Dragon Kiss (19 page)

The king had begun to struggle as soon as he entered the water. Audun worried at first, but the old man continued to shout and thrash around long after he would have drowned if the magic hadn’t been working. Satisfied that the king was all right, the dragon sped through the water, reaching the hole in the ceiling near the outer wall in minutes.

With a powerful heave, Audun tossed the king through the opening onto the floor of the tunnel. He heard Jim and Owen shout, but by then he was so busy focusing on turning back into a human that he missed whatever they were saying. A moment later he pulled himself out of the water, landing on his stomach beside the partly unwrapped king with an
oof!

“You got him!” Owen shouted, pounding Audun on the back.

“You shouldn’t have doubted me,” Audun said, although he’d had moments when he’d doubted he could do it himself.

“Your friend swims like a fish,” said the king, as he kicked the cloth off his feet. “I wouldn’t have thought he was human if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes. Didn’t feel like a human, though.” He rubbed his chest where Audun’s talons had pressed against him. “Strongest grip I ever felt.”

Owen put his arm around his father’s shoulders. “Thank goodness for that. But now we have to get you out of here, Father. I have a horse waiting in the city. You two should come with us,” he added, glancing from Jim to Audun. “This is no life for you here, Jim. And I can use your help, Audun. My father and I are going to get his throne back.”

“Jim should go,” Audun said. “But I have to stay here. I came to Desidaria to find someone and I’m not leaving until I do.”

Twenty

T
he sun was coming up as Audun helped Owen hide King Cadmus in a wagon that would take him off the castle grounds. After wishing his friends well, Audun sneaked through the back door of the kitchen behind a yawning scullery maid and trudged down the corridor to the Great Hall. His clothes still damp, he sat on a bench to wait until it was time to see Smugsby.

Exhausted from the sleepless night, Audun dreaded all the tasks the steward was bound to have waiting for him. He thought about abandoning the job altogether so he could focus on looking for the girl, but then he would probably be kicked out of the castle. Perhaps he could hunt for the girl while he was working, provided he wasn’t too obvious about it. He’d already decided that he would talk to every girl in the castle if he had to, in order to find the one he was meant to rescue. After that, he would go straight to Greater Greensward and tell Millie how much she meant to him, and this time nothing was going to get in his way.

Audun was about to get off the bench and go see Smugsby when four guards approached him. The big man who’d been made a guard just the day before was among them. Audun thought they were headed for the next table, and was surprised when they stopped beside his.

“You’re coming with us,” said one of the men. Audun recognized him as a guard from the orphans’ tower.

“What’s this about?” Audun asked, getting to his feet.

“Treason,” the guard answered. He refused to say anything more, even as they hustled Audun through the Great Hall, along the corridor, and down the steep stairs to the dungeon.

Audun wasn’t worried when they marched him into an empty cell and manacled him to the wall. He knew he could get out at any time: he was sure that the chains couldn’t withstand a dragon’s strength, but he was curious enough to want to know why he was being named a traitor. They couldn’t know of his actions during the night, unless . . .

Audun sniffed the air. Could they have captured Owen and Jim while they were helping King Cadmus off the castle grounds? If so, they would be in the dungeon as well, but he couldn’t sense either of the boys, and with such a distinctive odor, Jim would have been easy to smell.

Audun watched the guards as they prepared to leave the cell, taking the torches they’d brought with them. Although three of the guards hurried out of the cell without a backward glance, the new guard paused at the door, letting the light of the torch he carried play over his features. And he winked.

Audun’s jaw dropped. He wanted to ask the guard who he was and why he had winked, but the man was gone before he could get the words out. As the door slammed shut, Audun closed his eyes and shook his head. He’d really messed things up this time. Not only had he not found the girl, but he’d gotten himself locked away, and now he’d have to free himself without revealing his true nature. He was wondering how things could have gone so wrong when he heard footsteps. Light filled the small square window again.

His answer came when two visitors unlocked the door and one of them, a man dressed in a billowing robe decorated with spinning silver stars, jerked his cupped hands into the air, sending a ball of pale, blue light through the cell to bob just above Audun’s head. Ever since he’d seen Olebald in the Great Hall, Audun had suspected that it wouldn’t be long before the wizard knew of his presence in the castle. He had hoped, however, that it would take a little longer than this, and that he might actually be able to leave before the wizard could find him.

