The Wizardry Consulted (Wiz, #4)(66)

“You’re all right! I saw the fire and the dragon, and I was afraid.” She stopped with her eyes even wider as the significance sank in. “You did it,” Anna breathed. “You defeated a dragon.”

Llewllyn opened his mouth to say something modest but the trumpet fanfare cut him off.

Anna’s eyes grew even wider. “Oh, you are a mighty wizard! And my hero.” Llewllyn just smiled and held Anna tighter. Occasionally, given enough hints, he did know when to shut up.

Winging away from the rocks the dragon came to a somewhat different conclusion. A pretty pass indeed when you can’t even take a nap without being disturbed by these pesky humans and their stupid magical jokes, he thought. I’m going to have to do something about them. And this new wizard of theirs.





Twenty-two: Dragon Trouble


The Consultant’s Three Rules of Crisis Management:

1) When Life Hands You A Lemon, Make Lemonade.

2) When Life Hands You A Hemlock, Don’t Make Hemlock-ade.

2a) Always Know The Difference Between A Lemon and A Hemlock.

The Consultants’ Handbook



“ . . . and then the dragon flew away,” Anna told Wiz and Malkin, her blue eyes round as saucers. “And we were saved!”

“Oh, it was nothing really,” Llewllyn said modestly from where he stood at her side, his hand resting on her shoulder. Anna reached up and placed her hand over his. Then she beamed up at her savior.

Wiz and Malkin exchanged glances and then stared down at their plates and the remains of dinner. Obviously both of them thought that for once Llewllyn’s description of events was more accurate than Anna’s.

The pair had been through the incident three times and Wiz still wasn’t completely sure what had happened. For one thing, the story had grown with each retelling. For another he trusted neither Llewllyn’s veracity nor Anna’s powers of observation. He was reasonably certain there had been a dragon involved and that the dragon had flown away, perhaps in response to something Llewllyn had done. He suspected from Anna’s description of the sound of trumpets that his fanfare spell had been involved as well. Beyond that, he wasn’t willing to speculate-except about the reason for the grass stains on the blanket and the dried grass in Anna’s hair and the flush on the girl’s cheeks.

Obviously something more was called for, so Wiz tried. “Well, I’m glad you’re safe.”

Anna sighed. “I owe it all to Llewllyn. Isn’t he wonderful?”

Malkin kept her eyes on her plate.

“Quite remarkable,” Wiz said dryly, rising from the table. “But if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” Like trying to keep my dinner down, he thought as he headed up the stairs.

Since Llewllyn had developed the habit of cadging meals with them the scene was repeated at lunch the next day.

Since the mayor had summoned Wiz to discuss the fanfare spell, the scene was prolonged because Llewllyn insisted on accompanying him to the town hall. The young man paused several times to ostentatiously greet important people, keeping Wiz close so he could bask in his reflected glory. Somehow he managed to work the fact that he had defeated a dragon into each conversation, so Wiz had to listen to more or less the same story three or four more times. By the time they reached the street that led to the main square Wiz was thoroughly fed up with his assistant.

“You know that what you did was stupid,” Wiz told him finally. “I mean terminally stupid. Why didn’t you just wait for the dragon to leave?”

“Were I by myself I might have,” Llewllyn admitted with a disarming smile.

“But Anna was there.”

“So you risked her life as well as your own to impress her.”

“No, to protect her. Better for me to face near-certain death at the fangs and claws of a dragon than for anything to happen to her. Were I slain perhaps the monster would be satisfied and not look further among the rocks.”

“Still it was stupid.”

Llewllyn nodded, as if to show he was too well bred to argue with his employer. “Perhaps, My Lord. I can only say that love makes a man do strange and wonderful things.”

Wiz snorted.

“But I do love her,” Llewllyn proclaimed. “Why, I would shed my last drop of heart’s blood for her.”

“Yeah, but will you marry her?”

“Of course, My Lord, in due time. Do you doubt me?”

“Your record in that department isn’t exactly sterling,” Wiz said as they turned the corner into the main square.

“Ah, but I was young and callow then, a mere stripling. You see before you not a boy, but a man full-grown, a man redeemed by love.”

Wiz thought that what he saw before him was a pompous windbag and he was about to say something to that effect. But just then the world stuttered.

One instant Llewllyn was beside him and the next he was in front and staring open-mouthed. Everyone was running and screaming and there was dust in the air that hadn’t been there before.

Wiz started to ask what had happened. Then he saw the brick. No, not a brick, a piece of worked stone. Like part of a cornice. It was lying in the street behind Llewllyn, surrounded by the dust it had raised when it fell. There were several other pieces of freshly broken stone nearby. Looking up he could see that a big chunk of the stonework on the building was missing.