No Place for Magic (7 page)

"Maybe that isn't the kind of help the people of Upper Montevista really need," he said, swatting at a mosquito tickling his cheek.

I opened my mouth to reply, then closed it with a snap. Maybe Eadric was right. Maybe they needed help, but only of a certain kind. I wished there was something I could do about it.

While Eadric and I shared a long and pleasant kiss, Hortense cleared her throat and muttered to herself, letting us know that she disapproved. She was still watching us when we said good night and retired to our tents. I was almost asleep when the werewolves started to howl. They sounded awfully close, certainly close enough to make everyone nervous. I heard the guards talking and the jangle of metal as the men who were supposed to be off duty joined them. Voices from the other tents told me that nearly everyone else was awake as well, although I thought I heard Eadric snoring.

Back home I would have chased away the werewolves long before this, but I'd been so conscious of not upsetting the Upper Montevistans that I'd done nothing, hoping that the creatures would leave us alone. But lying there in the dark, listening to the worried voices of the people around me, I knew that I'd have to take some sort of action or spend the night waiting for the first step of a stealthy paw, the first ragged scream cut short. Slipping out of my tent, I told the closest guard to let the others know that I would take care of it and that they needn't worry. Jumpy people shoot at anything that moves, and a stray arrow in my back was the last thing I needed.

I made my way only a short distance into the woods, then took on the most effective form I knew, the one that had become second nature to me over the last few months—a dragon.

The change was fast now—so fast that it happened between one breath and the next, but with great speed came great pain. When I could breathe again, I was iridescent peridot green with dark emerald claws and pale green translucent wings, more than fifteen feet long and able to breathe fire. Like Ralf's mother, I had acquired a taste for gunga beans and flami-peppers.

Raising my wings above my head, I brought them down in a mighty sweep that brushed the boughs on either side and lifted me above the tops of the trees. I'd been facing the direction of the werewolves' voices, but they'd moved and I moved with them. Dragons can see perfectly well in the dark, and can switch from normal vision to the kind that sees the heat that warm bodies give off. I used both, noting the doe and her twin fawns asleep side by side, the squirrels curled up in their nests, and the paler warmth of the turtle losing the heat it had absorbed during the day.

Wolves were easy to find, but I was hunting werewolves, who were smarter than their nonmagical counterparts and far more malicious. The first time I'd encountered them, I'd hoped that I could talk them into leaving my kingdom, but werewolves are devious and won't listen to logic. I'd had to singe their tails with flame to drive them out then and every time after that. I already knew that I'd have to do the same now.

Following their trail, I circled around toward our camp. I was in no mood for conversation, certainly not with hairy ruffians who liked ripping throats out and would be more than happy to lap the blood of my entourage. With a roar that shook the pine trees until needles rained from the boughs, I swept down on them, breathing a long pinpoint of flame that stopped just short of their furry backs, herding them ahead of me.

I was congratulating myself on a job well done when the pack split in two, leaving me to choose which faction to follow. Picking the smaller group, I tried to herd them back to their fellows, but found that I had to chase each werewolf when they went their separate ways. Because I had no desire to start a fire that could engulf a dry pine forest and knew that flaming too often might do just that, I decided to use a talent other than fire. Twisting and turning between the trees, I flew just above werewolf height, following the biggest beast. Dragons can fly faster than the swiftest horse can gallop, so I had no problem catching up with the werewolf and snatching its tail with my claws. The werewolf writhed in my grasp, snapping and snarling, but it weighed too much to turn back on its own tail and reach me.

Hauling the werewolf into the air, I carried it to the top of the tallest tree and deposited it on one of the sturdier branches. A regular wolf might have squirmed and fallen to its death, but a werewolf possessed human cunning as well as the animal kind. Crying pitifully, the werewolf held on to the swaying branch while I collected its pack-mates one at a time. When I'd gathered the entire pack, I grasped a tail in each of my clawed feet and carried them out of the woods and up the side of a mountain, depositing them on the shores of an isolated island surrounded by near-freezing water before flying back down the mountain for more. If it had been my kingdom, I would have carried them even farther. Since it wasn't, I just wanted them to stay away until we had left their territory.

When I'd moved the last of them, I turned and headed toward our camp. Before landing, however, I checked to make sure that everyone was all right, then flew on, not wanting to stop being a dragon just yet.

There were only two drawbacks to being a dragon. First, it made me feel fearless, and sometimes a little fear was a very good thing. I took risks when I was a dragon that I never would have considered as a human. Second, being a dragon was so much fun, so exciting, so
enticing,
that it was tempting to stay that way a little bit longer each time. My greatest fear, however, was that if I did, I might want to stay that way forever.

