Talking to Dragons (4 page)

“I hate you!” Shiara cried. She sounded like she meant it.

“Just because I don't want to get eaten by wolves or driven mad by a nightshade or something?” I said, puzzled. “What's wrong with that?”

Shiara just turned her back on me. I watched her for a minute, then sort of settled back on the ground. Things were getting very complicated. I was lost in the Enchanted Forest, with no food or water. I had a magic sword I didn't want to use because it did strange things to the ground. In another day or so I would probably have a wizard looking for me. I didn't have any idea how I was going to figure out why Mother wanted me to leave home. And then there was Shiara.

Fire-witches are rare. Nobody can learn to be one. You're either born one or you're not. They're very powerful. They can burn anything, of course, and fire doesn't hurt them at all. Fire-witches can learn almost any kind of magic there is. They're immune to most spells, too, which is why wizards don't like them. Fire-witches can even summon Elementals and get them to listen. Well, sometimes. And Shiara was a fire-witch. With enough power to burn a wizard's staff. The Head Wizard's staff.

I didn't think I wanted her to be mad at me.

I didn't know what to do about it, though. I didn't even know what I'd done wrong, and I wasn't at all sure what to do next. What do you say to a mad fire-witch?

Right about then I heard snuffling noises. I looked up. Shiara was crying again. I sighed and dug out my handkerchief.

“I don't mean to make you mad,” I said as I watched her mop her face again. “I just keep doing it by accident. It'd make things a lot easier for both of us if you would tell me what I'm doing wrong so I can stop.”

Shiara looked at me over the top of the handkerchief, which was starting to look sort of damp and wrinkled. “You want to talk to me? You're not scared?” She lowered the handkerchief and stared at me. “You mean it!”

“Of course I mean it,” I said. “Why shouldn't I? And why should I be scared?”

“I guess I'd better tell you,” she said with a sigh.

T
HE PROBLEM WAS
, Shiara was a fire-witch who couldn't do anything. On purpose, I mean. Things happened when she got mad, and once in a while a spell worked for her, but most of the time she couldn't make anything happen, which was why she hadn't just burned her way out of the bushes before I got there. She didn't have very many friends because everyone was afraid of her. I could understand that. I mean, with a temper like hers and no way of telling what would happen when she lost it, people had reason to be nervous.

On top of that, everyone kept telling her all the things she ought to be able to do because she was a fire-witch. Like not worrying about nightshades. That was why she got mad at me. She was awfully sick of being told what fire-witches could do, especially when she couldn't, and she thought I was starting, so of course she lost her temper.

And then the Society of Wizards heard about this fire-witch who couldn't cast spells or anything. They decided it would be a great chance to find out more about fire-witches, so a whole bunch of them came and grabbed Shiara right out of the middle of town. Shiara didn't like it. She liked it even less when she found out they wanted her to stand in the middle of a circle of wizards while they threw spells at her to see what would work.

“I said no,” Shiara told me. “And they said I didn't have any choice. That's when I burned the Head Wizard's staff. I don't like wizards.”

“I don't blame you,” I said.

She nodded and went on, “Anyway, it turned out that the wizards had brought me to the edge of the Enchanted Forest. So as long as I was here, I decided to see if there was somewhere in the forest I could find out how to use my magic. Only then I stumbled in here and I couldn't get out. I was afraid the wizards would catch up with me, and I was tired and hungry and mad, and I couldn't make my fire magic work enough to burn even a little hole in those bushes. That's why I was crying.”

I wished she hadn't mentioned being hungry. Until then I'd almost forgotten that I hadn't eaten since breakfast. But there wasn't any food inside the hedge, and I wasn't going to try opening it. I'd already done enough experimenting for one day, and besides, it was getting dark.

“Your turn. What are you doing in the Enchanted Forest?” Shiara asked when I didn't say anything.

“I don't know,” I said.

“How can you not know?” she demanded. “I told you why I came!”

