Dragon Sleeping (The Dragon Circle Trilogy Book 1) (8 page)

Mary Lou looked at her mother and father. She realized that, besides her mother asking her to eat, the two of them hadn’t said a word throughout the entire meal. Her father shook his head when she looked at him. Why? The guard’s broken speech had confused her. She wanted to ask the soldier if he was afraid of Nunn as well. But her parents looked as if they’d die if she opened her mouth.

Mary Lou glanced at those guards who still held their weapons. They had spaced themselves out at the edges of the clearing. A couple of them engaged in conversation, while another seemed busy refitting the shafts and heads of his arrows. A fourth stared out at the woods, his back to the gathering. Mary Lou had no doubt that, should she approach the line of trees beyond the clearing, she would get all of the guards’ attention. But for now, they seemed involved elsewhere, as if they were saying, “You don’t bother us, we won’t bother you.”

Short of some new distraction like those falling trees, she couldn’t think of any way to escape. But there was no reason she couldn’t simply stroll across the clearing and explore.

She walked away from the table, looking at the ground before her, the tops of the trees beyond the guards, the walls of the hut in front of her.

One of the guards looked her way. She took a few steps back toward the center of the clearing, and the guard looked away.

She turned back to her goal.

The hut seemed to be made of dried mud and straw. The wooden door, constructed from half a dozen logs tied side by side, had been left open. No light reached within. She could see nothing inside, even when her casual steps turned again and brought her closer.

She had a sudden urge to step through the doorway.

Why would anyone want to follow Nunn? Perhaps, she thought, because that was the one thing no one would ever expect. Maybe she could find out something about their captors, or find something inside that could help them with their escape.

She took a step forward. Quiet as a mouse, she thought. It was something her grandmother used to say when Mary Lou had become too excited as a child. Quiet as a mouse.

When she was younger, she used to creep from her bedroom and hide at the top of the stairs and listen to her parents. It was exciting, dangerous, forbidden, to be someplace she shouldn’t.

The door was only two steps away.

No one called out to her, neither soldier nor neighbor. No one knew she was there. Everyone had stopped talking.

There was no noise anywhere. Quiet as a mouse.

She risked a final glance behind her, waiting for someone to shout.

Too close! Move away!

The guards were busy eating, or talking, or watching the other neighbors. Even Mary Lou’s mother was busy, deep in discussion with the other women. Now that she looked back at them, she could hear voices, but only a distant murmur too faint to make out the words. Maybe the breeze made it hard to hear. It was almost as if they had all forgotten about her.

She stepped inside. She felt stone beneath her feet. She closed her eyes for an instant, willing her gaze to adjust to the dimness within. It was cooler in here; the air felt totally different from the forest outside. She opened her eyes with a start when she realized she could smell the sea.

She stood in a hall, made of dark and solid stone. She was at one end of a long corridor, lit with torches, that stretched as far as she could see.

The corridor must have been a dozen times as long as the hut. That was impossible. Well, she added, impossible in the world she had come from.

From somewhere far down the corridor came a terrible scream of pain.

Perhaps, she thought, this was more information than she wanted. Maybe she should step back and rejoin the relative security of parents and neighbors and soldiers who carried nothing more than bows and knives.

She glanced behind her. The door was no longer there. Instead, she saw another wall of dark grey stone.

It must all be part of the illusion. She pushed her hand against the wall, fully expecting her palm to pass on through to the invisible doorway that led back to the forest camp.

The wall was solid. Her fingers pushed against rough, cold granite. A second scream came down the hall, even louder than the first.

“N
unn will not let us go that easily,” the large green man said softly. Raven’s laughter stopped abruptly as the sun disappeared behind the clouds. They were dark clouds, their undersides a threatening blend of black and brown, hanging low as if they couldn’t wait to release a torrent of rain. Somehow, Nick thought, these thunder-heads, set against the greenish sky, looked even more ominous than they did at home.

“Nunn has avoided this before,” the large black bird remarked, pointing his beak toward the approaching storm. “Something has changed. He’s decided to test Raven.”

The bird nodded at Nick and the other young men. “One of you must be very important.”

