He shrugged. "Right now I have no idea. I shall consult the Council, though I warn you they are finding it difficult to accept that I am not completely dragon. No precedent, you see. Plenty of legends, but no firm records. At the moment I am something of a celebrity, but there are those who wish to cast me out." He shook his head. "I should have a better case to argue if I could bring them the jewels they so desire-my permit to become a Master Dragon.
But that, of course, will take time."
"So it is just some jewels they need?"
"To become a Master Dragon and not a mere Apprentice-as I am now-I have to be able to perform the usual flying tricks: spirals, hovering, steep dives, flying backwards, backspins, and I also have to contribute something of value to the h.o.a.rd. It can be of gold or silver, but they prefer the easier-to-handle glitter of jewels, cut or uncut."
"Do there have to be a certain number of these?"
He shook his head. "Recently-within the last thousand years or so that is-it has become traditional to bring in a selection, but the foremost criterion is that of color. Sometimes one stone is enough; we possess, I believe, the largest uncut emerald the world has yet seen. As big as your fist, Talitha, but too fragile to cut."
An idea was forming in my mind. "Do they have light in that cave of theirs?"
"Of course. There are a number of small openings that let in both sun- and moonlight, and with a blast or two of fire they can light semipermanent torches. Why?"
"Just wait a moment. . . ." Running up the steps I found what I wanted in my room, disturbing a sleepy Growch, then went back out again, picking up the lantern as I rejoined Jasper in the garden. Setting the light on one of the benches I opened my fist and slowly twisted the crystal the captain"s wife had given me in front of the flame. Even with that relatively dim illumination the crystal threw a thousand rainbow lights across the garden, the balcony, our faces and clothes, the wall above, the rocks beneath, and we were almost blinded by reds and greens, yellows and purples, blues and oranges.
Jasper took it from my fingers. "By the stars! This is the most beautiful . . .
Where did you get it?"
I explained.
"Do you know what it is?" He sounded excited.
"A crystal. Nicely cut, but-"
"But nothing! This has been cut by a master! In fact-" He looked at it more closely. "In fact I believe this may be one of the thirteen lost many hundreds of years ago when pagan hordes overran the city of the Hundred Towers. . . .
So far six have been traced of the thirteen that were made by the Master of Cut Gla.s.s-one for each lunar month, you see-and this might well be the seventh." He was handling it as reverently as I would a splinter of the True Cross. "We-the Council that is-already possess one of these, but to have a pair . . . Do you realize what this means? If you let me take it to them, that will mean automatic Dragon Mastership!" He wrapped his arms about me. "And that would mean I would be equal to any, and they would be bound to consider any request I made!"
"They could agree to-regularize your changes?"
"Yes! I can also ask to spend my man-time with you."
He was fairly dancing around the small s.p.a.ce of the garden, holding me up high against his chest. "We can find somewhere. . . . Why, I"ve just remembered the very place! There is an island set in the bluest of seas, miles away from the trade routes, where the sun shines warm year round and the land is peopled by the gentlest of natives, who would welcome us both.
Everything you planted would grow, and there are fish in the sea-"
"It sounds like Paradise," I said wistfully. I could see it now. Yellow sands running up to the greenery of a forest, cool streams running between moss- covered stones, hills blue in the distance, huge b.u.t.terflies feeding from the trumpets of exotic lilies, trees alive with the chatter of multicolored birds. A little hut set in a clearing, not too far from the sea, lines set out for fish, a net for the collection of sh.e.l.lfish; a patch of ground for the vegetables, another for a few chickens and a goat; a hammock slung between the trees, and Growch for company when Jasper had to be away . . .
His kiss prevented any further daydreaming.
"And now I must go, and quickly; I can feel a change coming over me already.
Forgive me, my dear: I shall hope to see you tomorrow." He kissed me again.
"And I shall keep an eye on your d.i.c.kon. . . ."
"Not my d.i.c.kon!" I protested, but Jasper had disappeared. Instead a black dragon hung on to the bal.u.s.trade: scaly body, gaping jaws, huge leathery wings outspread, yellow eyes burning in a bony skull. I was afraid, but not so frightened as I would have been two hours or so earlier if Jasper had suddenly appeared in his dragon shape without warning.
The intelligence in those yellow eyes was benign, I was sure of that, so I had no hesitation in picking up the crystal and placing it in one outstretched claw.
"G.o.dspeed, my love," I said, then stepped back hurriedly as the wind of his wings blew hair, dress, leaves, petals around me like a whirlwind.
All that long day I was in a fever of impatience. I mended my green silk dress, sorted out my belongings for the umpteenth time, brought my journal up to date, couldn"t eat; snapped at Growch, then hugged him; washed my hair and set it; didn"t like the result and washed it again to hang loose, and sun-dried it.
Ky-Lin paid a visit around midmorning, looked at all my preparations, fluffed the tip of his tail up like a peac.o.c.k and retired, remarking: "I hope you know what you are doing. . . ."
Of course I did! I was getting ready for my love, shedding what I did not need, preparing for the time when we would both be together forever, even if only for part of each year. Nothing was more important than this, yet the day seemed to crawl by, the sun standing still in the sky on purpose, the hours marked only by gongs, dissonant bells, and the soft, monotonous chant of the monks.
