Too bad you can’t play your flute.
“Oh, I could play it. We just couldn’t hear it.”
Kale started to laugh at the image of Dar trying to play louder than the river, but a horrible dread cut off the humor.
Dar!
“What?”
He knows where we are.
“Risto?”
Yes, I think so. He’s evil. He’s strong.
“Call on Wulder to protect you, Kale. Say the words Granny Noon gave you.”
I did. I did! Kale grabbed his arm, and her fingers dug into his damp coat sleeve. Oh, Dar, no!
“What? What?”
He’s planning some force, some evil spell. He’s so angry. It’s boiling within him. He’s cursing us and Paladin and Wulder. But he’s aiming the evil at us.
“What’s he going to do?”
Kale tried to sort out the impressions she was receiving. The tangle of dark images confused her. Something was coming apart. Something huge. She gasped.
Dar, he’s going to shear away the side of the cliff. He’s going to melt the rock under our feet. He’s destroying the ledge we’re standing on.
Dar looked off after Celisse. “How soon?” he yelled over the thundering waterfall.
“Now!” Kale screamed.
29
PALADIN
Kale and Dar rolled away fro—m the edge as the cliff began to quiver. They knelt as close to the stone wall as possible.
Should we escape through the cavern, back to the fortress?
“The whole mountain might collapse on us.”
He wouldn’t destroy his own castle, would he?
As if in answer to her question, a deafening roar shook the rocks around them. Kale screeched. Dar grabbed her arm and pulled. They scrambled on all fours back toward the waterfall and the wider ledge.
Shards of broken rock pelted them, stinging their skin. Coarse gravel-like pebbles bounced and skittered like hailstones on the flinty shelf around Kale and Dar. The mountain continued to rumble under their hands and knees. A strong shudder knocked them flat on their stomachs. As soon as it passed, they resumed crawling. Kale heard a loud crack and looked over her shoulder. A few feet behind her, a section of the ledge split, hung for a second, and then slid down and away. The exposed rock, several shades lighter than the weathered surface around it, looked like a huge scar on the face of the cliff.
Dar entered the cavern and collapsed with his back against the wall. Kale followed and huddled beside him. The doneel stretched an arm around her shoulders. She raised her head and looked at the dismal scene.
The vapor off the waterfall clouded her vision. From the cavern ceiling a fine spray of gravel fell like a gray curtain. The mountain groaned. Rock ground against rock as the earth travailed under Risto’s destructive spell. Kale placed her hands over her ears to block out the grinding noise.
The vibration in the rock made her want to scream and run. But where could they go?
We can’t just sit here!
“I know. I’m thinking.”
I’m scared!
“So am I.”
Back through the tunnel?
“Too dangerous.”
Sitting here is dangerous!
“Merlander!”
What?
“She’s coming.”
How…?
Dar jumped to his feet. “Come on, Kale. She’s almost here.”
He ran outside the cavern. Kale followed as he darted away from the waterfall along the crumbling ledge. She kept her head down, watching her feet and trying to keep dust from the disintegrating cliff out of her eyes. A shadow passed and then another. Kale looked up in time to see the tail of a white dragon disappear in the mist. As she watched, two small globes of light appeared above them, and then two more. The light became clearer as it descended, drifting closer to where she and Dar stood on the precarious stone shelf.
The mountain shook. Debris rained down on them as the ground trembled. Dar and Kale collapsed in a heap to keep from being tossed over the edge by the violent surges of the rock beneath them. A crash in the distance meant another cliff section had broken away and fallen. When Kale opened her eyes again, four kimens stood around them—Shimeran, Seezle, Zayvion, and Glim.
The little people helped Kale and Dar to their feet.
“The dragons will return immediately.” It was Shimeran’s strong voice in her head. “We will jump to safety.”
Kale’s throat closed, and she struggled to breathe. Her muscles felt like boards that would not move, would not jump, but would burn with fear as the others leapt onto the passing dragons. A small hand brushed her cold palm, grabbed a few of her stiff fingers, and squeezed. Kale looked down to see Seezle’s upturned face. The kimen smiled, her eyes bright with excitement.
