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account of the tale.
The people of the house were all dead. Celisse grieved the loss of her family, and Kale s tender heart
ached with the dragon s.
A detachment of soldiers had burned the house. Rough bisonbeck men carried off all the farmer s crops.
Ropmas, another of Pretender s low races, had driven off the farmer s livestock to feed Wizard Risto s
people.
Celisse s torment tangled the account of her defeat into a disordered mess. Now Kale saw images of a
battle in the farmyard. Celisse had returned from a trip to town with the farmer and his oldest son on her
back. They d swept into the yard and fought the squad of soldiers left behind to complete the pillaging
and torch the farmhouse. The farmer and his son were no match for the ruthless warriors. Soon only
Celisse raged against them. She eventually sought refuge in the barn and struck out at those who tried to
enter.
Evidently, messages had been sent to the main body of the army. Risto s men did nothing to keep their
plans secret, and Celisse s keen hearing picked up many conversations. A crossbow marksman had
arrived with special arrows. The man had no trouble shooting the cornered dragon with a poison that
kept her mind fogged, her body in agony, and her will to live sapped.
Celisse knew Risto himself was coming to claim her for his own fleet of dragons. Her resistance
dwindled with each poisoned arrow. Every time she felt her strength returning, the soldiers reopened the
barn doors, and the marksman stepped into view, firing another arrow into her flesh.
This had started several days before. Wounded and hungry, Celisse didn t think she d last much longer.
But with the arrival of Kale, her will revived. If she lived, Celisse wanted to join allegiance with the mighty
Dragon Keeper.
Now the dragon s hope soared and invaded Kale as the o rant touched Celisse s thoughts. Kale
trembled as she tried to sort through the dragon s turmoil.
In addition to the emotions transferred from the dragon, Kale s heart responded to the story of Risto s
callous destruction of the honest farmer and his family. She had to deal with her own feelings of disgust
and anger. She understood Celisse s desire to join forces with those who opposed Risto s evil. She, too,
felt an outrage against his crimes.
However, one aspect of Celisse s determination to seek revenge puzzled Kale. The o rant girl had never
heard of the mighty Dragon Keeper and could only guess his identity.
Paladin?she quizzed the dragon.
The dragon s thought pattern rippled with laughter. You are the mighty Dragon Keeper.
Kale s mouth dropped open, and she closed it with a snap.
That s ridiculous. I haven t even been to The Hall yet. She spoke sternly to Celisse and moved closer.
In the murky gray light, she could see an odd spiny growth on Celisse s back, over the left wing, and
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behind a shoulder blade. She studied it for a moment and then let out a horrified gasp.
The poisoned arrows! Long barbs stuck out of swollen flesh like pins in a cushion. Kale s stomach
turned just the way it had when she had to pull a fishhook out of little Dubby Brummer s thumb.
This would be worse, much worse.
19
HEALING
Kale s memory latched on to one of Leetu s instructions.
The purple root cleans a wound and kills the pain.
Kale tore the buttons of her cape out of the buttonholes and whipped the special garment off her
shoulders. She turned the cape inside out and laid it on the barn floor. Kneeling, she began to empty the
two side hollows. Gymn poked his head out of his pocket-den and watched intently as Kale sorted
through the many different items.
Where is it? Where is it?
Finally, she pulled a purple tuberous root out of the pocket.
A knife. I need a knife.
Gymn darted out of his hole, dove into a hollow, and came out seconds later with a pocketknife in his
mouth. He dropped it in front of Kale and lunged back into his own pocket.
Kale muttered, Thanks, and picked up the knife. By scraping the root with the edge of the blade, Kale
made a pile of creamy violet powder. When she had a handful of the precious medicine, she took it over
to Celisse.
I think you ll have to lay on your side in order for me to reach the wound, she told the huge beast.
The dragon, already in a prone position, shifted, and her bulky torso rolled over. Exhausted, she
stretched out her neck and closed her eyes. Her shallow breathing barely stirred the bits of hay on the
dirt floor. Occasionally, a moan escaped her throat.
Kale went right to work. She spread the powder over the swollen flesh, around the protruding arrow
shafts, and put an extra amount where heat radiated from pus-filled sores.
I suppose it would have been better to make a poultice, but we don t have what we need. She spoke
aloud, but when she looked at the dragon s face, the huge beast seemed to be unconscious.
I m doing the best I can, Celisse.
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I really hope it s enough. Granny Noon, you should be here.
Kale remembered something the old emerlindian had said as they parted at the gateway. My hope goes
with you.
Kale leaned against the ailing dragon s side.
Will that help? Will Granny Noon s hope help? she asked in the cool, dark barn.
Kale waited. The medicine needed some time to work, but not much. Leetu had said powder from the
purple root worked quickly. While the minutes ticked by, Kale went over some of the other medicinal
objects Granny Noon had put in her hollow pockets. She remembered a brown vial with a cork stopper.
She returned to the cape to rummage through the collection.
Here it is.
She walked back to the dragon, pulling the plug out of the neck of the bottle as she went. She held it
under her nose and sniffed. Her head jerked back, and her nose wrinkled at the strong odor of scarphlit.
Kale inspected the open wound where she d applied the purple root powder. It already looked better.
She started to pour on the oil and then paused to speak to the dragon, This won t hurt.
Celisse didn t seem to hear.
Kale dripped the oil from the small brown bottle on the wooden shafts of the arrows where they entered
the dragon s body. Then she sang ten verses of The Beggarman s Wife in her head, using the tune to
measure off the twenty minutes needed.
The wounded flesh felt cooler under Kale s fingertips. She carefully pulled on the first arrow and
mentally thanked Granny Noon for the oil when the rod slipped out with no problems. In a few minutes
she had extracted all of the huge poison darts.
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