Several times I went out onto the balcony and looked in the direction of the Blue Mountain, wondering how Jasper was presenting his case to the Council; I wondered, too, if d.i.c.kon, that handsome treacherous boy, had reached the cave, only to be as disappointed as I had been.
At last the sun really did start to slide down the sky to the west. I supped some broth and bread, tasting nothing in my impatience, took a warm bath, slid into my mended dress, combed my hair until it sparked out from my head like a halo, then sat down by the door to the balcony to wait.
And wait.
The moon came up, near full now, and flooded the countryside with light, the stars p.r.i.c.ked through their cover; at midnight a small wind blew up; at one it died down again, and I was yawning; by two I was half-asleep and must have drifted into a dream, because I thought I was talking to my old friends Basher, Traveler, Mistral, and the Wimperling, when suddenly the latter took wing, swung around in the sky and came back to land at my side, only this time he was a man.
"Jasper!" I started up, suddenly wide awake once more. "What did they say?"
"I am now a Master Dragon, thanks to your gift!" Glints like raindrops or tiny diamonds seemed to surround him. "But . . ."
"But what? Will they let you go?" I ran into his arms.
He kissed me, but there was a constraint in his manner. "They are considering it, yes. But they want to see you: face-to-face."
Chapter Twenty.Nine.
I drew back, shocked and horrified. "B-but I can"t! They might eat me!"
He drew me close again. "Nonsense! They are so pleased with the Dragon Stone that a whole village full of desirable maidens could parade in front of them and they would never notice! They were so euphoric they gave me the accolade of Master Dragon at once, without asking to a.s.sess my flying skills.
Just as well: I think I would have failed on the backspins. . . ." He kissed my brow. "Then I asked for leave of absence from my dragon form for a fixed term each year. They wanted to know why, of course." He frowned. "It was very difficult for them to understand. To them, fair maidens were for dining on, not living with-in the legends, of course," he amended hastily.
"There must be lady dragons," I said. "Couldn"t you have explained it that way?"
"There are no "lady dragons" as you call them. There may have been once, I suppose, but now many of those left are hermaphroditic. There are others, like myself, who are totally male, who can fertilize the hermaphrodites, though most of them manage on their own. It"s a bit difficult to explain, because it just-just happens. You don"t think about it."
He was right: I didn"t understand at all. Except the bit about him being totally male. I wouldn"t like to think I had been making love with a hermaphrodite.
Then I suddenly remembered something so important I couldn"t get the words out straight.
"Supposing . . . if it"s as you say . . . the dragon"s eggs . . . your being a male . . .
it isn"t possible, is it? I mean you and me . . . Ky-Lin was so sure!"
"What in the world are you talking about?"
But I had second thoughts; my ring had given a warning tingle. Don"t tell him yet: wait and see.
"Nothing. When were you thinking of taking me to see them?"
"When? Right now."
"Now? But I"m not ready, I"ve nothing suitable to wear, how do we get there, I don"t want to-"
"Now!" he said firmly. "The sooner the better. Trust me-you do trust me, don"t you? You would have trusted the Wimperling, as you called him, with your life, wouldn"t you? Good. Go get your cloak and wrap yourself up tight: you"re going to be dragon-borne tonight!"
And it all happened so quickly I had no chance to argue. One moment I was standing there in my silken dress, terrified at the whole idea, the next I was back on the same spot, swathed and hooded in my father"s cloak.
Jasper held me close.
"You are not used to riding on the back of a dragon, and now is not the time to teach you properly." I could feel him laughing a little. "So we"ll do it the easy way. I shall carry you-no, don"t panic! You won"t know much about it. Close your eyes and relax. I am going to make you go to sleep for a little while, long enough to get you safe to the mountain. I don"t want you struggling at the wrong moment."
His lips came down on mine and I surrendered to his embrace as his fingers came up to my neck. A little pressure-in my mind or my body I wasn"t sure- and I slipped into a sort of waking unconsciousness. I didn"t dream, or anything like that, but the sensation of flying was curiously dimmed, though I could sense wind, the clapping of wings, a cindery smell. . . .
My stomach gave a sudden jolt, like the leap of a stranded fish.
"Sorry about that: I came down a bit sharply and changed early. You can open your eyes now, my love."
It was lucky his arm was around my waist, otherwise I might have tumbled to the ground. I was shaking and cold and my hair, in spite of the hood of my cloak, felt as though it had been attacked by a flying thornbush. I thought my eyes were open, but everything seemed as black as pitch. I blinked rapidly a couple of times and tried again. Looking up now I could see the stars and the moon illuminating the ledge on which we stood, but I had been staring straight at the entrance to the pa.s.sageway that led to the cavern, and this still remained ominously dark. How could we possibly negotiate that without a light?
"Come," said Jasper. "Take my hand."
I pulled back. "It"s so dark. . . ."
"I know the way, just as easily as you would in the dark of your own home without a candle. Besides, there is some light. Wait and see."
I allowed him to draw me into the pa.s.sage, but closed my eyes like a child, only to be told to open them once we had pa.s.sed the first turning.