Turning back into my human self was particularly difficult that night. Chasing down the werewolves had taken most of the night, making me remain in my dragon form longer than I ever had before. Being a dragon felt so right, so perfect for me that I began to wonder if I really had to go back. Physically I felt wonderful; my blood coursed hotter, my muscles were stronger, I could fill my lungs with one deep breath and hold it for minutes at a time. My reflexes were faster, too, and my mind seemed sharper. And there were so many things that a dragon could do that a human could scarcely imagine. I could fly, swooping low or soaring high, pivoting on a wing tip or gliding for endless miles. I could bathe in lava or burrow through mountains of ice, and all the while feel as comfortable as a human on a warm spring day. A whole world waited to be explored in a way only dragons could manage. If I remained a dragon, I could see sights no human had ever seen, go places no human had ever gone. I'd never have to put up with people like Frazzela or my mother or . . .

And then I thought about my dear, sweet Eadric, who never failed to hold my hand when he thought I might be frightened, who always tried to come between me and danger even when I didn't need him to, and who cared how I felt about nearly everything. Eadric was kind and strong and brave and honorable—the kind of knight that other knights only claimed to be. He was also the love of my life, no matter what form I happened to take.

Although staying a dragon meant that I'd be free to do whatever I wanted to for the rest of my life, I already had something even better waiting for me in a tent, snoring so loudly that I could almost believe I heard him from far away. I could be a dragon now and then, but I knew that I could never leave Eadric for long.

Dipping one wing, I turned around again, heading back to camp and the far more ordinary life of a human witch.

Six

A
s a dragon I'd seen that we had almost reached the edge of the forest, so I wasn't surprised when the trees thinned out, giving way to a rocky slope. Eadric assured me that his parents' castle was only half a day's ride away. I'd been hoping it would be much closer.

The road we were on wound around the mountainside. Although it afforded us fantastic views, the steep incline tired the horses and made our travel slower. We hadn't gone far beyond the tree line when the ground began to shake and pebbles shifted under the horses' hooves, making them skittish and hard to control.

"Are earthquakes common here?" I asked Eadric.

"Not at all," he said. "I don't think this is an earthquake. Notice how rhythmic it is? I think it's probably a . . ."

"Giant!" shouted Lucy, pointing wildly as she hung out of the carriage window. The curve of the mountainside prevented us from seeing more than the giant's head and shoulders, although it was enough to tell that he wasn't in very good shape. His coarse brown hair stuck out from his head like straw, and his tunic was rumpled and dirty, unlike most of the giants I'd seen who kept themselves very well groomed. From the way he was moving he looked as if he were staggering, his head lolling with every step.

"This is bad," said Eadric. "There's a village just a few miles farther in that direction."

"I can't imagine why a giant would want to go so close to a village unless he wants to make trouble," I said. "He has to know how much damage he can do just by walking down the street." A giant this big could do even more damage than most. His head was higher than my father's tallest tower and broader than that of any giant I'd seen before.

"He's either sick or drunk," said Eadric. "Look at the way he's walking. I'll go see which it is. You stay here with the carriages, Emma. It's safer here. There's no telling what he'll do when he sees me."

"Then you shouldn't go by yourself," I said, turning Gwynnie to join him. "I can use my magic to stop him if he's really out of control."

Eadric looked exasperated when he shook his head and said, "If you won't stay here because I ask you to, consider how many people there are in the village who could see your magic. Do you really want to risk it?"

"But. . . ," I began, then realized that he was right. Unlike Greater Greensward, where my father's subjects expected me to confront trouble, the people of Upper Montevista would be horrified to see a princess facing a giant and even more so when they realized that I was a witch.

I watched helplessly from Gwynnie's back as Eadric and my knights picked their way across the rocky ground. "I can't just sit here," I muttered to myself. After what had happened with the sea monster, I wasn't about to let Eadric face the giant without me. Biting my lip, I tried to decide what to do. Without any trees or shrubs to hide behind, I couldn't very well change without anyone seeing me, unless . . .

I was all fumble fingers as I tied Gwynnie behind my carriage, although the mare was the only one to notice. Li'l was asleep, hanging upside down from the carriage roof. Shelton, however, was wide awake, clutching the window frame and waving his eyestalks with excitement as he watched the giant's progress.

"Is that a real person?" he asked as I swung the door open and climbed in. "He's ever so much bigger than you."

