Dragon's Treasure (39 page)

"It will keep you strong," Ursule said.

"I don't want it." She did not want to eat. The contractions coursed through her. Rain had told her that her womb was full of water in which the baby lived. She imagined it swimming toward the opening between her legs. "Come, little fish," she whispered to it, "hurry." Sweat stung her eyes. Maura, kneeling beside her, wiped her face. "Hurry."

"It comes," said Rain. "Push! Again." She gasped for breath. "Now, hold still!"

There was one very urgent sensation, and then, amazingly, a baby cried.

"A girl-child!" Rain said triumphantly. Sirany spoke the blessing.

"Am I torn?" Maia whispered.

"No," Maura said.

"Good." She rolled onto her side. Her legs ached. "Is she—?"

"She's fine," Rain said. "She's perfect. She's beautiful."

"Give her to me." They laid the howling baby in her arms. She stroked the huge head with one finger. It was covered with red-gold stubble, like the skin of a peach. The hair went all the way down her back to her tiny tailbone. She was not beautiful; she was wrinkled and damp as a new-hatched butterfly. Her eyes were shut. Her minute fingers were furled tightly into fists. "Hush, now, little one," Maia crooned. The crying stopped.

Maura said, "You must give her a name."

"Her father will name her." She was very sleepy, and also very thirsty. Her throat hurt. Fluid gushed between her legs.

"A use name," Maura said.

"Little one," Maia whispered. "Lovely one. Thy name is Jewel."

As if she approved, the baby made an amused, bubbling sound, and opened her eyes. They were immense, blue as sapphires. She bubbled again, and waved her arms. Her fists unfurled.

Claws, small as a kitten's, tipped the end of her perfect fingers.

* * *

In June, Maia diSorvino rode to the Keep.

Alf, Angus, and Lew, Alf's middle son, rode with her: Alf, who had served in the war band during the years Karadur Atani lived in Mako, wore his sword; Angus and Lew carried bows. Mounted on plow horses, they made an incongruous escort.

The day was warm. Cloud shadows dappled the hills. Iridescent butterflies fluttered over the grass, which was bright with yellow mustard and blue thyme and every color of wild lilies. From the crook of Maia's arm, Jewel gurgled with delight. She waved her arms at the sunlight.

An orange-and-black butterfly lit on Bessie's neck. Crowing, Jewel snatched for it. The startled butterfly sailed upward, away from the clenching hands. Jewel frowned. "Thou canst not have it," Maia told her. "It must fly free, as wilt thou someday." She put her little finger into the yearning baby's palm.

Jewel grunted and tried to tug the finger to her mouth. Already her grip was strong. Her claws had sloughed off about a week after she was born. They would return, Rain said, when she was older.

They halted thrice for Jewel to nurse. By midafternoon they reached the Keep. The dark granite castle towering over them looked as if it had been made by giants. As they rode up the narrow path to its gate, Maia repressed a shiver.

Taran met them at the gate. His face was brown; above it, his hair seemed almost white. She dismounted. He put an arm about her shoulders. "Gods, I'm glad to see you." He gazed at Jewel. She looked at him serenely. "She's so small."

"Not really. She grows swiftly," Maia said. "Little one. Lovely one. This is thine uncle."

Taking Bessie's rein, Taran led the plow horse beneath the great archway. Behind its impregnable wall, the Keep revealed itself to be not one but many buildings, some low and squat, some narrow and tall. She smelled the odor of hot iron. A heavy, rhythmic hammering came from one of the buildings. Someone, somewhere, was baking bread.

A large-headed dog came to sniff her boots. His hackles lifted as he caught Morga's scent on her clothes. A ragged boy thrust his head out the entrance of the dog kennel. He clicked his tongue.

"Savage," he called. "Savage, come here." The dog trotted to him.

Jewel arched her back and said, "Aha, aha." It was one of her favorite noises.

"Where is he?"

Taran jerked his head toward the great stone spire of the watchtower. "Up there."

"Wait here for me," she said to her friends.

Taran took her into the castle. Light from narrow windows shed a soft irregular glimmer through the corridors. The halls smelled faintly sour. The wall tapestries were so begrimed that she could barely see the colors. They climbed a stair. A girl, arms full of linens, pressed against the wall to let them pass. Her eyes went wide when she saw the baby in the crook of Maia's arm.

They climbed a second, even steeper, stair. At the top, a boy sat on the floor opposite a doorway. The door was shut. The boy rose as they approached.

Taran said, "Tell him Maia diSorvino is here to see him."

The boy said, "He won't answer. The mayor of Castria came this morning to see him. He wouldn't open the door."

"Tell him."

The boy knocked, and said clearly, "My lord, Maia diSorvino is here to see you."

There was no answer.

"Is the door locked?" Taran asked.

"No," the boy said.

Taran opened the door. The room was dark; shutters covered the windows. A single candle flickered on the desktop. The air smelled stale.

Karadur was seated at the desk. He was dressed, as always, in black. He was bearded, which Maia had not expected. Beneath the golden bristles, his face was drawn.

He looked at her without expression. Then he said, "What are you doing here? I didn't send for you."

She said, "It's dark in here."

Taran found a second candle, touched its wick to the first, and stuck it in a holder. Maia unfastened her cloak and laid it on the desktop. She set Jewel on top of it. The baby waved her arms and legs. Her blue eyes gazed widely, knowledge- ably at the dragon-lord. She gurgled, and reached toward his beard.

"My lord," Maia said, "I came to introduce you to your daughter."
 

Table of Contents

Epigraph

Prologue 

PART ONE 

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

PART TWO 

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

PART THREE 

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

PART FOUR 

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19