EPILOGUE
Her dreams were filled with the vision, the one the dragon had given her of a hole in the cliff. At first, the silvery light from the cave had been strong, almost enough to read by. As she dreamed the same thing, over and over, the light dimmed. Just before she awoke, it was almost gone.
“How long?” Her voice emerged in a whispering croak. Her throat was so dry she began to cough.
Numair hauled her into a sitting position and put a canteen to her lips. “Drink!”
Daine gasped, swallowed a mouthful of liquid, gasped again, and drank some more. Finally she drained the canteen. “How long?” she asked again.
“The rest of the day the kraken arrived, then yesterday and today.” He gave her a cake, sweet with honey and filled with raisins and nuts.
Daine ate it and took another. “I have to go out.”
“Don’t be silly,” he told her. “You’re weak. You’re staying here.”
“That’s where you’re wrong,” she replied. She swung her feet off the bed and stood. For a moment the room spun, then settled into place.
She was in the stable. They had placed her cot in an empty stall, where the ponies could watch her. Her bat friends hung in the rafters overhead, where the loft ended, leaving plenty of room for the one-eyed osprey to perch. None of the animals were pleased when Daine started to pull on her clothes. Cloud in particular glared at her over the partition.
Remembering something, she froze. “My friends—the woods creatures—”
“Some were killed,’ Numair said gently. “Once the enemy was driven off, we found the injured ones. They’ve been cared for. There weren’t as many casualties as you’d think. You gave them the right advice.”
“Good,” she said, a weight off her mind. She went on dressing.
“You need to rest and eat. I’m still weak on my pins myself”
“There’s something I have to take care of,” Daine said. “Now.” She stuffed her feet into her boots.
Her friend sighed. “Then wait a moment. We need an armed escort. There may still be enemies out there. And let’s get horses. Where are we going?”
She closed her eyes and recalled the vision. “Northwest” she said finally. “Along the cliff. We have to hurry.”
He smiled at her. “Then we’ll hurry.”
She couldn’t even manage Cloud’s tack. Soon after the mage had left, Miri raced in. “Master Numair says you need someone to help you saddle up.” She gave Cloud a wary look. “You behave,” she told the mare, “or Wave-walker help me, I’ll singe your tail.”
Cloud stood meekly and did as she was told.
Daine was glad to sit on her cot and watch. “What time is it?”
“Afternoon,” the older girl said. “You beat Master Numair by half a day. He got up this morning.”
“He looks a lot better.” She gasped. “I forgot—the kraken!”
Miri grinned. “Don’t worry about that one,” she said, tightening cinches. “Once Master Numair was up, him and Lady Alanna had a talk with that old ship killer. You should have seen him scuttle out of the cove! He sucked the water after him and left the bottom dry. The Lioness had to pull it back in!”
She patted Cloud’s withers. “There you are—all set.”
Daine rose and took the reins. “You’ve come a long way since we met.”
Miri grinned shyly. “Thanks. It means a lot to hear you say so.”
They waited in the courtyard as castle hostlers brought out Darkmoon, Spots, and horses belonging to the King’s Own. Here, shading her eyes from the sun, the girl saw the first repercussions of what she had done. The stable hands had liked to talk to her, before the enemy invasion. Now they avoided her glance and kept well away from her.
A small explosion struck her back and almost knocked her off her feet. It was followed by a second, and a third. Whatever the hostlers might think, Roald, Kally, and Thom were glad to see her up. Her eyes stinging, Daine knelt to return the hug.
“There, there,” she whispered, more to herself than the children. “It’s all right. It’s over.”
“Can we go too, Ma?” Thom asked the Lioness as she approached.
“No, my dears. Some other time. We’re not sure the enemy is completely gone.” The knight grinned at Daine. “You’ve been a busy girl.”
Daine grinned back. “So have you.” Looking at the men of the King’s Own who followed Alanna, she recognized Hakim and his companions. “It’s good to see you,” she told them.
“The honor is ours,” Hakim replied gravely.
“You said it was urgent?” Numair reminded her.
