The Wandering Dragon (Children of the Dragon Nimbus) Read Free Page A

important.
    “His Majesty needs you,” the voice said.
    Something new!
    “What can I do?”
    “Follow.” A turning key rasped within the lock, iron scratching seldom-used pins into motion.
    Robb waited obediently against the far wall, as he did any time his guards brought him food or water rather than thrusting it through a narrow slot in the door, or came to empty the chamber pot when they absolutely had to, and not before. The door opened slowly, revealing a slim female in a sturdy dress, wearing a stained apron. She carried a candle lantern out to the side, not shedding enough light to determine her age, coloring, or degree of beauty. Only a large ring of keys hanging from her belt indicated that she held some authority.
    “Follow.” She turned around, waving the lantern just enough to indicate she intended to move to the left. After checking to see if armed guards waited to run him through with sword or spear, and finding none—they were all lined up against the corridor walls, stiff and respectful of the woman—Robb followed, shuffling his feet over the uneven stones, breathing deeply of air fresher than that in his cell. Afraid to think beyond the circle of light from the lantern. Afraid to hope for more between one step and the next.

    Lily? Where are you!
    Lily sighed as her twin, Valeria, burst into her thoughts. Just once she wished that Val would contact her just to check on Lily’s well-being and not to solve some problem at home. She had enough problems of her own on the road.
    She took her time answering her sister as she tamped down a little soil around the last of the apple tree cuttings she’d brought to plant. Six trees that wouldn’t bear fruit for five years. But it was a start at rebuilding the crops for this town on the Dubh River, a major tributary half a mile south of the mighty River Coronnan. The Dubh was still navigable up here, for small boats and flat-bottomed barges to transport produce and livestock downstream. A two-day walk inland from the Great Bay, the town had grown to a substantial size as the only gathering place for the outlying farms. The floods had drowned the crops here, but left most of the houses and barns sodden and only a little damaged. At least the livestock had found higher ground and survived. This place was better off than most. Closer to the big river, nothing remained but layers of mud and corpses.
    She signaled the headman to pour a pitcher of water around the cutting. He did so quite reverently. Then the entire village bowed to Lily.
    She returned the gesture of respect, then gathered her thoughts to reply to her sister.
Val, I’m somewhere between the river and the Bay in a town called Lower Dubh. What’s wrong?
she replied telepathically without breaking her smile and wave of farewell to the devastated farm folk. She’d done what she could to give them hope. Sometimes that was a better cure for despair than a wagonload of food.
    You aren’t here and that’s what’s wrong.
    I’m not supposed to be there. Though I wish I could stand in the middle of the Clearing and listen to the wind in the everblue tops and absorb the peace of the mountains
. She took a deep breath imagining the smells of home. Her heart continued to ache. For many reasons. Loneliness the least of them.
    It’s not peaceful here at the moment.
    Lily caught an echo of childish screams of despair in the background of Val’s thoughts.
    What did Jule do this time?
She asked about their youngest brother, who neared his third naming day.
    I don’t know,
Val wailed.
I’ve tried everything and he just screams louder.
    Lily had never heard her twin so close to crying, not even when she had worked a long and complex spell, and exhausted her physical strength almost to the point of forgetting to breathe.
    Lily waved a last farewell to the town elders and their ladies and turned her steps to the broad path that led to the next village, a day of hard walking to the west, toward the long line of