“Now!” commanded Shimeran.
“No!” screeched Kale, but a thump on her back, squarely between her shoulder blades, knocked her forward. She tumbled off the cliff.
As she fell, cold air rushed around her, flapping at her clothing and sweeping through her hair. Seezle still held her fingers. The little kimen wrapped her body around Kale’s arm. Seezle forced that arm out straight and seemed to pull Kale away from the sheer wall of rock. Another kimen clung to her back. He, too, seemed to be directing her fall.
They hit the dragon with a great thwack. With her free hand, Kale grabbed the soft ropes crisscrossing around the creature’s torso. In a moment of scrambling, her feet found toeholds in the netting. Her cheek stung where the impact against the dragon had scraped off tender skin. Tension radiated pain through her body.
Seezle and Shimeran patted her. She heard their melodic voices telling her she was safe. Her fingers clutched the strong, silken cords. She could not open her eyes. She could not speak.
The air cleared, no longer wet, no longer laden with particles of dust and grit. The waterfall’s roar faded gradually. The rhythmic beat of dragon wings soothed her fright away. She could feel the rippling of huge muscles beneath her as the great beast breathed the night air and moved almost silently through the sky.
Dar?
“I’m all right. I’m on Merlander. You?”
I’m not hurt.
Silence. Kale searched her mind for a glimpse of the baby dragon’s presence. She dared not move a hand down to explore the pocket of her cape.
Gymn was there, groggy and curled up in a ball. She felt his mind stir, shudder in fear, and retreat into unconsciousness. Kale giggled.
Dar?
“Yes?”
Gymn’s all right. She giggled again and knew the sound had traveled to Dar’s mind. He fainted. Then he came to and remembered what happened and fainted again.
Kale heard the responsive chortle from Dar. The small sound blossomed into an explosion of mirth. She smiled and giggled again. Then she laughed and clung to the ropes. The laughter shook her with a rolling determination to empty her body of all tension. It wiped away the last vestiges of terror. With her eyes still clamped shut and her fingers wrapped around the ropes, she let her body react. Tears rolled down her cheeks. The kimens stroked her back and arms.
When her emotions settled and she lay exhausted against the ropes, a shiver coursed through her. The kimens moved quickly, tucking the moonbeam cape more securely around her wet body. She felt them scamper lightly over and around her. Being hundreds of feet in the air didn’t seem to bother Shimeran and Seezle at all.
Kale opened her eyes and watched as they climbed back and forth across the netting as if it were a tree rooted firmly in the ground. She examined the rigging clenched in her hand. She couldn’t identify the fibers twisted in an incredibly fine pattern.
Made by kimens. She’d seen examples of their delicate weaving in baskets sold at River Away’s market.
With one finger she touched the white dragon skin beneath the network of ropes. Pearlescent scales covered the hide. Her finger caressed one of the cool, smooth disks. Moonlight twinkled off each of the scales.
&nb
sp; Kale noticed the grime on her fingers. Mist from the waterfall and dust from the crumbling cliff had combined to make a muddy coating on her skin. She needed a bath.
Not until I get off this dragon. Kale twisted her head cautiously to view the rider working with the dragon.
A giant! No, a urohm!
Shimeran took two steps along the dragon’s ridged back to the huge saddle. With a leap, he landed on the urohm’s shoulder and said something into his ear.
The man turned at the waist, reached back, and gathered Kale into his gentle hand. As if she were a large rag doll, he tucked her under one side of his riding jacket.
“Shimeran says you’re cold.” His deep rumbling voice vibrated through his chest. “We’ll be landing in just a few minutes. We’ll set you before a fire and dry you out.”
Kale nestled within the warmth provided and wondered if this was how Gymn felt in his pocket-den. The urohm smelled of soap and the earthy scent of a man who has worked all day.
Kale listened to the beat of his great heart and felt safe. Pulling Gymn from her pocket, she cuddled him under her chin and enjoyed the flow of health and contentment between them. With each pulse, she gained physical comfort and a feeling of serenity.