The group left the castle at a trot, following Daine. The vision’s lure was powerful in her mind. Following it, she guided Cloud onto a road that ran along the cliff face, high above the sea. Gulls followed them, filling the air with their cries.
Alanna drew level with the girl. “I’ve yet to thank you,” she said quietly, “I never thought you’d have to keep your promise in such a way”
She smiled at the knight. “What happened? They lured you off, didn’t they?”
Alanna nodded, “The ogres were real enough. They kept us busy for more than a day. By the time we felt we could return, there was a small army between us and home. Lucky for me Hakim rode in with two companies of the Own. They were still in Corus when Numair sent word you were up to your eyeballs in trouble.”
Daine held up a hand: they were close. Listening, she dismounted. “Stay put,” she ordered Cloud.
Numair came after her on foot. “What are we looking for, exactly?”
She was about to say she wasn’t sure when the ground dropped under her. For a second time she had the doubtful pleasure of being picked up to hang in midair—this time, at least, she wasn’t half-drowned. Looking down, she saw she had almost gone through the roof of a cave that opened in the cliff face.
“Can you set me down in there?” She wasn’t sure who had her, Alanna or Numair. “I found it.”
The Lioness chuckled. “You have a unique way of finding things.” Gently Daine was lowered through the hole she had made, until she was on the stone floor of the cave below.
There was a rustle nearby, and a chirp. A silver shape, no bigger than a large cat, came over on legs that hadn’t yet mastered the skill of walking.
She knelt. The little creature stared at her with slit-pupiled blue eyes. Tiny, scaled forepaws gripped her breeches: the baby dragon pulled herself up onto her hind legs.
Daine’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I’m sorry,” she told the dragonet. “I guess I’m your ma now.” She scooped up the armful of kit and looked up at the hole she’d made in the roof. Alanna, Numair, and Hakim stared down at her. “The dragon had a little one,” she explained. “She’s hungry.”
Carefully the Lioness raised her and the dragonet up through the hole, to stand them on solid ground.
Daine managed to construct a bottle that would hold up under the kit’s small, but sharp, teeth. After consulting with the healer Maude, she warmed goat’s milk and loaded it with butter, to make it even richer. The dragonet gulped a pint of the mess, burped, and fell asleep in Daine’s lap.
The entire operation was watched, in awe and fascination, by the queen, Alanna, George, Numair, Buri, Onua, Maude, and the children.
Gently Kally ran a finger along the sleeping animal’s flank. “She so soft,” the girl whispered. “What’s her name?”
“Skysong,” Daine said. She frowned—where had that knowledge come from? “I guess her ma passed that on to me too, before she—died.” Coming to a decision, she looked at Onua. “I don’t think I can stay with the Riders past the summer. My duty’s to this little one, now.”
“You can still make your home with us,” Thayet told her. “That is, if you wish. I know my lord and I would prefer to have you in the palace.”
Daine stared at her. “Me?”
“You.” Thayet took her hand. “Veralidaine Sarrasri, you saved my life and the lives of my children. A home is the very least we can offer you.”
Daine lowered her head, to hide her beet red face.
“But we want her to live here,” objected George. “Surely we’re more suited as a home, bein’ on the sea and near Master Numair and all.” He grinned. “And bein’s how our girl’s made so many friends in our woods.”
“I don’t see why she can’t live in my tower,” Numair protested. “She is my apprentice, after all.”
“A girl’s got to have females to talk to,” Alanna informed him. “You haven’t even gotten a new housekeeper since the last one interrupted one of your experiments”
“Come live in the palace,” Kally and Roald begged, tugging her arm. “We’ll be good forever and ever if you will.”
Skysong sneezed and shifted in Daine’s lap.
“Shh,” Maude ordered. “You’ll wake the baby.” The children hushed, guilty faced.
“You don’t have to decide now,” Onua pointed out. “I don’t see why rearing Skysong should interfere with helping me this summer.”
Daine looked at these unusual people who had become friends, and laughed. “It’s fair funny,” she explained. “I’ve gone from having no home to having too many!”
The Lioness smiled and put a hand on her shoulder. “Welcome to Tortall,” she said.