some kind of fastener. Cautiously, she put a fingertip, then her entire palm to the surface. It was dry and faintly cool to the touch. Clearly, they had left the cave without her noticing, and climbed up into a strange sort of building. Endoch’s family must be very powerful if this was the castle they lived in.
She was so busy studying the odd walls as she moved along them that she was unprepared for the space beyond. Passing through a doorway, she stopped short, letting her boot bundle slide unnoticed to the floor.
A great-hall
, she thought,
or even a cathedral
.
But there was no altar or throne to be seen, no choir stalls or banqueting table. She stood in a tall, square room with rows of huge, many-paned windows set high up on three of the four pale walls. The ceiling above was lost behind the bright glare through the glass. Many of the panes were cracked or missing, letting currents of air into the room to swirl dust and insects about in the long thick pillars of light falling past shadowed corners toward the floor.
The floor made her nervous. It seemed to be floating.Erde bent and laid a hand to it. It felt and looked like wood but was as seamless and smooth as pond water at dawn.
Endoch appeared out of the shadows, grinning boyishly. “Isn’t it great? Isn’t it just mega?”
Erde hated to dampen such luminous pride, but how long should she go on pretending she understood what he was saying? Water slipped in behind her and padded into the sunlight and smoky air. Erde watched her slim and lengthen toward the high bank of windows, and knew her for a shape-shifter. Quite astonishing to observe for the first time, really, but nothing surprising. Shape-shifting was an attribute of dragons often mentioned in the lore, one that Earth, being tied to soil and stone, did not possess. Erde hoped he would not be jealous.
She glanced at Endoch, and found him watching the she-dragon with a narrowed eye. He, too, had noticed the shape change, but he seemed puzzled by it, as if unsure that he’d actually seen it. She wondered if his study of the dragon lore had been as complete as her own. She knew that much of a young man’s time must be spent in the armorer’s practice yard or out with the Hunt, but surely he could have picked up the basic essentials just by paying good attention to the bard tales or the old songs sung at the village festivals. If he didn’t know the lore, he’d have no idea what his duty was as Water’s dragon guide. She could certainly tell him, but Erde wondered if he’d even listen to advice from someone so much younger, and a girl.
Whatever conclusion he’d reached, Endoch finally pulled out of his stare with a quick doglike shake of his head and went back to the entrance to yank on a piece of the wall beside it. When it began to swing forward, Erde realized it was a door, huge and rounded at the corners. Endoch pivoted it carefully into place so it settled against the opening with a heavy muffled clang. He twisted some kind of latch that squealed as he turned it, then came away, dusting his palms together with a satisfied air.
“That’ll keep ’em guessing. No one’s ever got past the shark tank so far, but you never know. . . .”
Erde nodded helpfully, which she thought was more polite than shrugging and pointing. The newly relaxed tilt of his shoulders did suggest that he felt they’d finally escaped their pursuers. Taking her first easy breath in a while, Erderolled up her dripping legging and began to worry about Earth.
She had no sense of how far they were from where they’d left him on the sand beside the ocean. Since finding each other two months before, she and the dragon had hardly been separated. The void his absence left inside her was an almost physical pain. When he used his gift of stillness to become rocklike, or to still even further to virtual invisibility, it took all of his energy and concentration, or at least that was his explanation for why they could not
She was so busy studying the odd walls as she moved along them that she was unprepared for the space beyond. Passing through a doorway, she stopped short, letting her boot bundle slide unnoticed to the floor.
A great-hall
, she thought,
or even a cathedral
.
But there was no altar or throne to be seen, no choir stalls or banqueting table. She stood in a tall, square room with rows of huge, many-paned windows set high up on three of the four pale walls. The ceiling above was lost behind the bright glare through the glass. Many of the panes were cracked or missing, letting currents of air into the room to swirl dust and insects about in the long thick pillars of light falling past shadowed corners toward the floor.
The floor made her nervous. It seemed to be floating.Erde bent and laid a hand to it. It felt and looked like wood but was as seamless and smooth as pond water at dawn.
Endoch appeared out of the shadows, grinning boyishly. “Isn’t it great? Isn’t it just mega?”
Erde hated to dampen such luminous pride, but how long should she go on pretending she understood what he was saying? Water slipped in behind her and padded into the sunlight and smoky air. Erde watched her slim and lengthen toward the high bank of windows, and knew her for a shape-shifter. Quite astonishing to observe for the first time, really, but nothing surprising. Shape-shifting was an attribute of dragons often mentioned in the lore, one that Earth, being tied to soil and stone, did not possess. Erde hoped he would not be jealous.
She glanced at Endoch, and found him watching the she-dragon with a narrowed eye. He, too, had noticed the shape change, but he seemed puzzled by it, as if unsure that he’d actually seen it. She wondered if his study of the dragon lore had been as complete as her own. She knew that much of a young man’s time must be spent in the armorer’s practice yard or out with the Hunt, but surely he could have picked up the basic essentials just by paying good attention to the bard tales or the old songs sung at the village festivals. If he didn’t know the lore, he’d have no idea what his duty was as Water’s dragon guide. She could certainly tell him, but Erde wondered if he’d even listen to advice from someone so much younger, and a girl.
Whatever conclusion he’d reached, Endoch finally pulled out of his stare with a quick doglike shake of his head and went back to the entrance to yank on a piece of the wall beside it. When it began to swing forward, Erde realized it was a door, huge and rounded at the corners. Endoch pivoted it carefully into place so it settled against the opening with a heavy muffled clang. He twisted some kind of latch that squealed as he turned it, then came away, dusting his palms together with a satisfied air.
“That’ll keep ’em guessing. No one’s ever got past the shark tank so far, but you never know. . . .”
Erde nodded helpfully, which she thought was more polite than shrugging and pointing. The newly relaxed tilt of his shoulders did suggest that he felt they’d finally escaped their pursuers. Taking her first easy breath in a while, Erderolled up her dripping legging and began to worry about Earth.
She had no sense of how far they were from where they’d left him on the sand beside the ocean. Since finding each other two months before, she and the dragon had hardly been separated. The void his absence left inside her was an almost physical pain. When he used his gift of stillness to become rocklike, or to still even further to virtual invisibility, it took all of his energy and concentration, or at least that was his explanation for why they could not
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