Gymn jerked to attention, squirmed out of her hands, and plunged back under the edge of her cape. His fear coursed through her veins before she identified the source.
Fire dragons! Kale gulped. Fire dragons? Like the evil fire dragon in The Tale of Durmoil? Like the monster fire dragons who emerged from the volcanoes in ancient days? Fire dragons are real?
Kale shook her head. Why not? Paladin is real. Gateways are real. I’m riding inside the jacket of a urohm on the back of a giant white dragon.
She wasn’t the village slave anymore, and she probably knew as much as the schoolmistress when it came to what parts of legends were real and what was made up. Master Meiger had said Kale didn’t know much, but she was learning every day. She would not sit in darkness and let others fight for her.
She struggled to sit upright and moved closer to the opening of the jacket. Her hand clutched a large button that covered her palm as she inched the fleece of the coat out of her way. Ahead she saw four dark shapes in the sky. Dragons flew toward them from the east, but they didn’t look any different from the few dragons she’d seen before.
“Nine—no, a dozen,” she heard Shimeran’s voice from above her. He still sat on the urohm’s shoulder.
Kale craned her neck to see him. He sat looking back toward the fortress they’d escaped.
“We have help coming,” said the master rider of the white dragon.
“Just so long as it isn’t too little, too late,” said Shimeran.
Kale looked ahead and understood. She saw four dragons coming to help them. Shimeran saw a dozen coming to defeat them. The ones before them were ordinary dragons. The ones behind them were fire dragons. Kale felt Gymn’s panic as he shivered, hidden in his pocket-den. She placed a hand over the bulge in her cape where he lay.
I’m not panicked, Little Gymn, but I’m so weary of all this trouble. One thing after another. Will we ever rest like normal folks in a bed, in a house, by a fireplace?
“They’re gaining on us,” reported Shimeran.
“Our help is here,” answered the urohm.
The four dragons swooped past them, but a moment later they circled to join the white dragon, heading in the same direction. One flew in front, one flew on either side, and Shimeran reported that the last had taken up position behind Merlander.
“An escort,” said the urohm. “Now I wonder what Paladin is up to?”
“Look!” Shimeran pointed off to the south. “I think we’re going to find out.”
Kale pushed herself up and leaned out of the jacket. In front of them, the horizon flushed pink with the approach of a new day. To the south, a gleaming dragon crested a steep hill and cast a shimmering light on the forest below. He soared heavenward and in moments flew over the small band of six dragons trying to reach safety. The regal dragon circled. The riders of the dragons below cheered, waving their swords in a salute to the one above. Then that radiant dragon turned to the west.
Shimeran now stood on the master rider’s shoulder and jumped up and down. Kale climbed out of the urohm’s coat and stood on the man’s thigh. She leaned against his chest and peered over the other shoulder, hanging on to his collar.
Merlander flew behind them, and Kale could see Dar, Glim, Zayvion, and another man who looked like a marione. The marione sat backward in the dragon saddle with one hand waving his hat in the air and the other waving his sword. Kale glanced at the other dragons in turn. Each held riders caught up in the excitement. She squinted at the majestic dragon as it sped toward the fire dragons. The rider wore a golden cape, a shining crown, and held a long sword that sparked with blue lightning.
Beyond, twelve dragons, red in the dawn light with a dark and smoldering sky behind them, advanced with incredible speed. With each breath, flames of fire erupted from their nostrils.
The fire dragons approached.
One man went to meet them.
Paladin.
30
THE BATTLE
Kale forgot the chilly morning air. She ignored the blazing sunrise behind her. The wild cheering of her comrades subsided to a vigilant hush. The formation of six dragons circled to the south in a wide arc so everyone could watch the encounter as Paladin rode fearlessly to meet the opposing forces.
Kale expected a clash of weapons, lightning from that gleaming sword, thunder from the heavens, spectacular displays of force. In the tales told by traveling minstrels in the River Away Tavern, historic wars included an abundance of clamor and bloodshed. She didn’t know much about war. She did know it scared her enough to make her palms sweat as she watched the two sides face off for the fight.
