Dragon Kiss (16 page)

“He’s stingy with the orphans because of all the prisoners he’s got locked away in the dungeon,” said another voice. “Not that he gives
them
much to eat.”

“Anyone know how many are down there now?” asked Gib.

Someone Audun couldn’t see said, “I used to know, but they haven’t let me down the steps since Dolon took charge.”

Audun noticed a look pass between Smithson and the head cook, who had come to the door. “That’s it, everyone,” the cook said abruptly. “Time to take the supper to the Great Hall. You’ve had your share of food and gossip. Now, let the mighty lords and ladies enjoy theirs!”

Eighteen

A
udun woke early the next morning hoping that he could locate the girl and be headed back to the dragon stronghold before the end of the day. He had found his way to the south tower the night before, although it had been heavily guarded and he hadn’t been able to get in.

He reached Smugsby’s office before anyone else, then had to wait for nearly an hour before Pringle showed up to tell him that the steward was feeling ill and wouldn’t be in until later. “He has a bad headache,” he said, giving Audun an accusing look. “I daresay it’s because of that tankard you gave him yesterday. He should be back by this afternoon. Come here after the midday meal so he can tell you what to do. In the meantime, familiarize yourself with the castle if you haven’t already. Master Smugsby will expect you to know your way around, given you’ve had so much free time.”

“Yes, sir,” said Audun. Of course, he had something else in mind.

The kitchen was bustling with activity when Audun reached it just a short time later. It was still early, so he didn’t think anyone had carried the orphans’ meal to the tower yet. He found the baker, Patrik, in the heart of the large, chaotic kitchen. When Audun asked if he could help out in any way, perhaps by taking the orphans their food, the baker seemed happy to accept the offer.

After collecting the pot of porridge and some bowls, Patrik handed him several loaves of hot, crusty bread. “Take these for the guards. They’ll be more likely to let you take the food to the children if they have their own breakfast to eat. You’ll want to go up the tower to make sure the orphans are being treated well, and that the food is really going to them. Oh, yes, and these are for the cat.” Audun couldn’t understand why the man handed him three pieces of meat wrapped in an oiled cloth, but he wasn’t about to object. Surely a cat wouldn’t need all three pieces, in which case, he could have a taste himself.

It wasn’t until after he had given the bread to the guards positioned outside the door and had started up the steps that he understood about the cat. He had climbed only half a dozen steps up the narrow spiral staircase when something landed in front of him, yowling like a banshee. It was an orange tomcat as big as a large dog and it had three very different heads. The one in the center was big and blocky with a ragged ear and a scar down one side of its face. It was spitting and snarling at Audun. The one on the right was more refined, although it was growling deep in its throat. The third head was rounder and had short, little ears. Its sweet face had a more pronounced nose that it kept in the air, sniffing the meat.

Audun reached into the pocket where he’d stuffed the cat’s breakfast. He’d seen the length of its nearly dragon-like claws and the sharpness of its daggerlike teeth, and he felt sorry for any unprepared intruder coming up these stairs to take a child home without paying the ransom. Whoever the wizard was that was helping King Dolon, he seemed to know what he was doing.

At the top of the tower, Audun found the children playing with a few broken toys while an old woman with a sour face watched over them. Her eyes lit up when Audun gave her the last of the bread, and she retired to a chair in the corner to eat.

The children gathered around Audun as he served their porridge, smiling shyly whenever he looked their way. None of the five little boys or three little girls appeared to be more than seven years old. If they’d been wearing anything of value when they were found, it had been taken away; they were dressed in clothes much like those of the servants. Even so, everything they wore was clean and they looked healthy.

While the children ate, Audun squatted down beside them, and spoke to them in a kind and encouraging way. Although they had been shy at first, they soon told him their names and what toys were their favorites. Then a little boy named Ortzi told him that his uncle was coming for him that very day. When the other children told Audun in excited voices about the impending arrival of their relatives, he began to wonder how any of them could be the one he had been sent to find. The little girls were the most animated, and although they didn’t belong in the castle, they did have someone with whom they belonged. Nothing seemed particularly out of place. Surely none of them needed to be rescued.

