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[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] Page 238 mouse. As always, leaves fluttered to the ground as he walked over to Kale and put a hand on her shoulder. He means me, you know. Not the first part, the destiny in his own hands part. The second part, about pleasing. He shook his head again. I don t think Risto has ever given me a compliment before. And really, I should compliment him back. Polite, you know. But I can t think of anything nice to say. Oh dear. Risto sneered at Fenworth. Kale saw any resemblance to Paladin melt away. Where compassion and wisdom enhanced Paladin s face to make him attractive, Risto s contempt shadowed his face with hard, ugly lines. Wizard Fenworth leaned closer to Kale s ear. He had to wait for you to show up, you know. Couldn t find the meech egg on his own, even when it was at his back door, so to speak. He hasn t the talent for finding dragon eggs as you do, my dear. Galls him. He wants to be all-knowing, all-powerful. Galls him that a mere o rant girl can find the meech egg, and he can t. Had to follow you. Galls him. An angry, guttural growl emanated from the evil wizard. Hand over the meech egg, old man. Oh, I couldn t do that. He looked at Kale. Perhaps Kale would like to& Kale found she was too scared to speak. She shook her head. No, said Fenworth sadly, I didn t think so. You re no match for me, Fenworth. No match. Haven t got a match. I ve got a good fire spell, but Librettowit doesn t like me to use it. Librarians can be incredibly picky about details. Risto took a step forward and roared. Fenworth! Yes? You bore me with your prattle. Oh, regrettable, that. Why don t you go seek the company of someone who doesn t prattle? Seems like a good solution to your problem. Enough of this nonsense. Risto marched across the cave. Kale ran. She flung herself over the egg and cringed, expecting to feel Risto s large hands grab her and hurl her out of his way. Instead she heard laughter: the soft chortle of Dar and Leetu, the shimmering giggles of kimens, and the bark of hearty laughter from Brunstetter and Lee Ark. Foiled again. Librettowit s voice bubbled with merriment. Kale looked toward the entrance of the cave. Her friends filed in and came to stand with Fenworth. You re late! said the wizard. Page 239 Ran into an angry group of grawligs, said Lee Ark. Kale rolled off the egg and sat with a thump on the hard cave floor. Why didn t he grab the egg? Librettowit came to her side. He extended a hand and helped her to her feet. You were between him and what he wanted, and you are Paladin s servant. I m not a very powerful servant. Doesn t matter. He wasn t prepared for resistance. The librarian looked over at the frustrated wizard. Risto s face had turned dark with rage. His eyes bulged as he glared at the line of opposition. NowI think he is prepared. Let s go stand with our comrades. Kale stayed close to the tumanhofer s side. Will there be a battle? More a contest of wills. For the first few minutes, Kale thought nothing was happening except a lot of staring. Then she noticed her friends fading. At first the colors of their clothing became pale, and then she could see through them like a mist. She no longer watched Risto, but stared in horror as one by one, her comrades disappeared to be replaced by a gleaming green cloud like the one at the cave entrance. My little friend, Kale Allerion. Kale looked up at Risto and saw his expression had changed. Now he looked again very much like Paladin. This has been a trial for you. But you have passed. You are worthy of being my follower. You re Risto. Of course I am, dear o rant girl. I am sorry for all the confusion. It was necessary to make sure you were the last of the Allerions and not some impostor. I don t understand. The Allerions have always worked with me. You were stolen from us at birth. We welcome you back. Kale looked to her friends to see their reaction to this news. She saw nothing but the glowing mist shapes. They might not have heard him mindspeak anyway. That s right, Kale. Because they aren t really there. You stand alone. You always have. You have no friends. It was all an illusion I created. I ve gone to a lot of trouble to draw you into our family circle. And I am not the only one who awaits your arrival. In her mind, Kale saw a castle turret with an o rant woman sitting by the window, gazing longingly Page 240 across a forest. Kale fought a panic rising in her chest. I have cared for you ever since I met this woman who loves you. Risto s voice in Kale s head caressed her loneliness with warm, soothing tones. I ve kept you safe when I could, and agonized when you had to suffer. You must see that to come with me will make not only me happy, but you as well. Kale looked into Risto s face. He looked so like Paladin, except for a hard glitter in his eyes, stern lines of disapproval around his mouth, and the tight angry line of his jaw. Believe in me, Kale. I will teach you the wonders of your powers. No one else can give you the answers you need because no one else is like you. I am the perfect guardian for you, Kale. No one wants to help you as I do. No one can but me. I would be greatly distressed should anything happen to you, and if you leave me, I m afraid disaster will befall you. You would be destroyed. There is no doubt about that. Make the wise decision, Kale. Go, pick up the meech egg, and come. Kale remembered Pretender had told the kimens that he had mastered their weather and had the power to destroy them. He had lied. She remembered Leetu saying that when Risto lied it sounded like truth. She remembered Granny Noon s advice. I stand under Wulder s authority. Kale spoke the words aloud. Risto grimaced. Her friends appeared with not even a wisp of the gleaming clouds clinging to their clothes. Metta sang. Her song soared with praise. Its trills and runs echoed off the stone walls. Shimeran and Seezle twirled in place and then began to dance. Dar pulled out his trumpet and blasted the air with a triumphant call. Risto glared at them all. We won? Kale asked Librettowit under her breath, keeping her eyes on the volatile wizard. He nodded. He tried to weaken each of us with evil words in our minds. We all stood firm in our allegiance to Paladin. Fenworth put a hand on Kale s shoulder. Caution, my dear. Do not assume. Tut-tut, my dear librarian. I think you spoke too soon. Look at our enemy s demeanor. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |