Stolen Magic(57)

Albin hesitated.

“Do it!” Ursa-bee cried. “He’ll kill Marya.”

Albin hauled open the big entry door. As he did so, Master Robbie broke free of Master Uwald’s grip and bounded to the middle of the great hall.

“Robbie!” Master Uwald took a step toward him, then wheeled and left, into a night that was brightening toward dawn.

“Wherever you go, we’ll find you,” High Brunka Marya called after him. “You won’t— Uh!” She shifted on her bench and gripped the table. “More tremors. Johan, you must—”

“Mistress Elodie and I”—Master Robbie spoke forcefully—“went to the room where the magic boxes were kept. . . .”

Why was he saying this? Elodie wondered. He was looking straight at her.

“We touched the daffodil.” He almost shouted the word. “How we laughed.”

What about it? No one was laughing now.

“I was weak with laughter. Then she— She’s such a mansioner.”

Lambs and calves! Despite her fear, Elodie pushed out a bubble of laughter. And another and another. Everyone smiled, even Johan-bee. She began to giggle. Albin joined in first, probably mansioning, too.

She stood, the better to laugh, and laughed harder, her laughter becoming real despite the tremors, the terrified people and beasts, her masteress, His Lordship.

Everyone laughed. Ursa-bee covered her mouth while laughing. Master Tuomo threw his head back. High Brunka Marya’s shoulders shook. Master Robbie laughed while he nodded at Elodie.

Johan-bee’s mouth opened wide with his laughter. He cried, “It’s so funny. I helped steal the Replica.”

Elodie hugged her belly, which ached from laughing. Tears ran down her cheeks, tears of laughter and fear and sorrow.

Johan-bee’s arms trembled with the force of his laughter. The longbow and arrow fell.

Master Tuomo, whooping with laughter, ran at him and toppled him. Albin snatched up the bow and arrow. Master Tuomo pulled the sword out of its sheath and pointed it at Johan-bee’s chest.

With an effort, Elodie slowed her laughter.

Had Master Uwald already dug up the Replica?

Would he really come back for Johan-bee? She doubted it.

Ludda-bee took the sword from Master Tuomo. “Go catch Master Uwald. Johan won’t get away from me. Will you, you great nincompoop?”

Two bees stayed with her, but everyone else who could surged toward the entry door, leaving the high brunka on her bench.

She cried, “I want to be there.”

Elodie turned to see High Brunka Marya take an unsteady step. Mistress Sirka and Goodman Dror returned. Mistress Sirka scooped her up and carried her out, followed by Goodman Dror. The three of them and Elodie followed the others, who were disappearing down the stairs.





CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE



Masteress Meenore drew breath to start ITs song again and heard His Lordship calling. From where? The tumult distorted sound, but a breeze momentarily tattered the smoke that blanketed Zertrum. IT saw His Lordship, running, one shoulder lower than the other, with two people clinging to that shoulder—running in the wrong direction, away from IT.

As IT chased His Lordship, IT devised a plan, though IT doubted there would be time. IT flew over them, turned, came down on a steep slope a few yards from the mouth of an enormous cave, probably newly made.

“Meenore! You came for me.”

IT enjoyed for a sliver of a moment the humans’ terrified faces. “Put your cargo on my back.”


His Lordship nodded and reached for the two. He glanced up the mountain. A river of molten rock flowed toward them as fast as gravy from a ewer.

No time to take the people and fly, IT thought. No time for His Lordship to shape-shift.

But they might reach the cave.

His Lordship saw, too, and sprinted toward it, still bearing the people. Masteress Meenore, who could only lumber on land, flapped ITs wings to give IT speed.

They reached the cave in time as the molten rock poured down. IT didn’t mind the temperature, but IT couldn’t fly through the flow. The people and His Lordship would soon die of the heat. Already their faces were red and strained.

Coursing up through ITs claws came Zertrum’s rumble, this time far more powerful than anything that had gone before. The explosion was certainly moments away. Even a dragon couldn’t survive that.

How strange, IT thought, accepting ITs fate, to die in this foreign place, attempting to save people and an ogre and becoming for eternity the good dragon. Enh enh enh.





CHAPTER SIXTY



Night was graying toward dawn. The flat land that led to the stable must have been the Oase vegetable garden before the blizzard. There Master Uwald was found, panting with effort as he dug. When he saw them, he waved the bread knife, but Master Tuomo ignored it and wrested the shovel away. Goodman Dror took the knife and held Master Uwald by his elbow.

“Careful!” High Brunka Marya clung to Mistress Sirka. “Don’t damage the Replica, Master Tuomo.”

Master Tuomo dug delicately but with haste, removing small quantities of dirt.

“There!” Ursa-bee breathed as a ruby appeared.

Master Tuomo dropped the shovel and continued with his hands. After a few minutes he unearthed the entire Replica as well as the box that contained the handkerchief that wept.