"That's very interesting," the dragon said when I stopped. "Where are you going now?"
"Morwen told us to follow the stream," Shiara said. "And Suz said we should go talk to someone named Kazul."
"It's the same thing," the dragon said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"The stream goes to the castle, and Kazul lives right outside it. I wonder why she wants to see you?"
"What castle?" Shiara said in an exasperated voice. "And who is this Kazul person, anyway?"
"It must have something to do with that sword," the dragon said, ignoring her questions completely. "Especially if it really does belong to the Sleeping King."
"You mean you know something about it?" Shiara said. "Well, then, tell us what the stupid thing does?"
The dragon looked sheepish. Dragons just weren't meant to look sheepish. "I don't know. I'm not old enough yet," it said.
"Not old enough?"
"That's why I wanted a princess," the dragon said. "Otherwise, Kazul won't tell me anything important until I'm two hundred. She says that before then dragons are irresponsible, unwise, and talk too much." It looked faintly indignant. "I don't talk too much."
"Who is Kazul?" I said. I was getting a little nervous about meeting her. I hadn't ever known anyone who could tell a dragon what to do, even a young one. Well, Mother might have been able to get away with it.
"Oh, I thought you knew," the dragon said. "Kazul is the King of the Dragons."
10
In Which They Take a Shortcut and Run into an Obstacle
Shiara and I looked at each other. "Terrific," Shiara said. "And I thought wizards were bad."
"Did I say something wrong?" the dragon asked.
"No, not at all," I said hastily. "We were just a little surprised, that's all."
"Hey!" Shiara said. "How can Kazul be King of the Dragons if she's a she? That doesn't make sense."
"It does too!" the dragon said. "What else would you call her?"
"How about Queen?" Shiara said sarcastically.
"Queen?" The little dragon wrinkled its nose. "Why would you want to call her Queen? That's not the same thing at all! You're the one who doesn't make sense."
"I do too make sense? Shiara said. "Queens do the same things Kings do."
"Not for dragons," I said hastily. I didn't want the dragon to get offended again. "Dragons have a king, period. The King of the Dragons is whichever dragon can move Colin's Stone from the Vanishing Mountain to the Ford of the Whispering Snakes. It doesn't matter whether the dragon is male or female."
"It's silly to have two names for the same job," the dragon said complacently.
"People get confused."
"Oh." Shiara looked skeptical, but at least she didn't object anymore. I decided I was going to have to explain a few things to her soon, before she got us both in real trouble. For about a minute, no one said anything. Then Shiara looked over at me.
"Daystar," she said, "why are we looking for the King of the Dragons?"
I started to say something, then stopped because I wasn't really sure what to say. I mean, it would sound a little odd to say that I was looking for a dragon because a lizard told me to. Especially since the dragon was apparently King of the Dragons. I thought some more.
"I don't know," I said finally. "But I think we have to. At least, I have to."
Shiara sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say something like that."
The dragon looked puzzled. "What's the matter? It doesn't sound particularly unusual to me, but I suppose it'll be at least as interesting as running away to find a princess."
Shiara and I looked at the dragon, then at each other, then back at the dragon again. "You ran away?" Shiara said finally.
"It was the only way I could think of to get a princess." The dragon sighed. "It didn't work out the way I thought it would, though."
Shiara and I exchanged glances again. "You're sure you really want to come?" I said to the dragon. "I mean, there are wizards after us, and it might be a little inconvenient if they showed up again. And I doubt that we'll run into any more princesses."
The dragon looked thoughtful for a moment, then it shook its head.
"I'm coming with you, wizards or no wizards," it said stubbornly.
"Sneezing isn't so bad."
It was my turn to sigh. Dragons are awfully hard to talk out of things.
"We'd better go, then," I said. "I'm sure Antorell will be back as soon as he thinks it's safe, and I'd sort of like to be gone by then."
Shiara grabbed Morwen's bundles and shoved one at me. "You're absolutely right. Here. Let's go."
