Talking to Dragons - Wrede Patricia Collins - Страница 25

I decided not to ask how the dragon knew that. "You don't have to eat him," I said. "I think we should just let him go."

"But Daystar-" Shiara stopped and thought for a moment, biting her lip.

"Oh, all right. If you want to let him go, let's do it."

"Are you sure?" I said, surprised. "I thought you didn't like the idea."

"I don't," Shiara said, glaring at me. "But we'll be here all day if we start arguing. Besides, it's your sword."

"All right," I said to Janril, "You can go, as long as you don't follow us around anymore."

"But of course!" The elf bounced to his feet again, bowed to each of us-including Nightwitch-and whisked off. Shiara scowled after him and opened her mouth, then apparently decided not to say anything.

"Well, let's go," I said after a minute. We picked up our bundles and started walking again. The dragon and I both watched the trees for a while, but Janril kept his promise.

Shiara walked just behind the dragon, looking thoughtful. "Do you really believe that elf?" she finally asked me.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I don't think it makes much difference, though.

I'd still be going to see Kazul, no matter what he said. I want to find out about this sword and what it does and what's really going on around here."

I must have sounded annoyed, because Shiara frowned at me and asked, "What's the matter with you?"

"I'm getting sort of tired of people chasing my sword," I said. "I'd like to know why they want it so badly." I was also beginning to realize that I didn't know nearly as much about the Enchanted Forest as I thought I did, which made me very nervous. I wasn't going to mention that to Shiara just yet, though.

"Oh." Shiara looked thoughtful again. "Well, you could-" The dragon looked backward over its shoulder. "You're slowing down," it said.

"Can't you two talk and walk at the same time?"

We made fairly good time for the rest of the afternoon, and we were just beginning to think about finding a place to spend the night when we came to a clearing. The dragon stopped right at the edge of it, very abruptly.

Fortunately, Shiara and I were back far enough to stop before we ran into it or stepped on its tail or something. Bumping into a dragon is not a particularly good way to end a day.

"What's the matter now?" asked Shiara.

"This looks just like that last clearing," the dragon said. "The one that had the castle in it."

"You mean we've been going in circles?" Shiara said.

"No," said the dragon. "I know my way around the Enchanted Forest better than that. I just don't like this."

"Why are you worried?" Shiara said. "You're not the one who got turned into a statue."

"Well, if you think banging into something you can't see is fun, you go first," said the dragon.

I put my hand on the hilt of my sword and felt a nice, strong rumble, like a cart full of bricks on a bumpy road. There was definitely a lot of magic in the clearing, or at least close by. I said so.

"If it's invisible, I don't want anything to do with it," Shiara said decidedly. "Can't we just go around?"

"No," said the dragon grumpily. "I want to know who's putting all these invisible things in my shortcut. If there's another one here, I'm going to find out about it." It stalked cautiously out into the clearing, heading straight through the middle.

Nothing happened. The dragon walked all the way across, then turned and looked at us. "Are you sure there's something here? I can't find anything."

I touched the sword again. "It feels like there is," I said. I looked at Shiara. She looked dubiously across the clearing. "Hurry up," said the dragon.

I sighed and started forward. I kept one hand on the hilt of my sword, just in case, and I walked across the same part of the clearing the dragon had. Shiara shook her head and started around the edge of the clearing.

I got about five steps. Then there was a whooshirg noise and a wall of flames shot up around me, very hot and bright. I yelled, because I couldn't see where I was going, and I yanked at my sword. I think I had some vague idea that the sword might keep me from burning to death; I certainly couldn't see to fight anything.

Something hit me in the middle of my back just as the sword came out of its sheath. I felt a wave of anticipation from the sword followed very closely by a surge of disappointment. I was so surprised I nearly dropped it.

Then I realized that it wouldn't matter if I did drop it, because I was lying on the ground. I was also much cooler than I had been a minute ago, and someone was pounding on me.

"Stop it!" I said.

The someone sat back, and I saw that it was Shiara. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"I think so," I said. "Why were you pounding on me?"

"Your clothes were on fire," Shiara said. "I was trying to put them out.

If I'd known you were going to fuss about it, I'd have let them burn."

I apologized and thanked her, then looked around. Shiara and I were sitting on the ground, just inside a ring of fire. In the center of the ring was a short, round building with a pointed roof. It wasn't quite tall enough to call a tower, but it wasn't short enough to call a house, either. I moved away from the flames, which were uncomfortably warm, and looked at Shiara.

"What happened?"

"How should I know? One second you were walking across the clearing, and the next second there was all this fire and you were yelling," Shiara said. "And when I tried to shove you out of it, we both got in here instead, and that thing was sitting there." She waved at the not-quite-tower.

"At least it isn't invisible," I offered. Shiara gave me a disgusted look, but she didn't say anything.

"Hello?" called the dragon's voice from the other side of the wall of fire. "Are you there?"

"We're here," I called back. "Both of us."

"How did you do that?" the dragon shouted.

"I don't know," I said. "And I don't want to stay here to find out."

I picked myself up off the ground and put the sword back in its sheath.

"I think maybe we'd better go," I said to Shiara. "Before something comes out of that house."

"It isn't a house," Shiara said. "But for once I agree with you."

"Achoo!" said the dragon from the other side of the fire.

'Just a minute, there!" a voice said behind me.

I turned around. A medium-sized man was standing about ten feet away, leaning on a staff that was about three feet taller than he was. He had black hair and three rings on each hand, and he was frowning irritably at Shiara and me.

"Oh, rats," said Shiara disgustedly. "Another wizard!"

"You," said the man, ignoring her statement completely, "are trespassing.

I don't know how you got in here, but it was a great mistake for you to do so."

"We didn't exactly do it on purpose," I said. "We were just trying to get across the clearing."

"Young man, I surround my home with a wall of fire for a reason," the wizard said. "And the reason is that I do not like to be disturbed. I wish to know how you penetrated it, or I would not be wasting my time talking with you."

"I'm a fire-witch, that's how!" Shiara said. "And if you don't want to be disturbed, you ought to be more careful with your stupid wall.

We would have gone right by if it hadn't jumped up all over Daystar when he tried to cross the clearing!"

"A fire-witch?" the man said. He gave Shiara an extremely odd look.

"You haven't mislaid an invisible castle recently, have you?"

"No!" said Shiara. "It isn't mine!"

The wizard looked even angrier. "You know of it!"

"Well, sort of," I said. "It isn't ours, but we ran into it this morning."

"Did you," said the wizard. He sounded skeptical and very dangerous.

I decided I didn't want to talk about the castle anymore.