The four newcomers all looked at each other. Jason appeared a little bewildered behind his thick glasses. Surrounded by these big trees, he looked even scrawnier than usual. Bobby shifted his pudgy body from one foot to the other, smiling like he wanted everything to be all right. Todd glared briefly at each of them, idly flexing his biceps before he turned away. Now that they’d gotten away from the soldiers, he seemed all too ready to go back to his usual anger. Nick didn’t feel any different, either. Of course, with red hair and a gangly body that refused to stop growing, he supposed he could stand out in this place, too. Still, none of the four of them looked particularly “important.” Maybe, Nick thought, they were all staring at each other to see if one of them had sprouted horns or something.

Raven shook his head and fluffed out his feathers. “Nunn will be very sorry.”

Todd stepped forward from the ranks of the newcomers. “I’ve had enough of this. Who, or what, is a Nunn?”

“The boy is most perceptive,” the Oomgosh observed with the most generous of smiles. “Nunn is both a who and a what.”

“And the Oomgosh will talk and talk and never get to the point,” Raven replied. “Sometimes I am amazed we are still in this battle.”

The large green man smiled still. “Raven does make up for our weaknesses.” But his smile vanished as he looked above.

“Nunn is looking for us now,” the Oomgosh explained with a nod toward the clouds. “Nunn was once a man, much like one of you. But he has used his magic too long.” He turned his head toward the sky as rain began to fall. “And the magic has used him in return.”

Raven looked speculatively at the large raindrops, as if there might be a secret in the pattern of their fall. “If I were by myself, I would fly up there to take the lightning in my claws and thrust it back in the eyes of Nunn.” He cawed softly. “Things become more difficult when I have four visitors to protect.”

“Too true,” the green man agreed. “Perhaps we should seek some assistance.”

“Even Raven shares the sky,” the bird said. “Follow me now, before this storm gets any worse.”

With that, the great black bird took flight, his wings even darker than the clouds above.

“Come, friends,” the Oomgosh urged from where he stood behind them. “It is for all our benefit.”

Todd glared at the sky as he broke into a trot. Bobby and Jason scrambled to catch up, as if they both had elected Todd their leader. They all followed the path indicated by the low-flying Raven, which led from the clearing back into the forest. Nick started to run; too, afraid he’d get left behind. The rain was getting heavier. Nick blinked the water from his eyes.

Lightning flashed before them. Charlie barked at his heels. Nick’s dog had never much liked lightning.

Nick waited for the great boom that always followed. There was nothing; no thunder at all.

“Come now!” the bird cried over his shoulder. “Keep up with Raven and we’ll all be safe and dry.” He cawed loudly as he flew, warning away the storm.

A second shaft of lightning crashed down in front of them. It was much closer than the first. The air smelled like something was burning. There was no thunder this time, either.

“Perhaps, O Raven,” the Oomgosh called from where he took up the rear, “it would be better to take a less direct route.” Raven spread his wings and banked around before them.

“For once in his overgrown life,” the bird called down as he flew overhead, “the Oomgosh might be right.” He turned again, and flew a bit to the left of their earlier course, toward another opening in the surrounding woods. “Come on, my people! What say we outwit this storm?”

All four of them followed the Raven’s lead, with the Oomgosh following them in turn. But Nick was finding it harder and harder to run. He had trouble breathing in the humid air, and the rain had soaked through his clothes. His jeans seemed heavier every time he lifted his legs. And the water kept falling straight down, a solid downpour, without any wind at all, as if the clouds overhead might stay there to unleash their torrent forever.

Lightning smashed into the trees directly in front of them, maybe a hundred feet away. One of the tree stumps that remained caught on fire, the flames sizzling beneath the rain.

“The storm does not wish us to go this way, either,” the Oomgosh declared, his voice rising above the noise the rain made against the leaves.

Nick thought about Raven’s saying he would outwit the storm. Maybe a storm that held no wind or thunder really could think, too. Maybe that kind of storm used the lightning for its fingers, for Nick felt as if those crooked lines of electricity were reaching out for all of them. “So what will Raven do?” the bird shouted as he hovered overhead. “Perhaps it is time to challenge the clouds!” Still, as boldly as he talked, he made no move to fly up toward the thunderheads.