I nodded and started toward the stream. "Not that way?" said the dragon. "It takes too long."
"How else are we going to find the stupid castle?" Shiara demanded. "We don't even know what it looks like"
The dragon looked smug. "I do. And I'm very good at shortcuts."
"Morwen told us to follow the stream," I said doubtfully.
"Morwen didn't know you were going to meet me." The dragon looked at us for a minute. "I thought you were in a hurry."
"Come on, Daystar," Shiara said. "I don't care which way we go, but let's go!"
I decided not to argue. I still didn't like the idea of leaving the stream, but it didn't seem worth fighting over. Not with a dragon, anyway.
Besides, if we didn't leave soon, the wizards would catch us. We started off, following the dragon.
Traveling with a dragon was rather nice, in a way. Nothing bothered us at all. When it started to get dark, we stopped and opened Morwen's bundles again. There was obviously something magic about them, because the leftovers from lunch had turned into a fresh packet of food, and there was plenty for everyone, even the dragon.
Nothing dangerous came near us all night, either. I stayed awake for a while, just to make sure, but evidently nightshades and wolves and things don't want to annoy a dragon any more than people do. Finally, I went to sleep, too.
We started off again as soon as we woke up next morning. The dragon went first because it knew the way, and we followed. After about an hour, I noticed that I didn't feel quite comfortable for some reason.
I touched the hilt of the Sword of the Sleeping King a couple of times, but I didn't feel any new magic tingles, just the same familiar ones.
I started watching the trees as we walked. Finally, Shiara noticed.
"What's the matter, Daystar?" she said.
"I don't know," I said. "But I feel as if I'm being watched."
"Watched?" Shiara looked at the trees quickly. "Who's watching us?"
"I don't know," I said. "I'm not even sure someone is. I just feel uncomfortable."
"You're being a little slow," the dragon called back over its shoulder, and Shiara and I stopped talking and ran to catch up. We didn't have a chance to discuss it again, but I noticed Shiara looking uneasily at the forest from time to time. Even Nightwitch seemed to notice something wrong; she stopped jumping at leaves and stayed close to Shiara. In fact, Shiara almost stepped on her once. After that, Shiara carried her.
In spite of all the worrying, nothing happened until late that morning.
The dragon was moving on through the forest, ignoring all the little branches and things that happened to be in its way. Suddenly it gave a smothered yelp and stopped. Shiara and Nightwitch and I ran forward to see what was the matter.
The dragon was sitting back, rubbing its nose and glaring at a large open space in front of it. I looked around, but I didn't see anything else.
"What happened?" I asked.
"I ran into something," the dragon said, glaring at me for a minute instead of the open space.
"But there isn't anything-Ow!" Shiara had started to wave toward the clearing, but her hand stopped about halfway through the wave, as if it had hit something. She rubbed her fingers, then put out her hand more cautiously.
It stopped in midair, right where it had before. Nightwitch hissed and backed away.
&
nbsp; I reached out, very carefully. It was a little strange to feel something where I couldn't see anything. It was cool and smooth, like stone, and it went up as far as I could reach. "It's an invisible wall," I said.
"No, it's an invisible castle," Shiara said. Then she jerked her hand away and stared at the air in front of her as if she could make herself see something by trying hard. "Hey! How do I know that?"
"I don't know," I said. "When did you figure it out?"
"I didn't! I was just standing here, wanting to know what it was, and all of a sudden I did."
"That sounds like fire magic!" I said.
"I don't care what it is," the dragon said crossly. "I want to know where it came from. It wasn't here last time I came this way."
"No, I mean what Shiara did sounds like fire magic."
"Really?" The dragon looked at Shiara. "Then use your fire magic to find out what this invisible thing is doing in the middle of my shortcut."
Shiara looked doubtful, but she put her hand back on the castle. "It's an invisible castle, all right. Hey, I even know how to do it!"
"Do what?" asked the dragon. "Put your hand on a castle?"
"No, no, how to make things invisible," Shiara said.