There was no sign of the cat when Audun returned down the stairs carrying the empty bowls, which was just as well because he was trying to remember exactly what his grandmother had said in those few hectic moments before he left the dragon stronghold. He was sure she had said that the girl was an orphan, but he couldn’t recall her saying anything else about her. If only that wizard hadn’t shown up and they’d had more time to talk.

Audun returned the bowls to the kitchen and swiped a chunk of raw meat for himself while the cook had his back turned. Next, Audun decided to look around outside. He took the closest door leading into the courtyard and found himself near the stables. As Audun passed an open door, he glanced inside and saw a boy entering an empty stall a little farther in. The boy was the same size as Owen and had the same color hair. Audun was wondering if he should say anything when the boy raised his head. It
was
Owen and he didn’t seem happy to see Audun. He took off, running into the dimly lit depths of the stable.

Audun was peering into the darkened stalls when Owen stepped out of a doorway and they both stumbled. While Audun was trying to get them both back on their feet, he felt Owen’s arm wrap around his neck and the cold blade of a knife press against his throat.

“Why are you following me?” Owen demanded.

Audun inched his hand between them, ready to break the other boy’s grip. “I want to help you,” he said. “I don’t mean you any harm.”

Owen pressed the knife a little harder. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you before.”

“Yes, you have,” said Audun, as he shoved the hand that held the knife aside, and jumped out of Owen’s reach, keeping his eyes on the boy. “It’s just that I didn’t look like this then. I helped you once before. I want to help you now. What are you doing here? You are the prince they’re all talking about, aren’t you? It’s too dangerous for you to be anywhere near this castle.”

“I’m not telling you anything!” Owen said, waving the knife in Audun’s face.

Realizing that he wasn’t going to get anywhere without revealing who he was, Audun said, “I helped you escape from the roc’s nest. My name is Audun.”

Owen looked confused. “How is that possible?”

At least,
thought Audun,
there’s no one around to hear this
. Shrugging, he said, “Humans have their magic, we dragons have ours. So why are you here?”

Owen lowered the knife and used the back of his other hand to wipe sweat from his forehead. “I heard that my father isn’t dead after all. He’s still alive and locked in his own dungeon. I’ve come to free him. Did you mean it when you said you want to help me?”

“Any way I can,” said Audun.

“Then come back here to night at midnight. You can go with me to get him out of the dungeon. I could use the help of someone like you.”

“I’ll be here,” Audun said, even as Owen slipped into the shadows and disappeared. He was scarcely out of sight before Audun realized he should have asked if Owen had noticed a girl who didn’t belong. He hurried after him.

Audun walked behind the stable and had almost reached the top of the manure pit when he heard someone shout. A slight figure was standing on the edge of the pit waving its arms in the air. Audun realized it was the boy, Jim. “What are you doing?” he shouted, just as Jim jumped into the pit below. Audun ran as fast as he could to the edge. To his amazement, Jim was rolling around in the smelly mixture, coating his clothes and body and making small grunting noises.

Seeing Audun, Jim stopped rolling long enough to sit up and shout, “Hello!”

“Are you hurt?” Audun asked, although he could tell that the boy was fine even before he began to pick his way down the slope.

Jim was laughing when Audun finally reached him, looking happier than Audun had ever seen him. His laughter transformed his face, making him look less like a lost waif than a mischievous prankster.

“I’m right as rain,” Jim said, climbing out of the pile.

“Physically, maybe,” muttered Audun, running his eyes over the boy’s thin frame. “But you must be crazy to jump in that.”

“No, I’m not. Meg made me take a bath today,” he said, as if that explained everything. When Audun’s expression remained blank, Jim added, “Most people don’t bother me when I smell. I mean, honestly, would you?” Raising one of his arms to his face, Jim took a deep sniff. Rolling his eyes, he stuck his tongue out of the side of his mouth and pretended to faint.