"He's a giant," I said. "They're all bigger than me. He isn't acting right, so I'm going to go see why."

"But I heard Eadric," said Shelton. "He said you should stay here. I admit he's a bossy know-it-all, but I think he's right this time. If that giant is real, no one should go near him, least of all you. What would happen to me if something happened to you? Eadric would probably cook me or feed me to some wild beast."

"Thanks for being so caring," I said. "I'll be fine and so will you. Now stand back."

It took only a moment for me to turn into a hawk. Not only was the bird fast, but it had marvelous eyesight, and right now that was what I needed most. I didn't dare get too close since I didn't want to be seen, so I'd have to watch from a distance. Springing from the carriage window, I took to the air, spiraling upward until I had almost reached the high, puffy clouds. I glanced down and saw Eadric and the knights approaching the giant, who was only a few strides from the outermost building in the village. He looked drunk to me, and I was certain of it when I heard him start to sing.

Oh, give me an ale, a stout-hearted ale

In a bottomless, endless mug.

I'll do my best to drain it dry.

You know I' 11 give it a good try.

And if I can't, I'll be coming back

To try it again tomorrow.

The giant ended his song with a hiccup that shook the village and crumbled chimneys. Looking as if his eyes couldn't quite focus, he was about to set his foot on a wagon loaded with firewood when Eadric and his knights arrived. "Ho there, Giant!" Eadric called. The giant turned, staggering. Closing one eye, he peered down at Eadric and Bright Country.

"Look!" the giant said with a foolish grin on his face. "A puppy!" Reaching for Eadric, he tripped over his own feet and landed on his knees, shaking the ground so that the carriages rattled. "Ouch!" he said. "That wasn't very nice. Bad puppy!"

"This way, Giant," Eadric shouted as the giant crawled to his feet with difficulty, shaking his head and moaning. Spinning Bright Country around, Eadric kicked him into a gallop, taking the rocky terrain far too fast. The other knights ran with him, but the giant seemed interested only in Eadric and the silver-maned Bright Country.

"Come back here, puppy," he shouted loudly enough to start rockslides on the next mountain over. Lurching after Brighty, he followed Eadric away from the village and far across the rock-strewn slope. Although I'd been sure that the destrier would outrun him, the giant was catching up. Eadric must have heard him, because he began turning Brighty in a zigzag pattern, but even that didn't slow the giant.

It was time that someone did something, and that someone was going to have to be me. The giant had given me the idea himself. Because witches' magic doesn't have much effect on beings that exist through magic, I couldn't cast a spell on him. I'd have to cast it on something else without using obvious magic. Pointing a claw at the ground between Eadric and the giant, I said,

Move the rocks to form a bump—

Not too high, more like a hump.

All we want the bump to do

Is catch the giant by his shoe.

Eadric was still racing away when the ridge rose up, tripping the giant. I held my breath until the giant hit the ground with a splat so loud that Bright Country was blown over and avalanches started on every mountain in the chain. The knights cheered when the giant didn't get up. I began to breathe again when Eadric stood and stepped aside so Bright Country could scramble to his hooves.

When the giant continued to lie there unmoving, I wondered if he'd been injured in his fall. Then, with a snort and a gargle, he began to snore, and I knew that he'd done just what he was supposed to do. The giant had fallen down, and fallen asleep.

I flew back to my carriage when a group of exultant villagers threw open their doors and hurried out to thank Eadric. By the time he returned, I was waiting impatiently astride Gwynnie. "How did it go?" I asked.

"Very well," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I had the giant follow me until he collapsed, exhausted. I told the villagers to make a lot of noise when he wakes up. That should drive him away."

"Why would noise drive him away?" I asked.

"Because he's going to have a very bad headache when he wakes, and loud noise will only make it worse. He'll leave, all right, as quietly as he can."

"It sounds like you thought of everything," I said.

"I try," Eadric replied, looking very pleased with himself.

I didn't mind that Eadric believed he'd taken care of the giant on his own. He'd been very brave to lead the giant from the village the way he did, and if anyone deserved the credit it was Eadric. However, having to be secretive bothered me enough to put me in a bad mood, which hadn't improved by the time we finally saw the royal castle of Upper Montevista.

It was a forbidding-looking castle, not airy and light like my home. Thick-walled, with few windows and four dull gray towers, it was perched on a jagged pinnacle of rock called Castle Peak with only one route to its gate across a narrow, steep-sided ridge. Although it commanded breathtaking views of the valley far below and much of the mountainside, the castle itself wasn't at all pretty. At least Eadric was happy to see it.