"I don't want to know how to make things invisible," the dragon snapped. "What's it doing here?"
For once, I wasn't paying much attention to the dragon. I was staring at Shiara. Analyzing spells is hard. "You figured out how to turn a castle invisible just by touching it?"
"No, you have to do a lot of other things to it." Shiara's face changed, as if she had just remembered something she didn't like, and she stared at the open area for a minute. Then she swallowed so hard I could see it.
"Let's leave, Daystar. I don't think I want to meet anyone who would live in an invisible castle."
I looked at Shiara, then at the open space. I looked back at Shiara and opened my mouth to ask another question, but I stopped before I said anything. Shiara looked a little white, and a little sick, and a lot scared. I hadn't seen Shiara look like that before, not even when the wizard tried to catch us with his snaky water monster. Especially not then.
"All right," I said. "Let's go."
"But I want to know what it's doing in the middle of my shortcut," the dragon complained.
"We can talk about it somewhere else," I said.
Shiara was already backing into the trees, her eyes fixed on the open space where the castle would be if we could see it. I glanced back at the dragon. It shrugged. "Oh, all right. But I don't see what all the fuss is about."
Right then Shiara gave a half yell that stopped in the middle. I whirled around. There was a woman standing where Shiara had been. She was very tall, and she had long hair that was so red it was almost black. She was dressed in something green and shining and elegant that hung from a deep red jewel at her throat, and she was very beautiful.
More beautiful than the Princess, even. I didn't care.
"Where's Shiara?" I said.
She smiled, the same way a very satisfied cat smiles, except that cats don't look evil. Well, most cats don't. "Shiara-is that your little friend's name? She's right here, my dear." She stepped aside, and I went cold.
Behind her, where it had been hidden until she moved aside, was a gray stone statue that looked exactly like Shiara.
"That can't be Shiara!" I said. I was too upset to even think about being polite. "Shiara's a fire-witch, and fire-witches are immune to magic!"
The woman smiled another unpleasant smile. "Not to the magic of another fire-witch. I've been waiting a long time for someone like her to come by. I need her for something."
"How is turning her into a statue going to help?" I asked. I was hoping I could talk her into changing Shiara back. Then maybe I could do something to keep Shiara that way.
The fire-witch glanced at the statue. "It's an excellent way of storing people until you need them. I have quite a number in my garden. They're ornamental as well as useful."
"That doesn't sound nice," the dragon said.
The woman seemed to see it for the first time, which I thought was a little odd. After all, dragons aren't exactly easy to overlook. "I am not concerned with being nice," she said.
"Why not?" I asked.
The fire-witch turned and looked at me. Suddenly her eyes narrowed.
"Who are you, boy?" she asked sharply.
"My name is Daystar," I said, "and I would appreciate it if you would change Shiara back."
"No," she said flatly. "Why should I?" She was still staring at me, as if she were trying to figure something out. "You're very interesting, Daystar," she said abruptly. "I think perhaps I'll let you go. I haven't done anything like that in a long time. It might be an interesting experience. I think you had better leave before I change my mind."
"I'm sorry, but I'm not leaving until you turn Shiara back," I said.
"Then I am afraid you will grow rather bored." The woman looked at me thoughtfully for a moment, then shook her head. "No, I don't have any use for you, and I can't be bothered storing things that aren't useful. Pity; you'd make a nice fountain." She lifted one hand and snapped her fingers.
I had just enough time to realize that I hadn't drawn my sword. I grabbed for it and pulled, knowing I wasn't going to make it. There was something like an explosion just in front of me, and a wave of heat, and then I was holding the Sword of the Sleeping King up in front of me and watching the fire-witch cursing and stamping at something.
She didn't look at all elegant anymore.
Suddenly I realized why the fire-witch had missed. "Nightwitch!" I yelled. A small bundle of black fur darted out from under the witch's skirts and vanished under a bush. The fire-witch glared after the kitten, then turned back to me. "You'll suffer for-" Right next to me there was a sound like someone blowing out several very large candles all at once, and a stream of fire shot out and enveloped the fire-witch. She laughed.