“The Oomgosh has had a thought!” the green man called from the rear.

“Another wonder in a world of marvels!” Raven chided. “Does the Oomgosh wish to share it with us?”

“We have said that one of the young men here with us is important to Nunn,” the Oomgosh said with a grin so broad it threatened to split his face in two. “And Nunn has the storm throw lightning to send us back the way we have come. No doubt he wishes us to march back into the willing arms of his soldiers. But if these fellows are so important, the lightning cannot touch them. He can throw down all the slashing fire in the world, but it will be no more than a threat!”

“You mean this Nunn doesn’t want to kill us?” Todd asked incredulously.

“Nunn doesn’t dare kill you!” Raven cackled. “The lightning is nothing more than a sham, to lure you into his trap!”

Raven cawed loudly. “He is certainly the most excellent

Oomgosh!” He swooped above the green man, and then fluttered his wings to gain altitude. “Of course,” the bird added in a quieter voice, “Raven would have thought of that as well, had he not been so busy leading us all from danger.

“Most assuredly, my Raven,” the Oomgosh agreed. “Now what say we go to meet the lightning?”

“Wait a moment,” Bobby piped up, for once not smiling at all. “You want us to walk into that stuff?”

It was only when he heard Bobby’s question that Nick realized how quiet the two younger boys had been since they had met the Oomgosh and Raven. But this last suggestion of the green man’s was apparently too much even for Bobby, who looked as if he was about to lose it and run.

Jason stood by Bobby’s side, content to keep silent and look miserable. His rain-soaked clothes made him seem even scrawnier than usual. His glasses were completely fogged over by the rain; Nick wondered if Jason could even see. Out of all of them, only Todd seemed eager to follow the large bird’s lead.

Nick had to admit that even he had the kind of doubts that half made him want to run away. Not, of course, that he had anywhere to go.

“When Raven tells you a thing,” the bird informed Bobby, “there is no need to worry. And when the Oomgosh tells you something”— Raven paused before continuing—“well, he certainly means well.” He cawed to his assembled audience. “Step forward, and we’ll test this wizard.”

“
Test
this wizard?” Bobby asked even more loudly than before, his voice squeaking with disbelief. “Can I go home now?”

“None of us can go home,” the Oomgosh advised, “until we deal with Nunn.”

“I know,” Bobby answered glumly. “I just had to say something.”

Todd had turned around to look at the others. For the first time, Nick could see uncertainty in Todd’s face, too. Bobby’s outburst had brought out every fear all four of them had been so carefully hiding.

“Why do we wait?” the Oomgosh asked, as if he was oblivious to the feelings of the four visitors. Raven flapped his wings and flew up toward the glowering mass of cloud above.

Jason was the first to step forward. He didn’t look at any of the others, but kept his face pointed toward their goal. “Let’s go,” was all he said.

“I see why Nunn prizes you so highly,” Raven called from above. “Any of you could be what he is looking for.”

“Come.” The Oomgosh urged the other three forward. “We have no time to dawdle.”

“Raven leads the way!” the bird called down from up above. “But Raven stays close!”

The others moved, urged along by the great, hard hands of the green man. Nick realized that he and the other humans were clearly outmatched. Disagreeing with the Oomgosh was like arguing with a force of nature.

“We go forward,” the Oomgosh remarked. “Into the forest.” Shafts of searing white slashed into trees on either side of them, as if the lightning had been waiting for them to move. Limbs exploded from the trees to fall into the forest beyond.

“Whoa!” Bobby called. “Should we really be listening to a bird?” The black bird dropped even lower in the sky.

“I believe it is time for Raven to come closer still,” the bird announced. “Perhaps one of you fine young men would be honored to have Raven perch upon his shoulder?”

Nick found the large black bird flying straight toward him. “This is not a privilege that I bestow lightly,” Raven remarked as he settled down on Nick’s rain-soaked T-shirt. “Your shoulder should consider this a rare distinction.”