So I explained about Mother and the wizard. Shiara was very interested.

“I want to meet your mother,” she said. “After I learn how to use my magic. Do you think she would teach me how to melt a wizard?”

“I don't know.”

Shiara thought for a minute. “I don't see how you can find out what you're supposed to be doing just by wandering around the Enchanted Forest.”

“Well,
you're
planning to wander around until you find out how to use your magic, aren't you?” I said. “I don't think I really see the difference.”

“I know what I'm doing,” Shiara said. “That's the difference.”

“If you knew very much about the Enchanted Forest, you wouldn't have gotten caught by this hedge.”

Shiara scowled, then looked suddenly thoughtful. “Is it more dangerous to wander around the forest alone than with someone?”

“It depends,” I said. “Two people attract more attention than one, but sooner or later everyone in the Enchanted Forest runs into something dangerous. And when you do get into trouble, it's sort of nice to have someone around to help.”

“Why don't we stay together, then? After we get out of this stupid hedge, I mean. As long as neither of us knows exactly where we're going, we might as well wander in the same direction.”

“All right.” It sounded like a good idea, especially since it's hard to run into someone completely by accident in the Enchanted Forest.

Then Shiara made me describe Antorell in detail, and she decided that he wasn't one of the wizards who had kidnapped her. I wasn't sure whether that was good or bad. Shiara was nice when she wasn't mad, and I was beginning to like her. But if we were going to stick together, we would have two sets of wizards looking for us, and that didn't sound too good. Shiara was still curious, so I wound up telling her about the sword and the lizard and everything.

“The Sword of the Sleeping King,” she said thoughtfully when I finished. “Well, it
sounds
important. Can you do that spell again? I'd like to watch. Maybe I could figure it out.”

“I could do it, but I won't,” I said. “Once was enough.”

“You scared or something?” Shiara said scornfully.

“I'm not scared, I'm being sensible. That was no minor magic I set off. Are you
trying
to attract attention?”

“No, I suppose you're right. Will you let me see the sword, at least?”

“Sure, if you promise not to take it out of the sheath or say any spells at it or anything,” I said. I stood up and started trying to unbuckle the belt. It was hard to do in the dark. Finally Shiara got tired of waiting and came and helped. It still took a while, and my elbows got in the way again, but finally we managed to get the sword belt off. Shiara took the sheath and squinted at the parts of the sword that showed.

“I can't see anything,” she complained.

“There isn't much to see,” I said. “Besides, it's dark. Maybe we should wait until tomorrow.”

“I wanted to see it now. Oh, all right.” She handed it back, hilt first. I took it and nearly let go again right away. The tingling was back, the one that reminded me of a bee, and it was a lot stronger than it had been before.

“Watch out!” Shiara said. “You almost dropped it.”

“It's tingling again,” I said.

“It is? Let me see.” I handed the sword back, and Shiara touched the hilt. “I don't feel anything. Are you sure?”

“Of course I'm sure.” I reached out and put my hand on the hilt, next to Shiara's.

“Ow!” I said, and Shiara went, “Oh!” and we both dropped the sword. We looked at each other for a minute.

“What did it feel like to you?” I asked finally.

“Like something pulling at me.” Shiara eyed the sword warily. “You can have it back now. I don't want to look at it anymore.”

I picked up the sword and put it back on. I still wanted to know what it was doing, but I wasn't going to mess around with it in the dark. Shiara and I talked a little, but we were both tired, and finally we decided to just go to sleep. We would have plenty of time to experiment in the morning if we still felt like it.

Spending the night in the Enchanted Forest sounds awfully exciting, but it isn't really. Either you stay up all night so the wolves and nightshades and things won't get you and they don't, or you fall asleep and they do, or you find someplace safe and sleep there and never know. We slept all night—at least, I did—and when we woke up in the morning the hedge was still there.

