The Unwilling Ambassador (Book 3) (24 page)

Ned chuckled. "I'm sure Canto will be disappointed to hear he doesn't have a say in the agreement."

"If he did the other dwarves would have killed him for agreeing to it, so it's better this way," Hywel pointed out.

"Getting soft for a dwarf?" Ned teased.

Hywel's color took on a red tinge and he beat his wings. "Not likely, but it's good politics to be sensitive to others' positions."

"Especially when they're the king of the dwarves," Percy spoke up.

Ned's bushy eyebrows shot up. "King? Canto? Willingly or unwillingly?"

"Willingly. He took it upon himself rather than let Danto receive the crown," Percy replied.

While they discussed politics, Pat checked Fred over while Ruth came up beside her. Sins' eyes darted behind him at the fretting girls, but otherwise he held still. "He used too much magic and fell asleep," Ruth whispered to Pat.

"Too much? What did he do?" Pat asked her.

Ruth smiled. "I think he'd like to tell you the story himself when he wakes up."

Pat frowned. "Sometimes I wonder whose side you're on," she mused. Ruth shrugged, but there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Ned's attention turned from the conversations to the night sky. "The sun will rise soon, and these old bones would like some food and sleep before a new day dawns."

"Canto has invited all the dwarves to the castle for a feast," Percy told him.

"Splendid. A dwarf feast promises some food that might be edible."

"I doubt it," Pat mumbled.

Hywel flew off Ned's shoulder and into the air above the group. "Then this is goodbye for me. If you ever pass through here again feel free to visit our home," he invited them.

"No more wall?" Ned wondered, referring to the inner wall behind the main gate.

"No more wall. I'll make sure of that," Hywel promised. "Farewell!" The group waved to him as he flew upward. Other Stars arose from all points of the city and joined each other above the friends. Their soft light cast a warmth over them and Pat felt a tingle spread through her body. Then the Stars flew away to the west and the warmth left with them.

Ned chuckled and looked to the group. "That was very kind of them. Now let's be off before Canto wonders if any of us survived this adventure."

Sins flung Fred over Fluffy's saddle and the group followed Ned down the road. Percy held back for a moment and his eyes hurriedly glanced over the ground. They lit up when he spied a piece of the stone, and he picked it up and set it safely in his pocket. He patted the slight bulge and followed his friends to the feast and relaxation.

CHAPTER 27

Fred tossed and turned, but he couldn't get comfortable. The bed was too hard and the sheets too coarse. He creaked open his eyes and winced when the setting sun pierced them. Through his blinking eyes he could see he was in a room with stone floors and walls. There were a few slits for windows, and through one of these shot the last fading beams of the sun. By his side lay his broken stick.

"You must stop doing this to me," a voice spoke up. Fred whipped his head around and found himself staring at Pat's smiling face. She sat on the other side of his bed in a rough chair. "This isn't the first time you've exerted yourself far too much and forced me to watch over you," she scolded.

Fred sheepishly shrugged. "I guess I don't know when to stop. How long was I out for this time?" he asked her.

"Only a day. Last night was the battle," she replied. She sighed and scooted her chair closer. "Ned told me you mastered some very useful abilities, and that without you all would have been lost."

"Ned would have done something, or Ruth or Sins," Fred protested.

"But they didn't. You were the one to defeat the stone," she pointed out. She turned her eyes to the windows across the room. "Canto's hailed you as a hero, and the Stars are all free. It seems the Uncomfortable Chair's prediction is coming true. You are a change in the world."

"
We
are changing the world," he corrected her.

"We play our parts, but I believe you have the larger role," she argued. "You give a little more effort, even if it means sacrificing yourself."

Fred grimaced and shifted atop the bed. "I just don't want anyone else to die," he told her.

"And you care nothing for your own life when you try to protect others. That makes you a leader." She picked up the stick, and swept her eyes over the scratches and marks. "Would you. . .would you mind showing me later what you can do?" she asked him.

Fred smiled and took the stick from her hand. "I can show you now," he replied. He raised the staff and a fizzle of white magic petered out the top.

Pat snorted and covered her mouth. "Maybe you'd better wait," she advised him.

Fred sheepishly smiled and tucked the stick into his waistband. "I guess I don't have all my strength back."

"Then it's the perfect time to find some food. If any of it is edible, that is," she suggested. She stood and held out her hand. "Everyone is at the feast, and we should be, too," she told him.

"Feast? Didn't they have one last night?" Fred asked her.

"Yes, and they haven't finished it yet. I once read that dwarves don't stop feasting until they're too drunk to tip their goblet for another drink."

Fred smiled and took her hand. "This I have to see."

The feasting hall was filled with dwarves partaking in every drunken antic known to all the races, and some new ones. There was loud singing, loud laughing, fist fights, river dancing, heated political arguments, and eating contests that left all parties under the table. Some of them even managed to climb onto the high chandelier and swing it in a wild circle. The companions were seated to King Canto's left with Thino and Shilo beside him, Ruth, Pat, and Percy next to them, and Ned and Fred beyond them. Sins wisely abandoned them, no doubt to find edible food. Fluffy lay on the floor gnawing on what Fred hoped was an animal bone.

In the great crowded hall sat Danto and Piako, now stripped of their titles and positions. They ate with a hunger that comes from the bitter knowledge that feasts for them would now be few and far between, so they needed to pack away good food while they could.

The young humans would have argued about there being good food. Fred, Percy and Pat watched the dwarf swinging around the chandelier because that sight was less sickening than watching the dwarves eat the muck they called food. Heaping plates of squirming masses sat in front of them, and the teenagers turned various shades of color as some of the food slithered away. There was also their own companions to watch. Canto enjoyed the festivities with the loudest burps and the fastest eating.