"If you don"t I shall let go your hand!"
Promptly they were open, to be faced with a faint silver glow from the rocks around us, like a seam of precious metal running through the stones. It was not so much a light as an emanation, and only extended a few feet in front and, glancing back, the same behind. As we paced it kept step with us.
"What is it? Dragon-magic?" I whispered.
He pressed my fingers. "No, it"s a natural phenomenon; a kind of phosph.o.r.escence that is activated by the heat of our bodies as we pa.s.s."
The ring on my finger was tingling gently; no immediate harm, but a warning to go carefully; I wondered for the second or third time why it seemed to be getting so much looser.
The last time I had been in this pa.s.sage I had cursed at the twists and turns, eager to reach the end; now I wished it would go on forever.
It didn"t, of course. In less time than it takes to tell we had rounded the last corner and there was the cavern, lighted now by a broad spear of moonlight that shafted down from an opening in the roof of the cave and lit a pile of rocks-or were they? I gripped Jasper"s hand more tightly.
Gently he loosed himself and stepped forward. "You are speaking with animals, so your ring will translate," he said to me. "Pay careful attention to what is said, and remember your manners. These are creatures as old and venerable as any in the land."
Then he spoke again, but this time it was in a series of creaks, groans, hisses, sighs, and rumbles.
"I have brought her. . . ."
I could understand what he said, the ring translating in my mind as he spoke.
I had been staring straight ahead at the rocks, expecting some movement, but as he spoke I glanced to my side, and was horrified to see it was no man who stood at my side but a full-grown dragon! My heart gave a great jerk, then steadied. Didn"t I say I would trust him? In spite of this I had backed away a little, but my ring, though still throbbing, had not increased its warnings.
The dragon at my side-black, with tiny pinpoints of light illuminating his wing tips-turned his bony face towards me, the yellow eyes still surprisingly kind. The rumble of dragon talk started again, but thanks to my ring, Jasper"s own voice came through, warm and comforting.
"Don"t be afraid: it"s better that I appear to them this way. Come, stand by my side. And toss aside that cloak. I want them to see you as you really are."
I was quite glad to throw the cloak aside. It was very warm in the cavern. The fissure that divided us from the other side was throwing out a summer"s night heat, and I found I was perspiring. I stepped to Jasper-dragon"s side, aware once again of the cindery smell and the roughness of the stones beneath my feet. And now came a sound, a sort of stirring, slithery sc.r.a.pe- "What is it?"
"Watch. . . ."
Across the chasm something stirred, a general sort of shifting; rocks altered their shape-round, square, oblong, irregular, jagged-and also changed their position relative to each other. A few pebbles rattled against each other. I could feel the hair rising at the back of my neck, although Jasper-dragon stood calm and quiet beside me. My ring gave a warning twinge, but no more.
I thought I saw a claw, a bony head, a wing, decided I must be mistaken, then all at once everything seemed to shimmer, like the sun on a long road on a hot day. No, not quite like that; perhaps more like glancing down into a swift- flowing stream, trying to make out what lay on the bottom through the uncontrollable shift of the water.
"Here be Dragons," I thought stupidly, and suddenly they were there.
Still half-veiled, distorted, shimmery, around a dozen of the huge creatures bestirred themselves, yawning, stretching, unwinding long sinewy tails, opening dark eyes, extending claws and wings. With them came color and light; it seemed they emanated their own illumination, for now I saw gleams and sparkles at their feet. The piles of pebbles, so dull and uninteresting before, now started to glow and sparkle with an unquiet riot of colors as the dragons stirred them with their claws. Ruby, beryl, garnet, fire opal, coral, rose quartz, topaz, peridot, emerald, sapphire, amethyst, aquamarine, agate, jet, bloodstone, jasper, opal, pearl, diamond-they were all there, plus gold and silver. Then I saw that the light that shone over all did not come from the heaps of gems, nor from the dragons, but rather from the shaft of moonlight catching the facets of a jewel that hung in the air above all: the crystal I had given Jasper.
He stepped forward and then came that confusing rumble of speech again that my ring sorted out for me.
"I have brought the girl, the giver of this gift that now shines above us all." A soft hiss from across the chasm.
"Bring her forward."
I was nudged forward by one of his wings. "Don"t be afraid. . . ."
I went forward hesitatingly till I stood at the lip of the chasm and felt as well as saw the flickers of light that flashed across from the moonlit crystal; now everything I looked at had a strange unreality.
"I"m here," I said unsteadily. "What do you want of me?"
For a moment there was silence and I thought perhaps they had not understood my human speech, although the ring should be translating to them as well, but then came a low, grumbling growl, like Growch magnified ten times. I thought about turning and running, right away back and out to safety, but in spite of an involuntary step backwards, I otherwise stood firm.
The ring on my finger was still throbbing, but it was an encouraging feeling rather than a warning. I repeated my question.
"What do you want of me?"
When the answer came, it was not what I had expected. "You gave this Dragon Stone as a gift to our colleague. He-whose-wings-sc.r.a.pe-the-clouds?"
They must mean Jasper. "I did."