“I thought you were on fire or someone was chasing you,” said Audun. “If I’d known you were just being an idiot, I never would have gotten so worried.”

Jim blinked and looked up at Audun. “You were worried about me?” he said, as if he were pleased. “No one ever worries about me.”

“Meg does,” said Audun, giving Jim a hand out of the manure.

“Meg worries about everyone,” Jim said. “I think it’s part of her job.”

“And what’s
your
job exactly?”

Jim shrugged. “I clean up messes that no one else wants to touch. I run errands that no one else wants to do.”

“In other words,” said Audun, “you make yourself in-valuable.”

Jim gave him a sideways glance as if surprised that someone had figured it out. “I guess you could say that.”

“And what else do you do?” Audun asked. “You have complete run of the place. I bet you know everything that goes on here.”

“I guess you could say that, too,” Jim said with a smirk. “I know that Smugsby has a killer headache and that he blames a certain person who gave him a certain tankard. I’d tiptoe around him if I were that person.”

“Thanks for telling me. Now, tell me one more thing: have you seen a girl who doesn’t belong here? One who might be in danger?” Audun asked, trying to sound casual, as if the question weren’t uppermost in his mind.

Jim glanced away, but not before Audun could see that his eyes looked troubled. “No. I don’t know anyone like that.”

Audun nodded. He didn’t want to scare the boy off. “Well, then, what about places? I bet you know your way around this castle pretty well.”

Jim snorted. “Better than anyone. I know more secrets about this place than the men who built it. There are secret passages everywhere. I know three ways to get into the king’s own chamber, and only one of them is through the door.”

“What about the dungeon? How many ways do you know to get in there?”

“You aren’t asking about the front door, where you have to go past two sets of guards and a trapdoor that would send you straight to the netherworld if you took one wrong step, are you? You want to know about the back way, where no one can see you and you have to watch out for rats and things that give you nightmares even during the day.”

“That’s right,” said Audun.

“Did you want to see these places yourself ?”

Audun nodded. “Now, if you have the time.”

Jim took his mission very seriously. He warned Audun to be quiet and, once they had passed the stables, looked high and low to see if anyone was watching them as they approached the far side of the castle. They had rounded the corner of the keep when Jim stopped suddenly and said, “That’s odd. Those weren’t there when I was here last.” He pointed along the back of the keep to a group of figures that were standing in their way.

“What are they?” Audun asked, squinting into the sunlight. They looked like tall, thin people with upraised arms, but they were too tall and too thin to be real.

“They’re some kind of plants,” Jim said, approaching them cautiously. “Look, they’re covered with prickers.”

“How long ago were you here last?”

“Right after I came to live at the castle. Before the wizard came. Do you think he had something to do with this?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” said Audun.

As they got closer, Audun saw that they really were plants. Gray green in color, they each had two armlike branches that reached toward the sky and sharp, spike-like growths that covered them from top to bottom. Jim and Audun were almost among them when the plants began to move.

“Watch out!” Jim shouted, as the plant closest to Audun swung a branch at him.

Audun jumped back, and the branch barely missed him. Drops of liquid quivered on the tips of some of the spines. “We’re not going any farther now,” said Audun, taking another step back. “Where exactly is the opening to the dungeon?”

“There,” Jim said, pointing at a patch of tall, normal-looking weeds by the base of the wall. “There’s a hole with a grate in front of it. The hole is small, but it gets bigger inside. We’ll never get there, though, not with these plants guarding the opening.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” said Audun, but he was already thinking of ways he could do just that.

The sun was high overhead by the time they returned to the stables. “Thanks,” said Audun. “You were a big help. Just don’t tell anyone what you showed me.”

“Who—me? You’re the only person I’ve talked to since Dolon took over. No one else is worth the bother. Say, aren’t you supposed to go see Smugsby soon? I’ve heard he has a whole lot of things for you to do.” Grinning at Audun once more, Jim darted off around the manure pile and up the hill to the castle keep.