Kale didn’t like what she’d seen of fighting. Her first battle with the grawligs had frightened her. The horrible screeching, cursing, and howling rang in her ears. Even the hiss of Leetu’s arrows as they sailed toward their targets sounded sinister. When fighting the silent mordakleeps, the thud of fists against flesh sickened her. The slash and sizzle when sword drew mordakleep blood turned her stomach. The battle at the fortress included the clanging sounds of sword, spear, shield, armor, and bludgeons. How much more terrible would the clamor be when Paladin released his awesome power upon the swarm of evil dragons?
The fire dragons roared, flames shooting twenty feet out of their mouths and nostrils. Paladin took his position, facing the onslaught. He slowed, checking his racing dragon to a somber pace.
Kale remembered the warhorses she’d seen through Leetu’s memory. Urohms rode these majestic creatures in The Tale of the Battle of Ordray. The Valley of Collumna had been lined with men on horseback. Their faces reflected determination. Their bodies stiffened as they carried their lances, point down. Men and horses faced the inevitable with unwavering courage. Now she saw Paladin and his mount take on a similar attitude.
They proceeded with no hurry, apparently not disconcerted by the odds against them. Confidence cloaked the rider like shining armor. Paladin’s straight back and steady gaze made Kale blink back tears of pride. What a blessing that she’d been led to enter the service of this great warrior. Against the backdrop of brightening orange sky, his dragon fairly pranced in eagerness to charge.
Kale braced herself as the distance between the line of fire dragons and Paladin narrowed. Flames shot from the evil dragons’ mouths and nostrils. They snorted and tossed their heads. Tendrils of fire licked out of their noses. With each blow, the beasts shot forth longer, blazing plumes of red and orange. Periodically, one would roar and let out a stream of fire, casting a glow as bright as the sun peeking over the eastern horizon. Each blast grew more intense. The smell of sulfur permeated the air.
Paladin stood in his stirrups and raised his sword.
In anger the twelve beasts arched their necks, bellowing to the sky above. As one, their h
eads dropped down. Hideous mouths gaped open. A wall of fire issued forth, aimed at the rider and dragon before them. The inferno rolled across the open space, enveloped Paladin, and moved on.
Kale gasped and held her breath until the ball of fire had barreled clear across the valley and slammed into the ridge of mountains on the other side. She stared in amazement. Paladin and his dragon hung in midair, not singed, not harmed in any manner. Suspended in flight, he held the same posture as before the attack.
Out of his mouth came a command flowing like molten steel from the blacksmith’s chalice. “Enough. Be gone.”
Kale heard an echo and immediately knew the words had come through her mind as well as through her ears.
The fire dragons recoiled. Paladin urged his own forward. He rode into the midst of the twelve dragons. They parted. Six turned to the south and circled back to the west. Six turned to the north and circled away.
In the landscape near Risto’s fortress, dark creatures lurked in the shadows of boulder and tree. They slithered and crawled and crept away, melting into the earth and disappearing from the light of day.
A groan erupted from the mountain. A magnified wail of frustration echoed as it hammered the cliffs and rumbled along the valley floor.
Silence followed.
Quiet replaced chaos.
No sound reached Kale’s ears save the whoosh of dragon wings steadily beating the new dawn air. A fresh breeze fluttered the leaves in trees below. The first notes of a morning oriole lifted from the meadow. A horse whinnied in a pasture. More birds broke forth in song to be joined by the plaintive bleats from lambs as they sought breakfast at their mothers’ sides.
Paladin turned his beast toward the forest and gestured for the other riders to join him. Kale heard the hum of kimen song. Praises to Wulder. Thanksgiving for victory. The music flowed through her and brought back memories of dancing in the cygnot forest, celebrating the presence of Wulder. The tunes rose into full voice. She wept.
She sank down on the urohm’s lap and cried. His huge hand covered her, but she did not care if anyone saw her. She had never been so tired before. She didn’t take Gymn into her hand to ease away the weariness. Instead she slipped into slumber, preferring the quiet solitude of dreams to struggling with her confused emotions.