Pat, Fred, and Percy watched Ruth consume the dwarf food with their expressions varying from sickened to morbidly fascinated. "How are you doing that?" Pat whispered.

Ruth looked up from her plate and smiled. "Gargoyles don't have any taste buds, and the food is absorbed into our bodies without consequence."

Percy picked up a forkful of goop and watched it splash down onto his plate. "You fortunate soul," he murmured.

Canto stood and pounded his goblet on the table. The hall quieted and he stuck out his full and ample chest. "Now that Ah've got my king's share of the feast, Ah want to announce my abdication." Wagging tongues whispered among the crowd, Piako choked on a leg of some large creature, and Danto raised an eyebrow.

"Yer giving it back to me?" Piako spoke up.

Canto sneered at the former king. "No, and don't be asking for it."

"But yer the ones who caused all this trouble," Piako argued.

"And we're the ones who tried to warn ya about the trouble in the first place, and we're the ones who fixed yer mistake," Canto countered. "Now shut up and let me finish what Ah have to say." Piako cringed and remained silent.

"So ya really don't intend to keep it for yerself?" Danto insisted. Every conscious person in the room could see the hopeful glint in his eyes.

Canto snorted. "Of course Ah'm not keeping it. Ah don't have the patience for ya fools, and Ah've got more important things to deal with."

"Then who are ya giving it to?" Danto wondered.

Canto looked to Thino with Shilo seated on the other side of her husband. "There's only one dwarf Ah'd trust with this crown. Someone who's helped us out a lot since we got here."

Danto scoffed. "You want to make Thino king?"

"Not Thino, ya dolt, Shilo." The silence was deafening until Danto barked out a laugh.

"Shilo? A woman? Have ya lost yer mind?" he argued.

"Nope, but Ah'm losing this crown." He tossed the crown at Shilo, who juggled the crown a moment before she clasped it against herself.

"Me?" she squeaked.

"Yep. It won't be a fun job, but Ah suspect ya've got the makings of a good leader in ya," Canto told her.

"But how do ya know Ah've got what it takes to be in charge?" she countered.

"Ah don't know anyone else who'd be so fired up to be willing to go on a rescue mission and into battle, and all on the same night. It's because yer willing to try anything that makes ya a better what this city needs." He looked to Hywel. "Especially with these Helpers-"

"Stars," Ned corrected him.

"Especially with these glowing balls wanting their rights," Canto finished. "Ah wouldn't put up with 'em, but you'd be willing to try and speak with 'em, and that makes ya a sight better than anyone else standing, or laying, in here."

Shilo smiled, plopped the crown on her head and turned to show off the perfect fit. The room erupted in cheers except from Danto and Piako. The loudest was from the companions, who clapped and hollered. Ruth even stood and stuck her fingers in her mouth to let loose a loud whistle. Pat rolled her eyes and pulled her friend back down into her chair. Fred didn't join in the festivities. His attention was on Piako who sat sullen and silent, glaring at them, and his thoughts went back to his border and the stone's awakening. A lump appeared in his throat. He needed some air.

Canto held up his hand and the room quieted. "Ya fools follow her or Ah'll come back and bash all yer skulls in." The dwarves were too drunk to understand the threat and ended up clapping and cheering him. Canto plopped down in his chair, but there was a loud cough behind him. He turned to find Shilo standing there with the crown tilted to one side. Her eyes moved between the chair and him.

"Yer sitting in my chair," she told him.

"Bossing people around already?" he quipped.

"Yep, now move or Ah'll get the guards to take ya out." Canto looked to the guards who lay prostrate on the floor with empty mugs beside them. Shilo rolled her eyes. "Ah'll take ya out myself," she rephrased. Canto stood and gave up his chair. She jumped into it and glanced over to Thino at her side. "What do ya think about being prince?" she asked him.

Thino sighed, but there was a smile on his face. "Ah don't think Ah have much of a choice," he replied.

The friends laughed and Canto took Shilo's seat between Thino and Percy. Pat looked to her left and noticed Fred's chair beside Ned was empty. Her eyes widened and she stood, but Ned shook his head and gestured for her to sit back down. She frowned, but obeyed his silent order. Ned himself rose and left the room. Pat opted to follow him, but Ruth grabbed her arm. "I think Ned wants to talk to Fred alone," Ruth guessed.

"What could be so important that it can't be spoken in front of me?" Pat challenged her.

Ruth smiled and gently forced her friend back into her seat. "Fred trusts you, and I am sure he will tell you in his own time," she encouraged.

Pat frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. "If he trusts me now why doesn't he tell me now?" she countered.

"Perhaps he doesn't trust himself," Ruth suggested.

Pat sighed and shook her head. "Just my fate to be stuck with an apprentice castor who lacks faith in himself but can destroy an entire city with one strike of his staff."

Ruth chuckled and patted her friend on the back. "Fate is a strange guide, but I'm sure everything will work out in the end."

Pat cast a side glance at her companion. "You have the wisdom and patience to be a Saint of Phaeton."

"I hope not the Phaeton we were almost sacrificed to," Ruth reminded her.

Pat shuddered. "No, and I hope we never see nor hear such blasphemy again."

While the girls stayed in the feasting hall, Ned slipped into the hall and walked down the dark passages. His staff clacked against hard stone floor and the banquet noise behind him receded into the distance. He followed some invisible path through the winding halls, across the courtyard, and out into the city. His footsteps led him up the rubble road and to the place where the stone once stood. There he found Fred at the base of the broken rock.

The young man's eyes looked down at the stone, but his glassy gaze showed his thoughts were far away. Ned quietly walked up beside him and turned his eyes toward the stars. "Nice night," he commented.