"Fire, to harm me? Even a dragon should know better! I'll see to you in a moment. Or do you think I am fool enough to grow a garden without dragonsbane?"
The dragon shuddered, and the fire-witch laughed again. Then she looked at me, and her eyes glittered. "I want you first, though.
Now!" She pointed at me, and I raised the Sword of the Sleeping King a little higher, holding on to the hilt with both hands and hoping it could handle fire-witches as well as it handled wizards.
Something hit the sword, and pain ran through my whole body. It felt a little like the shock I'd gotten when Shiara and I had tried to pick up the sword at the same time, except it went on and on. The Sword of the Sleeping King began to get hot. I felt as if boiling lead were running down the sword and into my arms. I think I screamed; I know the fire-witch did, because I heard her.
The Sword of the Sleeping King glowed dull red in my hands. It wasn't behaving at all the way it had when it stopped Antorell's spell, and I got the distinct impression that this wasn't very good for it. It wasn't very good for me, either; the sensation of boiling lead was oozing farther up my arms.
I knew that if I didn't do something I was going to drop the sword. I shouted and pushed. At least, pushing is the only way I can describe what I did. I wasn't really thinking too clearly by then. I just wanted the lead to go back into the sword and quit hurting.
I heard a wail from the fire-witch that kind of died out, and the pain stopped very suddenly. I noticed that the sword wasn't glowing anymore, and then I fell over. It wasn't that I felt particularly tired or weak. I just couldn't stand up anymore. The last thing I remember thinking was that I had to hang on to the sword, no matter what.
I woke up because something small and warm and rough was rubbing my chin. I opened my eyes. Night-witch was sitting on the ground in front of me, licking my face. I was lying face down on the moss. I could feel the Sword of the Sleeping King underneath me. It was very uncomfortable, but I didn't feel like moving. I closed my eyes again.
Nightwitch hissed and dug her claws into my sho
ulder. Kittens have surprisingly sharp claws, and I opened my eyes again very quickly. The dragon was staring at me from beside Nightwitch. At least, its head was beside Nightwitch. The rest of it wouldn't fit. It blinked at me.
"Are you dead?" it asked.
"No," I said. I thought about saying something else, but I didn't have the energy.
"Oh." The dragon sounded almost disappointed for a minute. Then it brightened. "I think that fire-witch is."
"That's nice." I had the feeling I should remember something, but I didn't want to think hard enough to figure out what.
Nightwitch hissed and dug her claws into me again.
"Stop that!" I said, and I rolled onto my back.
"What?" said the dragon.
"Nightwitch," I said. Rolling over had taken all the energy I had, and I didn't want to talk anymore. I didn't even want to think anymore. I wanted the dragon to just leave me alone, but I couldn't say so without being rude, so I closed my eyes and started drifting off to sleep instead. Then Nightwitch jumped onto my chest and dug her claws in hard.
I yelled and sat up. Nightwitch jumped down to the ground and ran off.
I tried to see where she'd gone and saw Morwen's bundle instead.
Suddenly I realized that I was very hungry. I started to reach for the bundle, then remembered that I was still holding the sword. I also remembered the boiling lead, and I was almost afraid to look at my hands. I was sure that this time I'd burned both of them worse than when I'd picked up the wizard's staff.I looked down. There wasn't anything wrong with me-at least, not that I could see. I let go of the sword with one hand. It didn't hurt. I heaved a sigh of relief and put the sword back in its sheath, then got out some of Morwen's gingerbread and started eating. It was a good thing the food was right on top of the bundle, because I didn't have the strength to hunt for it.
The dragon watched me for a few minutes with a puzzled expression.
"You're a very good magician," it said finally. "Where did you learn that spell?"
"Spell?" I was having a little trouble remembering the details of the fight. I wasn't sure whether it was because it had hurt so badly or because I was too busy eating.
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