Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol. III

From behind the stable emerged Kyl. He had changed from his traveling clothes into a fresh outfit-a sleek, dark green piece that happened to be one of her favorites. The high collar and the lack of any lighter colors to contrast the darkness made the drake seem a man of deep mystery.

He had worn it for her; she was certain of that. It thrilled her to think that Kyl had gone to such trouble.

“I found myssself ressstive after I had cleaned up and ssso I decided to take a walk,” Kyl continued, shortening the gap between them as he talked. “When I reached the ssstables, it occurred to me that a ride might be in order. Then, I caught a glimpssse of you and recalled that I had never properly greeted you after our arrival.”

“There was no need.” It was a struggle for her to sound calm. Inside, Valea was again a maelstrom of emotion.

“There wasss need, though. It wasss unforgivable.”

Only an arm’s length separated them now. The young witch waited for Kyl’s strong arm to bridge that gap, and for a breath it seemed it would, but then the drake’s hand continued beyond her to brace against the stable wall. It was not what she had hoped for, but the action still left the two of them so very close. All he had to do was lean forward a little.

“Talak wasss fassscinating, Valea! Ssstrange and beautiful! You have ssseen it before, I know, but I wish you could have been there to sssee it with me.”

She was beyond words.

Kyl seemed not to notice . . . or perhaps he only pretended. Valea could not say. “Sssuch splendor! Sssuch majesssty! King Melicard isss rightfully proud of hisss kingdom. He hasss a loyal following, a magnificent city, and mossst beauteous queen.”

Jealousy pricked Valea. Erini was beautiful, a true fairy-tale princess. She also looked little older than Kyl. With Talak so close to the citadel of the Dragon Emperor, there was no doubt that the demands of his throne would bring the handsome drake and the queen of the mountain kingdom together fairly often.

She realized that she should say something. Anything. “She loves him very much, you know.”

It was not what Valea had meant to say. She was certain that her cheeks were crimson now.

“She doesss, indeed.” Somehow, the drake had lessened the distance between the two of them even more. Valea was struck by contending choices. One part of her was afraid and wanted to step back. The other part of her wanted the last remnant of the chasm closed. “It wasss ssstrange, though. Talking to her, being around her, I found myssself thinking of you, Valea.”

Her reaction to this declaration infuriated the young Lady Bedlam. As if acting under some impulse of their own, her feet moved, propelling the maiden backward three or four steps until she was beyond the stable wall and out in the open.

To her vast relief, Kyl did not look repulsed. He followed her, albeit stopping at the corner of the building. The special smile that he reserved just for her was there. “I thought about you mossst of the time I wasss there, Valea. I like to think that you were alssso thinking about me.”

Even having heard all that she had, Valea could not believe her good fortune. “Then, it’s true? It’s as Benjin Traske said?”

Now Kyl looked puzzled. “Ssscholar Traske? What hasss he to do with thisss?”

Valea took a deep breath. This was it. He had all but said the word, his fear that she would reject him probably the reason he had not taken the last step. She would do it for him.

Slowly, hesitantly, Valea began, “Scholar Traske . . . he said that . . . he said . . .”

Cabe probed the library one more time. There was no trace of any hidden spell or physical trap. There was not even any sign that Toma had ever been in this room.

The warlock sighed. He had been carefully inspecting each room of the Manor, and although he was still not even half finished, much of the day had passed. So far the results of his thorough search had yielded nothing. Unfortunately, with Toma that did not mean that the drake had not been here. The duke was a master sorcerer who had often in the past surprised even those who had thought that they had known his limitations. His skills were far more versatile than those of the more traditional Dragon Kings. Toma dared to do things that no one else did, which made him the wildest of wild cards. He had more or less vanished after the terror of the Ice Dragon, but now and then rumors of his activities surfaced. However, so far as Cabe had been able to tell, the rumors had never proven to bear any truth.

Which, of course, did not mean that Toma had been idle all these years.

Cabe wondered how the others were doing. None of them had contacted him, but he tried not to be paranoid. If something had happened, he would have known.

The constant probing was making his head throb. Cursing under his breath, the warlock decided to get a breath of fresh air. He stepped out of the library, crossed the hall, and made his way to the nearest window. A minute or two of relaxation was all that the sorcerer needed. It was odd how small, fairly simple spells could often take more out of the caster than huge, earth-shaking ones.

Leaning out the window, Cabe surveyed his tiny kingdom. Somewhere, possibly even beneath his very feet, there might be a clue to whatever Toma had done while here. Studying the bookshelves had revealed nothing. Perhaps there was nothing to find, not even a trap of some sort, but the warlock could not risk that chance.

His eyes alighted on a crimson-tressed woman standing next to one of the stables. It could not be his wife, who searched the lower floors of the Manor, which meant that it had to be Valea. Cabe recalled that she was supposed to be searching the stables, but at the moment, she was simply standing there. Why?

He had his answer when Kyl stepped part of the way out from behind the stable wall.

The enraged sorcerer did not even wait. He was gone from the window and next to the stable in less than a breath.

“Valea.”

At the sound of his voice, she froze. Whatever his daughter had been about to say died on her lips, probably a fortunate thing in his opinion. Even Kyl looked satisfactorily guilty for a change.

“Father, I-”

“I gave you a project to do, Valea. A very important project. Have you finished it?” Cabe tried his best not to let his anger show through, but even he was aware of the harshness tinging his words. Kyl’s eyes flickered, but other than that there was no sign that the drake might have noticed. The warlock had no doubt that he had, however.

His daughter’s expression told him the answer to his question even before she replied. “Not yet.” Her cheeks were crimson. “I only paused for a moment . . . I . . . I’ll get back to it now.”

Curtseying to Kyl, the young witch rushed off. Cabe’s anger drained away. He had embarrassed his daughter. Granted, the search was of the utmost importance at this time, but that was not why the warlock had come down here. He had come down here because his daughter had been alone with a . . . with a creature . . . that had designs on her.

It could have been handled differently, but when it came to his family, the master sorcerer could not always think straight. Now, he and Valea were at odds again-and his actions had most likely pushed her further toward the drake.

“There isss sssome major project underway, Massster Bedlam?” Kyl asked politely, his entire person radiating innocence.

“More of an exercise, Kyl.” The warlock now wished that he had thought of some better excuse, but for most of those living at the Manor, calling the search an exercise would have been sufficient. Cabe had been too concerned with beginning the hunt to think about what Kyl or Grath, who understood the ways of sorcery, might conclude from the Bedlams’ peculiar activity. Two decades and I still think with the cunning of a serving boy! It could not be helped, though. Kyl might suspect, but unless he was somehow in league with Toma, he would be able to do no more than guess.

“Ssso sssoon after our return? We have only just arrived!”

“I felt it was necessary, Kyl. Didn’t Scholar Traske ever surprise you and the others with sudden tests or projects of his own?”