I sat up straighter in my saddle, sorry that I hadn't taken the time to fix my hair and change into a clean gown. The castle guards had already spotted us, and we could see the flurry of activity on the walls. Their prince was coming home.

At Eadric's command, the knights who'd been in front fell back, and the two of us led the way across the ridge. With the ground falling in sheer drops on either side of the road, I could see that the castle would be easy to defend. A drawbridge before the castle gate made unwanted visitors even less likely. As our horses clattered across the wood and we entered the passageway beyond the portcullis, I looked up to see the murder hole from which defenders could drop boulders or pour boiling oil from above. I was glad that we were welcome.

Eadric's parents must have been alerted to our arrival, because they were waiting for us as we entered the courtyard. It was obvious that his mother was upset. Her eyes were red, her face mottled and tear-streaked. Eadric's normally amiable father, King Bodamin, looked angry and very, very worried. At first I thought it was because I was there, but then the queen rushed to Eadric's side, exclaiming, "My darling boy! You've come just when we need you most!"

"Indeed," said his father. "Tell me, son, did you see anything unusual on your way here?"

Eadric and I exchanged glances. "Well," he began. "There was a drunken giant. . ."

Queen Frazzela glanced at the king. "You don't suppose that giant was involved?"

The king shook his head. "I don't know what to think."

"What's going on?" asked Eadric, frowning. "What aren't you telling me?"

The queen sighed and dabbed at fresh tears. "Your brother has been kidnapped."

Her husband looked annoyed. "Now, we don't know that, my dear," he said before turning to Eadric. "The scamp has been ill and tucked in his bed for the past week. Last night he became restive and sneaked out of the castle, something I strongly discourage, I might add. He's been looking for dragon eggs, and he may have thought he'd have better luck at night. Bradston is only ten years old! He knows I don't approve of his solitary forays even when he's healthy, as I've told him . . ."

"Bodamin, you're rambling!" said the queen.

"Ahem, well, yes, I suppose I am. As I was saying, he sneaked out, but wasn't missed for hours because we thought he was in his bed. A stable boy admits to having seen him go. Everyone has been looking for him, except no one can find hide or hair of the rascal. I was afraid that he might have taken a bad fall, so my men have been searching the cliffs and er . . . rocks below."

"He wouldn't have fallen," said Eadric, shaking his head. "Bradston is more agile than a mountain goat. I've never seen him miss a step."

"That's what I said!" wailed the queen. "I know he's still alive, because the banshee hasn't come to tell us that he isn't. And I would have sensed it if my little darling were hurt." A lady-in-waiting offered her a clean cloth to wipe her eyes. The queen took it, handing the woman her soggy one in return as new tears dripped down her pale cheeks. "I just wish I knew where he was. He's still not well and I'm sure he must be terrified."

Eadric looked grim. "Bradston isn't afraid of anything, although he'll have reason to be when I get through with him if this is another of his tricks. Mother," he said, reaching for my hand, "I've brought Emma for a visit. I'd appreciate it if you'd welcome her and make her comfortable while I organize a search party. I'll find Bradston for you."

Queen Frazzela looked at me as if she hadn't realized that I was there, although she couldn't have missed seeing me sitting on my palfrey right next to Eadric. "Ah," she said. "You brought
her.
I suppose it can't be helped, but this is a very bad time to have a visitor, especially one with her inclinations."

"Mother," said Eadric, with iron in his voice. "You can't talk about Emma that way. I want you to remember that this is the girl I'm going to marry. And you can hardly blame her for coming at a bad time. We had no way of knowing about Bradston."

"She
might have," his mother said with obvious distaste. 'You forget that I've seen her true nature. Go, organize your search party. I'll see that the girl is suitably housed." The queen turned to gesture to one of her waiting servants.

"Suitably housed for a princess, you mean," said Eadric.

The queen's back stiffened. "For a princess," she added, although I could tell from her voice that it pained her to say it.

After Eadric took my knights to confer with his father's, I had to wait in the' courtyard for someone to show me to my room while Lucy fussed over me. After she'd tidied my hair and straightened my gown, I'd had enough. "You can help me more by seeing to our rooms," I said, trying to shoo her into the castle. Although she went easily enough, Hortense refused to go until I told her that I was exhausted and was relying on her to find a place for me to rest. Satisfied that she had an even greater mission than to wait with me, Hortense bustled off into the castle, determined to set things right.