilda’s charms and let down his guard. In the conversation she’d heard between the meech dragons, Regidor didn’t seem particularly antagonistic to Risto’s minion. Kale worried about him being caught in an attractive trap.

  Two of the minor dragons squealed an alarm at the same moment. The other two echoed the cry. Kale whipped her head around to see what had caused their shrieking. She smelled it first, the sickening, rotten smell of a grawlig.

  She pulled her sword.

  Regidor roared. “Behind you, Kale.”

  She heard a swishing sound. Something slammed into the back of her head, jarring her body and buckling her knees. The ground in front of her turned black with tiny bursts of light circling in erratic patterns. A rough hand grabbed her hair. She closed her eyes and managed to utter, “Help!” before total darkness took away all the pain.

  52

  MOTHER’S LOVE

  A tender hand bathed the back of Kale’s aching head with cool water. She lay on her side in a soft bed. The linens smelled fresh. A soft pillow cradled her head.

  “Is she awake yet?” The harsh voice pricked at her memory.

  “I think she’s coming ’round, my lady.” Kale knew she’d never heard those mellow tones before.

  “Then move, you fool.” The first voice clanged in her brain.

  Who is that?

  A swish of fabric and a stirring of the air told Kale that the two women had changed places. Cool fingers touched her brow.

  “Kale, dear.”

  Now she recognized the voice, now that the speaker used a honeyed manner to drench her words. Mother Number One.

  Kale kept her eyes closed.

  “Kale, dear, are you all right? We’ve rescued you from a band of grawligs.”

  Did Regidor escape? Oh no! She’ll listen to my thoughts. Block. Block. Wulder block. Under Your authority. Seeking truth. Wulder protect me. My thoughts belong to me and Wulder. There, that’s it. My thoughts belong to me and Wulder.

  “You are comin
g around, aren’t you, dear? Don’t be afraid. I’ll take care of you.”

  Kale opened her eyes to gaze at the beauty of the perfect face so close to her. Mother Number One definitely outshone Mother Number Two in exquisite elegance. Kale looked into the cold gray eyes and turned her head.

  “Are you in pain, dear Kale? The medicine I put in the water should have eliminated any discomfort.”

  “Where’s Gymn?”

  “Having a resplendent supper. The others are as well. They’re in the cook’s tent. Can you sit up, dear?”

  Kale struggled to rise on her elbow. “My cape?”

  “Really, Kale, I haven’t stolen it. You were filthy when the men brought you to me. You have a fresh gown, and you’re clean. You could say thank you.”

  “Thank you.” The cape wouldn’t be dirty. It sheds dirt. And at The Goose and The Gander, Magistrate Hyd said a moonbeam cape cannot be stolen. Where is it? “Where is it?”

  “Now I know you aren’t well. Fussing over such a petty detail. The cape is in the covers with you.”

  “Why?”

  This impressive and autocratic Lyll Allerion stood abruptly. “Why?” Her voice shrilled. “Because the nasty thing stings anyone who tries to touch it.”

  She turned to the door, her skirts rustling with the swift movement. “I have work to do. Tayla, call me when my daughter is in a better mood.”

  Kale sat up and contemplated the servant. The tumanhofer looked old enough to have children but not old enough to be a grandmother. But a tumanhofer’s age was hard to determine.

  “Could you bring my dragons to me?” Kale asked.

  “Not and live to see tomorrow, Miss Kale.”

  “I want to get dressed. Where are my clothes?”

  “Burned. My lady didn’t like them. She’d have had the cape, too, but as she said we couldn’t get it.”

  “My boots?”

  “Burned as well.”

  So I am without clothes and shoes. She pulled her knees to her chin and surveyed her very nicely furnished prison. She didn’t see an obvious means of escape. Beyond the flap of the tent, two sturdy legs stood at attention. They probably belonged to a guard. And my muscles feel like noodles. I wonder if I’ve been drugged to keep me out of trouble. I don’t think Tayla can help me without risking her life. And I don’t want that.