As the two men drew closer, he recognized the other man as the one who had greeted Olebald on his arrival, the one he’d assumed was King Dolon. Shorter than his brother, Cadmus, Dolon’s hair had yet to turn from silvery gray to white and his beard was just a fringe on his chin.

“So this is the one who’s come to kill me,” said Dolon, peering nearsightedly at Audun. “He doesn’t look like an assassin.”

Audun’s head shot up. “What? I never tried to kill anyone.”

Olebald snorted and stomped across the filthy floor to glare down his nose at Audun, even though the boy was a good eight inches taller and the wizard had to tilt his head back to do it. “Don’t lie to us, boy. Why else would you be here? You got a job under false pretenses—bribing a court official with a forbidden magical gift.”

“Oh, dear,” said King Dolon. “Is it really forbidden? I was so hoping to get one for myself. I’ve heard those bottomless tankards are wonderful, especially when you plan to entertain, and you know my wife intends to have all her relatives visit now that she’s queen. Those people can drink more in one hour than a ship’s crew the first day in port.”

“Well, of course
you
can have one, Your Majesty,” said Olebald. “I’ll get you one myself if you’d like.”

King Dolon looked pleased. “Very thoughtful of you, old fellow. I’d like mine filled with mead. I’m partial to it myself, and I don’t see why the wife’s brother can’t drink mead instead of the imported wine he’s always demanding.”

Olebald sighed. “As you wish, Your Majesty. Now, about the boy . . .”

“What boy? Oh, yes. Him. He looks like a nice enough boy. Handsome, too. Just the sort my daughter would be interested in meeting. Do you suppose you can arrange that as well?”

Olebald ground his teeth and, in an obvious effort to remain patient, said, “He’s here to kill you, Your Majesty. That’s why he’s in the dungeon.”

“I told you, I’m not here to kill anyone!” said Audun.

“Then why are you here, if not to overthrow King Dolon and put his brother back on the throne?”

King Dolon nodded. “Someone set Cadmus free last night. Was it you? Because if it was, I’d like to know how you did it. Quite an amazing feat actually, what with the river and the monster and all. I was astounded when Ole-bald thought of so many marvelous traps. I never would have come up with any of them in a million years.”

“That’s why I’m here, Your Majesty,” said Olebald. “To protect you from nefarious scoundrels like him.”

“I’m not here to hurt King Dolon!” Audun said again.

“He certainly is vehement. Are you sure he isn’t innocent?” asked the king.

“Don’t listen to him, Your Majesty. He has to lie about it. It’s part of the assassins’ code. They never admit that they’ve come to kill someone, even under torture.”

“Oh, dear, we’re not going to torture him, are we? You know I don’t like that kind of thing.”

“We could torture him,” said Olebald, “to try to learn if he has any accomplices, but I don’t believe it would work. No, we’ll just execute him quietly, if that’s all right with Your Majesty.”

“Yes, indeed, that’s much better,” King Dolon said, looking relieved. “You’ll handle all the details, won’t you, Olebald?” The wizard nodded, and the king added, “That’s a good fellow. I knew I could depend on you. Now, if we’re finished here, I suppose I’ll be off.”

Olebald ran to the doorway and stood just inside, watching the old king go. “I thought he’d never leave,” he said, once the king’s footsteps stopped ringing in the hall. The old wizard waved his hand, creating a blue cloud that drifted to the door, closed it with a
whump!
and remained to swirl in front of the window, preventing anyone from seeing inside the cell. Turning back to Audun, Olebald rubbed his hands together, saying, “Tell me what it would take to get you to turn back into a dragon.”

Audun shook his head, not sure he had heard him correctly. “Pardon me?”

“You can either show me your own true self right now, which would save us both so much trouble, or I could show you a way I’ve devised that will change you, whether you want it to or not.”

“What are you talking about?”

Olebald smiled, but in a not-very-friendly way. “Some time ago I came across a spell that would give me exactly what I’d been dreaming about for years. A nasty little witch exiled me to a tropical island where the memories of a group of witches had been kept. Although most of them had been freed, I found one bottle still intact, buried in the sand. I freed the memories in exchange for the witch’s strongest spell, one which will turn me into the most fearsome dragon alive. All I need are a few key ingredients and I’ll never again have to follow the orders of a sniveling king who has no idea how to rule a kingdom. I’ll be the one with all the power and everyone will have to listen to me!”