By that time I was really hungry, and since there wasn't anything to eat inside the hedge I was ready to leave. So was Shiara. She was still worried about the Society of Wizards. We brushed most of the moss off our clothes, and I checked the sword, just to be safe.

“Will you quit fussing with that and come open this stupid hedge?” Shiara said.

I walked over to the bushes. They looked very dense and very prickly.

“Excuse me,” I said to the hedge. “I would like to thank you for keeping the wolves and things out all night, and I would very much appreciate it if you would let us through now.”

“That's the dumbest—” Shiara began, and the bushes rustled and parted. I grinned and stepped through. The branches shut behind me with a snap. “Ow!” said Shiara. I turned around. She was still on the other side of the hedge.

“What happened?” I yelled.

“What do you think happened? And you don't have to shout. I'm not that far away.”

“Sorry.”

“Make it open up again!”

“I'll try,” I said doubtfully. I addressed the bushes again. “Excuse me, but you seem to have a friend of mine inside, and she can't get out. Will you please let her through?”

The bushes rustled smugly and didn't move apart at all. “I'd really appreciate it if you would let her out,” I said. “She's nicer than you think.”

The bushes rustled again. This time they sounded skeptical. They still didn't open.

“Well?” said Shiara's voice.

I sighed. “They won't open up. I'm afraid you'll have to apologize.”

“Apologize? To a
bush?
” Shiara sounded outraged. “I won't! I'll burn this hedge to cinders! I'll—Ow!”

“I really think you'd better apologize,” I said. “Otherwise you probably won't get out before the wizards come.”

There was silence for a while. Finally Shiara said, “Oh, all right. I'm sorry I said you were a stupid hedge.” She paused. “Now will you please let me through?”

Reluctantly, the bushes pulled apart. Shiara sighed with relief and stepped through.

She almost didn't make it. The bushes closed again so fast they caught a piece of her tunic.

“Hey!” she said. “Stop that!”

“I hate to mention this,” I said as I helped Shiara work her tunic free, “but you really ought to be more polite.”

“To lizards and bushes? Ha!” She jerked her tunic free and glared at the hedge.

“I mean it,” I said. “It only gets you into trouble when you're not.”

“I'm a fire-witch,” Shiara said sullenly. “People are supposed to be polite to
me.
”

“I thought you didn't like having everyone scared of you,” I said. I turned to the bush. “Thank you very much.”

The branches rustled politely. I turned back to Shiara, who was watching me with her mouth open. “If you act that way all the time, I don't think people would like you much even if you weren't a fire-witch. Goodbye.” I turned around and started walking.

“Wait!”

I stopped. Shiara ran up beside me. “I—I'm sorry. I guess I'm not used to being nice to people.”

“That could really get you in trouble in the Enchanted Forest,” I said.

Shiara looked back over her shoulder at the hedge and shuddered. “No kidding. Well, I'll try.”

“All right. Let's find something to eat.”

That was easier to say than do. We found a bush that had some berries on it, but half of them were blue and half were red. I wasn't quite hungry enough to take a chance on them, and neither was Shiara.

“If my fire magic doesn't always work, my immunity to magic might not always work, either,” she said. “I'd hate to turn into something awful just because of a few berries.” I thought that was very sensible. We kept going.

Eventually we found a clearing full of blackberry brambles. It was so ordinary that it looked very odd sitting there in the middle of the Enchanted Forest. The berries were full of seeds, but we ate a lot of them anyway. I picked some extras and tied them up in my handkerchief for later. When we finished, we started walking again.

It wasn't a very exciting walk. The trees didn't get any smaller, the moss still covered the ground, and every once in a while there was a peculiar bush growing next to one of the trees. It would have gotten boring if Shiara hadn't been there. It was nice to have someone my own age to talk to. I'd never had any friends. Most people don't want their children getting close to the Enchanted Forest, so Mother and I had never had any visitors except the princes and heroes and so on. I told Shiara about living at the edge of the forest, and she told me about the town she lived in. I thought it was very interesting.