“Do you honestly think a simple spell is going to turn you into a dragon? There’s a lot more to it than that.”

“Really? Like what?” Olebald said, his eyes lighting up.

“I’m . . . not sure,” said Audun.

“Why don’t you turn into a dragon and show me? I’m sure you’re a most handsome beast.”

“Why do you want
me
to turn into a dragon so badly?”

“Would you believe—I’m curious?”

“Not in the least. And I doubt it’s because you want to see what I look like while I change. Unless . . . What precisely did the spell say you needed to turn into a dragon?”

“Just a dragon scale, a dragon talon, a dragon eyeball, and a dragon jaw. Nothing you’ll miss too much.”

“Sorry, but even if I wanted to give you the scale and the talon, I believe I’d really miss the eye and the jaw.”

“I wasn’t asking for them,” said Olebald. “I was just telling you what I’m going to take once you change back into a dragon.”

“You’re crazy. Why would I turn back knowing that you want to tear off bits of me? I’m not going to do anything to help you.”

“I can see you aren’t going to cooperate,” Olebald said with a sigh. “Fortunately, my plans don’t depend on your goodwill.” Reaching into his robe, Olebald took out a silk pouch and opened it, revealing a green stone the size of a large man’s fist. Bathed in a pale light, the stone illuminated the cell like an eerie, flameless fire. The moment the stone left the pouch, the ball of blue light that had been bobbing above Audun’s head flickered and went out and the silver stars on Olebald’s robe stopped spinning.

Audun recognized the stone, having seen many just like it studding the wall of Nastia Nautica’s underwater cave. What he didn’t understand was what the wizard thought he could do with a stone that wiped out magic.

“This stone has many properties,” said Olebald. “Even the sea witch I acquired it from didn’t know them all, but I’ve been experimenting with it. I believe that while no one can do magic in its presence, if you were to swallow it, it would force you to turn back into a dragon. In essence, it can change your form only from the inside—and then only by returning you to your real shape.”

Audun was incredulous. “You want me to swallow that rock? That thing is huge! I couldn’t get it down, and if I did it would kill me.”

Olebald shrugged and took a step toward Audun. “Great discoveries often involve great sacrifices. I don’t need you to be alive to get the parts I require. It will make it easier for me if you aren’t. Now, open wide and we’ll see if this fits.”

“Mmph!” said Audun, pressing his lips shut and turning his head to the side. He struggled as Olebald grabbed his head and tried to pry his jaws far enough apart to shove the stone between his lips. Unable to use his magic in the presence of the stone, the old man had to rely on his not-so-great strength and was losing the battle when the cell door burst open, admitting a slender, young, blue and white dragoness with lovely green stripes.

“He hasn’t hurt you, has he, Audun?” asked the dragoness. Audun wondered how this stranger knew his name. Only four feet long, she was probably about the same age as Loolee. Audun was certain that he had never seen her before.

“Mmph!” said Audun, still trying to keep his mouth shut.

“Get away from him, you horrible monster!” the dragoness roared. With one beat of her wings, she landed on Olebald and knocked him to the floor. She was so small, however, that once he was down, he was able to fend her off with one arm while the other clutched the stone to his chest.

“If I can’t get . . . what I want . . . from one dragon,” Olebald said, grunting with exertion, “then I’ll get . . . it from . . . another!” The old wizard shoved the little dragoness to the ground, pinning her beneath his knees. She flailed at him with her wings, batting the stone to the floor where it rolled well out of reach. With both hands free, the old wizard tried to rip one of her scales loose. The dragoness screamed and snapped at him with her sharp baby teeth.

Audun groaned. If only the stone had rolled in his direction, he might have been able to toss it out the door and turn back into a dragon. Now that the little dragoness was in danger, he
had
to become a dragon to save her. Whoever she was, she couldn’t possibly know the danger she now faced.

Audun dragged at the chains that bound him to the wall and for the first time noticed that they were new and not like the chains he’d seen in the cells while looking for King Cadmus. These were made of bright, shiny metal with no sign of rust; it was all he could do to bend them, let alone break them.

While Audun thrashed around, jerking at the chains, he called out to the dragoness, “Hold on! I’m coming!” When the dragoness let out a pitiful mew, he threw himself against the chains. With no scales to protect him, the metal cut into his skin, making the manacles slippery with blood.